This was an ordinary-looking man with sharp eyes, dressed in the attire of an Inner Disciple, and his cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Condensing Yuan Realm.

"Even at mid-stage Condensing Yuan Realm, he dares to challenge Lin Xiao?"

The onlookers were surprised. Who among them didn't know that Lin Xiao's combat prowess was unmatched? Hong Yuanshan, who was at the late-stage of the Condensing Yuan Realm, was still lying on the ground, yet this young man with only mid-stage Condensing Yuan Realm cultivation dared to challenge him?

Lin Xiao was also a bit surprised, sizing up the young man.

The young man spoke, "I am Lan An from Cangyuan Peak."

"Cangyuan Peak?" Lin Xiao wasn't familiar with the people from Cangyuan Peak, which had both sword cultivators and pill cultivators, with a variety of cultivation systems.

"Please enlighten me." Lan An stepped forward, now only ten steps away from Lin Xiao.

"Make your move," Lin Xiao said calmly. Although Lan An was only at the mid-stage of the Condensing Yuan Realm, he must have some secret weapon to dare challenge him.

Caution is the parent of safety, and Lin Xiao would not underestimate any opponent.

"Alright!"

A flash of light appeared in Lan An's hand, and a three-foot-long sword whistled as it flew towards Lin Xiao.

The grade of this longsword was only a mid-grade Spiritual Weapon, and the crowd was greatly disappointed upon seeing this.

"Did we think Lan An had some secret weapon, only for it to be this?"

"Who doesn't know that Lin Xiao is a sword cultivator? Eight days ago, he even gained the True Meaning of the Way of the Sword. Isn't drawing a sword in front of him courting death?"

Lan An remained unmoved by the ridicule from the crowd, his eyes suddenly lighting up with a strange glow, and then a special force attacked Lin Xiao!

"Is this a Divine Sense attack?" Some Sea Transformation Realm cultivators among the onlookers keenly detected a wave of Divine Sense, and they immediately understood what Lan An's secret weapon was. It turned out Lan An was also a soul cultivator!

These events happened in just a few breaths' time; some noticed, while others did not.

On Lin Xiao's side, he had guessed it was a feint when Lan An made his move. This three-foot-long sword posed no threat to him, so he summoned his top-grade treasure, the Azure Rainbow Sword.

The Azure Rainbow Sword carried the pinnacle of Sword Intent, releasing hundreds of sword energies that attacked Lan An's sword. In just one exchange, the Spiritual Weapon-grade sword couldn't withstand the attack and developed cracks.

As the weapons clashed, a wave of Divine Sense attacked Lin Xiao, and he understood that Lan An relied on his Divine Sense power.

Divine Sense is intangible and can invade the mind, directly attacking Lin Xiao's Sea of Consciousness.

When the Divine Sense is attacked, the mildest effect is fainting, while severe injuries can turn one into an idiot!

"I can't compare to you in the Way of the Sword, physical strength, or weapons, and my combat power is even less. But my Divine Sense should be stronger than yours. I only need to seize those three breaths of time to defeat you!"

Lan An didn't expect a single wave of Divine Sense attack to turn Lin Xiao into an idiot. In his plan, after Lin Xiao was attacked by the Divine Sense, he would be unable to escape the attack on his Sea of Consciousness for about three breaths, which was when Lan An would strike.

Lan An summoned a large stack of talismans, all of which were attack-type.

"Go!"

Hundreds of talismans ignited, some transforming into fireballs, others into giant bricks, all smashing towards Lin Xiao.

"Could it be that Lin Xiao will really lose to the obscure Lan An today?" A Sea Transformation Realm cultivator saw Lin Xiao not reacting and thought he was truly affected by the Divine Sense attack.

"Defeating you will make my name, Lan An, spread throughout the sect!" Lan An was excited inside, wanting to become famous quickly, and the fastest shortcut was to step on a famous person to rise.

Lin Xiao was the perfect candidate!

"Divine Sense attack is nothing much." A large amount of sword energy gathered around Lin Xiao, forming a sword energy shield that blocked the attack from the hundreds of talismans.

These talismans seemed powerful but were actually just first-grade talismans.

First-grade talismans correspond to the power of Body Tempering Realm cultivators.

Seeing Lin Xiao unaffected by the Divine Sense attack, Lan An was incredulous, "Impossible! Do you have some weapon protecting your Divine Sense in your mind?"

Lan An speculated whether Luo Yusu had given Lin Xiao some weapon to defend against Divine Sense attacks.

"Not currently, but you've reminded me. I'll ask my master for one when I get out." Lin Xiao recalled that when the Divine Sense attack entered his mind earlier, it did affect him somewhat, but the Ice Phoenix Power within him reacted immediately, spreading a chill throughout his body, allowing him to quickly shake off the Divine Sense attack.

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"It seems the Ice Phoenix Power can restrain Divine Sense. I'll ask my master about it later." Lin Xiao didn't have time to study this now; he needed to deal with Lan An first.

Reaching out to summon back the Azure Rainbow Sword, Lin Xiao, carrying a large amount of sword energy, charged at Lan An like an unsheathed sharp sword!

Seeing Lin Xiao rushing towards him, Lan An hurriedly admitted defeat, "Senior Brother Lin, I concede!"

Lin Xiao was known for his heavy-handedness, and everyone now knew that Lin Xiao was punished to Reflection Cliff for killing four disciples of Ling Shou Peak.

But Lan An spoke too late. Before Lin Xiao arrived, the overwhelming sword energy reached him first. Lan An summoned protective talismans, layers of protective energy shielding him, but they couldn't withstand Lin Xiao's sword energy and were broken layer by layer.

Ah!

Reflection Cliff echoed with familiar screams as hundreds of sword energies fell on Lan An, leaving his clothes in tatters and his body covered in sword marks.

Lin Xiao ultimately held back; these injuries looked severe but were actually superficial and would heal with some rest.

"Hand it over." Lin Xiao extended his hand.

Enduring pain and humiliation, Lan An handed over his Storage Bag to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao checked it, seeing over a hundred Spirit Stones and several bottles of pills inside, and silently took them all.

Seeing this, Lan An was heartbroken but dared not say more.

Holding the Azure Rainbow Sword, Lin Xiao scanned the crowd and coldly asked, "Anyone else?"

Under Lin Xiao's gaze, all the Condensing Yuan Realm cultivators dared not meet his eyes.

From today, the news of Lin Xiao's invincibility in the Condensing Yuan Realm would spread throughout the sect.

The last person invincible in the Condensing Yuan Realm was Hua Tianyan, the senior brother of Ling Shou Peak!

"Hmph!" A Sea Transformation Realm cultivator snorted coldly. They wanted to teach Lin Xiao a lesson, but being a whole realm apart, even winning wouldn't be honorable.

"When I recover to the late-stage Condensing Yuan Realm, I will allow early-stage Sea Transformation Realm cultivators to challenge me!"

Lin Xiao's words were like a stone thrown into the sea, stirring up huge waves.

"Cross-realm challenge? He dares?"

Everyone was shocked, as the gap between major realms is significant, achievable only by those with extraordinary talent.

"What arrogance, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue with such big talk?"

The Sea Transformation Realm cultivator thought Lin Xiao's words were directed at him, as if Lin Xiao considered him a stepping stone on his path to fame.

Lin Xiao couldn't care less about what these people thought. Cultivation was his priority now, so he returned to his hut and closed the door.

"The Asura Trial is in over twenty days. I must successfully cultivate the first level of the Ancient Ancestral Dragon Art before the trial. If time allows, I should restore my realm to the peak of the Condensing Yuan Realm."

Lin Xiao spoke of restoration, not breakthrough, as his previous realm was the late-stage Sea Transformation Realm.

Thinking of the attack by the demonic cultivator before, Lin Xiao clenched his fist.

"Yellow Springs Demon Sect!"