She could see clearly that this was obviously a ploy by Eldest Senior Brother and his group to teach Qin Yi a lesson, to establish their prestige.

But Qin Yi seemed oblivious, foolishly stepping onto the martial platform.

"Get down from there!" Gu Yiyi shouted again.

Qin Yi replied, "Yiyi, don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Gu Yiyi pouted, "Who's worried about you? I'm just reminding you not to ask for trouble."

Eldest Senior Brother Huang Tianrong said, "Yiyi, you heard it yourself. I'm not deliberately making things difficult for him. As a new disciple, he's been too arrogant on his first day here. I just wanted him to have a little exchange with other senior brothers out of goodwill, but who knew he would challenge me right away? I had no choice but to accept. It's not intentional."

Originally, seeing Gu Yiyi arrive, Huang Tianrong thought the matter might be dropped.

But unexpectedly, Qin Yi, that kid, wouldn't listen and stayed on the martial platform.

In just a few words, Huang Tianrong cleared himself of any blame. Whatever happened next would be Qin Yi's own doing.

After all, Qin Yi brought this upon himself.

"Yiyi, since you're here, you can be a witness. If I win this sparring match with Huang Tianrong, from now on, I'll be the Eldest Senior Brother of Emerald Bamboo Peak. Whenever he and the others see me, they'll have to bow and salute. To prevent him from going back on his word, you can be the witness."

With the Grandmaster's daughter as a witness, the matter was settled.

Gu Yiyi wrinkled her nose, "You want to be the Eldest Senior Brother? Don't you know he's at the ninth level of Qi Refining? What are you going to spar with him? Do you have to hit a wall to turn back?"

Qin Yi had his own view: "In the Qi Refining stage, as long as you're above the third level, whether it's the fifth or ninth level, the difference isn't that big. The main thing is, in our Famous Sword Sect, ranking senior brothers by order of entry doesn't seem right to me.

The position of Eldest Senior Brother should be held by the capable, only then can it motivate other disciples to strive upward.

Otherwise, some people just rely on entering earlier to always act like the Eldest Senior Brother, occupying a position without merit, flaunting their power. That's unreasonable, isn't it?"

Huang Tianrong was furious, "Kid, who are you saying occupies a position without merit, flaunting their power?"

Qin Yi: "I'm talking about you, don't interrupt."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade him, Gu Yiyi simply stopped trying, putting her hands on her hips: "Since you won't turn back until you hit a wall, go ahead and try. As long as no one dies, I won't bother with you."

Huang Tianrong was already infuriated. He kicked an iron sword off the weapon rack, grabbing it from a distance.

Then, with a somersault, he leaped three meters away: "Enough talk, if you want to spar, let's do it. But let me be clear, if you regret it now, get off the martial platform immediately. Otherwise, once I start, I won't hold back."

Qin Yi weighed the iron sword in his hand, finding it quite handy: "No need for you to hold back, just go all out."

In fact, he wasn't wrong. In the Qi Refining stage, as long as one surpassed the third level, the difference between the fifth and ninth levels wasn't significant.

Because the Qi Refining stage is like gathering materials before building a house.

Like steel, cement, and bricks.

The higher the Qi Refining level, the more materials are prepared.

But the amount of these materials is for the Foundation Establishment, and before completing it, materials are just materials, not comparable to cultivation.

The first level of Qi Refining is opening the tendons and membranes, the second is opening the flesh and blood, and the third is opening the bones and organs.

These three levels are the foundation and essence of the Qi Refining stage. As long as these three levels are solid, in the later stages, someone at the fifth level might not be weaker in martial prowess than someone at the ninth level.

Of course, this is before reaching Foundation Establishment. Once one steps into Foundation Establishment, it's a world of difference from the Qi Refining stage.

"All out? Everyone here heard it, he asked for it himself, it's not me bullying the weak."

Huang Tianrong snorted coldly, a red glow suddenly infused into the iron sword in his hand.

The Heavenly Secret Sword Technique, wielded with the art of scorching fire.

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As soon as Huang Tianrong's iron sword emitted a sharp sound, a flame burst from the tip!

Then, with a low shout, his True Qi poured into the iron sword, making the flame grow stronger.

The orange flame engulfed the entire sword.

Suddenly, he swung the long sword, and a scorching Sword Qi, in the shape of a crescent, slashed towards Qin Yi.

A disciple in the audience exclaimed upon seeing this move: "Heavenly Secret Sword Technique, Open Flame State."

Ordinary disciples practicing the Heavenly Secret Sword Technique start from the [Scorching State]. After True Qi is infused into the iron sword, it heats up and becomes scorching, which is the first stage.

The second stage is when the sword's heat increases, becoming like a burning coal, known as the [Inner Fire State]. The fire is contained and not released.

The third stage is like Huang Tianrong's, where the flame is released, known as the [Open Flame State].

Reaching this third stage means the sword technique has reached a proficient level, understanding its essence.

Huang Tianrong becoming the Eldest Senior Brother of Emerald Bamboo Peak wasn't just an empty title.

Earlier, when Huang Tianrong said he would go all out, everyone thought he was just saying it.

How could a new disciple like Qin Yi withstand his full strength?

But who knew, as soon as he started, he used the third stage of the Heavenly Secret Sword Technique, the [Open Flame State], clearly going all out!

Whoosh~

The orange Flaming Sword Qi swiftly shot towards Qin Yi. Qin Yi suddenly lunged to the left, using the first move of the "Azure Lotus Sword Chant," Toast to Ambition.

The lunge was fast, just enough to dodge Huang Tianrong's Sword Qi.

After the lunge, without hitting the target, the Sword Qi couldn't accumulate.

But as he stopped, he was not far from another disciple, so he lightly tapped the disciple with the sword: "Hey, move a bit."

This light tap was meant as a friendly reminder, but unexpectedly, after the tap, he felt the iron sword in his hand grow heavier by three degrees.

—Sword Qi accumulated once!

'Is this possible?'

Unexpectedly, the unintentional action accumulated Sword Qi once. Qin Yi, surprised, tapped the disciple twice more with the iron sword—Sword Qi accumulated twice!

Sword Qi accumulated three times!

As he was about to accumulate a fourth time, the disciple, feeling annoyed, stepped back several paces, not letting him succeed.

At this moment, Huang Tianrong also charged forward, his iron sword engulfed in flames, spreading scorching heat wherever it passed.

Qin Yi, seeing his position, suddenly lunged back with another thrust, and as he approached Huang Tianrong, he executed the second move, [Stroke of Divine Inspiration].

Huang Tianrong had never seen this sword technique and didn't know its intricacies. Just as he was about to collide with the outer circle of Sword Qi, Gu Yiyi below the martial platform seemed to realize something and hurriedly covered her eyes.

However, her curiosity got the better of her, so she made a small gap with her fingers, peeking through with wide eyes.

Under her watchful gaze, as soon as Huang Tianrong approached the outer circle of [Stroke of Divine Inspiration], there was a sudden bang, and his clothes instantly tore apart, revealing a bare body.