A cultivator's physical recovery speed far surpasses that of ordinary people.
The cut on Chen Yan's cheek had completely healed by the time he had just stepped out of the arena platform's rubble.
The crowd in the Daoyan Arena automatically made a path for Chen Yan.
The looks they gave Chen Yan were filled with astonishment and fear.
Early Martial Spring Realm!
The chief disciple of Kongshan Sect's direct lineage was only at the early Martial Spring Realm!
Yet the combat prowess he had displayed was enough to rival any peak Martial Spring Realm cultivator.
It even surpassed the vast majority of peak Martial Spring Realm cultivators.
No one knew what that point of clear light that erupted from Chen Yan's fingertip was.
Hidden Immortal Art.
The only thing Chen Yan knew was that the strange ability he had erupted with at the critical moment of a life-and-death crisis was related to the Hidden Immortal Art and the Kongshan Finger.
It was an extremely profound and transparent feeling, with every strand of true qi completely governed by his spiritual sense.
Then, it condensed into that point of clear light.
Chen Yan raised his hand, looked at his fingertip, and tried to find that profound, transparent feeling once more.
But no matter what, he couldn't do it.
Yet Chen Yan didn't feel the slightest bit discouraged.
For some reason, he just had an intuition that he would truly master that point of clear light sooner or later.
Perhaps he would suddenly have an enlightenment one day, or maybe after a certain Cycle of Reincarnation, when his Hidden Immortal Art was completely perfected.
Chen Yan returned to the viewing stand.
Lin Xinyang was already nowhere to be seen, only Chu Xiyao remained sitting there.
"Beyond my expectations, Chief Disciple Chen."
After Chen Yan sat down beside Chu Xiyao, the chief disciple of Qingchan Peak said slowly.
"What does Senior Sister refer to?"
Chen Yan asked.
"That disciple from the Beiyuan Sect named Ye Xiu is stronger than I imagined."
Chu Xiyao said, then she turned her head:
"But what's even more beyond my expectations is you, Chief Disciple Chen."
"Is that so?"
Chen Yan said.
"A year and a half, growing from a Body Forging Realm disciple in the outer court to this point today."
Chu Xiyao said slowly:
"Chief Disciple Chen, you remind me of a word."
"Which word?"
"That word which, since the fall of the Orthodox Pivot Sect, has never been allowed to be brought onto the stage again."
Cause of Calamity.
Chen Yan knew very well what Chu Xiyao was referring to.
"Then I'll take it as Senior Sister Chu praising me."
Chen Yan simply responded with a smile.
"Perhaps Chief Disciple Chen, you are safe for now, but if you continue like this, those who will harbor such suspicions about you will definitely not be limited to just me."
Chu Xiyao said, then she swept her gaze towards the distant crowd:
"The identity of chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain is not weighty enough to serve as your permanent get-out-of-jail-free card."
She had already spoken very clearly.
"I wonder why Senior Sister Chu holds such prejudice against me?"
Chen Yan continued playing dumb:
"I have just been diligently cultivating, that's all."
"Not everyone is obligated to play along with your performance."
Chu Xiyao said this flatly:
"Including Kongyuan Mountain as well."
Hearing this, Chen Yan's heart sank slightly.
He had long been aware of this point. Although Kongyuan Mountain was the direct lineage of Kongshan Sect and was personally managed by Sect Leader Yun Yichen, in the eyes of those lofty Grand Elders who started from the upper three realms, all matters within the sect were merely child's play of the middle and lower three realms.
The situation of the sect leader's direct disciples on Kongyuan Mountain might be somewhat delicate right now.
Especially these few personal disciples of the sect leader on Heavenly Summit Mountain at this very moment, led by Zhong Yin.
Chen Yan believed that he absolutely did not have the weight to make He Furen, or even the Supreme Imperial Law Elder Huo Mu, go to such great lengths.
Even if he was the chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, he was just a measly, lowly life at the Martial Spring Realm.
The consequences of killing a chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, although slightly troublesome, were something Huo Mu could completely bear.
It's just that his life probably wasn't worth dirtying Elder Huo Mu's hands over.
If Huo Mu's goal wasn't him, but rather to achieve some purpose by suppressing the sect leader's direct lineage...
Perhaps Fu Qian might know something.
But all of this was still just speculation on Chen Yan's part.
"By the way, where is Senior Brother Lin? Did he also take to the ring?"
Chen Yan wanted to skip over the topics just discussed and began to change the subject.
"No, his turn is still far off."
Chu Xiyao shook her head:
"Just now, a disciple from Yuanhua Mountain came over and called him away. I'm not clear on the specifics."
Chen Yan nodded, then as if thinking of something, he looked up towards the higher levels of the viewing stand behind them.
He Furen's figure had also disappeared.
"The entire Heavenly Summit Mountain has already descended into chaos. I don't know what the point of us staying here is now."
Chu Xiyao said, then turned to look in Chen Yan's direction:
"What do you think, Chief Disciple Chen?"
...
The Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry continued.
A total of two rounds of matches were held on the first day. Out of the eight hundred Dao Inquirers from various sects across the Chenping Continent, six hundred were eliminated.
Among them, two Dao Inquirers from the Five Great Sects were eliminated.
One was that disciple from the Bai Shang Ravine of Wind Ravine Valley who fought Qin Qingyu.
The other was Lin Xinyang.
Lin Xinyang didn't lose to anyone; he forfeited the match.
His opponent automatically advanced to the next round.
Even after returning to the Slaying Heaven Pavilion, when Chen Yan wanted to look for him, he still didn't see Lin Xinyang.
The format of the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry on the second day was slightly adjusted.
From the remaining two hundred Dao Inquirers, another seventy-two were eliminated through a challenge arena platform method.
After that, the final one hundred and twenty-eight remaining Dao Inquirers would engage in paired draw matches, all the way to the final showdown.
Chen Yan's first-round opponent was a Dao Inquirer from a first-rate sect in the southeastern part of the Chenping Continent.
With a cultivation at the late Martial Spring Realm, Chen Yan still had to expend some effort to defeat him.
Chu Xiyao's opponent was quite extraordinary.
Lingxiao Temple, chief disciple of Qingxia Terrace, Yi Liang.
This individual's prestige in the Chenping Continent was on par with Chu Xiyao, Li Haowen, Huang Jing, and others.
Second only to the overwhelmingly powerful top Martial Spring Realm cultivator of this generation, Qin Qingyu.
His duel with Chu Xiyao naturally garnered the attention of everyone present.
And many also lamented that one of these two contemporary geniuses would actually be eliminated at the stage of the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry's top 128.
The brilliance of this battle far surpassed any previous duel.
Because both sides in the fight were evenly matched in both cultivation and combat power.
The final victor was Chu Xiyao.
This was very similar to the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry result in Chen Yan's memory, because in his recollection, the final showdown of this Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry was Chu Xiyao losing to Qin Qingyu.