Hidden Provocation

It was not that Bai Lan thought too highly of herself.

After watching several matches, she truly felt that these inner sect disciples, despite cultivating for many years, still lacked a true understanding of the Sword Dao.

Although their techniques looked powerful on the surface, they were actually unrelated to the genuine Sword Dao.

What they displayed were merely the effects produced by their Foundation Establishment cultivation.

They were not manifestations of the pure Sword Dao at all.

“Senior Sister, haven’t any of you noticed the problem?” Bai Lan finally asked.

When she heard this, Ximen Xue glanced at her.

She immediately understood what Bai Lan meant.

“You mean that they all rely on spiritual power to activate their techniques, correct?” Ximen Xue said.

“Yes, exactly.”

“Didn’t Master say that the Sword Dao possesses its own unique power?”

“Only by cultivating Sword Qi can one truly be considered a Sword Cultivator.”

“So what is the point of constantly using spiritual power to execute their techniques?” Bai Lan asked in confusion.

‘This is clearly wrong.’

‘So why doesn’t Master point it out directly?’

“Junior Sister, let me explain it this way,” Ximen Xue replied calmly.

“The power produced by spiritual energy driving techniques is actually comparable to the power generated by pure Sword Wind, Sword Light, or Sword Aura.”

“Cultivation itself is already difficult.”

“And dedicating countless years solely to cultivating Sword Qi is a path that most cultivators simply cannot persist in.”

Although Ximen Xue did not explain everything directly, Bai Lan immediately understood her meaning.

It was not that Bai Yiren had never taught them.

Rather, these disciples had chosen to abandon the path of cultivating true Sword Qi.

That was why, within the entire Immortal’s Abode, only Bai Yiren and Ximen Xue had successfully cultivated Sword Qi.

Even Luo Yuyan, who was a Direct Disciple and already a Golden Core cultivator, had not cultivated Sword Qi.

Bai Yiren would certainly not have hidden such teachings from her.

If the teachings had been given yet they still relied on spiritual power, it meant that either they lacked perseverance, lacked comprehension, or simply did not possess the temperament required to become true Sword Cultivators.

“I understand,” Bai Lan said quietly.

She immediately grasped the meaning and did not ask further questions.

If Bai Yiren herself did not interfere, Bai Lan certainly had no intention of speaking out.

However, many of these inner sect disciples had been unhappy about her becoming a Direct Disciple half a year ago.

Today, Bai Lan intended to demonstrate the results of her six months of training.

The opportunity appeared during the eighth sparring match.

At that moment, a senior disciple of the Immortal’s Abode quietly signaled to a nearby inner sect disciple.

After noticing the signal, the disciple glanced at Bai Lan, who was sitting in the front row, and then stood up.

“Master, I request to spar with Third Senior Sister,” the disciple announced.

The request came suddenly.

Although Bai Lan had been considering entering the arena for a sparring match, she had not expected someone to challenge her directly.

A cold light flashed in her eyes.

She tilted her head slightly and looked toward the disciple.

On the surface, the challenge seemed reasonable.

But in reality, it was far from normal.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator challenging someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining?

This clearly carried malicious intent.

Within the Immortal’s Abode, there were ten senior disciples.

All of them were Golden Core cultivators.

Only after reaching the Golden Core realm could a disciple become a senior inner sect disciple.

Meanwhile, one needed to reach the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to become an intermediate inner sect disciple.

These were the established requirements.

Currently, the ten senior disciples of the Immortal’s Abode were:

Gao Qiuxia, Chen Wenting, and Huang Liang at the middle stage of Golden Core.

And Tao Ya, Hao Yanqiu, Zhou Hui, Xue Rushui, Zhang Zijuan, Zheng Haifen, and Wu Ya at the early stage of Golden Core.

These ten disciples were among the earliest disciples Bai Yiren had accepted after becoming the Master of the Immortal’s Abode.

They belonged to the same generation as Ximen Xue.

After cultivating in the Immortal’s Abode for hundreds of years, each of them naturally had their own ambitions.

The one who had secretly signaled the disciple earlier was Gao Qiuxia.

She was a middle-stage Golden Core cultivator and, aside from Ximen Xue, the strongest disciple in the Immortal’s Abode.

If Bai Lan had not appeared, Gao Qiuxia would have been the most likely candidate to become the next Direct Disciple.

The Luoshen Sect had a rule.

If an ordinary disciple reached the late stage of Golden Core, they could automatically become a Direct Disciple as long as a position was available.

Gao Qiuxia had already reached the bottleneck of the middle stage of Golden Core.

She was only one step away from breaking through to the late stage.

But at this crucial moment, Bai Lan appeared and took a Direct Disciple position.

This completely destroyed Gao Qiuxia’s plans.

As a result, she harbored deep resentment toward Bai Lan.

So she secretly arranged this sparring match in order to embarrass her.

When the disciple issued the challenge, Bai Yiren frowned slightly.

Her gaze immediately fell upon the disciple.

Under Bai Yiren’s sharp gaze, the disciple felt her heart tighten.

Gao Qiuxia had promised her certain benefits.

Her task was simply to challenge Bai Lan today, regardless of the outcome.

After observing the disciple’s eyes for a moment, Bai Yiren immediately sensed that something was not quite right.

However, she did not say anything further.

Instead, she turned her gaze toward Bai Lan.

“Lan’er, your junior sister wishes to challenge you.”

“Are you willing to accept?” Bai Yiren asked.

Bai Lan immediately stood up.

“I accept the challenge.”

“It is also a good opportunity to test my progress over the past six months.”

“However, this junior sister is a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

“If she were to use the full strength of her cultivation, that would not be very fair,” Bai Lan said calmly.

The implication was obvious.

The female disciple immediately understood.

“Third Senior Sister can rest assured.”

“I will suppress my cultivation to the ninth level of Qi Refining.”

“I will not overwhelm you with my cultivation,” the disciple said quickly.

She was not foolish.

She understood that if she refused this condition, it would appear that she was deliberately bullying Bai Lan.

Bai Yiren also wished to see how much Bai Lan had improved over the past six months.

So she allowed the sparring match to proceed.

Meanwhile, Ximen Xue glanced toward Gao Qiuxia.

The moment their eyes met, Gao Qiuxia instinctively avoided her gaze.

Her guilty conscience prevented her from maintaining eye contact.

Ximen Xue already knew that the disciple who issued the challenge was connected to Gao Qiuxia.

It was obvious that she was merely being used as a pawn.

Among the disciples of the Immortal’s Abode, Ximen Xue understood the internal dynamics far better than Bai Yiren.

She knew exactly which disciples belonged to which factions.

Since Gao Qiuxia was about to break through to the late stage of Golden Core, it was clear that she was secretly trying to create trouble for Bai Lan.

Bai Lan calmly walked onto the sparring platform.

The disciple followed her onto the stage.

This unusual match immediately attracted the attention of all the other disciples.

“Inner sect disciple Zhang Jia greets Third Senior Sister.”

“Please enlighten me with your guidance,” the female disciple said as she bowed slightly.

“Come, Junior Sister.”

“You don’t need to hold back.”

“As long as you don’t use Foundation Establishment spiritual power, you may use your full strength.”

“I also wish to test my understanding of the Sword Dao over these past six months,” Bai Lan replied calmly.

However, her indifferent tone made Zhang Jia feel somewhat uncomfortable.

After all, she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even with her cultivation suppressed, she was still much stronger than an ordinary ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator.

She could not understand where Bai Lan’s confidence came from.

“In that case, Third Senior Sister, please forgive my offense,” Zhang Jia said seriously.

The moment she finished speaking, she drew her sword.

With a flash of cold light, she thrust her blade toward Bai Lan with incredible speed.

This sparring match was purely a contest of swordsmanship.

Only by doing so could they accurately evaluate their understanding of the Sword Dao.

Although Zhang Jia was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, her sword was already as fast as the wind.

‘Hmph.’

‘Zhang Jia can already wield her sword like the wind.’

‘Defeating a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator who only entered the inner sect half a year ago will be effortless.’

‘Third Senior Sister, don’t blame me.’

‘It’s your fault for appearing at such an unfortunate time and ruining my plans,’ Gao Qiuxia thought coldly.

Why was she doing this?

Because Direct Disciples could be demoted.

If a Direct Disciple repeatedly proved unworthy of their status, a senior disciple had the right to submit a petition to the sect requesting that their title be revoked.