When it came to sword cultivators, those willing to prove their dao with the sword, all followed a particular path which started with a cultivator developing sword sense, which meant an extreme familiarity with one's sword to the point it was no different than any of their limbs. They could feel its breath and its composition almost as if it was a part of their body.
From sword sense comes sword qi, then sword intent, which grows to sword domain, and finally sword soul or sword spirit. Just developing sword sense was so difficult that it was one of the biggest watersheds of becoming a sword cultivator. Even within the Order, despite their many training regimens of helping cultivators achieve it, only one out of fifty manage to do so but Bu Fui managed to acquire it by himself.
Yang Qing couldn't help but thank the light storm mantis for its part in Bu Fui's growth. The light storm mantis was another one of the overlords of the Autumn Mountain just like the seven-colored doe, except it was much more ruthless than the doe. It had a hardy exoskeleton that was harder than iron and mandibles and wings that were built for effortlessly tearing any flesh apart.
Both the claws and wings moved so fast that created flashing light images that only amplified its ability to tear apart a target.
The seven-colored doe in terms of potential had a much higher potential than the light storm mantis but in terms of present skill, the light storm mantis was a much more dangerous opponent, which was why Bu Fui had the highest injuries of the six participants present followed by the twins.
These three participants had the unfortunate luck of coming across it. The twins were the first to stumble onto it, where it made quick work of them.
It was thanks to Tang Su's defensive form, that Tang Di was able to hang on with the former throwing himself and taking the attacks that were fatal to Tang Di.
Bu Fui walked into that fight when he was running away from a gold lava claw bear that was after him which was another overlord of the area. A three-way battle ensued.
Yang Qing couldn't believe their luck.
Luckily the two spirit beasts in addition to fighting against the three, also fought against each other, while the twins faced off against the bear and Bu Fui faced the mantis.
The trio agreed on this format after comparing their strengths. Though when it came to the twins, Tang Di who had higher agility thanks to the lightning element would occasionally switch targets depending on whether Bu Fui or his brother was in the greatest danger.
The battle was chaotic and Bu Fui lost his left arm to the light storm mantis but thanks to gaining sword sense, he cleaved one of its wings and two of its hind legs. It had also suffered a few more injuries from the gold lava claw bear which had also received a few in return in addition to receiving deep gashing wounds thanks to the twins.
The two spirit beasts decided to retreat after their injuries reached a certain point. They were more wary of each other than the three humans they were fighting against. The more injured party suffered a risk of being devoured by the other, or they would both get devoured by some other spirit beast so it was safer to retreat while they still had some fighting ability left.
Had both spirit beasts insisted on fighting to the end, with their strong vitality and ability, the three would have been eliminated without a doubt. Because even with both spirit beasts fighting against each other while fighting them, they still managed to gravely injure them.
Despite how things played out, the three participants had showcased their abilities and they deserved to be in the top fifteen with the ability they showed.
Other than them, the only other person who faced off against an overlord was Liao Jiayi who fought against a silver horn python. Their battle was thunderous just like the one from the twins, however the more heated it became the more the kunpeng aura in Liao Jiayi's bloodline leaked which terrified the python through bloodline suppression which was common among spirit beasts. It fled away mid-way into the fight.
As for Meng Jia and Yan Qiu even though none of them faced off head to head with an overlord, the former was skillful enough to use her mental sea to dodge leaching vines that numbered in the hundreds and whose speeds were ten times the speed of the snapping willow Zou Yi faced while the latter managed to run away from the strongest overlord of the five spirit beasts and ended up poisoned by it but even poisoned he still managed to reach the peak of the mountain while dodging and fighting other spirit beasts along the way and avoiding or solving the formation traps laid to the top along with other challenges.
The spirit beast in question was the grey pollen aurora moth. It was half asleep when Yan Qiu accidentally walked in within a kilometer radius of where it was sleeping.
The moth was still in the qi refinement realm. However, its spiritual sense and sensitivity were that of a core formation expert. Its length matched those at the late stages of core formation. In addition to its massive spiritual sense, it had pollen that had lethal poison that could put down anyone lower than it in strength within seconds.
In its half-asleep state, Yan Qiu got grazed by one of its pollens which left him sluggish and half-conscious. He used a few potions to keep it at bay, but it only slowed down the poison. The only solution he came up with was to bulldoze his way to the top before he got passed out or got eliminated if the poison put his life in jeopardy.
The performance of the six participants amazed the four judges. Though they did not know it, one of them would end up as the chancellor of the Institute in 700 years.
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