Chapter 487: A Centennial Legacy of Sugar Figures, High-Quality Syrup Exclusively for the Yanghuang Sect

The Yanghuang Sect’s centennial festival began as scheduled, and Qi Suian was seated in a spot off to one corner.

However, his view was actually quite good, with no obstructions. It was just that an ordinary person probably wouldn’t have been able to see anything clearly from this distance.

The main reason was that Qi Suian’s status as a candy shop owner was indeed quite low. He was only able to get in because Shi Hanwen, the Peak Master of Azure Flame Peak, wielded real authority.

Otherwise, a ’normal person’ like Qi Suian wouldn’t have even had a chance to attend.

Before the festival itself, the Grand Competition between the nine major sects kicked things off.

The tournament consisted of only five rounds in total, with a small number of participants, and each round’s matches were held simultaneously.

After all, the main event was the festival, not the competition.

The Sect Competition was more like a warm-up act, so naturally, it couldn’t be allowed to steal the show.

Qi Suian’s attention, however, was focused on Zuo Fan.

After cultivating the Pure Yang Wuji Heart Method and the Innate Li Fire Sword Technique, combined with the Pure Yang Fire Seed between his brows, his strength could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds.

In the first three rounds, he advanced with extreme ease; no one could even take a single move from him.

This dark horse instantly drew a lot of attention, especially because of the advertisements on the front and back of his clothes, which made everyone who saw them look on with peculiar expressions.

Shi Hanwen, in particular, was very curious how Qi Suian had convinced Zuo Fan to wear those clothes.

Of course, he was even more curious about how Zuo Fan had obtained such strength.

As a ’celebrity’ on Azure Flame Peak, Shi Hanwen had naturally heard of Zuo Fan before, but he had only known him as a tail-ender.

He had been arranged as a stepping stone for the predetermined candidate, yet unexpectedly, he had turned the tables and now possessed such incredible strength.

He had been steamrolling his opponents all the way.

It wasn’t until the fourth round, when he faced an elite disciple from another sect, that he failed to win in a single move.

"The two Spiritual Techniques the old man gave me are ridiculously strong," Zuo Fan muttered to himself as he watched the final round of the competition begin.

When he first started cultivating them, it felt as difficult as ascending to the heavens. He basically had to go and ask Qi Suian for guidance every afternoon.

Even now, after all this training, he wouldn’t dare say he had even reached the entry-level of these Spiritual Techniques. He was still just lingering outside the gate.

’And yet, with just this level of progress, I’ve somehow managed to fight my way into the finals. If I ever truly master them, won’t I be invincible?’

Therefore, he suspected that these two Spiritual Techniques were likely on the same level as the Yanghuang Sect’s Nine Yang True Flame Red Dragon Technique.

Otherwise, how could they possibly be this powerful?

However, his train of thought was soon interrupted. Someone walked over and began sizing him up.

"Your Blazing Flame Sword Qi is very strong. Though I don’t know how you cultivated it, it’s definitely not something an ordinary disciple should possess."

The speaker was a youth with an arrogant demeanor, and his power was far greater than Zuo Fan’s.

"Shen Chen, the prodigy of Red Sun Peak."

"What do you want?" Zuo Fan asked.

’Before, I would have been no match for him, obviously.’

’But that’s not necessarily true anymore.’

"I’ll make a bet with you. If I win, you hand over your cultivation method for the Blazing Flame Sword Qi," Shen Chen said.

Hearing this, Zuo Fan didn’t answer immediately. He was waiting for the rest of the proposition.

’After all, if he wants something for winning, he must have to offer something good for losing, right?’

But after waiting for about ten seconds, the other party said nothing more.

"Not saying anything? I’ll take that as your agreement," Shen Chen said with a smile.

"Hold on." Zuo Fan stopped Shen Chen, who was about to leave, and asked, "You only mentioned what I have to give up if you win. What about what you’ll give up if you lose?"

"Lose? Heh, how could I possibly lose?" Shen Chen said arrogantly.

He was the one predetermined by his own Sect Leader to take first place. There was no way he could lose.

Of course, his own strength and aptitude were also factors in this; it wasn’t all based on connections.

After all, you can’t prop up a wall made of mud. If he had no talent, the Yanghuang Sect Leader would never have chosen him.

Besides, he couldn’t just slack off; he had to give it his all, or it would be an embarrassing display.

"After the festival, remember to compile it into a manual and send it to me." After saying this, Shen Chen turned and left without giving Zuo Fan a second glance.

This made Zuo Fan question his own sanity. ’Is this guy’s logic even normal?’

’Definitely not. This is just blatant robbery,’ Zuo Fan realized.

Then, after comparing their respective situations, Zuo Fan broke into a smile. ’Your strength is no match for mine.’

The other guy’s Spiritual Power wasn’t as pure as his own, and his Spiritual Techniques weren’t as powerful either.

Of the two Spiritual Techniques, only the Innate Li Fire Sword Technique was for combat. The Pure Yang Wuji Heart Method was different; it was used to extract, refine, and enhance his own Spiritual Power.

Once he reached the entry-level, it could even transform his spiritual energy into Pure Yang Spiritual Power, imbuing it with yang and fire properties. Combined with the Innate Li Fire Sword Technique, it would be incredibly powerful.

Although his Spiritual Power didn’t have yang and fire properties yet, its quality, quantity, and even his control over it had all improved immensely.

So he really wasn’t very afraid of his opponent.

As for his lack of resources, that was indeed a real disadvantage, but there was nothing to be done about it.

After all, he hadn’t applied himself in the past, so he had no one to blame but himself.

About ten minutes later, the final round officially began.

Zuo Fan stepped onto the stage and found a corner. The Fire Separation Sword Qi emerged in his hand, forming a Long Sword made of flames that possessed the qualities of sharpness, high temperature, solidity, and lightness, and he stared intently at his opponents.

This final match was a free-for-all; the last person standing would be crowned the victor.

Some chose to play defensively, while others went on the offensive. Zuo Fan, naturally, was one of the latter.

He raised his hand and executed "A Single Spark Starts a Prairie Fire." Specks of fire scattered from his Li Huo Sword, and before anyone could react, they rapidly transformed into a sea of flames, giving him a massive field advantage.

Everyone was shocked. A Spiritual Technique covering such a large area would consume an enormous amount of Spiritual Power. After establishing field advantage like that, he shouldn’t have much left to cast any other Spiritual Techniques.

However, Zuo Fan’s Innate Li Fire Sword Technique wasn’t just a Spiritual Technique, it was also a sword technique, possessing both magical and physical attacks.

With the support of the Pure Yang Wuji Heart Method, he was like a fish in water within the sea of flames he had created, and his strength received a temporary boost.

The Li Huo Sword transformed into a rainbow of light, shooting straight toward the nearest disciple from another sect.

Zuo Fan had considered taking out the arrogant Shen Chen first. However, his opponent was ultimately from the same sect, and attacking him would surely draw criticism.

The free-for-all erupted in an instant. Zuo Fan eliminated several disciples from other sects with incredible speed, and his tally of victories continued to soar.

The entire process was nothing short of stunning.

"I never expected your Azure Flame Peak to have such a prodigy. Stone Peak Master, you must have gone to great lengths to hide him."

"It’s just that his personality is a bit... unconventional." The Yanghuang Sect Leader, Xu Ziyang, stroked his beard and couldn’t help but praise him.

This "unconventional" nature, of course, referred to the advertisements sewn onto his clothes.

As for the possibility that Zuo Fan might snatch first place from Shen Chen, a disciple of his own Red Sun Peak? Xu Ziyang couldn’t care less.

’We already arranged everything for you, Shen Chen. If you let someone else steal your spot, who can you blame but yourself?’

In any case, the final winner would be a disciple of the Yanghuang Sect. As long as the prize remained within the sect, Xu Ziyang wouldn’t play favorites, and their reputation would be fine.

Whether Zuo Fan won or Shen Chen won, it was all the same to him.

He was the Sect Leader of the Yanghuang Sect, not Shen Chen’s father. Why would he interfere in the competition over such a trivial matter?

"This... has nothing to do with me. Zuo Fan’s strength was indeed lacking before. Perhaps this is a case of long-term accumulation finally bursting forth," Shi Hanwen said, also bewildered.

’Who would have thought a tail-ender who was always spouting nonsense about becoming the Sect Leader could actually be dominating the prodigies from every sect with his Blazing Flame Sword Qi?’

As for whether the Blazing Flame Sword Qi could create a sea of flames? Actually, it could. Zuo Fan had learned the complete set, which included the subsequent Great Blazing Flame Sword Qi.

Xu Ziyang glanced at Shi Hanwen but didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe him, but such a thing was indeed rare.

The concept of "long-term accumulation bursting forth" was extremely rare among Spirit Masters. Most of the time, before you could have your "burst," you would die during the "accumulation" phase.

Then, his gaze returned to the arena. The battle was already nearing its end.

Now, on the final’s stage, only two people remained: Zuo Fan and Shen Chen, both from their own Yanghuang Sect.

Disbelief was also written on Shen Chen’s face. He hadn’t expected his opponent to still have enough Spiritual Power to fight after casting such a large-scale Spiritual Technique.

"You’re quite good, worthy of being my opponent." Shen Chen used his Spiritual Power to carve out a small foothold for himself within the sea of flames, speaking to Zuo Fan with a cold expression. "But first place is still mine."

"If you surrender now, it’s not too late."

In Shen Chen’s eyes, Zuo Fan was already spent. Even for him, it wouldn’t have been easy to eliminate so many prodigies from other sects all at once.

However, Zuo Fan just narrowed his eyes. Although he was no longer at his peak, he still had thirty percent of his strength remaining.

"You’re too arrogant. So arrogant you won’t even look down at the path beneath your feet." Zuo Fan knew that his opponent was different from him. The man had been a heaven-blessed prodigy since birth, so of course he looked down on everyone.

"Arrogant? I’m just stating the facts," Shen Chen said disdainfully, raising his hand to cast a Spiritual Technique.

But Zuo Fan was faster.

"Fire Tree and Silver Flower!"

Unleashing a move from the Innate Li Fire Sword Technique, the Li Huo Sword in Zuo Fan’s hand erupted into a brilliant firework display.

With that one move, if not for the protective Spiritual Techniques layered on the stage, Shen Chen would have died on the spot.

With just a single Spiritual Technique, Shen Chen was knocked off the stage, instantly demoted to second place.

"This is impossible!!!" Shen Chen came to his senses, his expression filled with disbelief. He, the predetermined winner, had actually lost. It was absurd.

"You..." Shen Chen stared at Zuo Fan on the stage, his eyes brimming with resentment as he started to speak.

But before he could speak, Zuo Fan, still on the stage, spoke first.

"A century of candy-making heritage! High-quality syrup specially supplied to the Yanghuang Sect! For your candy needs, choose Tang’s Candy Shop, Number Seven, Azure Flame Peak Commercial Street!" Zuo Fan shouted the advertisement, a hint of shame in his voice.

Faced with such a surreal scene, not only Shen Chen, but everyone from the Yanghuang Sect’s Sect Leader to the Peak Masters felt their eyes twitch.

Zuo Fan hadn’t just embroidered it on the front and back of his clothes; he had shouted it out loud.