On the arena stage.
Lin Xuan swept his gaze over Chen Yu.
The attribute panel instantly appeared in his line of sight.
Swish!
"Name: Chen Yu."
"Cultivation: Spirit Opening Realm, First Layer."
"Talents: Spiritual-grade cultivation talent, Extreme-grade strength talent, Extreme-grade speed talent, Extreme-grade blade talent, Extreme-grade gale attribute talent, Extreme-grade sharp metal attribute talent, High-grade thick earth attribute talent."
"Martial Arts: Golden Edge Cloud-Splitting Blade Technique (Sixth-rank, Mid-grade, Minor Mastery), Meteorite Gold Fist (Sixth-rank, Low-grade, Grand Mastery), Mountain-Crushing Palm (Sixth-rank, Low-grade, Grand Mastery), Wind-Chasing Shadow Step (Sixth-rank, Low-grade, Grand Mastery)..."
"Intent: 20% Blade Intent, 10% Wind Intent, 10% Fire Intent."
"Personal Treasures: One Red Origin Blade (Sixth-rank, Mid-grade Spirit Artifact)."
Gazing at the void before him, Chen Yu's attribute panel, Lin Xuan's expression shifted slightly.
No wonder he was the top of the Strength Ranking, the foremost inner disciple.
This attribute panel was no worse than that of the true disciple Xu Anlan he had seen before.
It was even a notch above Zhang Kuishan.
But compared to him, it was still far behind.
Among it all, what surprised Lin Feng the most was Chen Yu's cultivation.
He had unknowingly broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm.
Reaching the Spirit Opening Realm meant he could advance to a true disciple.
Yet Chen Yu not only refrained from doing so but also concealed his cultivation to participate in the ranking competition.
He must have wanted to have one last moment of glory within the inner sect.
Unfortunately, he ran into him.
Even if he was at the Spirit Opening Realm, he had no fear at all.
On the contrary, he was quite pleased.
Because defeating a Spirit Opening Realm cultivator would cause a much bigger stir than beating a top-ranked peak Whirlpool Realm cultivator.
Similarly, the energy points gained would be far greater.
Lin Xuan was also overjoyed.
Then, with a thought.
"Ding, consumed 100,000 energy points, replication successful, obtained [Spiritual-grade cultivation talent]."
"Ding, consumed 30,000 energy points, replication successful, obtained [One Red Origin Blade (Sixth-rank, Mid-grade Spirit Artifact)]."
In an instant, he had copied over the two treasures from Chen Yu that he deemed worthwhile.
Lin Xuan nodded slightly.
All of this was completed in less than a breath, naturally unnoticed by anyone.
Lin Xuan continued to fix his gaze on Chen Yu.
Across from him, Chen Yu also looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes carrying a rare solemnity.
Originally, after breaking through to the Spirit Opening Realm a few days ago, his strength had surged significantly.
Coming to the ranking competition, he intended to crush former rivals like Zhang Kuishan and Bai Yunfei.
Claim the ranking competition rewards.
Leave a legend in the inner sect.
Then advance to a true disciple.
Zhang Kuishan, Bai Yunfei, and the others were no match for him to begin with.
After reaching the Spirit Opening Realm, he could defeat them with ease.
He was also full of confidence in this plan.
But he never expected to overlook a major threat.
That was Lin Xuan!
Since joining the sect, this man had made a name for himself, spreading tales throughout the sect and breaking countless records.
In less than two months, he had entered the inner sect, climbed the Strength Ranking, and been hailed as the sect's number one genius.
Lin Xuan's rapid progress and terrifying talent were beyond belief. He knew he couldn't compare to Lin Xuan, not even close.
But he had been in the sect longer, several years.
And now, having broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm, he was qualified to be a true disciple.
In his view, no matter how strong or heaven-defying Lin Xuan's talent was, he couldn't possibly threaten him in such a short time, right?
But he was utterly wrong.
Despite hearing the sect's rumors, he was shocked and found them hard to believe.
He never expected that these seemingly exaggerated rumors had actually underestimated Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan's genius was even more terrifying than the rumors suggested.
Today, after arriving at the last moment, Lin Xuan first instantly killed and crippled a peak Whirlpool Realm inner disciple.
Then, he challenged the second-ranked on the Strength Ranking, Zhang Kuishan, who was just below him.
And this time, Lin Xuan revealed his horrifying strength.
In pure power, he surpassed Zhang Kuishan, the inner sect's strength champion.
Within three moves, in a head-on clash, he blasted Zhang Kuishan off the arena, leaving him severely injured and defeated.
Such strength was far greater than his own before breaking through to the Spirit Opening Realm.
All of this highlighted Lin Xuan's terrifying talent.
Chen Yu was also deeply shaken, unable to calm down for a long time.
Even setting aside his talent, such formidable strength far exceeded his own at the Whirlpool Realm.
Even now that he had broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm, facing Lin Xuan, who was only at the Whirlpool Realm's Eighth Layer, he had little confidence in winning.
At this moment, Lin Xuan had become his greatest opponent in this ranking competition.
Chen Yu sighed, having no other choice but to brace himself for the battle.
No matter what, he didn't want to lose this challenge, couldn't afford to lose.
Otherwise, his face would be completely ruined.
Then, Chen Yu took a deep breath, cupped his hands, and said:
"Junior Brother Lin, your talent is beyond my reach!
But you've only just joined the sect.
Leave this top spot to me for now.
Of course, it will soon be yours."
As he spoke, a surging aura emanated from Chen Yu.
The surrounding disciples felt their breath catch, their hearts jolted, their eyes wide with disbelief.
The arena instantly buzzed like boiling water.
"Wow, this aura is way stronger than the Whirlpool Realm!"
"So this is the aura of the Spirit Opening Realm!"
"I didn't expect Senior Brother Chen to have broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm, already qualified to advance to a true disciple!"
"Senior Brother Chen truly lives up to being the top of the Strength Ranking, the first among them to break through to the Spirit Opening Realm!"
"But now, Junior Brother Lin Xuan might be in danger."
"True, Junior Brother Lin Xuan's luck is bad, running into Senior Brother Chen who has broken through."
"If Senior Brother Chen hadn't broken through, Junior Brother Lin Xuan would have had a great chance of winning!"
"Yeah, it seems this time, Junior Brother Lin Xuan can only settle for second place on the Strength Ranking."
"But the top spot will still be Junior Brother Lin Xuan's.
After all, Senior Brother Chen has broken through to the Spirit Opening Realm and must advance to a true disciple, no longer staying in the inner sect.
The top spot naturally goes to Junior Brother Lin Xuan."
"..."
The crowd was in an uproar, lively and chaotic.
Upon sensing Chen Yu's released aura and learning of his breakthrough to the Spirit Opening Realm, they were all shaken, envious, and full of admiration.
True disciples were the highest-ranking disciples in the sect, essentially quasi-high-level members.
In the future, they would firmly be part of the upper echelons.
They would inevitably rank among the top figures of the entire Cangyuan Kingdom.
Considering that the entire Flowing Cloud Sect had only over thirty true disciples, one could imagine the prestige.
Everyone was deeply envious.
But after the initial shock, they felt a mix of pity, sympathy, and even schadenfreude toward Lin Xuan's situation.
Originally, with Lin Xuan's strength in easily defeating Zhang Kuishan,
theoretically, he had a great chance of beating Chen Yu, winning first place in the ranking competition, and claiming the top spot on the Strength Ranking.
But now, with Chen Yu breaking through to the Spirit Opening Realm, everything was completely different.