No hope for eternal life

"Another opponent who has comprehended the state of mind." Mu Changsheng pondered in his heart. Even if Hua Xufei's cultivation was suppressed to the Foundation Establishment Realm, the opponent's magic power was still at the Golden Core level, which could not be changed. Therefore, the power of any move of the opponent was almost the same as that of a Golden Core Realm cultivator, plus the opponent's combat experience, secret techniques, and so on.

In comparison, Mu Changsheng didn't even comprehend the meaning of boxing. The gap between them is huge.

Mu Changsheng estimated that even if Hua Xufei's cultivation was suppressed to the foundation-building stage, his threat was far from comparable to Zhang Yuxu's. This was also the reason why the foundation-building cultivators would receive extra rewards if they won, because that was something that was almost impossible to accomplish.

At the same time, next to the high platform in the center of the enclosure, a huge circular arena rose from the ground. A graceful woman dressed as a black referee stepped onto the arena and announced loudly: "The first match is between Mu Changsheng and Hua Xufei. Please come on stage quickly."

"Come on, Mr. Mu." Song Zhi cheered from the side.

Mu Changsheng nodded slightly upon hearing this and went on stage. On the other side, Hua Xufei also went on stage.

The two people who just went on stage together to receive the award probably never thought that they would become each other's rivals.

After Mu Changsheng and the other person came on stage, the competition did not begin immediately. The female referee first walked up to Hua Xufei and began to suppress his cultivation.

The female referee took out a round magic weapon and injected spiritual power into it. Suddenly, a dazzling white light flew out of the weapon, then drilled into Hua Xufei's dantian and wrapped up the golden elixir in his dantian.

Afterwards, Hua Xufei felt that the golden elixir in his dantian was no longer under his control, and he could no longer mobilize the golden elixir's magic power.

"Is this what it means to suppress cultivation?" Hua Xufei thought to himself. He clenched his fists slightly and felt the changes in his body. The strength of a Jindan realm cultivator was almost all based on that golden elixir. Without the use of the golden elixir, his cultivation was indeed not much different from that of a foundation-building realm cultivator.

Then, the female referee checked the talisman that Mu Changsheng was carrying, and after confirming that it was correct, she officially announced: "The competition begins."

After the referee announced the start of the match, Mu Changsheng used two spirit-summoning talismans in succession. This was actually a helpless move. Based on his understanding of Hua Xufei, if he didn't use them at the beginning, he might not have the chance to use them later.

The strengthening effect of the two summoning talismans can last for two quarters of an hour. Mu Changsheng asked himself that it would be good enough if he could last for two quarters of an hour in Hua Xufei's hands. As for defeating Hua Xufei, Mu Changsheng really hadn't thought about it, unless the other party made a major mistake.

On the other side, Hua Xufei did not rush to take action, but slowly drew out the sword in his hand, and controlled the sword with force, and the sword danced in the air.

"Sure enough, I can't use the golden elixir magic power directly. Even controlling the flying sword is a bit difficult." Hua Xufei murmured. For the sake of safety, he wanted to experience his suppressed cultivation first to avoid a setback and make a fool of himself.

After a while, Hua Xufei finally got used to the feeling of his cultivation being suppressed, and then he started to really take action.

"Go." Hua Xufei pinched his fingers and pointed at Mu Changsheng. The flying sword that was originally hovering beside him seemed to have received an order and immediately flew towards Mu Changsheng.

Seeing this, Mu Changsheng immediately prepared for battle: "Here comes Hua Xufei's signature skill - the art of controlling the sword."

Below the stage, Mu Xun couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise on his face when he saw Hua Xufei's sword-controlling technique. His Sanyuan Sword Technique also included the sword-controlling technique, but the sword-controlling technique required a very high level of cultivation from the cultivator, and one had to at least break through to the Golden Core Realm to use it.

On the stage, Mu Changsheng took out six golden arrow talismans and tentatively attacked Hua Xufei's flying sword.

The result was that the six golden arrows were like paper in front of Hua Xufei's flying sword and were instantly broken.

Then, the flying sword arrived in a blink of an eye, and Mu Changsheng had no choice but to meet the sword with his fist.

"Bang." Mu Changsheng's fist collided with the sword, and he was immediately shocked and took several steps back.

"What a strong force." Mu Changsheng thought to himself. This force is even stronger than when Zhang Yuxu used all his strength to perform his secret technique. If he had not used two spirit-summoning talismans right at the beginning, this sword would probably have knocked him off the stage.

Afterwards, the flying sword continued to stab Mu Changsheng relentlessly. Under Hua Xufei's control, the flying sword was like a dragon or snake, advancing and retreating unpredictably and extremely flexible.

Mu Changsheng tried several times to catch the flying sword, but the flying sword was like a loach, so every attempt by Mu Changsheng ended in failure.

"This is the difference between artistic conception and combat experience." Mu Changsheng sighed in his heart while defending against the flying sword.

The so-called sword intent and knife intent are similar to a level of proficiency, which means that the opponent is more adept at using the sword. The unity of man and weapon is also what Mu Changsheng pursues. The only difference is that he pursues the unity of man and fist.

Mu Changsheng had already felt this in his previous competition with Guan Yunbei. Now, when fighting with Hua Xufei, the feeling was even stronger. Because they were both people who had comprehended the artistic conception, Hua Xufei's understanding of the artistic conception was more profound, and naturally, he was more difficult to deal with.

Except at the time of collision, Mu Changsheng could not touch Hua Xufei's flying sword at all.

Therefore, the scene that fell into the eyes of the audience was that Mu Changsheng was like a headless fly being played with, constantly chasing and resisting Hua Xufei's flying sword, and from time to time he would be stabbed by a sneak attack, which looked quite funny.

However, even though he seemed to be being fooled, Mu Changsheng remained calm. He did not forget that this was a competition where the ranking would be determined by the length of time one could hold out. As long as he could delay for a longer period of time, it didn't matter how embarrassed he was. Although he still had a trump card, he did not intend to show it in this round of competition.

After dozens of rounds, Mu Changsheng's body was covered with sword wounds, but this was not enough to defeat Mu Changsheng, who had a strong body.

But Hua Xufei didn't want to delay any longer, because he still wanted to compete for the first place in the Jindan realm.

"Back." Hua Xufei used two fingers to pull back the flying sword temporarily.

"Be careful." Hua Xufei reminded Mu Changsheng. His test ended here, and now was the time for him to take real action!

"Flying sword seizes soul."

Hua Xufei used his real trump card. With the help of the secret technique, the spiritual power of the surrounding heaven and earth continued to flow into his body, raising his suppressed cultivation level to a high level.

Afterwards, Hua Xufei drew his sword again: "One sword for life."

The flying sword, which was originally as slippery as a loach, now seemed to have turned into a domineering blue dragon, carrying with it violent power, and stabbed straight towards Mu Changsheng.

On the other side, Mu Changsheng, who had been reminded, was already on high alert. He could naturally see that the power of Hua Xufei's sword was far greater than before!

Hua Xufei's flying sword was so fast that it was difficult to capture with the naked eye. Mu Changsheng had no time to dodge it at all. Mu Changsheng had already experienced this deeply during the previous fight between the two.

"Since I can't hide, let me see it." Mu Changsheng shouted in his heart, and threw out both fists, hitting both sides of the sword and clamping it tightly, trying to control the flying sword's forward pace.

However, the power of Hua Xufei's terrifying sword has exceeded the limit of what a foundation-building cultivator can exert. Even if Mu Changsheng punches with all his strength, it is still like an ant trying to shake a tree, and is difficult to stop.

The flying sword quickly passed between Mu Changsheng's fists, pierced Mu Changsheng's chest, and then easily broke Mu Changsheng's body.

In the end, the fierce impact force of the flying sword directly stabbed Mu Changsheng and made him retreat repeatedly. Until he fell off the ring, Mu Changsheng was able to barely get rid of the power of the flying sword.

"Hua Xufei wins, taking thirty-one breaths." the referee announced.

On the stage, Hua Xufei stretched out his hand to recall his flying sword.

When the flying sword was pulled out from Mu Changsheng's chest, the blood-stained tip of the sword was several inches long. This shows how powerful the sword was. Even with Mu Changsheng's physical body, he was almost pierced through.

Off the stage, Mu Changsheng remained silent. He knew very well that being able to hold out for thirty-one breaths was already a relatively cautious result on Hua Xufei's part. Even if he couldn't rank in the top twenty-five, he still had one more chance to challenge.

Afterwards, Mu Changsheng went to the healing station on the east side of the enclosure. This was a place specially designed for healing injured monks in the county examination so as not to affect subsequent competitions.

During the county examination, pharmacists will only be available to treat injuries when the top ten are selected. However, during the county and palace examinations, injuries can be treated free of charge throughout the entire process!

After Mu Changsheng treated his wound, he looked towards the field from afar. The second competition had officially begun. The two contestants were Mu Xun and Guo Ru, who ranked first in the Jindan realm county examination in Daoshan County.

On the stage, Mu Xun and Guo Ru were both sword cultivators. It should have been an exciting duel between sword cultivators, but the situation turned out to be somewhat one-sided.

Mu Xun did not comprehend the meaning of sword, but Guo Ru had been immersed in swordsmanship for decades and had already comprehended the meaning of sword, which was far beyond what Mu Xun could compare to.

Therefore, when the two were fighting, Mu Xun's every move was easily seen through by Guo Ru. Guo Ru suppressed Mu Xun so much that he looked extremely aggrieved.

Seeing this scene, Mu Changsheng couldn't help but sigh secretly again: "There is no way. The gap in strength, artistic conception and combat experience is too big. Among the 100 foundation-building cultivators in the county examination, only four have comprehended the artistic conception, while almost all of the 100 Jindan cultivators in the county examination have comprehended the artistic conception."