Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

However, the four cultivators, seeing that he was unarmed and his aura was not strong, assumed that he was just a lucky guy who had been hiding in some corner for five days.

But now that he's met them, this lucky guy is no longer so lucky.

The eldest cultivator at the head squinted at Xu Lingguang: "Hand over the Sumeru Ring, so we don't waste time taking action."

Xu Lingguang was speechless. Did he look that easy to bully?

His expression changed, and he raised his chin slightly, coldly saying, "Hand over the Sumeru Ring, or I'll force you to take action."

The leading cultivator burst into laughter, then turned to the others and said, "Did you hear that? Hand over the Sumeru Ring now, or the little brat will get angry."

The other three cultivators also burst into laughter.

Xu Lingguang: "..."

No, what's so funny!

His face darkened, and he tossed a Blood Mist Pill over, chuckling, "Let's see if you can still laugh now."

The four cultivators, outnumbering the few, were confident of victory.

When Xu Lingguang threw the Blood Mist Pill, none of the four cultivators dodged it. They were still laughing when they saw the crimson pill land on the ground: "What is this? Don't scare us to death."

It wasn't until the pill exploded, violently bursting open the blood-red mist, that the four cultivators panicked.

"what is this?"

"No, my spiritual energy is leaking out."

"That kid tricked us!"

"Don't use your spiritual power, the more you use it, the faster it will dissipate!"

Xu Lingguang stood by with his arms crossed, watching the show. When the red mist dissipated, the four cultivators, their spiritual energy completely depleted, collapsed to the ground, their lips pale and extremely weak, staring at Xu Lingguang in terror.

Xu Lingguang stepped forward and took away their Sumeru Rings one by one. He checked the contents of the rings and curled his lip in disgust: "Why are they all trash? You didn't hide them on your person, did you?"

The four people shook their heads in horror: "It's gone, really gone. It's all in the Sumeru Ring."

Xu Lingguang reluctantly believed him, then took the Sumeru Ring and turned to leave.

Once out of the sight of the four cultivators, he immediately found a secluded corner to hide in and began to furtively observe his surroundings.

He hadn't expected the second phase to be so exciting; he'd encountered four cultivators the moment he teleported in. He didn't know how many people were left; he had to be careful and play it safe. Victory was within reach; he absolutely couldn't afford to fall before it was achieved.

Xu Lingguang decided to first find Chai Feng or Dong Yangli to meet up.

The two men's fighting prowess made him feel safer.

However, although the competition venue has become smaller, it is obviously not so easy to find people.

Xu Lingguang crept forward furtively, encountering seven or eight more cultivators along the way. Some were in pairs or small groups, while others, like him, were traveling alone.

After the two sides encountered each other, Xu Lingguang, adhering to the principle of striking first, threw Blood Mist Pills at the enemy without hesitation. Fortunately, the spiky-tailed crocodile was big enough, and he had refined enough Blood Mist Pills, otherwise it probably wouldn't have been enough.

Some cultivators are not strong enough to be defeated by a single Blood Mist Pill.

However, some cultivators have high cultivation and strong combat power. Even if they are hit by the Blood Mist Pill, they will still fight back. At this time, Xu Lingguang's ability to escape will be tested. Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent cannot use spiritual power because he is hit by the Blood Mist Pill, he runs ahead while shooting arrows back.

Even if the Blood Mist Pill doesn't knock him down, a few more poison arrows and even the Iron Man would fall.

Xu Lingguang made it through the journey without any major incidents, and now he has about ten more Sumeru Rings in his hands.

He selected and stored away the usable resources, found a secluded spot to refine two batches of Blood Mist Pills, and then took Qi-replenishing pills to ensure he was in good condition before continuing his journey.

Fortunately, he finally found Dongyang Li this time. He had been fighting alone all the way and was really scared. When he saw Dongyang Li, he felt as close as if he had seen a relative.

Dongyang Li was also excited to see him: "The Blood Mist Pills you refined are amazing! Just throw one out and they all collapse on their own without me even lifting a finger, haha. Chai Feng and I were teleported to places not far apart. As soon as we landed, we went to find the disciples of the Hidden Edge Sect and together we sent them all away."

Chai Feng also stepped forward and looked Xu Lingguang over: "Are you alright?"

Xu Lingguang complained, "I was unlucky; I ran into about ten people."

He took out the weapons and magical artifacts he couldn't use from his Sumeru Ring: "Take a look and see if there's anything you can use."

Dongyang Li peeked over and saw many weapons and magical artifacts he had never seen before. He asked in surprise, "Did you get all of this after you were teleported here? How many people did you send away?"

Xu Lingguang didn't count them carefully. He took out the stolen Sumeru Rings and counted them: "Hmm, twelve."

Dongyang Li calculated for him: "Adding the ten from Cangfeng Sect, you alone have taken twenty-two Sumeru Rings."

Xu Lingguang nodded; it seemed to be about that much.

Dongyang Li hissed and glanced at Chai Feng: "It seems we can only compete for second or third place this time."

The top thirty in the Hundred Refinements Competition are actually easy to select; the final thirty cultivators are the winners, and the same applies to the top ten.

The top ten receive the same rewards, and most of the time they are disciples of Nine Revolutions Manor or Hidden Edge Sect. Fellow disciples can discuss and rank them according to their contributions. Only the top three are ranked according to the number of Sumeru Rings they have obtained, and there will be an additional reward depending on the ranking.

Zangfengmen is out of the running. If it weren't for Xu Lingguang, the champion this time would definitely be Chai Feng and Dongyang Lizheng.

But now there's an added variable: Xu Lingguang.

Previously, when besieged by the Hidden Edge Sect, Nine Turns Manor would not have had a chance to turn the tide if Xu Lingguang hadn't intervened in time. In addition, it was heard that Xu Lingguang already had twenty-two Sumeru Rings, more than Chai Feng and Dongyang Li, so there was no need to compete for them.

Chai Feng agreed with Dongyang Li's opinion, smiled and said, "After this is over, let's have a match between the two of us. Whoever wins will be second, how about it?"

Dongyang Li narrowed his eyes slightly: "Fight if you want, I'm not afraid of you."

Xu Lingguang, who had inexplicably become the pre-selected number one: "..."

He felt things were probably not that simple: "There are still quite a few independent cultivators."

Chai Feng said, "The rogue cultivators are all acting independently and are not a significant force. However, I heard that a rogue cultivator nicknamed 'Iron Face' has emerged this year. He is quite strong and skilled in formations. He has gathered several rogue cultivators and has already sent many cultivators away."

Dongyang Li was eager to fight: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's take care of this troublemaker first."

Chai Feng glanced at him but disagreed: "We still have fourteen people left, and Iron Face's side has less than ten. Thirty spots are more than enough. Instead of fighting each other and reaping the benefits, we should win people over."

What he said made sense, but Dongyang Li was used to contradicting him, so he curled his lip and said, "Some rogue cultivators are too arrogant and may not cooperate with us."

Chai Feng said, "I will go and talk to them."