Mortal: I became invincible after becoming sworn brothers with Han Li.

While thinking to himself, he carefully observed Li Yunfan, trying to discern anything unusual.

Unfortunately, no matter how he examined it, he couldn't find anything strange about it.

The cultivator surnamed Wang from Huangfeng Valley also came to his senses and smiled as he spoke to the female cultivator from the Hidden Moon Sect.

"Fairy Lin, please don't joke with me. Since this boy has chosen my Yellow Maple Valley, no matter whether he has outstanding talent or has taken some kind of pill, my Yellow Maple Valley will accept him. It's just a Foundation Establishment Pill, so even if we lose it, it won't be a big deal."

He paused for a moment after speaking, and then continued.

"If he truly did take a pill that forcibly boosted his cultivation, then my Yellow Maple Valley cannot possibly give it to your esteemed sect. We cannot tarnish your sect's reputation, can we? If I were to do so, wouldn't the other cultivators laugh at my Yellow Maple Valley?"

After hearing what the cultivator surnamed Wang said, Fairy Lin of the Hidden Moon Sect simply smiled and remained silent.

Li Yunfan had no idea that he would cause such a stir among the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Tianwu Platform, nor did he know that Lin Xianzi of the Yanyue Sect's words had drawn the attention of the Qingxu Sect cultivators and several other sects.

On the high platform of the seven major sects, the battle continued. Some won, some were eliminated, and some were ruthless, directly injuring or even crippling their opponents.

As time passed and the battle continued, the second round of the competition soon began.

This time, Li Yunfan's opponent was a male cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Refining who was not yet thirty years old.

To Li Yunfan's surprise, his opponent surrendered without even engaging in a fight.

The man felt bitter at this moment. He had thought that with his Qi Refining Level 10 cultivation, he should at least be in the top ten, if not among the strongest.

Who would have thought that I would encounter such a formidable opponent as Li Yunfan in the second round? Is this some kind of joke?

Although there was only a three-level difference between the two, everyone knew how big the gap was. If Li Yunfan had been at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, he might have been able to put up a fight.

But forget about reaching the thirteenth level of Qi Refining; he didn't want to humiliate himself. Fortunately, he wasn't too old and could still wait for the next Ascension Conference.

And so, Li Yunfan successfully entered the next round of selection competition.

"The winner is Li Yunfan!"

……

"The winner is Li Yunfan!"

……

"The winner is Li Yunfan!"

……

As the three rounds of battles progressed, Li Yunfan advanced smoothly without any surprises.

Aside from encountering a family cultivator at the eleventh level of Qi Refining and engaging in a battle with him, he won all other encounters by having his opponents admit defeat.

As for that family cultivator at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, his strength was indeed quite formidable. If he hadn't encountered Li Yunfan, he would definitely have been one of the ten spots.

However, he was still no match for Li Yunfan, and after only a few rounds of attack and defense, he completely admitted defeat.

Now, only a dozen or so people are still qualified. Besides Li Yunfan, a master at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, there is also a hidden master at the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Among the remaining people, there are three cultivators at the eleventh level of Qi Refining, and the rest are all at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

After the dozen or so people competed, there were clearly fewer than ten winners. So, after the disciple in charge explained, they learned that the next step would be a lottery competition.

The winners advance directly until the final ten are determined. If an odd number of players remain, a round-robin tournament will be held, and the player who wins two consecutive matches will advance.

This rule is clearly unfair to the last few people, since there isn't much time to recover during the Ascension Ceremony.

But the seven major sects don't care about fairness. After all, the Ascension Conference is just something the seven major sects held to quell the anger of rogue cultivators who couldn't get Foundation Establishment Pills. Who cares about fairness?

Over the years of the Ascension Conference, countless rogue cultivators have advanced, but how many have truly succeeded in establishing their foundation with just one Foundation Establishment Pill?

And so, Li Yunfan and a dozen others began a contest of drawing lots and a series of elimination rounds.

Soon, eight of these people successfully defeated their opponents and won a place.

It's unclear whether Li Yunfan's luck ran out in the previous rounds, but he was nowhere to be seen in this draw.

"Li Hao vs. Zhao Tianyun"

Upon hearing that the disciple in charge had not given his name again, Li Yunfan couldn't help but twitch his lips slightly.

"I really did save it for the final round of attrition warfare..."

Soon, the two on the platform were decided, with the rogue cultivator named Li Hao emerging victorious.

Next up was Li Yunfan's turn to face off against the other two in a gauntlet battle. His two opponents were two rogue cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining.

Little did they know, the two of them were also wearing wry smiles. Not only had they made it to the final gauntlet battle, but they had also been facing off against the formidable master Li Yunfan…

Just as the disciple in charge was preparing to rank the three, the two rogue cultivators at the tenth level of Qi Refining suddenly leaped onto the platform at the same time.

The two exchanged a glance and immediately realized that the other thought the same way.

"Senior brother, we two are willing to give up our ninth spot and compete for the final tenth spot!" one of the rogue cultivators said, bowing to the disciple in charge.

Another cultivator also cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I hope this senior brother will grant my request!"

The disciple in charge glanced at the two of them, and he naturally knew what they were thinking.

Even if the two of them joined forces, they wouldn't stand much of a chance against a cultivator at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. So, it would be better to hand over the spot to them and compete for the final spot with a perfect record.

Whether Li Yunfan participates in the battle or not is irrelevant to him, as long as he is the winner of the Ascension Tournament.

"Alright, since you both agree, I have nothing more to say. Based on their suggestion, this round-robin tournament is cancelled. Li Yunfan wins outright, and the final spot will be contested between the two of them!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd below gasped in astonishment. Some thought the two were foolish, while others thought their move was brilliant. In short, there were all sorts of opinions.

However, the happiest person was Li Yunfan, who was able to advance directly without participating in the battle, which was an unexpected surprise.

Regardless, he made it into the top ten and gained the opportunity to join Huangfeng Valley. As for the Foundation Establishment Pill, he didn't care much about it.

After all, someone will eat them like candy in the future, so they can just ask for a few.

Of course, the premise is to build a good relationship with him, at least to the level of "Li Feiyu".

Half an hour later, the Ascension Ceremony finally came to an end. The seventy winners were divided into seven groups, each standing on the high platform of their respective sect.

As for the remaining unselected rogue cultivators, they were driven away from this place by the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators on the Heavenly Mist Platform.

However, one person in the crowd not only did not leave, but instead walked towards the high platform in Huangfeng Valley.

Standing on the high platform, Li Yunfan kept looking at the rogue cultivators below, as if searching for something.

Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and a smile appeared on his face, because he had finally seen the person he was looking for.

"Han Li! You've finally shown up!"