Ye Tinglan was already prepared.

The opponent intended to “defeat the Sacred Master Tianyao” within the sight of those competing in the sea, so they wouldn’t be too far away, activating their plans near the islands.

However, she initially thought it would be an ambush…

Unexpectedly, they even used a sound-transmitting sea, seemingly aiming to earn a good reputation and establish themselves grandly under the banner of righteousness.

This was clearly intended to completely replace the Tianyao Sacred Land.

Although Gu Zhanting’s shadow was nowhere to be seen, with such clear objectives, Ye Tinglan wouldn’t believe he wasn’t involved.

As for the opponent’s strength…

Ye Tinglan stopped her luan nian and said calmly, “If it’s you, haven’t we already fought a battle? The victor was clear, so why compete again?”

As her words fell, a bald old monk appeared beside the luan nian.

It was Zhao En.

Seeing Ye Tinglan standing with her hands clasped behind her back at the bow of the boat, Zhao En’s eyes flashed with surprise, then he shook his head and sighed, “After recovering from my injuries, I felt that misfortune turned into a blessing, and I advanced further. I didn’t expect that Sacred Master, with your deep affection, would also loosen the Qianyuan barrier. It seems this time we are again on the same level.”

Lu Xingzhou narrowed his eyes. Previously, Zhao En and Ye Tinglan were opponents of the same rank, with Zhao En slightly inferior to Ye Tinglan. By combining forces with the Tianshuang Qi channels, he gained a slight advantage, but Lu Xingzhou convinced Si Han to disrupt the struggle for the Qi channels, leading to Zhao En’s defeat and escape by Ye Tinglan.

Despite the defeat, it proved that he was truly not much weaker than Ye Tinglan. Now that both had made progress, the outcome was indeed hard to predict.

Ye Tinglan observed Zhao En, her expression calm: “Although you are not Qianyuan, you have already glimpsed its greatness. You must be someone of great ambition and spirit, so why hide and scheme?”

Lu Xingzhou already knew, so it was fine, but the people in the sea were greatly shaken.

Not Qianyuan, yet glimpsed its greatness… that meant he was similar to Ye Tinglan, at the peak of Huiyang, and had slightly glimpsed a trace of a breakthrough, which could be called a half-step Qianyuan!

This had already surpassed the concept of the nine-grade classification in this world.

According to ancient methods, grades three to one were all called Tengyun Realm, and those beyond this realm were called Transcendental Grade, with no further subdivisions; the entire Huiyang Realm was Transcendental Grade.

The current Ye Tinglan was at the peak of Huiyang, Yuan Muyu was in the early stage of Huiyang or possibly even glimpsed the middle stage, yet both were called Transcendental Grade.

The difference between Transcendental Grade and Transcendental Grade was vast, even greater than the difference between grade three and grade one.

Therefore, Gu Zhanting wanting to contend with Ye Tinglan head-on was like hitting a wall of sighs; the two were fundamentally not on the same level.

Even Long Qinghuang was a level below Ye Tinglan; being the number one in the world was no joke.

And this person before them was clearly an “Transcendental among Transcendental” just like Ye Tinglan. If he took another half-step, the title of Transcendental Grade wouldn’t be enough. What would it be called then?

It would be called “Ascension.”

In ancient times, it was called “Dao Attainment to Qianyuan.”

Once one reaches the greatness of Qianyuan, it is Dao Attainment, it is Ascension, it is the ultimate peak pursued by all human cultivators. Beyond that is the formless realm where the Yang God is omnipresent, which is no longer something humans pursue.

And now this person, at the peak of Huiyang, a half-step Qianyuan.

One foot was already on the edge of ascension.

Uh… it sounds impressive but not really that impressive, because Ye Tinglan is also at this realm…

This made Lu Xingzhou a little confused. The visitors from the ancient realm were all at this threshold; were there no true Qianyuan masters appearing? What were those supposedly immortal and indestructible beings above the formless realm doing? Or was that just a legend, not existing at all?

He had been dealing with half-step Qianyuan masters daily, so he naturally lacked reverence. At this moment, others were too shocked to speak.

Such cultivation existed in the world, yet it was unknown!

He challenged the Sacred Master Tianyao; was the world’s order about to change?

Amidst various thoughts, Zhao En slowly spoke, “We conceal ourselves due to certain difficulties. However, what Sacred Master said is also true; the last time we hid, we learned a lesson and made improvements after deep reflection. This time, aren’t we openly challenging the Sacred Master in plain sight… Could it be that Sacred Master is afraid instead?”

Ye Tinglan also didn’t understand why he dared to appear openly… Could it be that half-step Qianyuan was not restricted?

Looking at Fang Qihao and the others, they at least had to use body snatching and skin grafting. Why could Zhao En be so direct?

Ye Tinglan was indeed willing to fight again, to understand the root cause of why he didn’t need to hide this time. If this wasn’t clarified, and people from the ancient realm could casually come to the human world, how would life continue?

She then said, “Anyone can casually challenge this Venerable? Considering your cultivation, a challenge is acceptable, but there must be a wager.”

Zhao En smiled, “Sacred Master is right. So, what wager does Sacred Master desire?”

Ye Tinglan said calmly, “If you lose, Jinfeng Island will henceforth belong to the Tianyao Sect.”

Zhao En narrowed his eyes, “And if Sacred Master loses?”

Ye Tinglan smiled, “If this Venerable loses, then what you desire will already be yours. What else is there? If this Venerable doesn’t accept the challenge, you gain nothing, so you must give something. Is such a simple principle something this Venerable needs to teach you?”

Zhao En sighed, “As expected of Sacred Master Tianyao, everything is clear in your heart. Then, as Sacred Master said, if this old monk loses, Jinfeng Island will henceforth obey the orders of Tianyao Sacred Land.”

In truth, both sides knew well that for a faction using body snatching and skin grafting, any talk of allegiance was empty. Ye Tinglan’s proposal was merely to dissipate the reputation Jinfeng Island had accumulated in this scheme, not to gain anything.

But no matter the plan, first, you had to win.

Ye Tinglan had commanded awe for so many years, naturally possessing such confidence and absolutely no room for self-doubt. As for other matters, with Xingzhou overseeing them, she was very at ease.

Moreover, Xingzhou hadn’t opposed her agreeing to the battle… Ye Tinglan turned to look at Lu Xingzhou, who smiled slightly, “If it were my choice, you wouldn’t fight, but because of your status, you cannot avoid the battle. Go, leave the rest to me.”

Ye Tinglan also smiled slightly, flashed out of the luan nian, and faced Zhao En directly: “Then let us resume our unfinished battle and see how much you have progressed.”

Zhao En held up a single palm and bowed.

Ye Tinglan also returned a single-palm salutation.

As both sides exchanged greetings, an invisible aura abruptly surged between them, its ripples vibrating and being blocked by the luan nian’s protective shield, then spilling over to the sea below.

Turbulence erupted in the sea, with gigantic waves soaring into the sky.

Ye Tinglan said calmly, “You all take my luan nian and the disciples back to the sect first, to avoid accidental harm.”

Dugu Qingli, capable of piloting her magical artifact, said nothing more and instantly drove the luan nian far away.

Zhao En sighed, “Sacred Master is truly confident in her disciples’ abilities. Aren’t you afraid they might encounter natural disasters or man-made calamities on their journey?”

“At our level, using such words to waver one’s resolve is quite low-grade,” Ye Tinglan said calmly, “Master, if you have any new tricks, feel free to use them directly.”

“My tricks have always been just those, actually quite simple.” Zhao En spread his palm, smiling, “Please, Sacred Master, allow me to present another ‘Buddha’s Kingdom in the Palm’!”

Buddha light enveloped her.

Ye Tinglan’s divine sense had never left the luan nian. Just as the Buddha light enveloped her, she saw sudden changes in the weather around the luan nian.