“Stop joking around!” Su Lanqian interrupted him, gripping Bai Feng's collar tighter. “Let’s compete fairly. I will defeat you and prove that I will always be above you!”

“...Well, good luck with that.”

Bai Feng reached out and held Su Lanqian's slender wrist, gently pulling her hand away from his collar.

This guy must be struggling with some inner demons!

He couldn’t help but think to himself, isn’t this a bit fragile? With this mindset, how could one ever reach the pinnacle of the immortal path?

But upon reflection, it was like a programming expert being crushed by someone they thought was just a middle schooler—definitely hard to accept.

Su Lanqian, however, didn’t seem to regain her composure. She took a few steps back and then charged straight at Bai Feng’s formation.

Before Liu Meng could even say “start,” she dashed right in.

---

**Chapter 46: Unfortunately, He’s Cheating**

“Sigh…” Liu Meng had long noticed something was off with Su Lanqian, but unfortunately, her attempts to advise her were futile. She wore an apologetic expression. “I apologize on behalf of my disciple. I’ll make a note of the time she entered early.”

“It’s fine, it’s just a few seconds.”

Bai Feng waved his hand dismissively; he wasn’t about to take a dispute with someone in a state of inner turmoil too seriously.

He quickly walked up to the formation laid out by Su Lanqian and stepped inside.

As the formation activated, the final match of the sect competition began.

---

“Is that a Five Elements Formation?”

Bai Feng stood within the formation, deep in thought. Around him was pitch black, so dark that he could barely see his own hands, as if he were trapped in a cave devoid of sunlight.

He recalled that the Five Elements Formation was a rather unique trapping formation, much like a Spirit Gathering Formation, with different grades.

For instance, the one he was in now was likely a fifth-grade Five Elements Formation. Given the high-quality materials used and the modifications Su Lanqian had made, this formation was now almost at the level of a sixth-grade formation.

For a cultivator at the early Golden Core stage to set up such a formation, it was indeed a rare talent, one that could be called a genius in formation crafting.

Unfortunately, he was cheating.

“Hmm, the formation patterns are still a bit clumsy. She must have just learned it not long ago and even left a few small flaws.”

Bai Feng activated his Yin-Yang patterns, and the intricate lines of the Five Elements Formation became clear in his eyes. He assessed Su Lanqian’s formation in his mind.

At the same time, he pondered how to break it.

As a trapping formation, the Five Elements Formation had relatively weak offensive capabilities but was incredibly strong in defense.

It couldn’t be shattered like other formations, where breaking a few key nodes would cause the entire formation to collapse.

Even if the nodes were breached, the formation wouldn’t fall apart, and the damaged nodes would gradually recover unless all five key nodes—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—were simultaneously destroyed.

But that was easier said than done. For an average formation master, just discovering one node was a challenge, let alone finding all five hidden key nodes. Plus, the Five Elements Formation was renowned for its defense; even if one found the key nodes, breaking all five at once was a monumental task.

Clearly, Su Lanqian had utilized everything at her disposal, crafting the Five Elements Formation specifically to exploit his current limitations as a fully realized Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, this also indicated that she regarded him as a worthy opponent of the same realm, no longer underestimating him as she had before.

“This is indeed a bit tricky.”

Bai Feng picked up a bamboo sword and aimed it at one of the nodes. Unsurprisingly, with his current strength, he couldn’t even damage the node. He could choose to attack through the small flaws, but that would take too much time and be more troublesome.

“Forget it, no need for complicated tactics.”

He shook his head, took out a pill from his storage bag, and swallowed it. At the same time, he silently instructed the system in his mind:

‘System, claim the reward.’

【Ding! The host has claimed the reward. Please break through in a quiet environment.】

Bai Feng sat down on the ground, the pill he used to disguise himself dissolving in his stomach, while a surge of spiritual energy began to flood into his body.

Outside the formation, Chu Ningyan and Liu Meng also noticed something unusual within.

“Is he breaking through?” Chu Ningyan chuckled helplessly. “And here I thought we were in a competition. I really don’t know whether to call him reckless or just carefree.”

But she wasn’t surprised; after all, the spiritual energy within Bai Feng was already quite solid, just a step away from the Golden Core stage. She just hadn’t expected him to choose to break through inside the formation.

“Probably because he found it hard to breach the node defenses, he decided to break through within the formation,” Liu Meng commented. “But your disciple is indeed bold and meticulous. The Five Elements Formation is known for its defense, with only basic counterattack capabilities. He must have felt safe enough to attempt a breakthrough here.”

Chu Ningyan nodded, her curiosity piqued. “Will breaking through inside the formation have any consequences?”

“Some formations do have effects, like one I know that can isolate external spiritual energy, but those are all seventh-grade or higher,” Liu Meng explained, shaking her head. “This Five Elements Formation is only fifth-grade, and since it’s primarily for competition, focused on breaking the formation, it doesn’t hinder contact with the outside world.”

At the same time, she couldn’t help but recall Bai Feng’s eyes from earlier. In the Fire Dragon Formation, the spiritual energy had been too chaotic due to the flames, preventing her from seeing clearly.

But now, without the flames obstructing her view, she caught a glimpse of the strange light that flickered in Bai Feng’s eyes.

It seemed Bai Feng possessed eyes similar to her disciple’s, and Su Lanqian’s loss was not unjust.

As the two conversed, Bai Feng opened his tightly shut eyes.

“Golden Core, achieved.”

At that moment, the spiritual energy in his dantian had fully condensed, transforming into a Golden Core that floated at the center of his dantian.

This Golden Core was incredibly solid, looking nothing like one freshly promoted to the Golden Core stage.

Bai Feng stretched his arms, feeling the power coursing through him.

The Golden Core truly marked a watershed moment in cultivation; in terms of strength, spiritual energy, and even consciousness, it far surpassed the fully realized Foundation Establishment stage.

He closed his eyes, savoring the techniques he had ‘stolen’ from Bai Yumo.

If before he was merely imitating, now he had a fresh understanding of the Bamboo Stab technique, gradually integrating it into himself.

At the same time, the fragments of sword intent within him began to tremble slightly, and the sword techniques he had previously struggled to comprehend now revealed their answers.

Bai Feng exhaled a breath of turbid air, still keeping his eyes closed, and placed his hand on the bamboo sword.

In the next moment, a sharp sword intent erupted from him, and as the sword intent reached its peak, he thrust the bamboo sword forward with great force.

The sword body and even his arm became mere afterimages.

What was merely a simple Bamboo Stab in his hands took on a unique charm.

Bai Feng exhaled again, opening his eyes. The once formidable Five Elements Formation began to collapse, sunlight streaming down from above.

If someone were to observe closely, they would see that all five key nodes of the Five Elements Formation had been pierced by a single sword strike, reduced to fragments.

This scene left even Bai Feng’s master, Chu Ningyan, momentarily speechless.

That sword strike he had just executed was, even from her perspective, incredibly impressive—truly a genius of the sword path.

Chu Ningyan turned to look at Bai Yumo, who was gaping in astonishment, clearly unaware of Bai Feng’s talent in swordsmanship.

“Yumo, does Bai Feng practice swordsmanship often?”

Bai Yumo snapped back to reality, first shaking her head instinctively, then nodding. “I’ve only seen him once. He only used the Bamboo Stab technique, and he was almost on par with me. Oh, right! The time I saw him was after he had his epiphany, so he might have grasped it during that moment!”

Chu Ningyan nodded, her gaze returning to Bai Feng, who had now retracted his sharp sword intent, appearing somewhat relaxed as he strolled over.

What an interesting little guy.

She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, realizing that her decision to take Bai Yumo and her brother Bai Feng as disciples was indeed the best choice she had ever made.

---

**Chapter 47: The Sword Path Is Not So Easily Tamed**

(I suddenly realized I missed a chapter yesterday; I mistakenly published Chapter 47 as Chapter 46. My apologies! The previous chapter has been corrected!)

“Brother, how did you just pull off that move?”

As soon as Bai Feng returned, Bai Yumo rushed up to him, chattering away with questions.

Meanwhile, Chu Ningyan looked at him with curiosity, seemingly waiting for his answer.

“When I was breaking through to the Golden Core, I suddenly thought of how you practiced swordsmanship before, and it sparked some insights,” Bai Feng said, half-seriously, half-jokingly. “But I only know that one move; I’m not very familiar with the others.”