He was one of the inner disciples who rose to prominence during the years-long war between Qingzhou and Donghai.
Tie Li advanced to the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm through a dual cultivation technique of body and spirit, and he emerged from a sea of blood and corpses, his strength not to be underestimated.
On the other side.
Upon seeing Wu Tao, Tie Li first gave a simple smile and chatted with him for a while.
Afterward, Tie Li clasped his fists and said to Wu Tao, "Brother Wu, it's been a long time since we sparred. Let's treat this as a normal practice today. Please offer your guidance."
"Alright."
Wu Tao nodded at his words. To be honest, he was quite wary of Tie Li.
...
Perhaps sensing that Wu Tao was a difficult opponent, Tie Li launched the first attack.
He raised his right leg slightly, and a powerful metal attribute spiritual energy erupted, causing the surrounding air flow to become turbulent. A violent gust of wind swept in.
Opposite him.
Wu Tao's robe fluttered wildly in the strong wind, like a small boat in a tempest.
However, the moment he drew his Chuxi Sword, the violent gust of wind was instantly cleaved in two by an invisible sword intent.
...
Compared to the continent fragments spanning a thousand miles, Wu Tao and Tie Li were minuscule.
They were as insignificant as mayflies living in a great river.
But now, the vast and boundless continent fragments were being wantonly destroyed by the two of them.
"Giant Spirit God's Blessing - Thousandfold Slash!"
With a thunderous roar, Tie Li's figure suddenly grew larger, his muscles bulging, making him as burly as a giant.
As he swung his axe, he transformed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to his use, conjuring multiple axe shadows to directly clash with the invisible sword intent emanating from Wu Tao.
...
"Hum!"
The blade of the Chuxi Sword vibrated, his gaze calm, Wu Tao took a step forward, gripping the sword with both hands and attacking.
Sword intent surged, and he gained the initiative, displaying the peerless offensive power of a sword cultivator in that instant.
The multiple axe shadows attacking Wu Tao were effortlessly destroyed by his single sword strike.
Upon seeing this, the simple expression on Tie Li's face vanished.
His complexion turned grim, and with a roar, he finally unleashed his true abilities.
"Giant Spirit God's Blessing - Golden Giant Embodiment!"
Tie Li shot up from the ground, bathed in golden light, transforming into a bronze-skinned giant. He swung his axe, creating over twenty feet of axe shadows.
Facing the incoming axe shadows, Wu Tao's expression remained unchanged. His hand, however, did not falter. Golden light surged from the Chuxi Sword, and a towering sword energy suddenly appeared.
With another light sweep, he actually cleared away all the axe shadows that were over twenty feet long!
How effortless, no matter how you change, I break it with one sword!
...
Tie Li's expression changed drastically once more.
With a grim face, he strode forward, preparing to engage Wu Tao in close combat.
The axe blade was bone-chillingly sharp, its cold light dazzling, and it chopped down towards Wu Tao's head.
This axe strike was unadorned, like a mountain pressing down, intending to split Wu Tao in two.
The Chuxi Sword was drawn again, equally unadorned. Wu Tao held the sword in his right hand, moving like lightning, meeting the attack head-on.
Clang!
Sword and axe met, instantly sparking a sky full of fire. The giant axe was repelled.
Seeing this, Tie Li laughed heartily, "Again!"
He swung his axe again and again, attempting to defeat Wu Tao by relying on his dual cultivation of body and spirit.
...
On the other side.
Although Wu Tao had become a sword cultivator after obtaining the ancient sword cultivator's inheritance, his physical body was not as robust as Tie Li's.
However, in terms of offensive power alone, Wu Tao was now considerably stronger than Tie Li.
Wu Tao weaved and moved, attacking from the left and defending from the right, his sword strikes becoming faster and faster, gradually suppressing Tie Li.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Wu Tao had split the top-tier magic weapon, the giant axe, in two and was holding the Chuxi Sword at Tie Li's throat.
Tie Li gave a wry smile, without a moment's hesitation, his mind moved.
His small world reacted, and bursts of white light shone down, completely enveloping Tie Li's body.
Then, in the next moment, with a "bang," Tie Li vanished from the spot.
...
Immediately after, Wu Tao, as the victor of this battle, suddenly began to receive information in his mind.
Simultaneously, a sapphire-blue token appeared before him, quietly floating in mid-air.
Spiritual energy continuously swirled within the sapphire-blue token.
If one probed into the token with their divine sense, they could even see images within.
It was the scene of Wu Tao holding the Chuxi Sword at Tie Li's throat, and Tie Li immediately surrendering.
Having accepted the information that suddenly appeared in his mind, Wu Tao looked at the sapphire-blue token before him, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.
...
"As expected, the first duel has ended. Any victor receives a sapphire-blue token as a reward."
"However... it's only the first match that's like this. As for what comes after..."
Wu Tao's thoughts churned a few times.
His gaze continued to fall on the sapphire-blue token before him.
The next moment, the sapphire-blue token emitted a bright white light, and Wu Tao instantly vanished from the spot.
Following this, Wu Tao appeared in another place.
This time, his opponent had appeared earlier than him.
...
Wu Tao also appeared on another massive continent fragment.
"Only at the late stage of Foundation Establishment. It seems my luck is quite good."
This time, Wu Tao's opponent was a young man.
The young man held a long ancient remnant treasure, a snake spear, its tip glinting with cold light, appearing extremely heavy.
Wu Tao was speechless.
The opponent was also at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, yet he didn't understand where his good luck lay.
"Be defeated!"
The young man charged forward fiercely, the hard ground beneath his feet immediately cracking.
Then, with his snake spear, he drew a heavy arc in the air and thrust it directly at Wu Tao.
Wu Tao shook his head. Judging by the young man's posture, Wu Tao knew he hadn't experienced many battles, but his cultivation talent must be good.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment at such a young age.
However, to grow up without struggling through blood and tears is to be a flower in a greenhouse; facing the ravages of a storm, there is only destruction.
Wu Tao casually waved his right hand, and the Chuxi Sword transformed into a series of sword shadows, easily knocking away the ancient remnant treasure snake spear from the young man's hand.
At this moment, the young man still thought the ancient remnant treasure snake spear was in his hand and was preparing to strike.
Whoosh!
The two were five paces apart. Without his snake spear, the young man swung at empty air, scratched his head, and said somewhat aggrievedly, "Where's my spear?"
Wu Tao was speechless and touched his forehead, pointing to the left.
The young man looked in the direction of his finger, and his snake spear was precisely embedded in the ground, its shaft still trembling.
Blushing deeply, the young man naturally had no face to remain there.
After much effort, the young man pulled out his snake spear, his mind moved, and the next moment, white light flashed, and he vanished from the spot.
After this incident, the young man harbored a deep hatred for Wu Tao, not only for defeating him so easily but also for humiliating him so greatly.
The two had thus become adversaries.
...
Unsurprisingly, Wu Tao won another match.
Subsequently, in the third round, fourth round, and all the way to the ninth round, Wu Tao easily defeated his opponents without much effort and encountered no major setbacks. It could be said that his luck was very good.
It wasn't until the tenth round that Wu Tao encountered a truly troublesome opponent.
An hour and a half ago.
The moment Wu Tao appeared on the massive continent fragment, he couldn't help but be startled. The ground and the surrounding area were filled with colorful, dense formation flags.
These formation flags had been set up in advance by his opponent.
The opponent appeared as an old man, exuding an ancient aura, making it impossible to discern his true background or strength.
As soon as the old man saw Wu Tao, he immediately attacked without a word.
With a wave of his palm, streaks of light flashed, erupting with countless runes.
The ancient runes spread out, instantly forming layer upon layer of formations.
...
These formations overlapped, their power increasing with each layer. Terrifying auras condensed and exploded, surging out and engulfing Wu Tao completely.
If one were trapped within, even with the cultivation of the peak of Foundation Establishment, it would take most of their spiritual energy to escape.
But his opponent at this moment was a mysterious formation master.
To be trapped for so long by a formation master specializing in formations, the outcome of this battle was likely already decided.
As if envisioning his victory, a hint of a smile appeared on the old man's face.
He raised his head to look, intending to watch the defeated opponent in a sorry state as a victor.
However, he saw...
Wu Tao raised his broken ancient sword with both hands, its five-foot blade burning with divine flames.
Like the sun rising in the east, a sword strike moved eastward!
A vast and majestic soaring sword energy slashed out, as if to cleave through the eight wildernesses, the four seas, the three mountains, and the five peaks.
The soaring sword energy struck the layers of formations, immediately emitting "creaking" sounds under immense pressure.
Wu Tao did not hesitate and swung his sword again. After dozens of consecutive attacks, he actually cut a safe path.
Immediately after, Wu Tao flashed through, successfully breaking through the layered consecutive formations.
Seeing this, the old man's face darkened, a flicker of anxiety crossing his features.
...
At this moment, Wu Tao broke through the encirclement of formations with ease and swung his sword at the old man.
As a rare and noble, seldom-seen formation master, the old man's methods were naturally not that simple.