Chapter Thirty-Seven:
Trial Combat of the Five Paths – Sect Honor on the Line
The sky above the Celestial Judge Arena swirled with clouds painted by Dao essence.
Ten thousand cultivators gathered around its edges—sect elders, rogue warriors, hidden clan leaders, and even ancient spirits sealed in tokens for a chance to witness the impossible.
For today, the Undefeating Sect would stand against the elite youth of the Cloudveil Sect in the Trial Combat of the Five Paths.
The battle was not merely for prestige.
It was to determine whether a sect that embraced all cultivation paths—alchemy, forging, talisman, formation, weapon mastery—could truly match the time-honored traditions of focused power.
The world watched. The heavens listened.
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The Opening: Declaration of Intent
A celestial arbiter descended, robes forged from starlight threads, voice imbued with law.
> "This is a sanctioned test of path, intent, and execution.
No killing. No outside interference.
The Dao will witness. Begin."
From the Cloudveil side emerged five elite disciples:
A formation prodigy who controlled floating jade runes.
A saber maiden who cleaved spirit energy with wind blades.
A puppet master who wielded metal golems.
A cold alchemist who used explosive pills mid-combat.
A dual-spear monk whose martial body emitted thunder pulses.
Each had won tournaments. Each had faced war.
But what they saw now… shook their confidence.
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Enter: The Five of the Undefeating Sect
First to walk out: the Rootless Boy, now known as Ash Soul Jun.
His steps scorched the floor—not from fire, but from purity.
He summoned no weapon.
Instead, the Furnace Veins across his arms lit up, and with a breath, his body transformed into flowing white heat, punching forward with burning essence condensed into solidified will.
His opponent's golems melted before they could activate.
The audience gasped.
> "He became the pill fire. He is the forge!"
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Second: The Mute Swordsman, now called Blade Echo Lin.
Three spirit blades floated beside him, moving as if hearing a silent song.
Facing the dual-spear monk, he didn't clash.
Instead, he redirected, each strike humming with rhythm and resonance.
At the final exchange, he pointed his finger mid-air.
His opponent froze—suspended in a formation of sound blades, carved from thin air.
> "He... carved formations with sword resonance?"
"That's beyond formation or weapon mastery!"
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Third: The Beastkin Girl, Rui Featherclaw.
Wind and light bent around her as she soared into the sky—not flying, but riding her beast-bonded storm eagle.
She fought the saber maiden, but not with direct strikes.
Instead, she used floating formation rings that reshaped the battlefield mid-flight.
Traps of lightning, talisman-infused wind feathers, and elemental misdirection.
When the opponent struck her... they struck illusions.
> "Formation, talisman, beast-soul combat—all at once?"
Victory without bloodshed. The arbiter called it: "Overwhelming finesse."
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Fourth: The Talisman Artist, Han Inkblade.
He fought the alchemist.
But he didn't bring ink or paper.
Instead, his aura acted as brush, and the arena floor, the scroll.
He danced with calligraphy motion, each step imprinting a talisman character in golden light.
Flames became snakes. Water turned into chains. The enemy's pills exploded mid-air—neutralized before activation.
> "Inkless talismans… drawn on spirit itself?"
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Fifth: The Forging Prodigy, Lu Yuan Flamegrip.
He faced the formation prodigy.
But instead of attacking, he threw fragments of spirit iron into the air—then shaped them mid-battle with forging flames erupting from his arms.
In moments, a living armor suit wrapped around him, reshaping with every blow he received, adapting, absorbing, evolving.
> "He's forging… while fighting?"
The enemy's formations fell apart as their arrays couldn't adapt to his constant reshaping self.
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The Result: Clean Victory
Five battles.
Five victories.
None fatal.
All definitive.
The celestial arbiter raised his hand:
> "In accordance with Heaven's Law: Undefeating Sect… Triumphant."
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The Aftermath
The world was in uproar.
Countless rogue cultivators requested entry to the sect.
Multiple sects challenged or offered alliances.
Information merchants raised the price of Undefeating Sect scrolls tenfold.
But for the sect itself… the Main Character said only this:
> "This is not glory.
This is responsibility.
Now we must teach even better."
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End of Chapter
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Next: Chapter Thirty-Eight – Echoes of Jealousy, Rumors of War, and the Twin Shadow Sects Stirring
Ready to continue into the darker stirrings of the cultivation world?