After writing the Profound Blossom Sect and the Burning Lotus Sect's name beside each other on a large board, Zi Dong continued to call out numbers.
Sometime later, Zi Dong said loudly, "Number 18!"
Once she heard her number being called, Bai Lihua raised her hand, and a few meters away from her, another individual raised his hand.
When the Sect Masters saw these two individuals, their eyes flickered with entertainment.
"The Heavenly Swan Sect and the Azure Cloud Sect!" Zi Dong proceeded to write their names on the board.
"..."
Bai Lihua silently looked at Gu Guanting with a serious expression on her beautiful face, and Gu Guanting stared back at her with a similar expression.
"What do you think about this match up?"
The Sect Masters there immediately began mumbling to each other.
"Although the Azure Cloud Sect has achieved a surprising victory against the Million Snakes Sect, I don't think they will be able to handle the Heavenly Swan Sect." One Sect Master spoke his thoughts.
"I have a feeling that Hong Yu'er from the Azure Cloud Sect has yet to fully display her full prowess. Who knows, maybe she will single-handedly defeat the Heavenly Swan Sect, too."
Another Sect Master there gave his judgment.
"What do you think, Su Yang? You were confident that the Million Snakes Sect would lose to the Azure Cloud Sect before it even began. Will the Heavenly Swan Sect be able to defeat the Azure Cloud Sect — or more specifically, defeat Hong Yu'er?" Liu Lanzhi asked him.
Su Yang quickly shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. What do you think?"
Liu Lanzhi narrowed her eyes at him, who clearly knows something.
After a moment of silence, she spoke, "I think Hong Yu'er is still hiding something in her sleeves. What's more, she managed to defeat the Million Snakes Sect with ease. Although I cannot guess which one of them will win in the end, it's definitely going to be a difficult match for the Heavenly Swan Sect."
Sometime later, once everybody there had their sect's name on the board, all of the Sect Masters returned to their disciples to relay the news.
"What luck, huh?" Bai Lihua approached Liu Lanzhi and Su Yang afterward and spoke, "You guys got matched with the Burning Lotus Sect, the strongest contender this tournament. Meanwhile, we have to deal with the Azure Cloud Sect, one of the biggest dark horses in history."
"Are you worried that you will lose?" Su Yang asked her with a smile.
Bai Lihua frowned and shouted, "Nonsense!"
"I have complete confidence in my disciples' ability! Even if Hong Yu'er is powerful, she will not be able to deal with us like they did to the Million Snakes Sect, as we will be fully prepared!"
"Good luck," said Su Yang before they separated.
Once they returned to the hotel, Liu Lanzhi revealed to the disciples their next opponents, which greatly dumbfounded them.
"W-We are fighting the Burning Lotus Sect already?" Sun Jingjing's jaw dropped from shock.
"From fighting the Yellow River Sect to the Burning Lotus Sect… that's quite the jump in difficulty," said Fang Zhelan.
"I understand that it's going to be difficult, but if we want to win the tournament, we will have to fight them regardless, not to mention the other Elite Sects." Liu Lanzhi said.
"Are you girls worried about the Burning Lotus Sect?" Su Yang suddenly asked them.
"Well… they have a dozen disciples at the Earth Spirit Realm whilst we only have two." Sun Jingjing said.
Su Yang shook his head with a smile and said, "Although the difference between True Spirit Realm and Earth Spirit Realm may seem like heaven and earth, it is actually much more insignificant than you believe. As long as you prepare yourself properly before the battle, their small advantage won't even be noticeable."
"How do we prepare for something like that?" One of the disciples asked.
"It's actually quite simple. In fact, it's already a daily routine for all of you."
The disciples raised their eyebrows, seemingly puzzled by his words that made it seem as though they were already experienced with it.
"I want all of you to gather in a single room tonight. I will teach you all a new technique for tomorrow's matches."
"Really?!" The disciples' eyes lit up with excitement after hearing his words, wondering what kind of technique he'll teach them.
"You want to teach them to learn a new technique within a single night? I don't mean to doubt your lecture or their capabilities, but learning a technique — even if it's the lowest grade — is simply ridiculous and impossible even for geniuses…" Liu Lanzhi looked at him with a weird look.
If cultivation techniques were that easy and quick to learn, every Cultivator in the world would be experts with hundreds of techniques inside their sleeves by now.
Hearing Liu Lanzhi's words, Su Yang responded with a smile, "Although it's called a technique, it's somewhat different. In fact, it's something any Cultivator can learn within a few hours if they are willing, but because of the nature of this technique, it's only practical for dual cultivators."
"Something like that exists? Why don't you teach it to me, too?" Liu Lanzhi quickly became intrigued.
"Naturally I will also teach you the technique. However, I will have to do it on another day, as these disciples require it more than you."
Liu Lanzhi nodded. "That's understandable."
A few hours later, Su Yang entered one of the hotel rooms, and inside stood 10 beautiful girls.
When Su Yang entered the room, ten pairs of flickering eyes turned to look at him, seemingly excited to see him.
"Are you girls ready?" Su Yang asked them with a calm smile.
"Un!"
They all nodded.
"Good. Then let's get started."
"What should we do?" Sun Jingjing asked him.
"First, you strip," he responded with a straight face.
The girls looked at him with wide eyes.
"We are going to cultivate," he continued.
The girls then looked at each other and chuckled, almost like they'd already predicted this outcome.