In Duan Lingtian's mind, the memory of 'Zhang Yan' still stays a few years ago.
At that time, in the imperial city of the Qinglin Empire, Zhang Yan had fought against Zi Shang because of his sister ‘Zi Yan’, and later because Zi Yan hated him, there were some conflicts between them.
Of course, these are all minor conflicts that are not worth mentioning.
At that time, Zhang Yan's strength was far inferior to him.
Even in the 'Battle of Geniuses' leading to the Qinglin Empire in the 'Ten Dynasties Martial Arts', Zhang Yan did not win one of the last five places.
He never expected that such a person, a person who was eliminated in the 'battle of geniuses' in the Qinglin Empire, would appear again with such terrifying strength.
Zhang Yan's current strength has surpassed him in all aspects. Even if he uses all his methods and uses the soul skill "Qian Huan", he is still no match for Zhang Yan.
"What happened to Zhang Yan to become so strong?"
From a distance, Zi Shang stared at Zhang Yan, his face also full of confusion.
With the strength that Zhang Yan has shown now, even if he allows the ghost old man's remnant soul to possess him, he may only be able to fight Zhang Yan in a draw.
Unless he can break through to the 'Third Level of Dongxu Realm', at that time, he will be able to defeat Zhang Yan easily.
Because by then, after the ghost master possesses him, he will have the strength of the "Seventh Level of Cave Void Realm".
In his opinion, by then, it would be equivalent to him being a seventh-level warrior of the Dongxu Realm. It would not be difficult to defeat Zhang Yan.
"This Zhang Yan is a completely different person than when I first met him."
Su Li took a deep breath and was extremely shocked by Zhang Yan's current strength.
"For the sake of being from the Qinglin Empire, I won't kill you."
Zhang Yan shook his fingers and easily opened the third-grade spiritual sword in Long Yun's hand. Then he moved back and stood behind the middle-aged man in cloth clothes, standing there quietly.
"Pei An, is this your disciple? He is really well-educated!"
Dao Wu's face darkened. How could he not be angry when his disciple was being taught a lesson in front of him?
"Daowu Wu, it's better to let them resolve matters concerning young people themselves... Or maybe you want to stand up for your disciples and deal with mine?"
Pei An said calmly: "You, Daowu, shouldn't be so depraved, right?"
When Dao Wu heard this, he was immediately choked up, but was speechless. He could only glare at Long Yun, which made Long Yun's face become more bitter.
"Huiming, you are so cruel!"
Ning Can glared at Huiming bitterly. He never expected that Huiming seemed to have known that Sword Sect would be on his side and had also found helpers.
At this time, even if Canglang Castle and Sword Sect join forces, they can't drive him away.
"Another 'Duanqing Sect' is here to take a share of the pie."
Jian Shisan shook his head, then seemed to remember something, and murmured to himself, "But, it doesn't matter... with the three of them, it's almost enough."
After talking to himself, Jian Shisan glanced at Duan Lingtian, Feng Tianwu and Zhang Shouyong, and the more he looked at them, the more satisfied he became.
Duan Lingtian, who was standing aside, was filled with confusion.
First three monks came, and then a middle-aged commoner came and brought Zhang Yan with him.
Moreover, this middle-aged commoner seems to be the head of a sect and Zhang Yan’s master.
what happened?
Duan Lingtian was puzzled.
"Amitabha, Deputy Fortress Ning, you don't have to worry about Brother Monk, just go about your business... As for Sect Master Pei, Brother Monk and Brother Monk will take care of it for you."
Huiming smiled and said to Ning Can, with that look, you need to be beaten as much as possible.
Ning Can was so angry that he turned livid, but with things developing at this stage, he couldn't say anything more. He looked around and said in a deep voice: "The fourth round of selection for the Ten Dynasties Martial Arts Competition has begun!"
Duan Lingtian was just about to ask Jian Shisan about the three monks and the commoner middle-aged man when he heard Ning Can's voice. He temporarily suppressed the confusion in his heart and flew out.
When Duan Lingtian arrived at the central area above Doului, representatives of the ten major dynasties and young talents also came to their senses one by one.
The appearance of the three monks, the middle-aged commoner, and the young commoner made them equally confused.
They could see that whether they were the three monks, the middle-aged civilians, or the young civilians, their origins were obviously extremely extraordinary. Otherwise, they would not have made the two deputy masters of Canglang Castle lose their composure.
Now, Ning Can announced the start of the fourth round of selection. They all suppressed their confusion and looked at Duan Lingtian.
"I don't know who Duan Lingtian will challenge first."
Some people are curious about this.
"The owner of token No. 10 is Duan Lingtian's friend. He shouldn't be the first to challenge... I think he should challenge the owner of token No. 9."
Many people looked towards the Qing Dynasty camp and their eyes fell on Ye Ling.
Being watched by many eyes, Ye Ling was a little eager to try, hoping that Duan Lingtian would challenge her, maybe she could get the No. 1 token.
It's a pity that Duan Lingtian didn't even look at her.
"I challenge..."
Duan Lingtian spoke slowly, paused, and continued: "The owner of Token No. 2, Zi Shang!"
Zishang!
As soon as Duan Lingtian said these words, the scene was in an uproar.
Most people did not expect Duan Lingtian to challenge Zi Shang. Only those who know the conflict between Duan Lingtian and Zi Shang know why Duan Lingtian made such a choice.
For a time, many people's eyes fell on Zi Shang. They were all curious about the true strength of 'Zi Shang', who was accepted as a personal disciple by the deputy master of Canglang Castle.
The strength Zi Shang showed before should not be enough to obtain the No. 2 token.
But since he was able to obtain Token No. 2 and allow Deputy Fort Master Ning to accept him as his personal disciple, it is enough to show that he is not simple. Perhaps he hid his true strength from the beginning.
"Zi Shang, the direct disciple of Deputy Fortress Ning... Duan Lingtian, the person who refused to become the direct disciple of Deputy Fortress Ning. The fight between the two of them will definitely be exciting."
"I think Duan Lingtian probably also hides his strength... Every time he takes action, he seems to only show the tip of the iceberg."
"I feel the same way... He can get the No. 1 token, so he must be really capable."
…
Unknowingly, many people's impressions of Duan Lingtian have changed, and they no longer unanimously feel that Duan Lingtian obtained the No. 1 token through opportunism.
Ning Can's personal disciple?
The buzz around them caused the two middle-aged monks Huiming and Huijing to follow everyone's gaze and look at Zi Shang.
Even the middle-aged commoner Pei An, Zhang Yan's master, his eyes fell on Zi Shang at this moment.
"Zi Shang!"
Zhang Yan's face remained expressionless, but deep in his eyes, there was obviously a bit of surprise.
Obviously, he didn't expect to see Zi Shang here beforehand.
As for Duan Lingtian, he had seen it when he first arrived. Although he was a little surprised that Duan Lingtian could appear here, he was not too shocked.
After all, when he was in the Qinglin Empire, Duan Lingtian showed a terrifying talent. It is not surprising that he has achieved what he has today.
When he saw Duan Lingtian again, he was no longer as hostile as before, perhaps because he had completely 'broken off'.
In the past, he had broken his heart for Zi Shang's younger sister, Zi Yan, but later on, he was still in vain.
From the moment Zi Yan swore on the "Nine Nine Thunder Tribulations" that Yongsheng would never fall in love with him, he lost all hope and even wanted to die.
It's a pity that he didn't die.
Later, by chance, he met a disciple of the Duanqing Sect who came out to relax. He felt sympathy for each other and joined the Duanqing Sect with him.
There, he found his final destination.
His condition at that time was in line with the purpose of training in the Duanqing Sect, so he started practicing and made rapid progress. Later, he was valued by the deputy master of the Duanqing Sect, Pei An, and became Pei An's personal disciple.
After several years of practice, coupled with the inexhaustible resources Pei An gave him, his cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds, and his understanding of artistic conception has become more profound.
Nowadays, even if we look at the entire Duanqing Sect, there is no second young disciple who can surpass him.
Not long ago, his master made a breakthrough in his cultivation and successfully took over as the leader of the Duanqing Sect. This made his status in the Duanqing Sect rise, and he was recognized as the successor to the next generation of Duanqing Sect's leader.
…
Because of this, when Zhang Yan saw Duan Lingtian again, he no longer felt the same hatred as before.
Duan Lingtian also discovered this before.
However, he didn't know the reason.
"I surrender!"
In full view of everyone, Zi Shang, who was challenged by Duan Lingtian, admitted defeat without any hesitation.
Give up?
For a moment, the scene was in an uproar.
Except for a few people who knew that Duan Lingtian could restrain Zishang, everyone else looked puzzled, wondering why Zishang didn't even have the courage to fight Duan Lingtian.
"Is Duan Lingzhen really that strong? Even Zi Shang doesn't dare to fight with him."
"I think it was Zi Shang who asked him... However, he and Duan Lingtian don't seem to be on the same page, and he is the direct disciple of Deputy Castle Master Ning. Logically speaking, it is impossible to let Duan Lingtian."
"No matter what, he doesn't even have the courage to play. This Zi Shang is really too cowardly!"
…
Waves of merciless sarcasm fell into Zi Shang's ears, and Zi Shang's face turned completely gloomy.
There was naturally a reason why he did not dare to accept Duan Lingtian's challenge.
He knew in his heart that with Duan Lingtian's hatred for him, Duan Lingtian would definitely kill him mercilessly once he dared to take the stage.
Although he had the trump card of 'Ghost Lao', his trump card was restrained by Duan Lingtian and couldn't be used at all.
And once he faces Duan Lingtian with his own strength, Duan Lingtian can use that 'Illusion Soul Skill' to kill him before he admits defeat.
Therefore, admitting defeat is his only choice and the best choice.