Nodano was slightly stunned upon seeing this. Spirit stones weren't exactly abundant in the current Blue Star cultivation world. Ye Bufan directly producing five spirit stones at once was quite a significant amount.
Considering the value of five spirit stones, Nodano scratched his head and then took out a piece of jade from his pocket.
"This is a jade pendant I acquired by chance. It has a formation that gathers spiritual energy, which is very useful for cultivation. Its value is at least ten spirit stones," Nodano said.
Without a word, Ye Bufan threw out another five spirit stones and said, "Ten spirit stones, not a single one less."
In truth, Ye Bufan had no interest in the jade pendant Nodano held. Crafting such jade pendants was a trivial matter for Ye Bufan, so he wasn't very interested.
Nodano seemed to sense Ye Bufan's lack of interest in the item. However, regardless, the first match was merely a prelude, and there was no need to use particularly high-quality magical artifacts immediately.
"For the first match, the Sect Master of the Scarlet Sword Sect, Song Xinghai, will lead the charge," Ye Bufan announced. Song Xinghai, as a cultivator of the new generation, was already at the Half-step Core Formation stage.
From the Sakura Island side, a cultivator at the late stage peak of Foundation Establishment stepped forward.
"This is the Pavilion Master of our Sakura Island's Azure Rainbow Pavilion, named Nezu Hiroshi. He is at the late stage peak of Foundation Establishment. On our Sakura Island, he is considered a cultivator at the Half-step Core Formation stage, and Nezu-kun is no less capable," Nodano stated.
Song Xinghai glanced back at Song Mingqin. They nodded at each other, and Song Xinghai leaped up, landing on the martial arts stage.
Seeing this, Nezu Hiroshi leaped forward and landed before Song Xinghai. They bowed to each other and then simultaneously vanished from their positions.
"Bang—" On the stage, two figures moved with incredible speed, leaving afterimages in their wake. With a muffled thud, they instantly separated and retreated several meters each.
"So strong!" Song Xinghai took a deep breath, surprised that his opponent, merely at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, could contend with him, who was at the Half-step Core Formation stage.
"Again!" Nezu Hiroshi's presence instantly ignited Song Xinghai's fighting spirit.
Suddenly, a scarlet longsword appeared in Song Xinghai's hand. With a slight wave, sword energy transformed into countless scarlet blades.
"Chil!"
As Song Xinghai swung his sword, these slowly emerging scarlet blades of sword energy erupted, exuding an aura of 'ten thousand swords returning to the source,' and charged towards Nezu Hiroshi.
In Nezu Hiroshi's hand, nine flying knives suddenly appeared. They shot out and clashed with Song Xinghai's sword energy, sparks flying. For a moment, the scene was like a fireworks display in broad daylight.
Ye Bufan observed the intensity of their battle. Song Xinghai appeared to have the upper hand, but in reality, he was subtly falling into a disadvantage.
The flying knives wielded by Nezu Hiroshi didn't seem like ordinary ones. Their blades were dark, appearing to be forged from meteoric iron. There were also patterns on the blades that provided a certain boost to spell techniques, magnifying their power several times.
Song Mingqin's brows furrowed. He seemed to have noticed the problem as well and was worried for Song Xinghai.
"Clang—"
With a crisp sound of weapons colliding, Song Xinghai was suddenly pulled out of the engagement. He clutched his scarlet longsword tightly, which emitted a faint hum. Ye Bufan noticed Song Xinghai's hand trembling.
"Hmm?" Ye Bufan sensed a subtle change in Song Xinghai's aura. It had shifted from rapid breaths to an unusually calm state.
"He seems to be breaking through," Ye Bufan observed as Song Xinghai actually sheathed his Scarlet Sword.
"Excellent!" Song Mingqin smiled slightly upon seeing this, recognizing that Song Xinghai had achieved a breakthrough in the way of the sword.
Nezu Hiroshi, sensing the unfavorable turn of events, threw a flying knife at Song Mingqin. However, the knife stopped in mid-air before Song Xinghai and remained motionless.
Song Xinghai slowly raised his hands and gently caught Nezu Hiroshi's flying knife. The flying knife in Song Xinghai's grasp suddenly exuded a chilling sword aura.
"All things are swords!" Ye Bufan narrowed his eyes. Song Xinghai's sword technique had turned Nezu Hiroshi's flying knife into his own weapon.
The flying knife was enveloped in sword aura. With a thought from Song Xinghai, the flying knife shot towards Nezu Hiroshi. Nezu Hiroshi unleashed his remaining flying knives to intercept it.
In Song Xinghai's mind, the flying knife in his hand was not a flying knife but a sword – an invincible, unyielding sword.
"Slash!"
The flying knife transformed into an invisible longsword and slashed down at Nezu Hiroshi.
Although it was a simple slash, the power emanating from the sword aura made it difficult for Nezu Hiroshi to breathe.
"Thrust!"
Nezu Hiroshi barely managed to deflect Song Xinghai's attack. Song Xinghai then manipulated the flying knife to thrust towards Nezu Hiroshi again.
"Hoo! So strong!" Nezu Hiroshi formed a blade aura in front of himself to block. Song Xinghai stomped his foot, and the flying knife fell to the ground. The scarlet longsword reappeared and lunged towards Nezu Hiroshi.
Nezu Hiroshi's blade aura instantly shattered, forcing him to quickly dodge backward.
"I concede!" Nezu Hiroshi, seeing this, had no choice but to surrender to Song Xinghai. Song Xinghai immediately stopped his attack. They stood in place, bowed to each other, and retreated.
"Splendid, truly splendid." Bai Zizhen couldn't help but applaud upon seeing Song Xinghai's victory. The other sect leaders from the Nine Provinces were also excitedly cheering.
"Xinghai, you have finally made a significant advancement in the way of the sword," Song Mingqin said, patting Song Xinghai's shoulder with a warm hand.
"Thank you, Supreme Elder, for your guidance these past days. Xinghai has benefited greatly," Song Xinghai said, filled with gratitude towards Song Mingqin.
Nodano gritted his teeth and glared at Nezu Hiroshi with malice, transmitting his voice, "Nezu-kun, what is going on? Why did you concede before the match was even over? This brings great shame to our Sakura Island."
Nezu Hiroshi merely glanced at Nodano and replied, "During our fight, he broke through. The pressure from every move left me completely unable to fight back. If I hadn't conceded, I might have been in mortal danger."
Nodano turned away with evident displeasure, clearly unhappy with Nezu Hiroshi's voluntary concession.
Ye Bufan called out to Nodano, "Mr. Nodano, regarding our bet, should we not settle it now?"
Nodano lightly tossed the jade in his hand. Ye Bufan used his absorption palm technique to draw the jade pendant into his hand and then handed it to Song Xinghai, who was nearby.
"Sect Master Song, this is what you won, and it is yours."