The Grand Competition Begins

Whoosh!

A streak of light flew past in the distance, followed by another.

Time was drawing to a close. Most of those destined to pass had already done so; only those who had failed remained.

Su Han looked at the sparse few dozens of individuals standing beside Baiye. ‘Huh, I really didn’t expect that crude girl to pass successfully,’ she thought.

Fortunately, Su Han had deliberately minimized her presence, doing her best to avoid any conflict with her.

Baiye then turned to Su Han and the others. “The twenty-four of you, follow me,” he instructed. “After entering the Inner Court, a grand competition will be held in a few days.”

“Only the top twelve can truly enter the Inner Court. Don’t let the twenty-four of you here fool you; thirty-three people tested in the first half of the year!”

“In other words, out of these twenty-four, only half will genuinely enter the Inner Court. Those who don’t pass will have to try again next time!”

Baiye waved his hand, opening the Inner Court’s rune barrier, and led everyone inside.

The next day, the Grand Competition commenced.

The matches were decided through a system of lots.

The vast central plaza of the Inner Court was packed with disciples who had come to spectate the competition.

“Twelve new junior disciples will be joining this year. I wonder what they look like. I hope there are more beauties!”

“It’s not as if our Inner Court lacks beauties; there are plenty!”

“What’s the use? The pretty ones either already have partners or are freakishly strong. Why would they even look at me?”

“Damn, no way, are you planning to trick the new junior sisters?”

“Bullshit, that’s called true love!”

“Damn, that’s disgusting!”

As the Inner Court students chatted idly, a white light illuminated the central plaza, and a rune barrier enveloped it.

There was no need to say more. Given Cangnan Academy’s grand scale, if this wasn’t a Grandmaster-level rune, Su Han would eat her words!

The first match was a duel between the mage Lin Ling’er and the knight Yi Xingchen.

Clad in a verdant mage robe, Lin Ling’er held a magic staff inlaid with a green gem. She softly chanted a spell, and agitated water elements swiftly coalesced into a water dragon, charging towards Yi Xingchen, its mouth emitting resonant roars.

Yi Xingchen, wielding a silver-white spear, stepped onto the arena. Pure white battle qi surged into his spear, and its tip immediately shimmered with a dark red sharpness.

As the water dragon approached, the spear tip flicked with delicate precision. His right hand then tightened its grip on the spear, and he forcefully tore open the water dragon’s belly.

With a “bang,” the water dragon exploded, dissipating into a myriad of water droplets.

Seeing the water dragon burst, Lin Ling’er quickly chanted another spell, “‘Thousands of Miles of Ice Seal — Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting!'”

Using “Thousands of Miles of Ice Seal” would have been too late; in mere seconds, Lin Ling’er was incapable of instantly coalescing the scattered water to cast it. Thus, she had to resort to the higher-tier “Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting.”

“Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting” consumed a considerable amount of magic power, but its effects were quite impressive.

Under the impetus of Lin Ling’er’s spell, the scattered water droplets gradually crystallized into individual snowflakes. The air filled with dancing snowflakes, as if winter itself had descended.

The most crucial aspect of “Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting” wasn’t its attack, but its secondary, inherent effect: the swirling snowflakes, falling like a shower, could paralyze an opponent for a second or two, then reduce their speed by forty percent.

Since it was a wide-ranging, domain-like assault, Yi Xingchen had no way to dispel it. This compelled him to launch an offensive, gripping his longsword, pushing off the ground, and charging straight at Lin Ling’er, attempting to strike directly at her core.

Su Han couldn’t help but applaud enthusiastically at this sight. What she had only ever seen on television, she could now witness with her own eyes!

Yi Xingchen gathered his battle qi at his feet and then unleashed a sudden, explosive burst.

Propelled by this force, in the blink of an eye, he stood before Lin Ling’er’s throat.

However, just as everyone anticipated the impending gruesome spectacle, the spear tip, less than half an inch from Lin Ling’er’s throat and having even pierced her elemental barrier, abruptly froze as if space itself had solidified.

Lin Ling’er knew that the effect of “Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting” had activated. She quickly dodged Yi Xingchen, creating distance between them.

After all, “Ten Thousand Miles of Snowflakes Drifting” only immobilized for one second, but that was enough for Lin Ling’er to evade certain danger.

Recovering from the snowflake-induced freeze, Yi Xingchen flexed his neck. He felt his movement speed had been curtailed by at least thirty percent, making it clear that finishing her off quickly was now out of the question.

Seeing her objective achieved, Lin Ling’er once again chanted to summon a water dragon, then applied “Thousands of Miles of Ice Seal” to it, transforming it into a formidable ice dragon.

With a flick of her magic staff, the ice dragon roared, baring its fangs and claws as it soared towards Yi Xingchen.

Yi Xingchen ignited his full battle qi, and pure white flames erupted around his form.

He then poured all his battle qi into his spear in a single, decisive surge. The silver-white spear emitted a resplendent glow, and its sharpened tip shone with even greater brilliance.

The last vestige of battle qi coalesced at his wrist, then violently burst forth, launching the spear forward.

An elegant arc guided the silver-white spear as it cleaved through the air, shattering the ice dragon into countless shards. It then pierced through Lin Ling’er’s triple elemental barriers, striking directly at her feet and embedding itself deeply into the earth.

Lin Ling’er’s face drained of color, leaving her utterly speechless. In that moment, she felt as if she were suffocating, struggling to draw breath.

“I declare the victor of this match to be — Yi Xingchen!”

“The next match will be between Wang Chaoran and Sima Yunxi!”

As match after match concluded, only three remained.

“The next match is between Su Han and Shangshan Huichuan!”

‘Is it finally my turn?’

Su Han, having grown weary from watching matches all day, stretched languidly, loosening her muscles, before stepping onto the stage…