Chapter 136: Third Round

The gray-robed man, though startled by Wang Yu's Fire Barrier and sensing a grim premonition, was now too far committed to retreat.

Moreover, Gu Lian's Fire Barrier had nearly been shattered by Shi Jian's three strikes, suggesting this Twelve-Spirit-Runes defense spell wasn't as invincible as imagined.

This gave the man a sliver of hope.

With a grim expression, he gripped his iron blade with both hands, raised it high, and began furiously pouring spiritual energy into it.

The black iron blade emitted a faint green glow, its surface gradually revealing eleven pale blue spirit runes, as a massive green blade shadow coalesced above it.

The man deliberately restrained the Bi Bo Dao's power, letting the giant blade shadow grow larger and denser, while the green radiance on the blade intensified, becoming blinding—even the blade itself began trembling violently under the terrifying energy of the shadow.

"Slash!"

The gray-robed man felt his arms numb from the strain of holding the Bi Bo Dao; after a low grunt of hesitation, he swung both hands forward with all his strength.

"Puff!"

The massive green blade shadow crashed down like a colossal pillar, and even before it struck, the air above the training ground blurred.

A thunderclap-like roar erupted.

Brilliant light exploded between the green blade shadow and the crimson barrier, red and green interwoven as shockwaves rolled outward in both directions.

Wang Yu stood within the barrier, one hand forming a seal, rapidly channeling his spiritual energy into the shield.

At that moment, the green blade shadow suddenly shattered, transforming into countless green threads that spiraled rapidly around the crimson barrier, accelerating until they formed a vast green vortex.

"Crackling, popping!"

The crimson barrier was sliced by countless blade-like green threads; the twelve crimson spirit runes on its surface flickered dimly, the thick barrier trembled slightly—but showed no sign of yielding. Then, as Wang Yu altered his hand seal, roaring flames erupted from the barrier itself.

Some green threads vanished without a trace before even reaching the Fire Barrier, consumed by the flames.

The giant vortex created by the Bi Bo Dao's slash lasted only a dozen breaths before rapidly shrinking and dissolving entirely into specks of green light.

Throughout this, the Fire Barrier remained as solid as ever.

Seeing this, the gray-robed man turned ashen-faced; after muttering "I yield," he flew away from the training ground.

The scholar above also announced Wang Yu's victory, his expression one of surprise.

Outside the training ground, the families gathered on the stone platform erupted once more.

Their eyes were not blind—they all saw how immensely strong Wang Yu's Fire Barrier was, far surpassing Gu Lian's, as if they were entirely different spells; their shock and awe were unimaginable.

At this moment, Wang Yu, having returned to the stone platform, also gained a precise assessment of his Fire Barrier's defensive power—and confirmed a suspicion in his mind.

Yin Linglong stepped forward with a blooming smile; behind her, the two Yin clan elders were ecstatic.

But before Wang Yu could speak with them, a quiet voice reached his ear:

"Wang friend, you're using the Original Fire Barrier, aren't you? Only an unaltered Fire Barrier can possess such pure defensive power—this is vastly different from the spirit rune diagram I received from my master."

"Still, Wang friend, beyond your extraordinary talent in forging and your mastery of body refinement, you also possess this prodigy-level aptitude for spells? That's truly unexpected! If your elemental affinity were even slightly better, even the Four Symbols Sect might grant you True Disciple status without overstepping."

Hearing this, Wang Yu glanced curiously toward Gu Lian on the opposite platform.

Gu Lian, too, was looking at him—and offered a friendly smile.

Beside Gu Lian, the Yu family head met Wang Yu's gaze and immediately offered a forced smile.

Yu Xiaoming, too, was watching Wang Yu, his face filled with complex emotion.

"What did Gu Lian mean by that?"

Wang Yu returned Gu Lian's smile, but his mind grew increasingly uneasy.

The matches on the training ground continued.

Soon, the final match arrived.

This time, a burly man wielding a long blade stepped forward; seeing his opponent's spot empty, his face darkened. Even after the scholar declared the match begun, he could not locate his foe—and reluctantly surrendered.

Thus, the second round ended.

The scholar looked up at the sun, judged the time still early, and bluntly announced the start of the third round.

Wang Yu and the other family members found Liu Ming's approach unsurprising.

But now, with only sixteen families remaining, only eight matches were needed.

This time, the ragged man from the first round was unexpectedly defeated by a burly man wielding twin axes.

The man's twin axes were a rare paired spiritual artifact—each axe could be thrown alternately to attack, and he additionally used an extremely obscure "Mirror Charm," which could deflect a Golden Core pillar's attack by a few inches.

The ragged man, caught off-guard and wounded in both arms, had no choice but to surrender and withdraw.

As for Gu Lian in the second match, his opponent unleashed three different spells in quick succession—yet none could penetrate Gu Lian's Fire Barrier, forcing him to surrender as well.

Third match…

Fourth match…

In the fifth match, Wang Yu stepped forward.

His opponent this time was a middle-aged woman.

Wang Yu had a clear memory of this woman, still radiating grace.

She cultivated several wood-element spells, specializing in illusions and hypnosis, and wielded a floral basket artifact capable of summoning thickets of thorns to entrap enemies—combined, they had defeated two strong opponents in succession.

Now, after the scholar declared the match begun, the woman stood across from Wang Yu, frowning deeply in thought.

Wang Yu, curious, made no move—only crossed his arms and watched, waiting to see what she would do.

Her illusions and hypnosis spells could never affect him, given his formidable spiritual power.

"I yield," the woman finally spoke. "I cannot think of any way to defeat you, Wang friend. Your fire cultivation directly counters my wood spells, and once you close in, I have no means to resist your body refinement."

Wang Yu paused, bowed slightly, then turned and left.

As he flew beyond the barrier's edge, a soft voice reached his ear:

"I am the head of the Xu family. If you have time, do visit Xu family on Xiao Liang Mountain—I have two beautiful daughters still unmarried."

Wang Yu stumbled slightly mid-flight, but did not turn back—he flew away without looking.

【60】 Yet the woman's laughter still echoed faintly in his ears.