Chapter 493: A Moment of Crisis

This sword strike seemed to come from beyond the heavens. It was as fast as fleeting light, as brilliant as a passing shadow.

The sword light was fierce, as if striking from the heavens, and it appeared before Hou Fei in an instant.

"What a terrifying sword strike."

A look of horror spread across Hou Fei’s face.

BANG!

The sword light vanished. A gash nearly a foot long appeared on his chest, and as blood sprayed from the wound, he was thrown out of the martial arts arena.

"Damn it, that’s Lin Yuan! Let’s get out of here!"

Seeing this, the few veteran students who had been chasing Hou Fei were scared witless and immediately turned to flee.

"Since you’re here, don’t bother leaving."

Lin Yuan said in a light tone, longsword in hand, as his figure vanished from sight.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

Flashes of sword light bloomed in the air like brilliant fireworks. But beneath the display was a series of tragically beautiful scenes.

Swept up by the rainbow of sword light, the veteran students who had been chasing Hou Fei were all sent flying back, each one coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Lin Yuan’s strikes were simply too fast—so fast that the veteran students couldn’t even team up against him. In the space of just a few breaths, all of them had been knocked out of the arena and eliminated.

The brutal scene left everyone stunned. A vacuum had formed in a radius of several dozen meters around Lin Yuan.

In this free-for-all, Lin Yuan had become the most dazzling contestant.

"This guy’s strength is extraordinary. He’s definitely no weaker than some of the Tier Six Peak Martial Venerables."

Below the stage, many veteran students who weren’t participating in the selection roared with excitement, while a sharp glint flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes.

Lin Yuan’s strength was simply shocking; he was practically on par with a Patriarch of a major imperial family, like Luo Cheng’s father, Luo Min.

’A genius like this failed to get into the inner academy in the last competition? Just how terrifying is the inner academy?’

Ye Xuan couldn’t help but feel a deep curiosity about the inner academy.

At that moment, the battle continued. Besides Lin Yuan, another female student was also displaying formidable strength.

She was a woman in vine armor with dark skin and very plain features—one might even call her ugly. Her strength, however, was terrifying.

Most shocking of all was her vicious aura, so thick it was almost tangible. The ruthlessness in her eyes and the clean efficiency of her attacks made it hard to believe she was a woman.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Wielding a longsword, Dongfang Zisi fought in the melee amongst a group of experts.

In terms of cultivation, Dongfang Zisi was only a Tier Five Third Layer, making her one of the weakest. Yet, she had mysteriously managed to survive.

One reason was that many of the veteran students were reluctant to attack one of the Ten Beauties of the Dream Realm Plain. The second reason was that her Body Technique was simply too exquisite.

In the chaos of the battle, Dongfang Zisi’s body was like a fluttering butterfly, constantly weaving and turning, silently evading one attack after another. Her own strikes were so subtle that her presence was almost unnoticeable.

It was, admittedly, a very shrewd strategy. Keeping a low profile was the only way to survive a free-for-all like this.

As time passed, the number of eliminated participants steadily grew.

Forty-five people!

Thirty-five people!

Twenty-five people!

They were getting closer and closer to the target of fifteen.

As the number of contestants dwindled, the fighting became less chaotic, and the martial arts arena started to feel more spacious.

"Hm? Dongfang Zisi!"

The fierce-looking female student locked her eyes on Dongfang Zisi.

A woman’s perception of another woman is always different from a man’s.

’A mere Tier Five Third Layer Martial Sect like her wants to take the inner academy exam? And she’s managed to last this long? On what grounds? Just because she has the title of one of the Ten Beauties?’

A vicious glint immediately erupted in the fierce woman’s eyes.

’I’ve lasted this long because of my powerful strength. But her? What right does she have?! Other than a prettier face, what right does she have to stand on the same starting line as me?’

WHOOSH!

At this thought, the fierce woman brandished her scimitar and lunged toward Dongfang Zisi.

"This is bad." Dongfang Zisi’s expression changed. ’Zhang Yan has targeted me.’

While fighting in the melee, she had been secretly observing and assessing the others.

In this group, Zhang Yan was definitely one of the top-ranked contestants. She never expected Zhang Yan to target her.

Once targeted by her, the outcome would surely be dangerous.

But since her opponent was already attacking and she couldn’t evade, she had no choice but to fight back.

SWISH!

Her slender sword conjured a splendid flower of light, forming a purple curtain that blocked her path.

"Trying to block me? As if you could."

Zhang Yan sneered, a cruel light in her eyes. Gray-brown streams of energy swirled around her. Above her head, dark gray Martial Soul power billowed and coiled around the strangely shaped scimitar in her hand.

The power in the scimitar instantly surged as it viciously slashed down on the light curtain Dongfang Zisi had conjured. With a loud BANG, the sword screen shattered. Dongfang Zisi let out a muffled grunt and was sent flying backward.

She only managed to stop herself at the very edge of the martial arts arena.

’Such powerful strength. I can’t fight her head-on. I have to find a way to wear her down.’

Dongfang Zisi gritted her teeth, thinking to herself as she hurriedly moved away from the edge, darting rapidly across the arena.

’Hm? She actually blocked it? Well, she won’t be so lucky next time.’

Zhang Yan sneered and quickly brandished her twin blades, launching a frenzied assault on the rapidly moving Dongfang Zisi.

This chase immediately attracted the attention of countless veteran students in the audience.

"Zhang Yan is actually hunting down Dongfang Zisi."

"Is that really necessary? With Dongfang Zisi’s strength, even if she passes the first round, there’s no way she’ll pass the second. Zhang Yan is being a bit too vicious."

"It’s a woman thing. We all get it."

"It’s true what they say: the ugly ones are always causing trouble."

As the academy’s goddess, Dongfang Zisi naturally had a legion of fans. Seeing her being hunted down, the veteran students in the crowd immediately spoke out in scorn.

Hearing these words, Zhang Yan’s already dark face grew even more sullen. The viciousness in her eyes practically materialized as she became utterly ruthless, no longer holding anything back.

Under her frenzied pursuit, Dongfang Zisi was immediately put in a perilous situation, in constant danger of being eliminated.

Just at the critical moment when Dongfang Zisi was about to be defeated, Lu Jun suddenly stood up from the judges’ seats. With a wave of his hand—BOOM—an invisible force descended, halting the slaughter in the martial arts arena.

"The fifteen winning students have been chosen. The first round of selection for Group One is over."

Lu Jun’s rumbling voice echoed between heaven and earth.

Dongfang Zisi immediately heaved a long sigh of relief. Her body went limp, and she nearly collapsed from exhaustion.

"Hmph. You escaped this time. You won’t be so lucky next time."

Zhang Yan snorted coldly, sheathed her scimitar, and lightly leaped from the martial arts arena.

"Now, will the contestants for Group Two please prepare."

With almost no break, Lu Jun had already given the order for the next group’s selection to begin.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The fifty contestants from the second group shot toward the martial arts arena.

"Heh heh, I can’t believe that brat ended up in our group. He can just wait to be eliminated."

Before stepping onto the stage, Feng Guang shot a cold, sinister glance at Ye Xuan, a savage look on his face.

On the stage, the fifty contestants took their positions.

While the first group was competing, the contestants of the second group had been observing very carefully. Using the first round as a reference, they had each already formed a plan.

’In this group, Chu Jian and his people are the strongest. It’s best not to cross them.’

’In the previous assessment, the newcomer Hou Fei showed decent strength, and Xuan Ye is ranked even higher. He might be stronger than he looks. Plus, as a mere Tier Five Third Layer Martial Sect, he’s too attractive as a target. I should avoid fighting him and getting drawn into the chaos.’

The students rapidly analyzed the situation in their minds.

"The first round of the Group Two assessment... begins!"

Lu Jun’s deep voice rang out above the martial arts arena.

"Kill!"

"Bring it on!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

Streams of Profound Power of all colors erupted within the martial arts arena.

The competing Martial Artists quickly found their targets and began to fight frantically.

They had to start fighting immediately. If they only focused on dodging without finding a target, they would easily be singled out by the stronger contestants.

Among them, many students who knew each other formed temporary alliances to watch each other’s backs.

Of course, they would eventually have to turn on each other, but a temporary alliance could help them last until the final moments.

This was especially true for Chu Jian and Feng Guang, who had teamed up. By watching each other’s backs, they were strong enough to deter any other group from targeting them.

"Feng Guang, stick with me. Don’t stray too far. If we team up, we’ll definitely make it to the second round," Chu Jian called out coldly, his expression arrogant.

"No problem. But before that, I’m going to eliminate an eyesore."

Feng Guang grinned, his savage gaze fixed on Ye Xuan in the distance. He looked like a hungry wolf stalking its prey, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain.

"Make it quick," Chu Jian said, glancing over coldly before saying no more. He focused his attention on the other students who had formed alliances.

Individually, he didn’t consider any of those students a threat, but united, they could become an obstacle to him reaching the second round.

"Don’t worry, this will only take a moment."

Feng Guang gave a savage laugh and instantly closed in on Ye Xuan.

By now, the entire martial arts arena had descended into chaos, with most of the students already engaged in a free-for-all.

"Haha, little guy! A freshman who just enrolled wants to join the inner academy? I, Fang Kui, will teach you just how ridiculous that is today!"

A burly student had targeted Ye Xuan the moment the fight began. He brandished a huge black battle-axe, which, empowered by his Martial Soul, was wreathed in raging flames, making him look like a flame demon from hell.

His eyes were savage as he swung the giant axe, bringing it down directly on Ye Xuan.

"That Fang Kui... How dare he try to steal my prey?"

Feng Guang’s eyes turned cold as he rushed over from a distance. To his frustration, however, before the words had even left his mouth, a stream of light shot out from the side—a long spear imbued with terrifying piercing power, stabbing fiercely toward his chest.