"Your strength is not enough, step down." Yang Miaojiao commanded, her target being the young warrior of the first level.

"I'll step down myself." The young man had already seen Yang Miao's strength and knew his own was far from enough. Besides, with only the strong remaining, he couldn't stay till the end. It was wiser to step down voluntarily, he thought, and indeed, he jumped off the stone platform directly.

"Good for you to recognize the situation." Yang Miao clapped her hands with a slight smile.

"This second round is really simple." Li Lin was somewhat surprised. He had hardly made a move, and Du Gu Binglan was just dodging in the chaos, hardly a real engagement. Now, only eight people remained on the stone platform, which could only be attributed to the significant disparity in strength among the others.

"Alright, the eight of you, come down." The elder from Yunyang Sect instructed the remaining eight.

The eight leaped down from the stone platform, landing almost simultaneously, adding a touch of beauty to the scene.

"Now, you eight will enter the third round, where only four will remain, and four will be eliminated. Whether you can enter Yunyang Sect will depend on your own strength and luck," said the middle-aged elder of Yunyang Sect, scanning the crowd before continuing, "There are eight jade tokens in the box in front of me with your names. I will draw two each time, and those called will compete on the stone platform. The winner will enter Yunyang Sect. As for facing the opponent you least want to encounter, don't blame fate or others, as it's all down to luck, since I'm just randomly drawing two tokens."

"This time, the young talents from Qingyun Town are not bad. It's just that they met together. Under normal circumstances, some of those who lost would have had the chance to enter Yunyang Sect," commented an elder from Yunyang Sect with white eyebrows from the judges' seat.

"Indeed, this time, there are quite a few with strong talents," nodded the heads of various families, recognizing that this generation of young people was incomparable to the past.

"The first round, Du Gu Binglan, Luo Fei," announced the Yunyang Sect elder, drawing two jade tokens from the box, calling up Du Gu Binglan and Luo Fei from the Luo family.

The Luo family's faces changed immediately on the judges' seat. Luo Fei was only a second-level warrior, while Du Gu Binglan was already a ninth-level warrior. This gap was not ordinary.

"Go on up, falling off the stone platform means defeat," said the elder from Yunyang Sect.

With a sense of resignation, Luo Fei leaped onto the stone platform. As a member of the Luo family, even knowing he was outmatched, he couldn't show weakness in front of so many.

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Du Gu Binglan, with an unchanging expression, vibrated her true qi within her graceful body, leaping onto the platform in a beautiful arc, causing ripples in many young men's hearts.

"Let's begin," Du Gu Binglan said softly to Luo Fei, her body enveloped in a faintly visible qi shield.

"Miss Du Gu, please forgive me," Luo Fei spoke lightly, gripping a green longsword in his hand, with true qi spreading through the blade, revealing a sharp edge that demanded attention.

"Come on." Du Gu Binglan softly called out, as the true qi around her body surged. With both participants vibrating their true qi, the air around the stone platform seemed to solidify. The tens of thousands of onlookers began to quiet down, their gazes fixed on the two, curious to see who would be the second to enter Yunyang Sect.

Li Lin watched Du Gu Binglan and Luo Fei on the platform, expecting the outcome to hold no surprise. Then, his gaze shifted far towards Cuiyu, who seemed to be looking back at Li Lin, nodding slightly. She appeared to have no worries about her mistress.

Luo Fei took a deep breath, and his longsword spread out a blade that carved a not-so-shallow mark on the stone platform, sparking as it rushed towards Du Gu Binglan.

Du Gu Binglan's expression remained unchanged. As Luo Fei got within five meters, she moved, her toes lightly touching the ground, her body drifting and flickering like a leaf in a storm, swiftly crossing paths with Luo Fei.

In that instant, Du Gu Binglan formed hand seals, her body shining with a bright blue light. Her slender wrist extended gracefully from her sleeve, her delicate hand sweeping out naturally, forming five small water blades from five streams of water, cutting through the air and slashing towards Luo Fei.

Luo Fei's expression darkened, his longsword hastily drawing out five sword shadows to collide with the water blades, cutting through the air and raising a whirlwind, compressing the surrounding air.

The collision of forces shattered the water blades, but Luo Fei's body staggered back several steps, his longsword scraping across the stone platform with sparks before he steadied himself.

Then, Du Gu Binglan reappeared, her figure graceful as she swung her arm, her right hand forming a half-meter-diameter azure water ball, hurling it fiercely at Luo Fei. The oppressive force of the water ball rippled through the air, showcasing the strength of a ninth-level warrior.

Luo Fei's expression darkened again. Pulling his longsword from the stone platform, he formed a hand seal with one hand, channeling true qi into the sword, causing it to hum. Gritting his teeth, he leaped up, his longsword thrusting forward, leaving a dazzling arc in the air. The sharp tip seemed to pierce through the air resistance, creating dozens of light rays and drawing a sword flower with a crisp sound as it collided with the water ball. Upon impact, a powerful surge of energy met, and the sword tip was swallowed by the water ball, leaving Luo Fei unable to move his longsword.

The water ball then pressed forward, bending the sword to an extreme curve as if it was about to break, causing Luo Fei's eyes to widen in shock as he retreated.

Many onlookers winced for Luo Fei, who was clearly outmatched and obviously not the opponent.

At that moment, Du Gu Binglan's figure appeared like a phantom, her wrist flicking up, and her palm raised, a blue palm imprint swung out without hesitation. A violent surge of water-attributed true qi burst from her palm, striking Luo Fei's right shoulder. The powerful force shattered Luo Fei's protective qi shield, and with the palm's impact, Luo Fei's body fell to the ground like a cut kite.

With a loud "thud," Luo Fei's body landed outside the stone platform without any suspense.

"Du Gu Binglan wins," announced the official from Yunyang Sect. According to the rules, falling off the stone platform meant defeat. In the first match, Du Gu Binglan successfully secured a place to enter Yunyang Sect.