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Hiss!!

Many civilians, witnessing that bloody scene, were frightened, backing away continuously and almost causing a stampede.

However, since they were watching through a screen, the impact wasn’t that great. Although deeply frightened, it wasn’t their concern; they were merely shocked, finding the election surprisingly bloody.

But it was different for those at the scene facing all this.

Blades filling the sky, the piercing screams, and the young magicians who turned into flesh and blood in an instant...

The fatal threat made many magicians choose to retreat immediately.

However, once they retreated, the great force of the wind, unreasonable as it was, pushed them all the way to the perimeter of the palace gates and even blew them straight up into the air.

"Illusion Technique..."

A sharp glint flashed in Su Changqing’s eyes as his handsome face filled with gravity.

As a magician who grew up practicing illusion techniques, he hadn’t recognized it at first either, mainly because the aura of the blades was too fierce...

Illusion techniques rely on being realistic, on bluffing people.

The more it can fool, the more successful the illusion.

In the eyes of this expert, the current illusion was definitely top-notch.

It was also lucky that he hadn’t been standing too close to the front; otherwise, like most people, he would have likely chosen to activate his spiritual power to move back at the first instant.

Within the illusion, a strong wind power was mixed. The moment one’s feet left the ground, that exquisite wind technique could swiftly blow them out of the designated area, leading instantly to elimination. With vision slightly impaired, one step back leaves no further chance.

This Zhang Zhiyun—everyone thought he specialized in the Zhang Family’s world-famous Five Thunder Method. No one expected that he would be so proficient in illusion and wind techniques as well, truly catch one off guard.

Su Changqing let out a slight smile, took a deep breath, and the next moment, a dense mist sprayed out from the tip of his nose. In the next instant, he disappeared into the fierce hurricane like a wisp of light smoke.

Techniques are about compatibility, and the design of this challenge may be effective against others, even many experienced and savvy families might stumble, but it was useless against him.

Not only did his Su Family specialize in illusion techniques, but they were also adept at wind techniques. It was as if this challenge was tailor-made for him to solve...

The transformed light smoke that was Su Changqing merged into the hurricane. Despite its gentleness, it rapidly rotated within, filling the entire palace gate with dense fog. No matter how powerful the hurricane, it seemed unable to disperse it.

The viewers in front of the screen saw this hazy sight and began to grow anxious, wanting to see more clearly.

Among the crowd, the real family elders were slightly startled.

This eldest son of the Su Family was indeed extraordinary, with a shocking level of wind technique mastery. He used softness to overcome strength, making the hurricane unable to scatter his form, and then even melded into it—truly master level.

When that child abandoned the True Dragon bloodline of the Nanhai Dragon Clan for the Yunze Dragon, aiming to enhance the family’s illusion characteristics and wind technique, many viewed it as putting the cart before the horse.

Now it seemed not so. Mastery to the peak could indeed turn decay into a miracle. Even the True Dragon Bloodline, facing this pervasive fog, would likely find itself powerless to act...

The dense fog didn’t last long, dissipating almost instantly within a few breaths. Those who didn’t see clearly might think it was because the fog dispersed on its own, but those with keen vision understood that the fog vanished by itself, and with it, Su Changqing himself.

The family head of the Su Family smiled faintly; his eldest son was very independent-minded, which allowed him to form his own style.

This first challenge... was successfully passed!

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Inside the gate of the White Tiger Palace, a wisp of light smoke slowly arrived, the fog quickly spreading out all around while a white figure concealed within it, remaining vigilant.

Being the first one to come in naturally meant he would be given special attention. He had to be more cautious; Zhang Zhiyun’s methods were definitely not limited to this...

But as he was about to make a move, he found himself momentarily stunned.

Because he saw that he was actually not the first to come in...

Before him, unknowingly, three people had already entered.

"Brother Su has arrived?" A familiar voice made Su Changqing’s heart sink slightly.

The one who spoke was Chen Ye.

His golden pupils, as if aflame, stood out strikingly in the midst of the dense fog.

"I have embarrassed myself..." Su Changqing replied with a wry smile.

"Brother Su is too modest." Chen Ye smiled and said, "Brother Su’s mastery of wind technique is truly breathtaking. If Brother Su hadn’t intentionally challenged, how could I have been ahead of Brother Su?"

Su Changqing smiled bitterly and didn’t speak. He indeed had the intention of competing with Zhang Zhiyun in wind technique, but he didn’t delay the notion of being the first to come in at all. He had completely failed to notice how the three people before him had entered.

Chen Ye looked ahead to where those two had already been when he arrived.

He had actually followed the person from the Nie Family in coming here. The moment the palace gate opened, the Nie Family’s youngster hurried toward the gate, completely ignoring the widespread hurricane. At that time, Chen Ye had reacted a half-beat slower and had followed him in.

The guy’s instincts were like those of a wild animal. Chen Ye admitted that, this time, his reaction had been slower than the other’s.

But what was more surprising after entering was that someone else had arrived earlier than them.

That woman...

Chen Ye looked up and saw the woman standing at the forefront.

He didn’t know when that woman had come in; he remembered that before the palace gate was opened, he had been paying close attention to the other party’s movements.

He couldn’t remember when his attention was diverted, but he and the member from the Nie Family should have been the fastest. They had not seen the other party on their way. ..

"Dean Chen..." Chen Ye finally couldn’t help but speak.

Chen Ying, who was ahead, turned her head upon hearing this and looked at him.

Her bright eyes were clear-cut in black and white, unlike his own which contained a terrifying dragon’s might. Yet for some reason, they made him feel somewhat guilty.

He quickly bowed, "May I ask Dean Chen, when did you come in? Why didn’t we encounter each other at the time the palace gate was opened?"

Chen Ying glanced at him, seemingly recognizing him, and spoke directly, "Your thinking is still the same as before, unable to adapt. The rules only stated that those who couldn’t enter the palace gate would be eliminated, but they didn’t say it was against the rules to enter early."

Chen Ye: "....."

After all this... she entered by exploiting a loophole?

"Dean Chen still remembers me?" Chen Ye asked Chen Ying earnestly.

"I am the chief examiner. I have to remember clearly everyone’s scores and behaviors from that year, otherwise how could I make a fair judgment?" Chen Ying said indifferently.

"A fair judgment?" A hint of coldness appeared on the usually humble face of Chen Ye: "Does Dean Chen think the judgment made back then was fair?"

"Do you have objections to my judgment back then?" Chen Ying asked, frowning.

"I just want to ask if Dean Chen truly believes that I was inferior to those who passed the exam back then?"

Chen Ying looked at him earnestly, assessing him for a while, and then said, "Even now, you are still inferior."

"You..."

"Calm down..." Su Changqing, who was next to him, reached out to stop Chen Ye, "The trial isn’t over yet."

Chen Ye let out a cold snort. Today, he really wanted to see what this woman, with Chen Qing on her side, was truly capable of.

.. Having gained some fortuitous encounters, she was so disdainful of others.

Now that he also possessed an ancient lineage, did she truly think she could always stand above others with her fortuitous encounters?

The dense fog cleared, and in less than half an hour, several more people from White Tiger Gate entered one after another. A total of twenty-one people had signed up at the western gate, but now, only seven had made it through the palace gate!

Su Changqing looked around, took a deep breath, and thought that the Illusion Technique at the gate was extraordinary. Without paying attention, one could be eliminated. Zhang Zhiyun was famous indeed, setting up a challenge that seemed insurmountable, just to demonstrate his prestige.

He certainly couldn’t become a stepping stone for others to showcase their capabilities.

But as soon as the dense fog dissipated, the sight that unfolded around him sent a chill through his heart!

With the fog gone, he didn’t know when several tall figures had appeared a few meters away from them.

These figures were stiff, with purple-black skin and thin purple hair, lifeless eyes, and no signs of breathing, clearly indicating they were moldy, rigid corpses.

Yet these corpses exerted an immense pressure on him, reminiscent of his first encounter with the Yaksha guards in the Dragon Palace!

"Flying Stiff?"

Chen Ye recognized the creatures immediately, his face showing shock!

Chen Ying also looked over.

She had heard of these things before. There were tales that a family skilled in dark magic once used high-ranked warriors’ bloodlines to create Flying Stiffs as guards.

Compared to ordinary puppet soldiers, the corpses of warriors were the most useful material.

Once successfully created, in terms of flexibility and strength, they were far superior to regular puppets and even retained the abilities of the warrior from their past life.

The cost-effectiveness was incredibly high.

However, since the world was already ruled by those with warrior bloodlines, such practices of using warrior corpses as weapons were detested by the influential bloodline families, and no Sorcerer Family dared to do such a thing.

Regardless if it was a millennia-old or a ten-millennia-old family, they would be crushed to dust for such acts.

It was unexpected that, as the leading Sorcerer Family in the world, known for the Five Thunder Method, the premier successor of the Zhang Family would use such sinister Flying Stiff guards!

As these thoughts crossed her mind, the Flying Stiffs slowly opened their eyes, showing the whites adorned with a terrifying murderous aura. Under the clear blue sky, everyone felt a chilling sensation, as if they were being targeted by looming horror.

"Everyone..."

A gentle voice came from a distance: "This Flying Stiff technique is the latest experiment by Heavenly Master Mansion and is not stable. Once activated, even I’m unsure if I can control it.

If you’re not confident, you can withdraw now; otherwise.

.. if something really goes wrong, you’re on your own. "

The voice was gentle, but the tone carried a chilling warning. In just a moment, three out of the remaining seven people promptly withdrew.

The ones who withdrew were pale, sweat soaking through their clothes, and even after they were no longer targeted by the Flying Stiffs, the lingering fear nearly caused them to lose their footing.

They didn’t even dare to look back inside.

"This Zhang Zhiyun is truly a madman, daring to use such things..."

One of the three withdrawing magicians, still frightened, said: "Did you see that? Among them, one person..."

"Mm..." The person next to him nodded slightly: "Although I’ve only been to the Capital City once, I’ve seen that person before. Zhang Zhiyun really has no scruples..."

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At this moment, the elders of the Sorcerer Families outside also wore grim expressions. They had not only seen the prohibited use of Flying Stiffs but also spotted a person who should not have been there...

The Duke of Qin... Lumings!