The speed of the Ice Soul Sword was too fast and erupted too fiercely. Li Tong didn't even have time to activate his protective shield and was taken out in one move.
Fortunately, the grand formation has a built-in protection mechanism; when the damage received exceeds a certain threshold, a protective field will form and teleport the combatant away.
Additionally, after the battle concludes, the state will refresh, and most short cooldown spells and techniques will reset their cooldowns.
After defeating this opponent, Su Yu rested for about a minute. A pillar of light descended, and a second opponent appeared.
Just like the previous round, Su Yu's first move seemed like a single strike, but it actually dealt six stages of damage, consuming over half of the Protective Treasure's defense, followed by a blow of Purple Essence Qi Strength that shattered the Treasure Light of the Protective Treasure, with the Ice Soul Sword seamlessly following up, once again achieving an instant kill.
The instant kill was so swift that it took almost two minutes to match with the third opponent.
This opponent was slightly stronger, with better Magical Treasures, and a combo couldn't even breach the Defense Treasure.
But the result was no different. Su Yu's Swordsmanship was too powerful, with each strike dealing five hundred damage under the Sword Qi Thunder Sound boost. The six-stage damage of each sword strike quickly broke through the defense and took the opponent down.
In less than six minutes, Su Yu secured three wins, earning a spot in the next round.
Upon descending from the arena, his figure materialized in the waiting hall, instantly attracting a group of people's attention.
Su Yu glanced back and realized that besides the first-tier, he was the sixth to complete the battles.
The main issue was that waiting for match-ups took too much time; he was confident that in actual combat, his speed was unmatched.
After all, the strongest first-tier had directly bypassed the first round, and he didn't believe anyone from the second or third tiers was more efficient than him.
Of course, the first five weren't necessarily all victors; it's possible they were too weak and crumbled in every round.
As time passed, more and more people finished their battles and came out, and soon Su Yu saw Gu Zhiqiu also finishing his battle. He approached and asked:
"How did it go?"
"It's over."
"One win and two losses, directly eliminated."
"Uh...."
Gu Zhiqiu rubbed his face hard and patted Su Yu on the shoulder, laughing:
"It's okay, as expected. It's up to you now, keep going."
"Strive for it!"
"Not strive for it, you must. Otherwise, my one gold and your three taels of gold will all go down the drain."
"Hehe."
After a while, an announcement echoed through the waiting hall:
"The first round of the small exam is over. Those eliminated may leave or enter the stands to watch. Victors proceed to the next round."
As soon as the words fell, pillars of light descended, covering individuals, and some disappeared along with the light.
When Su Yu regained his sight, he was already at the front of the grandstand area, where dozens of newcomers who advanced were all transported.
Behind them was a high platform, previously empty, now filled with people.
His gaze swept over, catching sight of a beautiful figure among a dozen seats at the center of the platform.
It was the lady from the previous Poisonous Mist Swamp guild event who had astonished him. She was now sitting poised at the center of the platform, her face in profile exquisite and flawless, her swanlike neck pristine, like a fairy.
"Who is she?"
Su Yu thought he ought to find out her identity after the small exam.
After a brief rest, the host's voice sounded again:
"The second round of this small exam is about to begin. The rule is two-on-two battles until the final ranking is determined."
Su Yu saw the arena's grand formation being adjusted, changing from hundreds of small platforms to four large ones, meaning there would be four battles per round.
"Contestant No. 5 versus Contestant No. 87 on Arena 1."
"Contestant No. 14 versus Contestant No. 68 on Arena 2."
"Contestant No. 33 versus....."
Su Yu didn't hear the rest because it was his turn; he was No. 68 on Arena 2.
Teleported to the arena, he faced an opponent from the first-tier, who was clasping his hands in greeting to the sides, and Su Yu heard cheers from the audience stands.
"This is different indeed."
In the first round, he couldn't hear the outside sounds.
The boy then bowed to the guild executives seated on the platform, glanced back at the thirty-second countdown, and clasped his hands to Su Yu, saying with a smile:
"I have some impression of you. Breaking into this from the second tier shows some skill, but that's about it. You have no idea how vast the gap is between the first and second tiers."
He opened his mouth, and a small bell flew out and expanded, hanging overhead, casting down strands of yellow light to protect him.
"A sixth-tier Defense Treasure....."
He then pulled out a small green Palm Leaf Fan, fanning it gracefully, looking extremely suave.
"Remember my name, the one who defeats you is called He Shoucheng."
"Damn."
Yet another sixth-tier Magical Treasure.
Su Yu tugged at the corner of his mouth, both envious and speechless.
He extended his right hand, and the Ice Soul Sword appeared in his palm, passing through his hand and skillfully circulating around him.
"Flying Sword Style!"
He Shoucheng glanced at the countdown nearing its end, opened his mouth, and spewed a Mana-condensed essence onto the small green Palm Leaf Fan in his hand. A rush of green light surged, and the fan quickly expanded to three meters long. He gripped it with both hands and gave a mighty swing.
Just as the countdown ended, the intangible isolation barrier disappeared. Within a radius of several hundred meters, unseen air currents were drawn by the Magical Treasure, converging into a wind wall four to five meters wide and ten meters high, crashing like a wave.
Su Yu looked up, and the Ice Soul Sword hovering around him turned into light, piercing the wind wall and pointing at the hanging yellow light of the treasure bell, its tip vibrating rapidly, manifesting several flying sword shadows, inflicting six hits instantly.
"Oh!"
Several people on the platform narrowed their eyes, sitting up straight as the stunning figure also fixed her gaze on this arena.
The Ice Soul Sword circled the yellow Treasure Light, instantly dealing six hits, significantly reducing the Magical Treasure's defense.