Chapter 0308: Ice-Fire Death Trap

Chapter 0308: Ice-Fire Death Trap

Qin Yun recalled the Heavenly Prodigy Academy, which had a similar approach.

It was now certain that a maximum of fifty warriors would advance to the next round!

Out of two hundred warriors, one hundred and fifty would be eliminated—this was going to be brutal!

"I heard that the schedule for the upcoming matches might change! It might not be held consecutively every day!" said a blue-robed elder as he walked over.

This elder was Shui Yihui, a senior from the East Palace.

Qin Yun had a deep impression of him; he was a very good person.

Shui Yihui had hoped for Qin Yun to join the East Palace and had invited him several times, but Qin Yun had always declined.

Soon, the Spirit Martial Hall became lively as more and more people arrived.

Upon arriving, they immediately learned about the mentors and became even more excited for the third round.

Xie Wufeng and the others quickly came over to greet Yang Shiyue.

In the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, Yang Shiyue was also a formidable presence. Her mysterious Moon Martial Soul granted her unpredictable and immense power.

If it weren't for her engagement to Xiao Yanglong, many outstanding middle-aged warriors would have pursued her.

"Where's Yuelan?" Qin Yun asked. In the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, Yang Shiyue and Xiao Yuelan had a very close relationship.

"She's in seclusion! Who knows when she'll come out? She said she won't come out until she reaches the Martial Dao Realm!" Yang Shiyue chuckled. "That girl has the same stubborn temper as you. You two are quite a match!"

Qin Yun stuck out his tongue, recalling Xiao Yuelan's kindness, and felt a warm glow in his heart.

Murong Daren laughed, "Xiao Yuelan once tied with Ji Kailin... so she was very dissatisfied and went into seclusion, saying that once she reaches the Martial Dao Realm, she would definitely give Ji Kailin a good beating!"

Huo Zhong added, "Xiao Yuelan could have won, but some elders intervened and stopped the match, so there was no result."

Qin Yun glanced at Ji Kailin not far away and whispered, "That guy, he was so arrogant to me before and even played dirty tricks behind my back... just you wait!"

"Please enter the arena!" a tall, thin elder dressed in a luxurious gold and blue robe shouted coldly.

Qin Yun and Yang Shiyue walked together into the center of the Spirit Martial Hall.

"Two hundred competing warriors and fifty mentors are all present!" the elder announced loudly. "Next, we will proceed with the allocation—one mentor and four competing warriors will form a group, totaling fifty groups!"

"Then, the four competing warriors in each group will battle it out, with only one advancing to the fourth round alongside their mentor!"

Everyone listened in silence as the rules of the third round were announced.

Qin Yun sighed to himself, realizing he might not be able to stay with Yang Shiyue.

Because this allocation was determined by the hosts of the Blue Spirit Holy Palace.

The group in charge of organizing the martial competition was aligned with Ji Kailin.

And they were well aware of Qin Yun and Yang Shiyue's relationship, so they definitely wouldn't let them be together.

Many others thought the same, since Qin Yun and Yang Shiyue together would be an unstoppable force.

Everyone knew that Qin Yun had been under Yang Shiyue's tutelage from the very start.

Qin Yun's growth was fueled by the support and encouragement of Yang Shiyue.

"The first group, mentor Yang Shiyue, with participating warriors Qin Yun, Yu Heng, Gu Ruchen, and Lei Qing!" the elder announced loudly.

The Spirit Martial Hall buzzed with surprised whispers!

Even Qin Yun and Yang Shiyue exchanged surprised glances, quietly pleased!

Outside the hall, Lan Huayu, Xie Wufeng, Lan Fengjin, and others from the Blue Spirit Holy Palace frowned slightly, sensing that this arrangement was not as simple as it seemed.

"This grouping was deliberately arranged! Yu Heng is a talented young saint, and his strength is no less than Ji Kailin's!" Xie Wufeng said coldly. "This way, only Qin Yun and Yu Heng stand a chance in this group."

Lan Fengjin nodded. "They deliberately placed Yu Heng and Qin Yun in the same group, likely confident that Yu Heng will win. Are these people trying to manipulate the competition behind the scenes?"

"If they go too far, I will intervene!" Lan Huayu frowned. "I don't want the reputation of the Blue Spirit Holy Palace to be ruined by these troublemakers!"

Qin Yun didn't know who Yu Heng was, but he also sensed that this matter was not simple!

Soon, the groups were finalized.

Ji Kailin and several saints were each placed in separate groups, ensuring they all had a chance to advance without competing against each other early on.

In Ji Kailin's group, the mentor was an elder dressed in the luxurious gold and blue robes of the Holy Palace.

The quality of the robes was only slightly inferior to Lan Huayu's, indicating a person of high status.

After the groups were finalized, the presiding elder shouted, "Now, the mentors of each group will draw lots to determine the order of appearance! There are twenty-five batches in total, with two groups per batch!"

At this point, no one knew how the winner of each group would be determined!

But it was certain that it wouldn't be through combat, as it had been stated earlier that combat would take place in the final round!

Yang Shiyue stepped forward to draw a lot and was assigned to the twentieth batch, with the character 'ice' marked on it.

After the order was decided, two circular banner formations, each over twenty meters wide, were set up in the spacious central area.

"Next, the participating warriors of each group will undergo trials of ice or fire within these banner formations!"

"Those who can endure until the other three fall will be the winners! If everyone falls together, the entire group is eliminated!"

The two formations looked downright terrifying!

Everyone was curious and speculated about what kind of formations they were.

Lan Huayu's solemn voice suddenly rang out.

"One is the Icebone Penetration Array, and the other is the Flamesoul Shattering Array, both king-tier spirit arrays! They belong to the category of killing arrays. Even those at the Martial Dao realm, if not escaping in time, will surely die within an hour!"

Hearing this, the crowd gasped in shock!

These were terrifying killing arrays capable of trapping and killing Martial Dao realm experts!

"Of course, four warriors at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage entering together can share the array's power. They should be able to endure for about half an hour! Don’t worry, these two killing arrays aren’t sealed; you can enter and exit at any time. If you can't endure, just run out. Staying inside and enduring will only lead to death!"

Lan Huayu was also warning Qin Yun about the dangers of these two killing arrays.

The other participating warriors, upon learning of the arrays' lethality, felt a chill run down their spines.

The first group went up, eight warriors at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage, including both middle-aged men and elders.

Each group of four entered the two king-grade spiritual-level killing arrays!

As soon as they entered, the killing arrays activated with fierce intensity!

The Icebone Penetration Array had the least visible movement, only emitting waves of cold air, but the warriors inside were screaming the loudest.

Within just a few seconds, an elder couldn't bear it and jumped out.

In the Fireflare Soul-Splitting Array, swirls of purple-gold flames flickered like ghostly fire clouds, enveloping the warriors inside.

The four warriors inside were also suffering greatly, howling in agony as they were severely burned!

Not long after, only two warriors remained in each killing array.

"Ah!"

A middle-aged man inside the Icebone Penetration Array roared and then leaped out, collapsing to the ground, gasping for breath, his face pale and terrifying.

This sight sent shivers down the spines of many waiting warriors, who were now filled with fear.

In the Icebone Penetration Array, a chubby middle-aged man held out until the end, and it hadn't taken long at all!

"Being fat has its perks—better resistance to the cold!" someone remarked.

"The fire array also has its result!"

Everyone looked over and saw that the Fireflare Soul-Splitting Array had closed. Inside stood a tall, thin man, steaming from head to toe, his face contorted in pain, his hair completely burned off, leaving him bald.

The warriors who endured until the end were quite formidable.

Next came the second group!

The second group, assigned to the Icebone Penetration Array, all ran out almost immediately.

This meant that all four in this group were eliminated from the next round!

Both killing arrays were extremely powerful. Warriors at the ninth level of the Martial Body stage could only last a short while inside, which was already considered impressive.

Fifteen groups had already entered the killing arrays for the trial.

If one person from each of the two arrays in every group could endure until the end, then thirty people should have advanced.

However, many ran out as soon as they entered, so only twenty had passed the trial so far.

Yang Shiyue had great confidence in Qin Yun, knowing that he had grown through immense hardship and many trials, far surpassing those pampered saintesses.

Ji Kailin, who had been watching from the sidelines, suddenly walked into the center of the arena and entered the Fireflare Soul-Splitting Array!

This instantly sparked great excitement among the crowd!

"Ji Kailin, with the Seven Suns Spiritual Veins and the Thunder Kirin Martial Soul, is said to be at the peak of the ninth level of the Martial Body stage. If nothing goes wrong, he is highly likely to step into the Martial Dao realm within the next two years!"

"He grew up in the Blue Spirit Holy Palace! Lan Fengjin also grew up there, which is why she entered the Martial Dao realm at such a young age!"

"What an incredible figure!"

The warriors in Ji Kailin's group felt unlucky. They had little confidence facing him and simply forfeited.

As a result, Ji Kailin cleared this round without being tormented by the slaughter formation, which made many people envious.

The crowd was also very disappointed, as they had originally wanted to see Ji Kailin's strength!

"Hmph, they shouldn't allow forfeits. At the very least, they should have to step inside!"

"Exactly, this is totally unfair. He didn't do anything and still advanced!"

"There's no helping it. Since the competition is hosted by the Blue Spirit Holy Palace, they naturally want to make sure a Blue Spirit saintess comes out on top."

"Man, I hope Qin Yun can take down the Blue Spirit Holy Palace and knock them down a peg!"

Many people at the scene were grumbling, and surprisingly, a good number of warriors were rooting for Qin Yun to beat the Blue Spirit saintess!

Seeing that many people wished for Qin Yun's victory, Ji Kailin clenched his teeth in frustration, his eyes burning with jealousy and resentment as he shot Qin Yun a glare.

In the next two batches of competing warriors, there were Blue Spirit saintesses.

Because the warriors in the same group as the saintess surrendered, they didn't have to endure the torment of the slaughter formation and easily moved on to the next round.

Next, it was Xue Ziyeh's turn, and she was in the same group as a Blue Spirit saintess!

She wasn't the type to back down easily, so she didn't surrender!