Seeing that the time for the examination had already arrived, Yang Yi had someone lock the wooden gate at the wooden fence entrance to the platform.
Outside the wooden fence, there were still three or four late registered disciples, both male and female, who were clinging to the fence, pleading softly with Yang Yi. Yang Yi just scolded them a few times, then took a tray of mountain fruits and, while eating, lifted his eyes to look over at the platform.
With the sound of clanging copper gongs, the start of the second examination was announced.
Yang Yi left only two people to guard the wooden fence. He then took people to patrol the large platform area.
Xiao Yu, Ximen Kankan, and Shen Mizi were lined up in a long dragon-like queue according to their numbers.
Duan Rong, not having a number anyway, simply joined in the crowd and stood behind Xiao Yu.
Because verification was not conducted when lining up, they would only verify their sect cloud scroll and numbers when they went on stage.
The number of participants in the examination was still large.
At this time, the first batch of people had already started standing in the large red circle lines on the platform.
The nearest circles to here still had some spots to fill, while on the far side, some places had already started the competition.
The crisp sound of clashing weapons rang out, near and far.
And at the front of the queue, the Internal History Department personnel were continuously allowing people to enter the nearby circles.
Duan Rong stood behind Xiao Yu and could tell that Xiao Yu was a bit nervous.
Duan Rong leaned over to Xiao Yu’s ear and whispered, "It’s okay. I did a late divination, and you all will pass."
Xiao Yu turned and smiled lightly at Duan Rong. "When did you learn to divine?"
Duan Rong laughed, "I learned it over the past two years. Just in case I end up wandering the Jianghu in the future, I need a way to make a living."
Xiao Yu rolled her eyes at Duan Rong and looked into his eyes, saying, "Fortune tellers are usually blind, you know."
"Isn’t that simple?" Duan Rong rolled his eyes upward, revealing only the whites, perfectly imitating a blind person.
"Enough already! Couldn’t you learn something better?!" Xiao Yu laughed at Duan Rong’s antics and lightly punched him on the shoulder.
With Duan Rong’s teasing, Xiao Yu’s tension indeed dissipated quite a bit.
Seeing Xiao Yu calming down, Duan Rong felt relieved and focused his eyes on the large platform.
In just a short while, some circles had already determined winners.
The numbers for these registered disciples were randomly assigned in the Deep Valley of the giant divine statue.
At that time, each attendant responsible for registering from the Internal History Department had twenty numbers to distribute as they registered participants.
With random pairings, the gap between two people in a circle could be quite large, allowing for a quick determination of superiority.
Those who lost the first round would be renumbered and lined up at the back, awaiting the second round of competition.
Whenever a circle was vacant, someone would call out to the verifier to let two more people in.
Initially, results came out one by one, and as time went on, two by two became six by six.
Quickly, Xiao Yu and Ximen Kankan went on stage almost simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Shen Mizi, being some distance away, was still waiting in line.
Around the large circles on the platform, small groups of people were watching the matches. These people were those who had already won earlier bouts.
The second round of examinations had been passed, and since there was nothing else to do, and since the exit gate was tightly guarded by the Judgment and Rectification Department, they stayed to watch others compete as a form of entertainment.
Duan Rong followed Xiao Yu to her competition circle and at a certain point, seeing Ximen Kankan about to turn to another area, Duan Rong suddenly kicked Ximen Kankan’s rear, saying, "Do well, or I’ll kill you."
Ximen Kankan brushed off the shoe print on his butt and cursed, "Just wait, you!"
Saying this, he continued on to his designated circle.
Duan Rong chuckled and accompanied Xiao Yu as she moved to another area.
Approaching the circle, Xiao Yu saw a burly man already standing inside.
Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and said, "It’s okay. I’m watching you from behind."
Xiao Yu agreed with a hum, suddenly feeling a surge of confidence.
With a fierce look in her eyes, she gripped her Qingling Saber and stepped into the circle.
The attendant from the Internal History Department standing outside the circle announced the rules to both of them once more, and after a brief pause, shouted, "Begin!"
As soon as the attendant finished saying "begin," the burly man opposite, raised his hand, gripping the hilt of the saber on his back, breaking the strap with a twist, and held a wide-blade saber in his hand.
The man’s eyes bulged with fury, his legs like mighty hammers pounding the ground, advancing rapidly with a leap, saber in hand, striking at Xiao Yu with impressive force.
Xiao Yu’s form flickered, dodging swiftly, then turning, she unleashed a killing move from the Flowing Cloud Snow Shadow Saber technique, Flowing Wind and Returning Snow.
The saber’s shadow flickered, concealing its deadly intent!
The burly man, seeing the flickering saber shadow, found it hard to discern real from fake, with the chilling intent subtly emanating.
He immediately retreated, swinging his saber horizontally at Xiao Yu, intending to break her skill with sheer force.
The man’s saber technique was obviously one of sheer strength, bold and sweeping.
Yet Xiao Yu advanced instead of retreating, her saber cutting down on the man’s saber blade.