At those words, everyone in the rest area on the right froze.
Some had excitement blazing in their eyes, others wore combative expressions, and a small number looked timid.
The official on the Martial Arts Arena continued, "The second round will be a tournament-platform contest. There are twenty platforms in the arena, and the contest will last one hour. Anyone still standing on a platform when time is up will be selected as a Martial Scholar in the county-city Martial Examination!"
After hearing the rules, everyone looked eager to give it a try.
Put simply, this platform contest was meant to pick the twenty strongest out of the more than two hundred of them.
However, luck played a considerable part, too.
Even if you were strong, you wouldn't be able to hold your platform if several experts challenged you one after another.
That made choosing the right time to take a platform very important.
"Very well, the second round begins now!"
As soon as the official finished speaking, the Martial Arts Arena was immediately divided into twenty platforms.
But the more than two hundred people taking part in the Martial Examination didn't rush onto them. They all looked around, studying the others.
Just then, a muscular man in black martial attire sprang onto Number One Arena with a whoosh.
His move immediately drew everyone's attention. The muscular man turned to face the crowd below and sneered.
"Heh, you bunch of cowards. I gave you your chance, and you don't even know how to seize it. What a pack of useless fools!"
His words angered the crowd. The next moment, a white-robed man holding a sword shouted, "Kid, you're too arrogant! Let me see what you've got!"
With that, the swordsman leaped onto Number One Arena.
But before the two men on Number One Arena could start fighting, people jumped onto the other nineteen platforms as well.
The muscular man's words had provoked them. Most of them figured that since they had to fight for a platform anyway, they might as well do it sooner rather than later.
In the blink of an eye, fights broke out across all twenty platforms.
Lu Feng simply stood below, watching the fierce battles unfold.
After observing for a while, he found that most of those who had taken the platforms were Ninth-Rank Martial Artists. There were only two or three experts in the Martial Master Realm.
Yet even those few Martial Masters could easily defeat the Ninth-Rank Martial Artists.
Lu Feng shook his head helplessly and thought, Sigh, it seems the county-city Martial Examination is nothing special.
With his current strength in the Grandmaster Realm, the fights on the platforms looked like children playing.
After the battles had gone on for a quarter of an hour, a familiar figure suddenly stepped onto the third platform.
He wore fine clothes and held a folding fan, looking every bit the elegant young gentleman.
That's right! The man was none other than Zhou Taian of the Zhou Family in Baiyue County City.
A cold glint flashed in Lu Feng's eyes when he saw him take the platform.
The man first cupped his hands in greeting, then immediately began fighting the platform's occupant.
Unfortunately, the defender couldn't last ten exchanges before Zhou Taian blasted him off the platform with a punch.
Judging by that fight, Zhou Taian seemed to have the strength of a Second-Rank Martial Master.
But his punch had been vicious. Not only had it sent his opponent flying off the platform, it had also badly injured his internal organs.
An injury like that was likely to damage the man's future cultivation. Such ruthless tactics immediately cowed many of the people below.
Zhou Taian watched his opponent lie on the ground, coughing up blood, and sneered inwardly. Outwardly, though, he cupped his hands and apologized.
"Brother, I'm truly sorry. You know that fists and feet have no eyes. I didn't expect you to be unable to withstand that punch. My apologies!"
Though he said that, everyone knew Zhou Taian had done it on purpose. After all, his opponent had only been a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist.
After hearing Zhou Taian's apology, the defeated Martial Artist not only failed to feel any better about his loss, but spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out.
This sight made everyone understand Zhou Taian's strength and character. For a moment, no one dared challenge him on the third platform.
Seeing this, Zhou Taian looked pleased with himself and snapped his folding fan fully open.
But just then, a white figure shot onto the third platform.
When everyone looked over, they saw a beautiful woman in a white robe, holding a Long Sword.
Everyone was astonished that someone dared to challenge Zhou Taian.
After all, Zhou Taian was a Second-Rank Martial Master, and his methods were extremely ruthless and underhanded.
Anyone who dared challenge him had to be confident in their own strength.
"Huh?! This woman seems to be from the Lu Family of the county city. I think she's... the Lu Family's direct daughter, Lu Wei!"
A young man suddenly identified the woman in white, and everyone was momentarily stunned.
"So this is Lu Wei. If that's the case, this fight should be interesting!"
"That's right! I've heard that Lu Wei, the Lu Family's direct daughter, entered the Martial Master Realm long ago. I wonder which of them will win?"
The crowd below began talking among themselves, and Lu Feng turned his attention to the two on the third platform.
He knew them both. Lu Wei had even earned praise from Miss Shangguan of the Capital City.
Based on what he had heard, Lu Wei had the advantage. After all, she had already reached the Third-Rank Martial Master realm.
When Lu Wei stepped onto the third platform, Zhou Taian's face changed slightly, and he inwardly groaned.
As a member of the Zhou Family, Zhou Taian naturally knew Lu Wei's strength. She was on par with the Zhou Family Direct Son, Zhou Yonghua.
There was no way he could deal with her!
But now that they had faced off, Zhou Taian couldn't back down, so he cupped his hands and said, "Miss Lu, you're the Lu Family's direct daughter, yet you've chosen to challenge my platform. Aren't you giving me too much credit?"
Lu Wei's expression remained calm. "Choosing whom to challenge is my right. If you don't dare fight me, then admit defeat."
Zhou Taian's expression darkened, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Since that's the case, I'll have the honor of learning Miss Lu's skills!"
With that, Zhou Taian dashed forward. But before he could reach Lu Wei, her Long Sword was already thrusting toward him.
The speed of her strike startled Zhou Taian, and he immediately raised his folding fan to block it.
"Clang!"
After a sharp ring, Zhou Taian's charge came to an abrupt halt, and he stumbled back several steps.
Once he had steadied himself, he narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Miss Lu, you're truly skilled. I didn't expect you to have broken through to Fourth-Rank Martial Master!"
Lu Wei's expression remained calm. "If you want to fight, then fight. Why waste time talking?!"
Zhou Taian only gave a cold laugh. "Heh, Miss Lu, your strength is extraordinary. I admit defeat!"
With that, Zhou Taian sprang down from the third platform.
Lu Wei raised an eyebrow at the sight. Since he had admitted defeat, there was nothing else to be done!
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