The sudden change took everyone by surprise. Not only were the people in the arena stunned, but also the master of the corpse - officer in the spectator seats outside the arena suddenly stood up from his chair, his face changing drastically!
"This is just a preliminary round. How could such a ferocious thing be arranged! If anything happens to my disciple, I will never forgive you!"
Seeing this, the other celestial masters quickly tried to smooth things over and comforted him, "Don't be in such a hurry. This is just a trial for the younger generation. Look at the mirror. There's still a chance of turning things around!"
In the mirror, just as the jade corpse's slender fingernails were about to touch the throat of the young corpse - officer, Dongfang Xiao on the side reacted. He rushed to the corpse - officer's side and kicked the jade corpse far away!
The corpse - officer, having survived the near - death experience, felt his knees go weak and slumped to the ground.
But unexpectedly, the jade corpse reacted as fast as a leopard. With a roar, it quickly pounced back!
For a moment, the examination hall was in chaos, and the spectators outside were dazzled!
The examinees came to their senses and quickly grabbed their weapons, showing their special skills one by one.
A young monk hurriedly took off the Buddhist beads around his neck. Muttering incantations, he took the opportunity to quickly put the beads around the jade corpse's neck. But the jade corpse rushed so violently that the young monk was almost dragged away!
On the other side, a disciple quietly circled around behind with a peach - wood sword in hand, planning to launch a surprise attack.
But just as he raised his sword, the jade corpse seemed to have eyes in the back of its head. It reached out a claw and grabbed the disciple's neck!
The disciple's face immediately turned purple, and he was on the verge of suffocating. Fortunately, several people nearby stepped forward together, some pulling at the jade corpse's hands and some hugging its waist, and only then did they manage to rescue the disciple.
Outside the arena, Ren Daoyuan, who had been leaning back on his chair leisurely, had sat up straight at some point.
Although the scene in the mirror was chaotic and even a bit embarrassing, every child was doing their best to try to subdue the out - of - control jade corpse. His eyes swept over the disciples of the Myriad Phenomena Academy who were fighting in the arena and he nodded slightly.
Only Liu Ruyan had retreated to the farthest corner at the beginning of the change. Holding a protective talisman in her hand, she frowned at the chaos in the arena, fearing that the crazy jade corpse would affect her.
Ren Daoyuan calmly withdrew his gaze and looked back at the disciples in the arena who, though embarrassed, were still persevering...
Xu Qingfeng happened to look in this direction. Glancing at Dean Ren with a blank face, he couldn't help shivering.
Dean Ren was always kind and approachable. But now his sudden cold expression was really creepy...
Inside the arena, after several rounds of chaotic fighting, Shen Cuiyu suddenly noticed the key point!
Every time the jade corpse fought, it would deliberately or inadvertently protect its chest. Could it be...
Her cold voice accurately reached Dongfang Xiao and Zhong Shengwan's ears:
"The jade corpse's resentment seems to be concentrated in the center of its chest. We need to resolve the root cause. Forcibly suppressing it will only backfire."
Zhong Shengwan looked up upon hearing this and immediately understood.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a stack of talismans he had prepared in advance. Then he deftly took out several Soul - Calming and Peace - Bringing Talismans and quickly threw them out, accurately wrapping the jade corpse!
The originally manic jade corpse's movements paused, and its speed significantly slowed down!
Seeing this, Dongfang Xiao immediately seized the opportunity to step forward again and successfully managed to hold the jade corpse in check!
The corpse - officer who had been defeated earlier had now calmed down. After careful observation, he said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, if this corpse was really artificially refined, there must be a 'hook' for controlling the corpse inside! We need to find and break it!"
He no longer rushed forward rashly. Instead, he took out an ancient bell from his bosom and shook it in a specific rhythm to soothe the restless resentment of the jade corpse.
For a moment, everyone in the arena showed their special skills.
The young monk who had been frustrated earlier also rallied himself. He sat cross - legged with several of his fellow disciples and chanted the Sūtra of Rebirth in unison. The peaceful Buddhist chant flowed like a warm current, gradually melting the Yin and evil qi.
Some disciples who were good at formations quickly set up a simple purification formation around the jade corpse to assist in the suppression.
Shen Cuiyu stood quietly on one side, her eyes slightly closed, and all her mind was immersed in communicating with the remaining spirituality of the jade corpse.
Under the effect of the chanting, the spiritual light of the formation, and Shen Cuiyu's spiritual communication, the jade corpse's violent struggling movements gradually slowed down.
Its shrill howl in its throat gradually turned into a whimper, full of pain and grievance, which made those who heard it feel sad.
After a long time, the jade corpse stiffly turned its neck and looked in Shen Cuiyu's direction. In its angry eyes, the blood - red hostility that had been impossible to dispel gradually faded away, and finally showed a trace of human confusion and... relief.
It slowly raised its sharp claws and pointed at the center of its chest.
"...Exorcise... me."
With a "puff" sound.
The sharp claw shining with cold light plunged into its own chest, and the hook needed for refining the corpse was successfully removed.
The corpse's body trembled violently. After a long howl full of pain and relief, a wisp of black qi escaped from its chest, and it collapsed to the ground!
The blood - red color in its eyes completely faded, leaving only a jade - like gentle calm.
At this moment, the bell for the end of the preliminary round rang melodiously.
"All examinees, the exam is over."
The invigilator finally nodded in satisfaction.
"This level tests your teamwork. As the saying goes, one tree does not make a forest. Each sect of metaphysics has its own strengths. Only by working together can we give full play to our greatest advantages."
At the same time, outside the Retrospective Mirror, the celestial masters and judges had all given their scores, which were loudly announced on the spot by a young eunuch:
"Jia Zhong, 73 points."
"Yu Ke, 0 points."
"Liu Ruyan, 80 points."
"Shen Cuiyu, 90 points."
"Zhong Shengwan, 63 points."
"Dongfang Xiao, 70 points."
........
"The passing mark for the preliminary round is 60 points. Only the disciples who scored 60 points or above can advance. Please leave the examination hall in an orderly manner and rest well to prepare for the next round of the exam."
Everyone came out of the examination hall with their scores. Some were happy while others were sad.
There were originally more than a hundred disciples participating in the preliminary round, but now the number had been halved, which showed the cruelty of the competition!
After Shen Cuiyu's group walked out of the arena, they found that Mr. Yan Zheng and Senior Brother Xu Qingfeng were actually waiting for them outside.
Xu Qingfeng first comforted the disciples who had not advanced:
"Regardless of the result, it's all a kind of experience. What do we people in the metaphysical world have to be afraid of? We should have the courage to accept defeat!"
Then, his eyes turned to Shen Cuiyu and the others, and his eyes suddenly lit up:
"We saw your performance in the arena just now! It was really great!" Xu Qingfeng kept praising. The previous competition had made him so excited that he seemed to have found the sincere heart he had when he first entered the metaphysical world. He even wished he could enter the arena himself and fight side by side with the disciples!
Yan Zheng was talking to the teachers from other academies. Hearing this, he also looked in Shen Cuiyu's direction and unexpectedly showed a smile.
"You did a great job. Keep it up."
"Th... thank you, Mr. Yan!" Zhong Shengwan and Dongfang Xiao glanced at each other, both feeling flattered!
But Xu Qingfeng couldn't help shivering, with a complex look on his face - in just one day, he had not only seen Dean Ren with a cold face but also seen Mr. Yan smiling...
The two scariest moments in the world are probably when a person who always smiles suddenly stops smiling, and when a person who always has a cold face suddenly smiles.
It was really indescribably strange!