In chaotic times, one can become a martial immortal.

"He actually dared to accept the challenge? Isn't he afraid of suffering the same fate?"

"He must be only seventeen or eighteen years old. He's so young. Even if he fails the exam this year, he'll still have many opportunities in the future. There's no need to rush."

"Passing two rounds of assessments is already a testament to your talent. Even if it's just a fleeting moment, there's no need to push yourself further. Damaging your foundation as a result will only negatively impact your future!"

Seeing that Lu Yuan still chose to confront Xu Qing directly, many people secretly shook their heads.

I just felt that he was too young and impetuous, and that he would only hurt himself.

At this moment, almost everyone who knew Lu Yuan turned their attention to him.

Some were worried, some were hopeful, and some were even gloating.

"I'll show you that even among those considered 'entry-level', there can be worlds apart in strength!"

Xu Qing sneered, and then immediately made his move.

His body twisted strangely, as if he had no bones, and he traversed several meters, appearing in front of Lu Yuan in the blink of an eye.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, he formed his right hand into a claw, the fingertips gleaming with a sinister bluish-black hue, and aimed directly at Lu Yuan's arm, intending to repeat his previous tactic and completely cripple his arm as well.

"Mysterious Technique, Serpent Hand!"

Someone couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The Serpent Hand technique is not only a profound-grade skill, but also swift and ruthless. If one can master it to a high level or even perfect it, one can easily break through even the iron or copper skin of a ninth-grade martial artist.

Although Xu Qing had only cultivated to the minor completion stage, the power of the Spirit Serpent Hand was still terrifying. If he were caught, unless he was already at the ninth rank and had even developed an iron skin, his entire arm might be ruined.

"Lu Yuan has already mastered a movement technique to a high degree, even to perfection, and will definitely be able to easily evade this attack!"

Unlike the Zhou brothers, Zhou Wen and Zhou Wu, Huang Hui did not show any surprise at this moment.

At the gathering of heroes, Cao Yang's fully mastered spear strike failed to hit Lu Yuan, so there's no need to worry about Xu Qing's barely mastered grab.

However, Lu Yuan did not use the Swift Wind Step to dodge at this moment, and still stood there quietly.

He seemed to have no time to react before Xu Qing's hand, which resembled the open mouth of a venomous snake, bit his arm tightly.

"it's over!"

Xu Qing sneered, and then suddenly exerted his strength.

However, the smile on his face froze completely the next moment.

He discovered that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything to his opponent.

It should be noted that although he had only cultivated the Serpent Hand to a minor level, his entry-level cultivation was enough to easily overwhelm martial artists of the same level. Even if the opponent was wearing iron armor, he could easily crush it.

As a result, his attack, which could shatter metal and destroy gold, couldn't harm Lu Yuan in the slightest.

How could this happen?

"Smash it!"

Unwilling to accept defeat, Xu Qing desperately unleashed the power of his internal energy, his face turning bright red.

Unfortunately, even so, it still had no effect whatsoever.

It was as if Lu Yuan's arm was forged from refined steel, incredibly hard.

"this one?"

Lu Yuan glanced at Xu Qing indifferently, then directly raised his hand and grabbed the other's wrist, exerting force suddenly.

"Click...click...click-clack..."

A terrifying force struck, causing Xu Qing's entire arm to twist like a pretzel, as if it were made of clay, leaving him utterly powerless to resist.

"what!"

Xu Qing screamed and dropped the object, staggering backward.

At that moment, the entire venue fell silent.

Everyone watching this battle had their eyes completely fixed on it.

"That felt...good!"

Only Song Yuan's team, including Gu Ming, Chen Pi, and Chen Yong, recovered quickly and were all very excited.

Xu Qing crippled Hong Lei's right arm, so Lu Yuan not only crippled Xu Qing's right arm as well, but crippled it even more thoroughly.

In their view, Lu Yuan was avenging Hong Lei by doing this.

"Wanhetang will take note of this matter!"

Among the crowd, Zhao Shuo, with an extremely ugly expression, coldly addressed the Zhou brothers, Wen and Wu.

His heart was bleeding; he had spent countless resources to finally cultivate such a first-rate genius with exceptional talent.

They had thought that once Xu Qing passed the imperial examination, Wanhetang would be able to completely suppress Guangchuntang.

Unexpectedly, everything went down the drain, and it was impossible to cultivate a second one in the short term.

"You're right, fists and feet have no eyes. In martial arts duels, life and death are left to fate. Besides, it seems that Xu Qing wanted to cripple Lu Yuan's arm but failed. If that's the case, what's wrong with Lu Yuan crippling one of his arms?"

Zhou Wen smiled faintly and said directly.

For Guangchuntang, Lu Yuan's decision to cripple Xu Qing was undoubtedly a great stroke of luck.

On this point alone, the resources that the Zhou family had previously invested in Lu Yuan were not a loss.

"No matter what tricks Wanhetang uses, Guangchuntang will fight them to the bitter end!"

Zhou Wu simply replied coldly.

"That kid is really good, but he must have family, right?"

Zhao Shuo sneered.

"You can try. I, Huang Hui, will fight you to the death!"

As soon as Zhao Shuo finished speaking, Huang Hui immediately shouted angrily.

"My Zheng family will swear an oath to the Zhao family until death!"

"And my Zhang family too!"

Zheng Shuang and Zhang Yida both glared angrily at Zhao Shuo.

"Don't get me wrong... I was just joking!"

Zhao Shuo's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly waved his hands to explain, his voice even trembling slightly.

Although Huang Hui only had the cultivation level of Transformation Realm, he was a true veteran of the martial arts world with extensive connections.

If it were just him, that would be one thing, but even the two eldest sons of the Zheng and Zhang families personally got involved.

Although the Zhao family had Wanhetang under its control, making them much stronger than ordinary wealthy households, they were still far from being able to compare with century-old powerful families like the Zhang and Zhao families.

Therefore, Zhao Shuo had no choice but to back down and dared not utter another harsh word. He could only have his men carry the unconscious Xu Qing away in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan remained standing there quietly, waiting for the next match to begin.

Of the three people in his group, two besides him are practically useless.

This means that he is the only one who can make it onto the list, and he can also compete for a place in the top ten.

Moreover, the two vacant spots can be filled by two other people who were originally supposed to be eliminated.

Soon, the rankings for each group were basically determined.

Including Lu Yuan, the first place winners in each group can continue to compete for a place in the top ten of this martial arts competition.

The second place winner did not need to continue the competition. Although they could not be ranked in the top ten, they had already achieved fame and also obtained a spot to directly enter the county city martial arts academy.

As for the third place, they still need to go through an elimination round.

Originally, six people should have been eliminated, but now only four need to be eliminated.

The first event, naturally, was the ranking battle that everyone was looking forward to.

The rules are simple: there are ten circles about three meters in diameter in the arena, and in the center of each circle is a flag with the numbers one to ten, representing the top ten on the leaderboard.

As long as one can remain within the company's circle and not allow others to step in, one can eventually be ranked in this position.

The competition among twelve people vying for ten flags may seem small, but in reality, it will be a fierce battle among these geniuses to secure a top ranking.

……