At this moment, the two were locked in a stalemate, like statues, each frantically pouring in Spiritual Power.
High above, thousands of feet in the air, several Great Cultivators were watching. These were men who normally wouldn’t flinch if a mountain collapsed before them, yet now, they were growing restless.
"What?!"
The ever-composed Vice-Dean Lu He couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. He even leaned forward slightly, his eyes glued to the two figures below.
He could naturally tell that although this was only the first round’s contest, both Ji Li and Chu Bai had already unleashed their full arsenal. After the high-intensity brawl they had just endured, they were holding nothing back.
Ji Li’s strength was universally acknowledged. His Primordial Magnetic Spiritual Power was tyrannical and unmatched, and his ability to walk on air had stunned the entire crowd.
But even under these circumstances, the young man named Chu Bai wasn’t losing a single inch of ground!
Chu Bai might have had a slight advantage from entering the fray later with more Spiritual Power in reserve, but who was his opponent?
It was Ji Li!
The Scion of Dayuan Prefecture’s number one Noble Family, the perennial top-ranked third-year, a lonely, invincible figure among his peers!
Not even the combined assault from formidable figures like Lü Qing and Wu Jianfei had managed to push him into a truly desperate situation. In fact, he had turned the tables and suppressed them instead.
But now, faced with this young man’s relentless pressure, Ji Li was actually being beaten to the point where blood trickled from his lips and his hair crown was in disarray? He looked almost... pathetic.
And the one responsible for all this was the seemingly unremarkable Chu Bai?
At this moment, even the Dean, who had been as placid as a still well and seemingly lost in thought, showed a rare flicker of astonishment on his aged yet dignified face.
He tilted his head slightly to look at Lu He beside him, his voice laced with confusion.
"Who is that?"
"I can see his Magic Techniques are fluid and his foundation is solid. He has a wide array of methods as well, but his face... I don’t seem to recall it."
As the head of the Daoist School, he usually didn’t concern himself with trivial matters, but he still had some familiarity with the top third-year prospects. Yet this young man who could stand toe-to-toe with Ji Li was a complete stranger to him.
Lu He took a deep breath, calmed his turbulent emotions, and slowly said,
"His name is Chu Bai."
After a pause, he revealed the most unbelievable part of his identity:
"He enrolled last year. He was the champion of the new student tournament."
"What?!"
This time, it wasn’t just Lu He. Even the Dean’s cloudy old eyes suddenly flashed with a brilliant light as they widened in utter astonishment.
"A new student from last year?"
"In other words... he’s only been enrolled for a single year?!"
Beside them, Judge Li, who had maintained a solemn expression the entire time, now looked utterly bewildered, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
As a Judge of the Merit Department, he had seen more geniuses than he could count. But for a student to be on par with a top-tier prodigy after only one year of enrollment... such a thing was simply unheard of.
"Dean Lu, are you saying this person has only been enrolled for a year..."
Judge Li pointed to the young man below who was matching Ji Li blow for blow in a contest of Spiritual Power, his tone filled with disbelief.
"And he already has such a profound foundation? He’s managed to cultivate this level of combat strength?"
"Talent like this... across the entire Great Zhou, wouldn’t it be exceedingly rare?"
Judge Li took a deep breath, looked at the two deans beside him, and exclaimed with genuine admiration,
"Your school... is truly unfathomable!"
Hearing this praise, although Lu He was still reeling from the shock himself, a proud flush couldn’t help but appear on his face.
Whether it was an accident or a miracle, Chu Bai was, after all, a student from his Dayuan Prefecture Daoist School!
"It seems this year’s Immortal Official Examination is going to be far more exciting than we anticipated."
In the stands of the Martial Arts Arena, the atmosphere had reached a fever pitch.
"To think Chu Bai could make it this far!"
Zhou Changkong gripped the railing in front of him so tightly his knuckles turned white. His breathing was as ragged as if he had just run a marathon himself.
In his mind, the best-case scenario was Chu Bai using his Body Technique and strategy to snag a good Dharma Artifact or two and land in the top ten. But now?
Chu Bai wasn’t just ahead of the pack anymore.
He was clashing with Ji Li! He was going head-to-head with the "myth" who symbolized the Daoist School’s peak combat strength, a legend who had never known defeat!
And from the looks of it, they were evenly matched!
"If he wins this, Chu Bai will be the champion of the first round!"
"Wielding three Top-Grade Dharma Artifacts (including the ones he stole), plus the invincible momentum built from this battle, he’ll be unstoppable in the second round’s Demon Hunting and widen his lead even further!"
Tears welled up in Zhou Changkong’s eyes, and his lips trembled as he muttered to himself,
’He can become an Immortal Official... He can really become an Immortal Official!’
To have a first-year student secure a spot as an Immortal Official—what kind of honor was that? It was enough for him, as an Instructor, to boast about for the rest of his life!
It wasn’t just the Instructors.
The many students watching from the sidelines were also fired up with excitement.
Students from every year were gathered here. They had originally come just to watch the show, but as the battle intensified, the classic tale of the underdog defeating the champion, of a heaven-defying twist of fate, deeply stirred the heart of every young person present.
Someone in the crowd screamed at the top of their lungs,
"Go, Chu Bai!!"
That one shout was like a spark landing on a pile of dry tinder, instantly igniting the entire arena.
"Go! Wreck him!"
"If he beats Ji Li... he’ll be the undisputed number one!"
"A first-year defeating a third-year! If this happens, it’ll be a miracle the likes of which the Daoist School hasn’t seen in a hundred years!"

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