When Ye Linghan returned to her seat, she understood at once that the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain had already fallen into Liu Wuxie's hands. The slap she had delivered earlier hadn't merely struck Tu Zhengbao's face, but it had also settled years of resentment along with today's humiliation in one clean stroke.

Yet, strangely enough, not one person stepped forward to defend Tu Zhengbao, not even Zuo Yang. His actions had already aroused widespread dissatisfaction, and after losing a wager, honoring its terms was the most basic measure of integrity.

He had been the one to shatter the rules first, so Ye Linghan's slap was nothing more than the consequence of his own actions.

"What happened? Why was there a black hole in the ground?"

Many mentors and students rushed to where Tu Zhengbao had been standing, quickly surrounding the spot as they searched for clues.

The ground appeared perfectly untouched. If that was the case, then where had that mysterious black hole come from?

"There must be an expert nearby who snatched the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain."

The Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron was simply too unfathomable to be understood by ordinary cultivators. Although Diao Jiuzhi's trio had witnessed it before, none of them could truly explain what they had seen.

After searching for a long time without uncovering the slightest clue about the black hole, the crowd finally abandoned the investigation and dispersed.

As the assessment continued, no one stepped forward to challenge Liu Wuxie's class again. Instead, the other classes began clashing among themselves, such as Zhongsun Wen's class against Xia Yuanming's class, or Guo Anyi's class against Yu Yong's class. Only Liu Wuxie's class remained wrapped in an unusual silence.

The surrounding crowd gradually lost interest in the battles that followed. What they truly longed to witness was another spiritual array display like the one Zhang Hua and Wang Zhuang had performed.

Unfortunately, no one possessed the ability to reproduce anything like it.

By noon, the contest between spiritual arrays finally came to an end. The judgment came without dispute that Ye Linghan's class possessed the highest level of skill.

Although martial cultivation had no official ranking, anyone with eyes could tell that Xiang Rulong had secured a place among the top three.

Next came the contest between talismans. The Azure Flame Dao Hall had no shortage of talisman classes, and the students who practiced the talisman art numbered close to a thousand.

Among the mentors, Che Yangrong and Bai Jingye stood among the finest, each commanding the largest number of students, and both shared the same enemy.

However, with Tu Zhengbao's humiliating defeat serving as a warning, they naturally did not dare press the matter any further. Otherwise, Ye Linghan would likely suppress them as well.

Liu Wuxie's gaze drifted toward Zhuang Fang, who immediately rose to his feet and looked toward Bai Jingye's side.

"I want to challenge Mentor Bai's class!" Zhuang Fang said after seeing through Liu Wuxie's intention. He knew Liu Wuxie wanted to gather resources, and he also wanted to repay the tireless guidance Liu Wuxie had poured into them over the past few weeks.

None of the students had forgotten how Liu Wuxie had taught them day and night without taking a single moment of rest.

Bai Jingye's face darkened instantly, for he had planned to strike first, only for Liu Wuxie's side to seize the initiative before he could make a move.

"Zhai Yuanzhong, you go," Bai Jingye said, selecting a student from his class.

Zhai Yuanzhong stepped forward and entered the field, standing opposite Zhuang Fang. The two faced each other with fighting spirits blazing in their eyes, but neither moved, for they were still waiting for their mentors to settle the wager.

"Liu Wuxie, what do you propose?" Bai Jingye asked, fixing his gaze on Liu Wuxie's face.

Among everyone present, no one desired Liu Wuxie's death more than Bai Jingye. His nephew, Bai Jingyu, had indirectly died because of Liu Wuxie.

"You can do the honor," Liu Wuxie said. No matter what Bai Jingye offered, he would simply accept it.

"I'll wager this Immortal Marrow for your alchemy technique," Bai Jingye said. Like everyone else, he also coveted Liu Wuxie's alchemy technique.

If he could seize that alchemy technique, it meant he would be able to find a path toward breaking through to the Origin Immortal Realm.

He had remained stuck in the Profound Immortal Realm for decades. If he failed to break through soon, he might never cross that threshold for the rest of his life.

The appearance of the seven-colored pill cloud and Ye Linghan's breakthrough into the Origin Immortal Realm had given countless mentors a sliver of hope.

There were hundreds of Profound Immortal Realm mentors in the Azure Flame Dao Hall. Like Bai Jingye, many had remained stuck at the bottleneck of the Profound Immortal Realm for far too long.

Although the Profound Immortal Realm and the Origin Immortal Realm were separated by only a single realm, the gap between them was like heaven and earth. In reality, the Origin Immortal Realm served as the dividing line between the lower and upper echelons of the celestial realm.

An emerald droplet appeared in Bai Jingye's hand, and the crowd instantly erupted into an uproar.

"It's an Immortal Marrow! Where did Bai Jingye get his hands on something like that?"

Even Che Yangrong could not conceal the greed burning in his eyes.

While the Immortal Marrow could only help Profound Immortals further refine their laws and purify their immortal energy, Liu Wuxie's alchemy technique was different. His alchemy technique represented another possibility altogether.

A faint smile curled across Liu Wuxie's lips. With the Indigo Moon Essence and the Ancient Orchid Whale Brain already in his possession, only the Immortal Marrow remained. Once he acquired it, he would have complete confidence in advancing to the eighth-level High Immortal Realm.

"To prevent certain people from going back on their word, I suggest having the wager entrusted to a third party," Liu Wuxie said calmly, cutting off any chance of the earlier scene repeating itself.

After all, no one could guarantee that Bai Jingye would hand over the Immortal Marrow after losing, and no one objected to Liu Wuxie's suggestion.

Tu Zhengbao had only just recovered when Liu Wuxie dragged him out back into the spotlight and humiliated him once again, causing his face to flush with embarrassment.

In the end, Bai Jingye handed the Immortal Marrow over to Zuo Yang before the duel finally began.

Zhuang Fang and Zhai Yuanzhong exchanged a look as a talisman appeared before each of them.

"Go!" Zhai Yuanzhong struck first. He was a seasoned veteran, several years older than Zhuang Fang.

The talisman expanded in an instant, releasing overwhelming power as it roared toward Zhuang Fang. If it struck him, he would suffer heavy injuries even if he survived.

Facing the incoming talisman, Zhuang Fang did not release his own talisman. He merely swept his hand through the air, carving out a bizarre seal that vanished into Zhai Yuanzhong's talisman.

All of a sudden, Zhai Yuanzhong's talisman froze in mid-air as though an invisible hand had seized it.

"What?!" Bai Jingye was not the only one stunned; the other talisman mentors and students were all dumbfounded by the sight before them.

"What happened? Why did the talisman stop moving?"

The students behind Bai Jingye rubbed their eyes furiously, wondering if their vision had betrayed them.

Voices rose throughout the arena as everyone searched desperately for an explanation. "What did he inscribe earlier? Why have I never seen anything like it before?"

"This is impossible! He can actually inscribe a talisman seal at his age?!" another talisman mentor exclaimed in shock.

Just as ordinary pills only contained pill runes while powerful alchemists could inscribe pill seals, a true master of talisman art could inscribe talisman seals instead of runes, placing them several levels above ordinary runes.

The same principle applied to blacksmithing, where most blacksmiths could only inscribe runes, and only a rare few could inscribe artifact seals.

Zhuang Fang had once been Jiang Hongran's student, and his interest in talisman art had been casual at best. Yet after joining Liu Wuxie's class, his talisman art had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had even begun to comprehend talisman seals, overturning everything everyone thought they knew.

The seal he had just inscribed was weak and faint, but it still could not escape the eyes of several experts.

An ill foreboding immediately rose in Bai Jingye's heart.

Che Yangrong's face also darkened further. When he recalled what Liu Wuxie had done back in Ye Linghan's courtyard, he could not help feeling a stinging burn across his cheek.

Zhai Yuanzhong roared as his hands flew through the air, inscribing runes that burrowed into his talisman. The talisman burst with brilliant light, tore free from Zhuang Fang's control, and resumed its advance.

In terms of grade, Zhai Yuanzhong's talisman had clearly surpassed Zhuang Fang's, and a direct clash would leave Zhuang Fang at a disadvantage. That was why Zhuang Fang had chosen to neutralize Zhai Yuanzhong's talisman first.

After regaining its freedom, the talisman's power surged violently, rising to rival the True Immortal Realm. The crushing force it unleashed even forced Zhuang Fang to stagger back a step.

Seeing this, the tension on Bai Jingye's face gradually faded, and a cruel smile spread across his lips. As long as he won this match, Liu Wuxie's alchemy technique would fall into his hands. That meant he would soon be able to reach the Origin Immortal Realm and become a second-grade mentor.

Bai Jingye's students began cheering for Zhai Yuanzhong. "Senior Brother Zhai, finish him!"

After all, the other classes had already lost to Liu Wuxie in martial cultivation and spiritual arrays. If someone could win in the talisman section, would that not prove that talisman art stood above martial cultivation and spiritual arrays?

Ye Linghan grew increasingly anxious. She wanted to help, but she knew nothing about talisman art. She could only watch helplessly as the talisman crushed down toward Zhuang Fang.

Murderous intent surged in Zhai Yuanzhong's eyes. "Zhuang Fang, die!" Even if he accidentally killed Zhuang Fang, it could still be brushed aside as an accident if anyone pursued the matter.

Zhuang Fang sneered. "You want to use such a trashy talisman to kill me?"

After receiving Liu Wuxie's personal guidance for days, how could his attainments in talisman art still be compared to those of ordinary cultivators?

Zhuang Fang began inscribing in the air, and talisman seals appeared one after another in the sky.

The surrounding crowd froze when they saw four talisman seals. A single seal would already have been enough to shock them, yet he had inscribed four.

Zhai Yuanzhong's pupils contracted as a strong sense of danger surged within him. Retreat had already become impossible, with the four seals occupying four different directions and shooting into the incoming talismans.

Once again, Zhuang Fang seized control of the talisman from Zhai Yuanzhong. In a normal clash of talisman art, the battle mostly consisted of talismans flashing against each other, but seizing control of an opponent's talisman was something they had never heard of.

One mistake, and the other party's talisman could explode, injuring the one controlling it as well. What Zhuang Fang was doing bordered on madness, no different from playing with fire.

Zhai Yuanzhong let out a roar and drew his sword before charging at Zhuang Fang. He had tried controlling his talisman several times, only to realize that his talisman had fallen completely under Zhuang Fang's control.

If he could kill Zhuang Fang, he would be able to regain control over his talisman. With that, a talisman competition turned into martial combat, and jeers erupted from the surroundings as Zhai Yuanzhong had clearly violated the rules.

However, Zhai Yuanzhong ignored the jeers around him and continued charging at Zhuang Fang.

Ye Linghan naturally became furious at the scene, but Liu Wuxie stopped her just as she was about to act.

Liu Wuxie waved his hand to stop her and said, "Wait and watch."

Just as the sword was about to stab Zhuang Fang, the talisman Zhuang Fang had released earlier suddenly erupted with dazzling brilliance and shot toward Zhai Yuanzhong like a shooting star.

No one had seen how Zhuang Fang had controlled it earlier. It was as if he had anticipated this moment from the very beginning.

Shortly after, Zhai Yuanzhong's talisman also turned around, forming a pincer attack together with Zhuang Fang's talisman. Under Zhuang Fang's command, the two talismans descended upon Zhai Yuanzhong with thunderous force.