Yi Tianyun continued to inscribe First Grade Divine Runes, which was, as one might expect, what everyone predicted. They felt that he was only capable of inscribing First Grade Divine Runes. Only by practicing them relentlessly could one possibly succeed at inscribing a First Grade Multiple Divine Pattern. Otherwise, how could he have succeeded on his very first attempt?

That strategy might have been fine for the first round, but continuing it into the second was clearly suicidal. Unless he could inscribe a First Grade Multiple Divine Pattern much faster, there was no way for him to catch up to the others’ scores. For instance, during the first round, it had taken him nearly an hour to inscribe a single First Grade Multiple Divine Pattern.

Based on the scoring system, he would only earn five points for that. But in the time it took him to earn those five points, others could surely inscribe two or three Third Grade Divine Runes, netting them fifteen points. The gap between them would widen immediately, making it impossible for him to catch up.

At first, they assumed Yi Tianyun was just warming up or would eventually focus on Multiple Divine Patterns. But they soon realized they were all mistaken; Yi Tianyun was genuinely just inscribing First Grade Divine Runes, one after another. His pace was neither fast nor slow. At this rate, by the time the round ended, he would have inscribed five or six at most, earning him a mere five or six points—a pitifully low score.

Upon seeing this from the stage, Li Tianlong was stunned for a moment before shaking his head and letting out a deep sigh. He had thought Yi Tianyun’s skill level would be high and had even made a slight adjustment to the rules for his sake. He never imagined that Yi Tianyun could only inscribe First Grade Divine Runes. It was truly disappointing.

’Could I have misjudged him?’ Li Tianlong thought. Someone capable of inscribing a Multiple Divine Pattern couldn’t possibly be unskilled. While it was true that one could reach that level by extensively practicing First Grade Divine Runes, the ability to inscribe them continuously meant one had to possess a decent foundation of Spiritual Power. Otherwise, it would be impossible to sustain the effort.

After all, the Spiritual Power required to inscribe a single Triple First Grade Divine Rune far exceeded that needed for three separate First Grade Divine Runes; it was even comparable to the cost of inscribing a Third Grade Divine Rune.

Many who had held high hopes for him now felt they had misjudged. It seemed he was just a contestant with a decent foundation, nothing more. Given his age, he would have plenty of opportunities in the future, but it looked like this time wasn’t his time.

Yi Tianyun’s expression remained perfectly calm, completely unaffected by the surrounding crowd as he focused on inscribing the First Grade Divine Rune. After a moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and a faint smile touched his lips. ’This should be about right. My hands feel much more attuned than before...’

The next moment, the Divine Rune Pen in his hand erupted with a dazzling light, and his speed instantly skyrocketed by severalfold!

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

As the Divine Rune Pen in his hand moved, the Divine Rune Paper gave off a faint glow. In what seemed like an instant, a First Grade Divine Rune was complete! His speed was already several times faster than before, and it was still increasing explosively.

This development was quickly noticed by the others. They stared dumbfounded at Yi Tianyun’s rapidly moving hand. It was just too fast; they had never seen anyone inscribe a First Grade Divine Rune with such speed.

With a swish, one was finished. Then another swish, and a second one was done.

In less time than it takes for an incense stick to burn, he had already produced five or six finished runes. In contrast, the other contestants hadn’t even completed a single one. His five or six runes already equaled the score for a single Third Grade Divine Rune!

"What’s going on? His speed suddenly shot up!"

"Yeah, this is ridiculously fast, isn’t it? It’s terrifying!"

"He’s already made seven or eight in the blink of an eye! Heavens, at this rate he’ll blow past the score for a Third Grade Divine Rune before anyone else even finishes one!"

...

Everyone was stunned. Once again, they were witnessing the impossible. Just like in the first round, they had expected Yi Tianyun to be at the bottom, but now it looked like if he maintained this speed, taking first place would be a piece of cake!

Lin Li had also noticed the situation, and his cheerful mood instantly plummeted. ’This defies all logic!’ he thought. The speed at which Yi Tianyun was inscribing First Grade Divine Runes was just too fast. It perfectly embodied the single word that defined this round: "Speed."

Even Li Tianlong was stunned. He couldn’t help but rise from his chair, staring dumbfounded at Yi Tianyun’s frantic pace. He murmured to himself, "Too fast... just how practiced does one have to be to inscribe with such speed?"

"Excuse me, I’m out of Divine Rune Paper. Could I please get a refill?" Yi Tianyun suddenly raised his hand, signaling the nearby attendant to bring him more.

By now, a stack of completed Divine Runes lay beside him. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was at least ten sheets, meaning he had used up all the paper he had been given. Typically, the dozen or so sheets of Spirit Wood Paper provided were more than enough for the entire hour-long round.

But they never expected a monster like this to show up and use it all up before even half the time had passed!

"Oh, right!" The attendant snapped out of his stupor and hurriedly gave him a new stack of Divine Rune Paper.

Yi Tianyun immediately dove back into his work. The "SWISH SWISH" sounds were incredibly smooth, and in the blink of an eye, another First Grade Divine Rune was freshly made, seemingly without the slightest difficulty.

"This is just insane. How are we supposed to compete?"

"Even if they’re only worth one point each, at this speed, he’s already surpassed us!"

"So this is how you can use First Grade Divine Runes... I was wrong."

The surrounding contestants shook their heads, realizing they couldn’t possibly compare. Their entire understanding of the craft had been shattered. Who said First Grade Divine Runes were worthless? You could still get a high score with them. It was a classic case of making up for low points with sheer quantity!

"What’s going on? How can he be so fast!?" Lin Li’s expression was grim. He tried to speed up his own work, but with a sudden POOF, his Divine Rune Paper burst into flames. It was a failure. A whole Third Grade Divine Rune, ruined just like that.

"Excuse me, are you holding back on purpose?" Yi Tianyun glanced over and asked nonchalantly.

Lin Li was nearly overcome with fury but managed to suppress it. His recent failure was precisely because he had been distracted by Yi Tianyun. He didn’t deign to reply, simply refocusing on his inscription. Even with that failure, he had to try and claw back some points.

Time ticked by, and the hour quickly came to an end. The moment the last grain of sand fell through the hourglass, the attendant beside them immediately shouted, "Stop!"

At that, everyone stopped moving their Divine Rune Pens. Whether their current rune was finished or not, they all had to put them down!

By Yi Tianyun’s hand now sat a thick stack of completed Divine Runes. Compared to the few thin sheets belonging to the others, his stack looked absurdly thick...

The visual impact of that thick stack of finished runes was immense. A quick glance revealed there were no fewer than twenty or thirty sheets. How was this even a competition anymore?