At the same time, she drew a talisman from her storage bag and flicked her wrist to throw it out.
A Grade Four Shocking Thunder Talisman.
The talisman flew into midair, instantly transforming into a blinding flash of lightning that shot straight toward the formation master opposite her.
The defensive magic treasures around the formation master instantly lit up.
A pale yellow barrier of spiritual energy blocked her front, colliding head-on with the lightning.
“Boom!”
The lightning exploded.
Although the defensive magic treasure successfully blocked the attack, the powerful shockwave still forced the formation master back several steps.
Jiang Qian seized the opportunity, and another talisman appeared in her hand.
However, before she could throw it, the formation master opposite her formed another hand seal.
Without warning, a massive array pattern lit up beneath Jiang Qian's feet.
Oh no!
Just as she was about to move, four chains of spiritual energy shot out from the array, wrapping around her hands and feet.
The chains instantly tightened, binding her firmly to the spot.
Jiang Qian's expression changed slightly.
Earlier, she had been so focused on dodging the Azure Gale Blade Array that she hadn't noticed her opponent taking the opportunity to set up another array around the sparring platform.
The Four-Square Spirit-Locking Array.
Her opponent gave her no room to breathe, immediately activating the Azure Gale Blade Array once more.
Dozens of cyan wind blades flew out from all directions, hurtling toward the immobilized Jiang Qian.
The defensive magic treasures on Jiang Qian's body continuously lit up, forming spiritual energy barriers that blocked all the oncoming wind blades.
Wind blade after wind blade slammed into the barrier, producing a rapid succession of clashing sounds.
Below the platform, Yan Yi watched this scene, her brow furrowing slightly.
Xiao Cen stared unblinkingly at the sparring platform.
“She has to break the array if she wants any chance of winning.”
“Indeed.”
Yan Yi nodded.
“If she remains trapped like this, the protective magic treasures on her body will eventually be depleted.”
On the platform, Jiang Qian quickly calmed down.
While controlling her defensive magic treasures to block the attacks, she lowered her head to inspect the array patterns beneath her feet.
Before long, she noticed that the array patterns to her back right were significantly denser than in other areas.
The tip of a formation peg was also faintly visible there.
Although she had not studied arrays specifically, she still understood some of the basics.
Eighty percent likely, that was the core of the Four-Square Spirit-Locking Array.
But she was currently unable to move, making it impossible to get close to that spot.
As Jiang Qian watched another volley of wind blades fly toward her, an idea quickly formed in her mind.
She slightly altered the angle of her spiritual energy barrier.
A wind blade struck the barrier and immediately deflected from its original trajectory, landing on the ground to her back right.
A shallow groove was sliced into the ground.
It worked!
Jiang Qian rejoiced inwardly.
Next, she began to continuously adjust the position of her defensive magic treasures.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The cracks in the ground to her back right grew deeper and deeper, gradually exposing the formation peg buried beneath.
Her opponent soon realized something was wrong. With a slight change in expression, she immediately tried to alter the direction of her attacks.
But it was already too late.
Another wind blade rained down, striking the formation peg dead-on.
The formation peg cracked apart with a sharp sound.
The massive array patterns beneath her feet instantly dimmed, and the four spiritual energy chains binding Jiang Qian's limbs grew illusory along with them.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Qian unleashed a sudden burst of spiritual energy.
All four spiritual energy chains shattered simultaneously.
The instant she regained her freedom of movement, Jiang Qian darted to the side, dodging several incoming attacks.
Seeing her break free, the formation master fell into a panic.
Her hands formed seals once more, attempting to lay down another array.
But Jiang Qian would not give her another chance.
Flicking her wrist, she retrieved a thick stack of talismans from her storage bag.
In the next moment, Shocking Thunder Talismans, Blazing Fire Talismans, and Explosion Talismans flew out in rapid succession.
“Boom!”
“Boom! Boom!”
For a time, the entirety of sparring platform twenty-one resounded with the continuous explosions of talismans.
Lightning and fire covered nearly half the platform.
Her opponent could only dodge frantically, forced to interrupt the hand seals she was forming.
As Jiang Qian attacked, she observed the direction of her opponent's evasive movements.
The landing point of each talisman systematically shrank the area where the formation master could move.
After several rounds of attacks, she had been driven to the very edge of the sparring platform by Jiang Qian.
Directly behind her lay the boundary.
Cold sweat broke out on the formation master's forehead.
Forward, backward, left, or right—there was no path of retreat.
Spotting the perfect opportunity, Jiang Qian drew the final card from her stack of talismans.
A Grade Five Mountain-Shaking Talisman!
The talisman left her hand, instantly shining with a brilliant, earthy yellow light.
A heavy and powerful surge of spiritual energy blasted head-on toward the formation master.
The defensive magic treasures on the formation master's body instantly lit up, but they held out for only a brief moment.
Crack!
The spiritual energy barrier shattered completely.
The massive impact slammed into the formation master, sending her flying backward.
She soared over the edge of the sparring platform and crashed heavily onto the ground below.
The officiating elder immediately announced, “Group twenty-one, Jiang Qian wins!”
Jiang Qian heard the result, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
She looked down at the thick stack of talismans remaining in her hand and tucked them back into her storage bag.
In the waiting area, Yun Heng stared at the stack of talismans in her hand. After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but ask, “Does she always carry this many when she fights?”
Yan Yi nodded with absolute composure.
“Today was actually a light day.”
Jiang Qian stepped down from the sparring platform.
As she returned to the waiting area, Yan Yi was the first to stand up and quickly went over to meet her.
“Well done, Junior Sister.”
Jiang Qian had still been a bit nervous, but hearing Yan Yi's praise, a smile finally broke across her face.
“Fortunately, my opponent didn't have too many magic treasures, which is why I won so smoothly.”
Hearing this, Yun Heng spoke up. “Even if she had more magic treasures, you wouldn't necessarily have lost.”
Jiang Qian turned to look at her.
Yun Heng continued, “Being able to calm down so quickly after being trapped by an array, and even using your opponent's wind blades to destroy the core—that's not luck.”
“You have both courage and wit. You fully deserved to win.”
A touch of bashfulness immediately appeared on Jiang Qian's face.
“I just thought of it on the spot.”
She lowered her head and quietly returned to her seat, but the curve of her lips simply refused to go down.
Two hours later, the matches for groups fifteen through twenty-eight all concluded.
The light screen above the main platform changed once more, and the names of the new batch of winners appeared in sequence.
Gong Yiding stepped onto the stage.
“Next, we invite the contestants of groups twenty-nine through forty-two to take the stage!”
As her voice fell, Yan Yi and Xiao Jingheng stood up at the same time.
In less than half an hour, the matches on both sparring platforms were decided one after another.
Yan Yi and Xiao Jingheng smoothly advanced to the second round.
About an hour later, the matches for groups twenty-nine through forty-two also finished completely.
Gong Yiding ascended the main platform once again.
“Next, we invite the contestants of groups forty-three through fifty-six to take the stage!”
Hearing this, Xiao Cen stood up.
The opponent she drew was only in the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, leaving absolutely no suspense for this match.
Not long after the match began, she swiftly ended the battle and secured her victory in the first round.
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