Starting as a prodigy wanting milk? A world-destroying deception in the opposite direction.

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" Hogner waved his hand, appearing extremely generous.

Shen Zhen exchanged glances with Feng Yu, Su Mingyuan, and the others, and said:

"Then let's start with civil matters and then move on to military matters."

"Vice Envoy Su, how about you take the lead in this literary contest?" He knew that Su Mingyuan was knowledgeable about runes.

Su Mingyuan calmly stood up: "I accept the order."

Behind Hogner, a young man dressed in Uche clothing but with the face of someone from the Wind and Cloud Empire and a refined demeanor stepped forward.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Su Mingyuan:

"Wu Che Royal Court, Cui Hao, please instruct me, Lord Su."

After a brief discussion, the two sides reached an agreement.

The first "object identification" challenge was a dark, unusually heavy stone, a piece of black iron that Qian Sihai had collected.

Su Mingyuan and Cui Hao each stepped forward, observed carefully, and then touched lightly with their fingertips using their mental power.

Su Mingyuan pondered for a moment and said:

"This item should be 'Netherworld Iron,' produced in extremely yin places and formed after being eroded by yin energy for thousands of years. It is cold in nature and can absorb and slow down mental power. It is often used to make magical artifacts to trap enemies and suppress evil."

Cui Hao spoke almost simultaneously:

"Lord Su is right. This iron has another property. If it is incorporated into a weapon, the weapon can stir up the surrounding Yin energy when it is swung, making the opponent feel as if they are trapped in a quagmire, greatly reducing their strength."

However, this iron is extremely rare; I never expected to see it here today.

The two have different perspectives, and it's difficult to say which is better.

The second contest was "Unraveling the Runes," a palm-sized bronze fragment covered with runes.

The four simple, interlocking psychic locks above were applied by Hogner, Wei Qingxu, and Han Zhong, and contained hidden backlash traps, making the margin for error extremely low.

This time, the two made their moves almost simultaneously.

Su Mingyuan's technique was steady and deliberate, his mental energy flowing slowly like a gentle stream, without rushing for quick results.

He first traced the runes to understand the structure of the locking array, leaving a faint mental mark with each layer he peeled away. Although the process was slow, he proceeded step by step without leaving any gaps.

Cui Hao, on the other hand, took a different approach, using his mental power to target the weak point at the connection of the runes, attempting to break the deadlock directly with skillful force. His movements were swift and seemed more efficient.

The hall was completely silent, except for the faint hissing sound of the two people's mental energy colliding with the runes.

Su Mingyuan was the first to touch the core of the first lock. With a gentle turn of his fingertip, he saw a rune on the bronze fragment dim.

The first lock had been silently unlocked, and without pausing, he immediately moved on to the second lock, his rhythm remarkably steady.

In contrast, although Cui Hao initially seized the initiative, his eagerness to succeed prevented him from understanding the rune's patterns, and his mental energy was repeatedly deflected by the locking array.

Seeing that Su Mingyuan was about to unlock the second lock, he became anxious and suddenly increased his mental energy output, trying to force a breakthrough.

"laugh!"

As soon as his fingertip touched the core of the second lock, Cui Hao suddenly groaned, his mental energy instantly becoming disordered.

The runes on the bronze fragment suddenly lit up with a blinding red light, and the hidden trap was forcibly triggered!

"Oh no! A trap!" Ye Zhi Qiu exclaimed.

Su Mingyuan reacted extremely quickly, having already sensed the energy anomaly through the previous psychic markings. He immediately withdrew his power and retreated, while his psychic power at his fingertips instantly formed a barrier, protecting the core area of ​​the bronze fragment rune lock.

"Bang!"

With a soft sound, the third lock on the bronze fragment was fully activated, and violent energy surged out, but most of it was blocked by Su Mingyuan's mental barrier.

Although the trap triggered by Cui Hao locked the first two locks again,

However, Su Mingyuan had already successfully dismantled the first lock and figured out the structure of the second lock. The runes were only temporarily dimmed and not completely destroyed.

"In the second match, Su Mingyuan successfully dismantled the first psychic lock, and also saw through the trap and protected the core of the fragment rune lock;

Cui Hao triggered the trap, causing a backlash from the locking formation. Neither side was able to completely break free, but Su Mingyuan had a slight advantage. "Wei Qingxu announced.

Hogner looked rather grim, and Cui Hao looked even more ashamed.

Although Su Mingyuan also failed, he was implicated by Cui Hao's recklessness and thus appeared more composed.

Overall, the Wenbi Fengyun Empire delegation has a slight advantage.

"Hmph, all that flowery language, it's meaningless!"

Beside Hogner, a burly young man with an arrogant gaze spoke impatiently; it was Hogner's son, Razak Muruga.

"True skill is proven in a fistfight! Father, let me warm up first!"

Having said that, without waiting for Hogner's agreement, his gaze swept defiantly over the younger generation of the temple:

"Uche Royal Court, Razak Muruha, late-stage Tier 1 peak! Who wants to get beaten up first?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped to an open space in the backyard.

He exuded a powerful aura and his mental energy fluctuations were formidable; he certainly had reason to be proud.

On the temple side, Zhao Huaijin, already seething with anger from not winning the literary contest, could no longer contain himself and abruptly stood up:

"Zhao Huaijin of the Purification Division, mid-stage first rank! I've come to meet you!"

Shen Zhen frowned slightly. There was a gap in cultivation level between them, but he knew Zhao Huaijin's temperament. It wouldn't be good to stop him now, so he said:

"Be careful, and act within your capabilities."

"Don't worry!" Zhao Huaijin drew his longsword, leaped into the air, and arrived at the open space.

Everyone else followed suit and came out.

Razak grinned at Zhao Huaijin, who was walking up to him, revealing his gleaming white teeth:

"Mid-stage Tier 1? Does your Fengyun Empire delegation have no one else? Did you send a weakling like you to deliver yourself as cannon fodder?"

Zhao Huaijin was already arrogant, and being so slighted, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Without replying, he gave a low shout:

"Take this!"

The sword hummed, and a sharp sword light, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, pierced straight for Lazak's throat with incredible speed!

Despite his seemingly rough and tough appearance, Razak reacted with remarkable speed. He shifted his stance and charged sideways like a bull, actually using his arm to meet the sword's edge head-on!

"clang!"

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out!

Zhao Huaijin felt a tremendous force coming from the sword, his tiger's mouth went numb, and the long sword almost slipped from his hand!

"What a powerful physique!" He was startled and quickly changed his move, turning his sword light into a fine rain that enveloped Razak's vital points, attempting to break through his strength with skill.

Lazak, however, paid no heed, swinging his fists with fierce and violent force, each punch accompanied by a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, shattering the sword light.

He clearly practiced some kind of secret technique from the Uche Royal Court to temper his physical body, and combined with his powerful mental energy, his defense and strength were extremely astonishing.

Although Zhao Huaijin's swordsmanship was exquisite, it was difficult to break through his defense. Instead, he was forced to retreat continuously by the violent punches, and the situation became quite passive for a time.

"Brother Huaijin's swordsmanship is exquisite, but it's a pity that his strength is slightly lacking," Ye Zhiqiu commented, fanning himself with a hint of regret.

Li Qingyan said in a deep voice:

"Razak uses force to suppress others. If Huaijin cannot find his weakness, he will inevitably lose if he continues to defend for too long."

Sure enough, during the fierce battle, Razak feigned an opening, luring Zhao Huaijin to stab him in the left ribs with his sword. He neither dodged nor avoided the attack, allowing the sword tip to pierce him.

"puff!"

The sword tip penetrated three-tenths of an inch into flesh, but was held firmly by Razak's taut muscles.

At the same time, Razak's right fist slammed into Zhao Huaijin's chest like a heavy hammer.

Zhao Huaijin had no time to abandon his sword, so he could only use all his mental energy to protect himself and cross his arms to block.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Zhao Huaijin was sent flying backward by the impact, crashing into a stone table in the courtyard before barely regaining his balance. A trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his arms were in excruciating pain, clearly indicating that he had suffered internal injuries.