Chapter 48: Next One

"What do you mean?" Su Youwei was also taken aback by Zhou Yuan's words.

Zhou Yuan looked at Cao Ling and Fan Wu with slightly cold eyes and said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, they must have inscribed 'Boiling Blood Runes'."

"Boiling Blood Runes?"

"This is a first-grade Origin Rune. It uses the essence blood of an Origin Beast as a catalyst. When inscribed on the body, it can burn one's own essence blood, making the Origin Qi more violent and ferocious. However, this method is quite insidious. After use, one's essence blood will be depleted, and severe cases can even damage the meridians, making future cultivation difficult to advance," Zhou Yuan explained slowly.

These Boiling Blood Runes are somewhat similar to the Nine Beast Meridian-Opening Runes, but they are far less intricate.

Su Youwei's pretty face changed slightly as she said, "These kinds of Origin Runes are forbidden! How dare they use them?"

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "They did it very subtly, making it hard to detect, because you won't find any Origin Runes directly on their bodies."

"Can't find the runes? Then how were they inscribed?" Su Youwei asked, puzzled. Clearly, she was far less knowledgeable about Origin Runes than Zhou Yuan.

"Before the Prefectural Examination, they inscribed these 'Boiling Blood Runes' on their bodies daily. The power of the Boiling Blood Runes would leave residual effects within them. So, as their battle intensified, their blood would gradually boil, allowing them to do it without anyone noticing," Zhou Yuan explained slowly.

"However, doing this causes even greater harm to the user's body. Cao Ling and Fan Wu might be crippled in the future."

Su Youwei couldn't help but bite her lip, saying, "How truly vicious."

"It seems Qi King's Residence is truly cautious. Even with Qi Yue presiding, they still resorted to numerous tactics to ensure no accidents. They are truly determined to win over the Great Zhou Prefecture," Zhou Yuan said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"They must be using these methods to wear you down with Fan Wu and Cao Ling." Su Youwei's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and her jade-like hands slowly clenched. Her gaze became sharper. "But don't worry, I won't let them succeed!"

She vaguely knew that this Prefectural Examination seemed extremely important to Zhou Yuan. Therefore, she was determined to do her best to help him, clearing away any obstacles. At the very least, she wanted to help Zhou Yuan maintain his best condition before facing Qi Yue, preventing others from exhausting him.

Zhou Yuan pondered slightly, considering a countermeasure. Just then, a crumpled paper ball was suddenly thrown over, rolling to a stop beside him.

Zhou Yuan was momentarily stunned. He picked it up and slowly tore it open, revealing three delicate characters: "Calming Rune."

"These characters... are from Sister Yaoyao?" Zhou Yuan was surprised. He then looked up towards the main platform in the distance. Yaoyao was there, holding Tun Tun, casually watching the arena. As if sensing his gaze, Yaoyao turned her head and gave him a slight smile.

Clearly, she had also spotted the problem. However, her mastery of Origin Runes was even deeper than Zhou Yuan's, so she quickly came up with a countermeasure.

"So that's it..."

Guided by Yaoyao's hint, Zhou Yuan immediately understood the underlying reason. He smiled and said to Su Youwei, "Those Boiling Blood Runes aren't impossible to deal with. Stretch out your hand."

Su Youwei looked somewhat puzzled, but she extended her hand as instructed. Her delicate hand was snow-white, tender, and slender, with nails like tiny, neat shells.

Zhou Yuan didn't think much of it and reached out to grasp Su Youwei's small hand.

Seeing his action, Su Youwei was startled, and her pretty face flushed. But before she could say anything, Zhou Yuan took out the Heavenly Origin Brush from his waist. His expression was solemn as the brush tip descended, quickly sketching on Su Youwei's palm.

He quickly finished sketching, then closed Su Youwei's small hand, whispering, "This is a 'Calming Rune'. Although it's only an introductory-level Origin Rune, it will have an immense effect here."

"Calming Rune?" Su Youwei was also somewhat surprised. She naturally knew this introductory-level Origin Rune, but she didn't understand how it could be used against the "Boiling Blood Runes."

"When their Boiling Blood Runes activate later, use this hand to strike the crown of their head," Zhou Yuan said with a profound smile.

Although she still didn't quite understand, Su Youwei nodded obediently. Then, with her beautiful eyes glistening, she stared at Zhou Yuan and, blushing, said, "Aren't you going to let go?"

Only then did Zhou Yuan remember he was still holding that soft, jade-like small hand. He quickly let go, then said with an unchanged expression, "I was talking about serious matters; I wasn't trying to take advantage of you."

Su Youwei let out a light huff and said, "Anyway, you're already used to it."

Zhou Yuan felt a bit awkward. Just as he was about to speak, Yang Zai and Song Qiushui walked back, both looking somewhat ashamed.

"We're sorry, we lost." They said dejectedly. Zhou Yuan had won them an hour of cultivation time at the Jade Spirit Waterfall from Courtyard B, yet they had still lost in the Prefectural Examination. This made them feel very apologetic to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan, however, just smiled dismissively and said, "It's fine. It's not that your abilities are lacking, but that their methods were too advanced."

He looked up towards the Headmaster's Platform, where Qi Yue was also casting a half-smile in his direction, the curve of his lips suggesting he was already confident of victory.

"So smug, are we..."

Zhou Yuan withdrew his gaze, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

At this moment, countless eyes in the square were also fixed on Courtyard A. Clearly, with Courtyard A having lost two consecutive matches, many believed that in this Prefectural Examination, Courtyard A would likely be suppressed by Courtyard B once again.

"It seems the Great Zhou Prefecture will truly fall into the hands of Qi King's Residence," many factions muttered to themselves at this point.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, Su Youwei rose to her feet. Today, she wore a black cultivation suit: a black top and long pants. Her figure was slender, her chest full and rising, and a belt cinched her waist, instantly outlining her incredibly narrow waist. Her ponytail swayed behind her, exuding youthful vitality.

"I'm going now," Su Youwei said with a smile to Zhou Yuan.

"Good luck," Zhou Yuan said, smiling and nodding.

Su Youwei looked at Zhou Yuan. The sunlight fell upon her, enveloping her, and amidst the attention of the crowd, she gave Zhou Yuan a faint, charming smile. In a voice audible only to them, she whispered, "Your Highness, you helped me kick open a door back then. At that time, I told myself that I must work hard, strive to become very strong. I want to prevent any obstacle from hindering you."

As her last word faded, the young girl lightly tapped her toes and gracefully darted forward, landing on the high platform. Simultaneously, a clear voice echoed, "Su Youwei of Courtyard A challenges Cao Ling of Courtyard B!"

The clear, pleasant voice rang out, drawing countless eyes. When they saw the valiant and beautiful young girl on the platform, they couldn't help but secretly cheer.

Liu Xi, seeing the increasingly outstanding Su Youwei, felt her jealousy intensify. She said coldly, "Cao Ling, go teach her a good lesson!"

Cao Ling stood up silently and leaped onto the high platform.

"Begin!"

With the referee's fierce shout, Cao Ling's Origin Qi immediately burst forth. He instantly activated all six meridians, and Origin Qi surged through his limbs and bones.

His figure shot out like a lightning leopard, his fierce punches tearing through the air, transforming into a barrage of fist shadows that enveloped Su Youwei.

Faced with Cao Ling's fierce assault, Su Youwei moved with light, graceful steps, like a wisp of smoke or a flicker of fire. Her figure drifted, and whenever Cao Ling's attacks were about to land, she would skillfully evade them by leveraging the incoming gusts of wind, rendering his attacks fruitless.

On the stone platform, Cao Ling attacked relentlessly, while Su Youwei calmly dodged, neither hurried nor slow.

As time passed, a reddish glow reappeared in Cao Ling's eyes, and the Origin Qi within him gradually became more violent as his blood boiled.

"Get down!"

Cao Ling stomped his foot, his figure shooting forward, appearing right in front of Su Youwei. He launched a horizontal palm strike with fierce momentum.

However, just as his palm strike whistled out, Su Youwei did the unexpected. Instead of retreating, she advanced, gently placing her jade-like hand on the crown of Cao Ling's head. The Origin Rune in her palm emitted a faint glow.

A cool sensation immediately permeated through the crown of Cao Ling's head. His boiling blood instantly calmed down because of this cool current.

As his boiling blood abruptly calmed, the wildness of his Origin Qi also dissipated. The sudden contrast caused Cao Ling's internal Origin Qi to become chaotic.

Su Youwei acted decisively, extending two fingers, which glowed with a jade-like luster. They ripped through the air and, swift as lightning, struck Cao Ling's chest.

Cao Ling's body jolted, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted from his mouth. His body then fell backward with a crash.

The entire square erupted in an uproar. No one had expected that Cao Ling, who had seemed unstoppable moments before, would be defeated so easily by Su Youwei.

Under countless shocked gazes, Su Youwei's pretty face remained calm as water. She simply looked towards the Headmaster's Platform, and a faint voice followed.

"Next."