On the platform, as Zhou Xinlan took a risky gamble, the atmosphere both on and off the stage suddenly became tense.
"Though one hasn't eaten pork, one has seen pigs walk."
Now, the cultivators who had come to the Zhou Family to participate in the joint spell-fighting competition were all elite members of their respective families, and even if they had not witnessed fire control techniques, most had heard about them and naturally understood their peril.
At this moment, Zhou Xinlan dared to use two first-grade superior talismans, "Fire Serpent Talismans," as his fire source to execute his fire control technique, which left those cultivators who were in the know sweating on his behalf.
His opponent, Wen Liangyu, suddenly went pale as his heart and mind tensed to the extreme.
Without time to think further, he immediately reached into his storage pouch at his waist and pulled out a talisman, activating it and launching it towards Zhou Xinlan.
But behold, a flash of golden light, and a golden spear materialized in front of Zhou Xinlan.
Zhou Xinlan, who had devoted most of his energy to merging the two Fire Serpents, had no strength left to deal with the attack of the golden spear.
His body-protecting turtle shield artifact had just flown behind him to defend against the Golden Hammer Artifact controlled by Wen Liangyu, leaving his front completely exposed.
Yet just as the golden spear was about to touch his body, a mass of bright yellow light suddenly burst forth from his chest, enveloping him in its glow.
"So that's how it is, he has the 'Bright Dawn Pendant' on him?"
From the stands, Zhou Chun, recognizing the familiar bright yellow light, couldn't help but show a look of realization.
The Bright Dawn Pendant had once been his body protection artifact, which he later gave to Zhou Zhengyong.
Now, it seems Zhou Zhengyong had passed the artifact on to his son.
The bright yellow light appeared frail, but it was unexpectedly tenacious; the golden spear, upon piercing it, was like stuck in mud, slowing down considerably.
Meanwhile, as the two forces were at a stalemate, Zhou Xinlan finally merged the power of the two "Fire Serpent Talismans" together.
With a loud shout, he formed a hand seal and pointed towards Wen Liangyu, and the massive fireball—formed by the fusion of the two Fire Serpents—roared as it hurtled towards Wen Liangyu.
Sensing the formidable power contained within the fireball, Wen Liangyu's expression became extremely grave.
He raised a hand toward his protective artifact and shot forth mana, and the pale golden square shield burst forth with dazzling golden light to block before him, shielding him behind it.
Right after that, he slapped his storage pouch, activating a golden talisman in a flash, which turned into a golden spirit armor that clung to his body.
Finally, just as the fireball came within a few feet from him, he had a thought and fiercely commanded the Golden Hammer Artifact to smash towards Zhou Xinlan.
An explosive burst of fire erupted on the platform, submerging half of it in a sea of flames.
The platform itself was already battered with numerous fights, filled with various-sized pits and holes.
Now, as it withstood this kind of explosive bombardment, those various pits rapidly connected into one, shaving off several feet from the ground.
The combination of flying dust and flames completely obscured the view above the platform, making it difficult for the cultivators outside to see what had happened.
However, cultivators like Zhou Chun at the Foundation Establishment Stage were still able to clearly see the situation using their powerful divine sense.
Under the explosive impact of the massive fireball, Wen Liangyu was flung away, magic artifact and all, only stopping when he hit the array protective shield at the edge of the platform.
Zhou Xinlan, who had expended a great deal of energy fusing the power of the two "Fire Serpent Talismans," had his protective light shattered by the attack of Wen Liangyu's Golden Hammer Artifact and, relying on Zhou Jiarui's timely intervention, barely avoided injury.
But when the aftermath of the explosion subsided, Wen Liangyu was indeed turned over on the ground, spitting blood, his complexion deathly pale.
However, the fact that he could stagger to his feet showed that he had the last laugh.
"Wen Family's Wen Liangyu is the victor."
At this moment, with the announcement from Zhou Jiarui, the referee, the dust dispersing from the platform was instantly blown away by a strong wind, clearing the vision for those Qi Refinement cultivators watching the battle and revealing the situation on stage.
Seeing the disheveled Wen Liangyu on the stage, and the unscathed Zhou Xinlan,
combining the recently announced results by Zhou Jiarui, those observing cultivators also instantly imagined the scene they hadn't seen.
"Congratulations to Taoist Friend Wen. With this, the Wen Family takes first place in this joint spell-fighting competition," Zhou Chun said from the stands, as soon as Zhou Jiarui finished the announcement, taking the lead in offering his congratulations to the Wen Family Clan Leader.
In truth, most cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage had realized that Wen Liangyu could only sustain such minor injuries because the vestment robe and the inner armor he wore had absorbed most of the damage.
And the quality of such vestment robes and inner armor definitely wasn't something Wen Liangyu could afford on his own.
It could only be said that the Wen Family had truly invested a lot to snatch the first place in this joint spell-fighting competition.
But these were all within the rules. Even though Zhou Chun had seen through it, he wouldn't say much.
After all, since those prizes were offered, they were bound to be claimed by someone, whether it was by the Wen Family or another clan, the result was the same.
And faced with Zhou Chun's congratulations, the Wen Family Clan Leader had no joy on his face, only showing a bitter smile while repeatedly waving his hands and saying, "I'm ashamed, deeply ashamed!"
He certainly understood how the Wen Family had won first place, and of course, he couldn't appear too jubilant at that moment.