Early the next morning, around 7 a.m.

Du Yu, who got up early, put on the deep blue competition uniform representing Shaohai Province.

He carried two Demon Soldier Bows on his back, standing in front of the wardrobe's full-length mirror, carefully adjusting the angle of the wooden bows.

Everything looked pleasing, including the person in the mirror.

Except for that Black Pearl sewn onto his chest—no matter how he looked at it, it was an eyesore.

"Dong dong dong." A knocking sound came from the door, and Lin Shihao's voice followed, "Let's go, Du Yu. We're meeting downstairs."

"Coming!" Du Yu replied, casually flicking the two bowstrings on his chest.

Double bows on my back—unstoppable in the exam!

Let's go, aiming for first place~

When Du Yu walked out of the hotel entrance, he was greeted by a crowd of colorful people.

The students from the four provinces all had their own color schemes.

Shaohai was blue, Guandong was white, Dai Mountain was gold, and Hening was purple.

In comparison, Du Yu still preferred Dai Mountain's uniform.

It wasn't that he liked gold so much, but because the golden color blended better with the hues of the Ancient Wilderness City—making it easier to hide.

The students, dressed in their province's colors, each boarded their matching buses, getting ready to head to Ancient Wilderness City.

Honestly, the vibe of this four-province joint exam was completely unexpected for Du Yu.

Last time, during the provincial exam, it was absolutely buzzing with excitement!

Maybe it was because Du Yu was too outstanding, being the Red Team's star player and the target of many stares.

There were plenty who tried to provoke, threatened, or talked big.

But this time, except for his own teammates, none of the students from the other three provinces bothered to acknowledge Du Yu at all.

Maybe everyone's just too proud.

Or maybe all their energy was spent on internal squabbling?

Either way, Du Yu actually liked this atmosphere.

Let your strength do the talking!

If another "Liu Junting-type" shows up and challenges me to battle atop the Ancient Wilderness City again...

Wouldn't I just have to shoot him home with one arrow and deliver a classic "To hell with your demon-taming dreams"?

"Sister Wei." Lin Shihao followed closely behind Lin Shiwei as they boarded the bus.

"Hm?"

Lin Shihao tilted his head slightly, gesturing to the young man sitting by the window behind them: "I'm counting on you."

"Yeah." Lin Shiwei looked at the silent Lin Shijiang, stepped over to him.

As the girl walked up to him, Lin Shijiang seemed to sense her presence and looked up.

Lin Shiwei said softly, "You didn't even go to the assembly in the auditorium. Do you know the exam rules?"

Lin Shijiang turned slightly, looking out the window.

Lin Shiwei looked at Lin Shijiang, both annoyed and amused. This guy was a textbook loner.

She plopped down in the seat and said casually, "Last time, our teamwork was pretty good.

After we get off, just follow me."

Lin Shijiang didn't say a word, just nodded silently.

With that settled, Lin Shiwei looked forward.

Noticing her gaze, Lin Shihao's face lit up, mouthing, "It's a go?"

Seeing Lin Shiwei nod slightly, Lin Shihao was overjoyed!

A Demon Tamer·Peak Stage contestant is definitely top-tier firepower for the team!

This time around, all provinces sent their elite students for the exam.

But the exam's timing was special—right when Paper Crane Disciples' top players were making breakthroughs into the Peak Stage.

Among the 25 contestants from each province, most were still stuck at the threshold of Great Success Stage.

Counting Lin Shijiang, Shaohai Province had a total of eight Demon Tamer·Peaks.

Out of the four provinces, Shaohai had a slight lead, and Lin Shihao naturally wanted to extend that advantage!

As the bus left Shuangqi City proper, the students up front were deep in discussion about siege tactics.

Du Yu, in the back, was just zoning out, staring at the scenery outside.

It was midsummer, and the vast plain was full of crops. It wouldn't be long before harvest time, he guessed.

The bus drove for nearly two hours, and the view outside gradually changed.

The plain was still wide, but now covered with wild grass.

"We're here." Du Yu said quietly.

From the seat next to him, Li Mengnan woke up, rubbing her eyes: "We're here?"

Du Yu looked outside. Wild grass stretched off into the distance, and far away, there was an ancient city standing.

A line of poetry suddenly surfaced in his mind:

The distant fragrance invades the ancient path, and verdant greens reach the deserted city.

The Ancient Wilderness City was as grand as he imagined, but not ornate.

It was an earth city, a bit roughly built. Du Yu could even spot cracks in the mud walls.

Above the ancient city, there were also two enormous golden hammers, pumpkin-shaped, positioned atop the central building.

The hammer handles crossed, pointing right up to the sky.

Just the hammer handles must have been forty or fifty meters long, and the giant "pumpkin" heads were at least as big.

"Those are some huge pumpkins." Li Mengnan muttered quietly.

"There's someone there." Du Yu's eyes narrowed.

Li Mengnan didn't think much of it. Wasn't it normal for there to be people? After all, this was an exam site—there would be staff.

But Du Yu frowned, lowering his voice: "A Sandman."

"Bang—"

The bus jolted three times, turning from the highway onto the dirt road, heading straight for the ancient city.

Li Mengnan: "What is it?"

Du Yu: "An ancient general—his body, armor, and even his warhorse are all made of sand and soil."

Li Mengnan's mouth formed an "o."

That cool?

At a crossroads in the wasteland, several buses split up. The one carrying Shaohai Province's students headed toward the West City Gate.

Passing by the North Gate, all the students—including Li Mengnan—saw the ancient general standing in front of the gate.

The ancient general's features were indistinct, rough like the earthen city walls themselves.

He sat atop a big horse, arms hanging down at his sides, gripping two giant hammers, motionless.

Honestly, it was a pretty striking sight!

"Is this one of the effects of the Ancient Wilderness Hammer Demon Array?" Lin Shihao gripped the window, looking a bit shocked.

Liu Juncai was equally amazed.

There really are Divine Weapons that can summon guards.

Like the Mountain Fire Saber—it can summon countless Mountain Fire Blade Souls.

Lin Shihao and Liu Juncai had guessed the Ancient Wilderness Hammer might be able to summon tons of earth hammers, but assembling humanoid creatures out of dirt?

This…

Liu Juncai murmured, "If this kind of sand general actually has combat skills, then that'll be tough."

Lin Shihao's face grew grave: "He'll definitely have them. A Divine Weapon like this absolutely comes with combat skills."

"True." Liu Juncai let out a sigh.

The modern vehicles circled the ancient city, stopping a hundred meters before the West Gate. The bus slowed to a halt, and the driver's voice came from the front: "Everyone off. Don't forget to grab your demon weapons from the side compartment."

"Let's go." Du Yu patted Li Mengnan's shoulder, getting off the bus with her.

The scorching sun was blazing overhead; Guandong in July was hot as ever.

Not even a hint of a breeze around the ancient city, making it all the more stifling.

"Tss—" Du Yu ground his shoe against the sand, finding it slippery.

The wasteland was covered in a layer of fine sand—these were some seriously tough battlefield conditions.

He looked up, gazing ahead.

The sand general was massive, clad in sand helmet and armor. The warhorse under him was two meters at the shoulder.

Behind man and beast rose the cracked city wall, about ten meters high. Nothing on top—just deathly silent.

But Du Yu knew: if the Ancient Wilderness Hammer could create a sand general, it could assemble a whole garrison of them on the city wall anytime!

The enemy lay hidden, meaning danger lurked everywhere around the ancient city.

The Great Xia Bookstore sure knows how to set an exam, huh?

"Here." Li Mengnan came up to Du Yu, handing him a micro camera and some invisible headphones.

As the bus pulled away, a man's voice came through the earphones: "All students, attention. The exam officially begins in three minutes.

Goal: Break through your assigned city gate and search for, then eliminate, the chief commander inside.

One more reminder: all modern functional buildings inside the city are sealed. No breaking in by any means.

Good luck to everyone."

This was different from the other Demon Spirit Realms Du Yu had entered before.

In the Ancient Wilderness Hammer Realm, buildings like the Demon Pet Center and Demon Spirit Bookstore were all inside the city.

At the earlier meeting, Director Tian stressed multiple times: during battle, no damaging the functional buildings.

As for any other houses in the city, people could go in freely—hide, use them as cover, whatever.

But all that was for later. For now, everyone had to figure out how to break through the city gate.

"Come on, everyone gather over here." Lin Shihao called out.

"Shi Hao!"

"Behind you!" Several voices shouted suddenly. Lin Shihao whipped around.

A hundred meters away, the sand general was moving!

He seemed to "come alive"—slowly lifting his head, then his right hand. The giant hammer pointed straight at the Blue Team students.

"Neighhh!" The warhorse stamped its sand hooves, waking with a start, and threw back its head in a shrill cry.

The sound was clearly just sand grinding and vibrating together.

It was harsh and pretty awful to hear.

"Raaagh…" The sand general let out a roar, sand armor buzzing.

In an instant, endless sand behind him began churning and swirling.

Shadow after shadow took shape, standing shakily—over a hundred of them!

And that's not all—shadows rose from the West Gate city wall too, their momentum shocking!

"Damn! With a setup like this, they still expect us to attack the city?" Liu Junhu's face looked terrible as he cursed. "Shouldn't they be charging out to slaughter us instead?"

"Dong! Dong! Dong!"

The warhorse trotted forward, and the sand general broke away from his hundred-man infantry, riding out alone with his warhammer pointed at the group.

Liu Juncai frowned. "He wants a duel out front?"

"Hmm…" Lin Shihao hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Dong Yujun. "Senior."

"Here!" Dong Yujun hefted his great saber and strode forward.

"Test what they're made of." Lin Shihao had clearly thought this through—he didn't send in Lin Shiwei.

Dong Yujun was ranked fifteenth and not one of the eight Demon Tamer·Peak elites.

Out of twenty-five, he was basically the leader of the second tier.

This opening skirmish would gauge the strength of the sand soldiers and give everyone a reference.

"Got it!" Dong Yujun leapt forward, summoning a blazing warhorse on the spot!

"Neighhh~" The Blazing Eye Steed shrieked, a wave of heat sweeping out from it.

"RAAAGH!!!" The sand general roared, and his warhorse neighed even more fiercely.

Humans, you're pretty sensible!

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