As Liu Yaxuan let out a cheer, the stunned crowd was jolted back to reality.
At this moment, the young men who had advanced to the third round looked at Zhang Ergou with even more complex emotions.
Previously, they had thought that Zhang Ergou's first place in the formation challenge was a stroke of luck, or perhaps he had a special research focus in formations.
Seeing that Zhang Ergou was younger than all of them, they had all assumed his cultivation and strength were mediocre.
Furthermore, Jiang Yu's earlier remarks had been overheard by most, leading everyone to believe that Zhang Ergou's strength was indeed average.
However, reality had struck them hard.
Not only was Zhang Ergou not a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, bolstered by elixirs and lacking a solid foundation as Jiang Yu had claimed, but his cultivation and strength far surpassed Jiang Xu's.
Those present silently compared themselves to Jiang Xu and found that they were not significantly stronger.
Jiang Xu had already broken through to the late stage of Golden Core, his cultivation infinitely close to the peak of the late stage of Golden Core.
Yet, such strength was not enough to withstand even a single move from Zhang Ergou.
This made many of the young talents even harbor thoughts of retreating.
While the prospect of becoming the son-in-law of the City Lord of Shuyan City was enticing, what attracted them even more was that City Lord Mu possessed a secret technique that could help one break through to the Nascent Soul stage within ten years.
However, all of this was contingent on their survival.
They had witnessed Jiang Xu's miserable state.
After so long, Jiang Xu had still not gotten up, indicating he was severely injured.
At this point, no one dared to underestimate Zhang Ergou anymore.
The eyes of the young participants in the selection process even held a trace of awe and fawning towards Zhang Ergou.
They certainly did not wish to end up like Jiang Xu.
The reactions of the crowd were naturally observed by the powerful figures on the main stage.
Some elders from sects and families, seeing their disciples' behavior, could only lament their lack of ambition.
Shi Wuhen, an elder of the Misty Sect, was surprised by Zhang Ergou's outstanding performance.
A slight curve appeared on his lips.
He planned to report these events to the sect elders upon his return.
This was something that brought glory to the sect.
Although he didn't know why Zhang Ergou was participating in the selection for the City Lord of Shuyan City's son-in-law, who cared!
Meanwhile, City Lord Mu Chen of Shuyan City, Hua Xu, the Pavilion Master of Black Xuan Pavilion, and Bai Youran, the Formation Grandmaster, took in the performances of the remaining youths, forming their own judgments.
The path of cultivation was not merely about improving one's cultivation level; the cultivator's mindset was even more crucial.
While Zhang Ergou's performance was astonishing, the fear displayed on the faces of the other youths left Hua Xu and the other two completely disappointed.
Without the will to compete, their future achievements would be extremely limited.
The youths who had yet to enter the ring were unaware that their showing of fear towards Zhang Ergou had already led Mu Chen and the others to deem their fate.
Among the youths, only two did not show fear towards Zhang Ergou.
One was Li Zhan, who had a good relationship with Zhang Ergou.
The other was Jiang Xu's elder brother, Jiang Yu.
At this moment, Jiang Yu's expression was even more grim, but his gaze towards Zhang Ergou was filled with fighting spirit.
His strength was far superior to Jiang Xu's.
A year ago, he had already reached the Half-step Nascent Soul stage.
He only needed a trigger to smoothly break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Jiang Yu was also the most outstanding young disciple among the younger generation of the Jiang family.
The family's hopes were pinned on him.
The Jiang family had also invested a significant amount of cultivation resources in Jiang Yu.
The younger generation of the Jiang family had many grievances about this, but their talent was no match for Jiang Yu's, nor was their diligence in cultivation. Thus, they could only gossip behind his back.
Jiang Yu, however, did not develop an arrogant and overbearing personality due to the family's special treatment.
Instead, he displayed great composure, earning the praise of many influential figures who commented on the Jiang family's promising future.
Consequently, the Jiang family placed even more importance on Jiang Yu, providing him with more cultivation resources.
This time, when coming to Shuyan City, the Jiang family hoped that Jiang Yu would stand out and become the son-in-law of the City Lord of Shuyan City.
Through a powerful alliance, the Jiang family, situated in the Western Regions, would reach new heights.
However, Zhang Ergou's appearance seemed to have become Jiang Yu's greatest obstacle.
Originally, the Jiang family had planned for Jiang Xu to wear down the other youths, allowing Jiang Yu to conserve his strength and surprise everyone in the final competition to claim victory.
But Zhang Ergou had crippled Jiang Xu with his first move, completely disrupting the Jiang family's plan.
It was worth noting that although Jiang Xu was not as skilled as his elder brother among the younger generation, his cultivation and strength were still among the top contenders.
Furthermore, Shuyan City had restricted the age of participants in the selection.
This had increased the hopes of the Jiang brothers for advancement.
But all of this had changed due to the sudden emergence of Zhang Ergou.
At this moment, Jiang Yu harbored great resentment towards Zhang Ergou.
This was not only because Zhang Ergou had a past grievance with Jiang Tian, but also because Zhang Ergou had crippled Jiang Xu with a single move, completely disqualifying him.
This had thrown the Jiang family's entire plan into disarray.
If Jiang Yu still wished to pursue the alliance between his family and Shuyan City, he would have to rely solely on his own strength.
The subsequent few matches also featured some impressive performances, but they paled in comparison to the shock Zhang Ergou had delivered to everyone.
Soon, the first round of duels concluded, with Jiang Yu advancing to the next round without any suspense.
Zhang Ergou was not surprised by this outcome.
Among these youths, only Jiang Yu possessed such profound cultivation, so his victory was not unexpected.
In the second round, Zhang Ergou faced a thin young man wielding a horsetail whisk.
To Zhang Ergou's surprise, the opponent directly conceded.
Thus, Zhang Ergou advanced to the third round, entering the competition for the top ten.
After the second round of duels concluded, only thirteen individuals had successfully advanced to the next stage.
To ensure fairness, City Lord Mu Chen of Shuyan City adopted a different strategy for the top ten competition.
The thirteen individuals who advanced needed to fight against twelve others individually.
Their final rankings would then be determined based on the outcomes of their respective battles.
Zhang Ergou had no objections to this arrangement.
He would simply follow whatever others decided, as he did not take these opponents seriously.
This was not because of their lack of strength, but primarily because Zhang Ergou had already broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, giving him a feeling of an adult bullying children.
However, for the sake of the mysterious Wood Spirit, he had no choice but to participate.
This was crucial for the advancement of the Divine Wood Melody.
Zhang Ergou would not give up the competition for others just for this reason.
Moreover, Shuyan City had not stipulated that cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage were prohibited from participating in this selection.
Therefore, he bore no psychological burden regarding the current situation.
As the youths who advanced in the second round had suffered injuries to varying degrees, City Lord Mu Chen decided to postpone the third round of matches until the next day, allowing everyone to recover and perform at their best.
The third round would then become a battle of attrition, requiring everyone to replenish their spiritual energy sufficiently to face the upcoming challenges.