After the presiding monk made the loud announcement, the audience in the audience looked at the talismans in the tray with anticipation.
Zhang Fan was indeed a gifted talisman master. The talisman he drew was a deep purple with clearly discernible golden lines. It looked incredibly similar to the lines on the imitation divine stone placed on the platform by the sect.
This is truly remarkable. Drawing the Ziyang Talisman isn't simply a matter of imitating the patterns on the sacred stone. Rather, it requires a deep understanding of the patterns, allowing for a complete painting and achieving a certain degree of power.
The host picked up the Zi Yang Talisman drawn by Zhang Fan in public and showed it to the audience, which immediately aroused cheers from the audience.
Then he respectfully handed the talisman to the first talisman master on the right side of the referee's seat.
"Excellent! The brushwork is neat and powerful, and it feels natural. It's a rare second-level Purple Sun Talisman."
The first judge took it and made a brief assessment before carefully examining it. Finally, he came to a conclusion.
"Second-level primary Purple Sun Talisman!" As the presiding monk loudly announced, the audience below burst into cheers.
The talisman drawn by Zhang Fan was also passed to the second referee.
Each judge carefully examined and evaluated it. Finally, after a joint evaluation by all seven judges, they concluded that this was a flawless, second-level, primary Purple Yang Talisman.
The judged talisman was placed back on the red cloth tray.
The audience below the stage erupted in cheers, especially the many cultivators who had placed their bets on Zhang Fan.
Zhang Fan, on the stage, also wore a smile, looking at the enthusiastic group of cultivators below, and his heart was suddenly filled with joy. He turned his head and looked at the judges on the stage. He continued to smile, but inwardly he snorted coldly.
Cao Ziyang, his most supportive referee, withdrew due to injury. He had also sent generous gifts to several other referees early on, but none of them were as unequivocal in their support as Cao Ziyang. They all accepted the gifts but remained ambivalent, leaving him feeling deeply unhappy.
But after hearing the shouts from the audience below, Zhang Fan finally felt relieved. Most of the cultivators in Ziyang supported him, so the judges wouldn't be so careless in their decisions! Thinking of this, Zhang Fan's smile widened. He seemed to have already seen the scene of everyone lining the streets to warmly welcome him after his return to the sect.
At this time, after judging Zhang Fan's talisman, the judges began to comment on the Zi Yang talisman drawn by Xu Xing.
"Well, very good! Very good! The talisman's strokes are smooth, without any dull spots. The key is that he actually added his own thoughts to it. Very good!"
After judging the situation, a group of talisman masters came to an equally good conclusion.
"Second-level, early-stage, high-quality Purple Sun Talisman."
Zhang Fan, who had been smiling brightly, froze at the sight of these words. Meanwhile, Xu Xing remained calm and composed, standing on the stage, his expression showing no sign of change at all due to the referee's words.
"Hmm!" The judges nodded silently in their hearts as they saw the comparison between the two monks. Unperturbed by honor or disgrace, this is the demeanor of our generation of monks.
"Hmph!" Zhang Fan snorted in his heart and swung his arms slightly, and suddenly cheers and shouts broke out from the audience.
"Zhang Fan! Zhang Fan! Zhang Fan!"
"Hmph!" Seeing this, Master Haoyi, who was sitting in the middle Jindan seat, was about to speak out to stop them and let the meeting continue. Zhang Hongyi, who was standing next to him, exhaled and immediately pressed down lightly on Master Haoyi.
"Junior brother, let's just sit and watch!"
Zhang Haoyi snorted inwardly and stopped what he was about to say. Zhang Hongyi was from the sect and had a closer relationship with Zhang Fan. Of course, he hoped that Zhang Fan, who was also from the sect, would win.
Seeing that no one was trying to stop him, the presiding monk did not dare to say anything. He waited until the audience had finished cheering before announcing the next step of judging.
Four sturdy body-refining monks came onto the platform, carrying two tall humanoid iron puppets. These puppets were the ones that had been immersed in the Demonic Pool.
This puppet appeared to be made primarily of gray black iron, but because it had been soaked in demonic energy beforehand and infused with a large amount of demonic energy, each puppet was emitting a thick, pitch-black demonic energy. At first glance, it looked like a black puppet.
"Try it first, Zhang Fan!"
Following the presiding monk's announcement, Zhang Fan slowly walked over to the tray and picked up the talisman he had drawn. He then fixed his eyes on the two iron puppets of the same size.
"Okay, Zhang Fan chooses the puppet on the left."
After a moment's comparison, Zhang Fan chose the puppet closest to him. These two puppets were generally not tampered with by cultivators. They were essentially identical. Furthermore, in the Ziyang Talisman Association's duels, they were personally selected and activated by the participating contestants.
Seeing Xu Xing nodded beside him, the host began to announce, Zhang Fan, get ready, release the talisman.
The audience was silent at this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the puppets. Because of the infusion of demonic energy, each puppet was emitting a dark demonic aura.
"Go!" Zhang Fan held the talisman in his hand and slightly stimulated his magic power. Suddenly, a purple light rushed towards the dark and evil puppet in front of him.
"Boom!" The puppet, originally surrounded by pitch-black demonic energy, was instantly struck by purple light. Suddenly, wisps of purple energy began to emanate from the puppet. At first, the purple energy was very small, but then it grew and grew. It was as if some strange reaction had occurred.
Suddenly, within a moment, the entire puppet was tightly wrapped in a thick purple aura that lasted for a long time.
"well!"
Looking at the puppet wrapped in purple energy, the audience cheered. This was indeed the first time they had seen a Purple Sun Talisman that could last this long.
After everyone waited for an incense stick, the dense purple aura surrounding the iron golem finally began to dissipate. After a long period of dissipation, the iron golem, once gray and filled with pitch-black demonic energy, unexpectedly regained its original appearance. There wasn't even a trace of demonic energy left within it.
"Good! One strike to eliminate the evil spirit!" the presiding monk shouted excitedly, indicating that the evil spirit in the entire puppet had been cleared out.
By this time, the atmosphere in the audience had reached a climax, with cheers and shouts echoing throughout Ziyang City. Those who were unaware thought the true champion had already been decided, and they began to ask the surrounding cultivators who had won the Ziyang payment. Was it the Gongfeng Hall? Or the Zhang family's side branch?
Zhang Fan, by this point, had a confident expression on his face. The slight annoyance he'd felt at the referee's judgment of Xu Xing had completely vanished. Even he himself felt his talisman performed quite well. It was clearly a superior, second-level, elementary talisman, already incredibly close to the intermediate level.
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