Chen Yang carried Yi Liya out of the Asura Arena altogether, and he and Han Li returned to the courtyard assigned to the Green Goat City cultivators.

After setting Yi Liya down to rest in another room, Chen Yang joined Han Li in the side hall outside.

"Will Fellow Daoist Yi be alright?" Han Li asked.

"His injuries are very severe. He's in no life-threatening danger, but his bloodline power has been severely deplected after unleashing the Hazy Helmet Technique, so he won't be waking up anytime soon," Chen Yang replied.

Han Li nodded in response.

"Do you know why I asked you to come and see me?" Chen Yang asked with a solemn look on his face.

"I presume you want to speak to me about the next round," Han Li replied.

"That's right. Do you have any strategies against Feng Wuchen?" Chen Yang asked.

"No, but I'll be sure to give it my all, so rest assured, Fellow Daoist Chen," Han Li replied.

"I don't know exactly how many profound acupoints you've opened up to this point, but judging from your battle against Hao Feng, it shouldn't be any fewer than him," Chen Yang said.

Han Li offered no reply, merely giving a faint smile in response.

"I had thought that with your powers and your true spirit bloodlines, you should be able to match up against Feng Wuchen just fine, but the fact that he has a pair of star artifacts at his disposal is very bad news for you," Chen Yang continued.

"What exactly is a star artifact, Fellow Daoist Chen?" Han Li asked.

"You don't know? I suppose that's understandable, considering you've never come to Profound City before. A star artifact is a type of advanced weapon refined by Mistress Liu Hua using the stapower of this realm. They are extremely powerful, but also exceedingly rare, yet somehow, Qin Yuan has managed to get his hands on that pair of swords," Chen Yang explained in a grim voice.

The image of Feng Wuchen's twin swords resurfaced in Han Li's mind upon hearing this.

"However, he's not the only one with star artifacts at his disposal," Chen Yang said as a smile appeared on his face, and he pulled out a small white shield that was riddled with starry runes before handing it to Han Li.

Engraved onto the center of the shield were eighteen star designs that formed the shape of a dragon, and every single one of the star designs was radiating white light that was fluctuating rhythmically in brightness, almost as if they were beating hearts.

"What's this?" Han Li asked as he accepted the white shield, and he could feel it resonating with the profound acupoints in his body.

"This is a star artifact called the Star Shield. Normally, a star artifact has to be nurtured using one's blood essence for a long time before they can be used, but we don't have much time here, so refine it with your blood essence as much as possible over the next few days. That way, but the time the third round begins, you should be able to unleash some of the shield's power to help you ward off Feng Wuchen's twin swords," Chen Yang said.

Han Li took a glance at the shield, then said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen. I won't disappoint you in the upcoming round."

Chen Yang smiled in response, then briefly taught Han Li how to use the Star Shield before dismissing him.

Han Li returned to his room with the Star Shield, and after conducting a brief inspection, he bit through the tip of his own finger to release a drop of blood essence onto the shield.

The drop of blood essence immediately fused into the shield, upon which a layer of white light emerged over its surface.

A pleased look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

He could clearly sense that a connection had been formed between himself and the shield, but at the moment, the connection was still very weak.

A wisp of spiritual sense emerged from his glabella before entering the Star Shield, helping it to better absorb the drop of blood essence.

The process felt very similar to that of refining immortal treasures, except it was far slower without the help of immortal spiritual power.

Close to two hours passed by in a flash, and right at this moment, a commotion suddenly began to ring out outside.

Han Li stowed the Star Shield away, then made his way out into the courtyard to discover that all of the Green Goat City cultivators had returned.

Everyone had excited looks on their faces with Gu Qianxun at the center of the group, looking much like a bright moon surrounded by stars, but Xuanyuan Xing was nowhere to be seen.

"Looks like you won your battle as well, Fellow Daoist Gu. Congratulations," Han Li said as he approached her with a smile.

"I was merely lucky," Gu Qianxun replied with a modest smile.

Despite her humble response, she wasn't carrying any injuries at all, so she had clearly enjoyed a very easy victory, something that came as no surprise to Han Li.

Everyone quickly departed to allow the two of them to speak in private, and Han Li asked, "What happened to Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan?"

"Fellow Daoist Xuanyuan won his battle as well. His opponent was more powerful than him, but he was able to successfully execute his strategy to secure a very difficult victory. He sustained some rather severe injuries in the process, and he's been sent to the city lord's manor for treatment," Gu Qianxun replied with a smile.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.

After a brief hesitation, Gu Qianxun continued, "Fellow Daoist Li, your third round opponent is Feng Wuchen. Those star artifacts of his are extremely formidable, do you have any strategies against him?"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Gu, I've already discussed some strategies with City Lord Chen," Han Li replied.

"That's good to hear," Gu Qianxun replied with a nod, making no attempt to pry any further.

The two of them chatted with each other for a while longer before parting ways.

Han Li returned to his room to continue refining the Star Shield, and as time passed, the white starlight radiating from the Star Shield became brighter and brighter.

Han Li could also sense his own profound acupoints resonating with the Star Shield, and it was as if the two were becoming one.

It was as if the Star Shield had become an extension of his own body, and Han Li's eyes sprang open as he cast his gaze toward the shield with a surprised look on his face.

It seemed that these star artifacts really were quite extraordinary.

……

Seven more days flew by in a flash.

Early in the morning, the Asura Arena was already packed with people.

Following the first two rounds, the number of combatants in the Five City Martial Gathering had dropped down to eighteen, and this was going to be the round that decided who would progress to the quarterfinal.

The city lords and Mistress Liu Hua arrived on the elevated platform to a wave of thunderous cheers.

Despite his best efforts, the horned man who was serving as host of the event was unable to suppress the cheers, so he could only wait until the commotion died down before declaring, "This round is going to decide who makes it into the final eight. All those who emerge victorious today will receive a B tier scaled beast core, so let's all wish the remaining gladiators the best of luck."

The spectators instantly erupted into a frenzy in the wake of this announcement.

"We are about to cross the halfway mark of the martial gathering, and for this round, only two platforms will be in use, with four batches of two battles for the round. The first two matches will see Zhu Ziyuan of Profound City go up against Jin Gong of Profound End City, and Feng Wuchen of Profound End City up against Li Feiyu of Green Goat City," the horned ma n announced.

On the elevated platform, Chen Yang was looking on with a concerned expression.

Green Goat City had been utterly humiliated after the first round, with only four of their twelve representatives advancing, but three of those four had advanced from the second round, which was a splendid outcome.

However, his joy was very short-lived as both Han Li and Gu Qianxun had extremely tough battles on their hands for this round, and he had no confidence in their ability to come out on top.

Even though he had managed to secure a star artifact for Han Li, this was his first time using something like this, so he definitely wasn't going to be as proficient in its usage as Feng Wuchen was.

On top of that, in his mind, Feng Wuchen was more powerful than Han Li to begin with, so he was very pessimistic about this matchup.

As for Gu Qianxun, he assumed her to be stronger than Li Feiyu, but Fang Chan had defeated her in the past, so things weren't looking good for her, either.

Xuanyuan Xing was up against Luo Chongwei of Profound City for this round, a matchup that was certainly the easiest of the three, but his chances of securing victory were looking rather slim as well.

He had thought that at least one of the three should be able to reach the final four, but it seemed that having one of them progress to the top eight may be too much to ask.

If all of the Green Goat City cultivators were eliminated before the quarterfinals, that would be an even worse outcome than during the Du Qingyang era. Not only would that mean that none of them would get a reward from Profound City, his authority as city lord would undoubtedly be shaken by such a terrible outcome.

"Shouldn't the top representatives of each city only be encountering each other starting from the quarterfinals? Why is Gu Qianxun of Green Goat City already going up against Fang Chan of White Rock City?" Mistress Liu Hua suddenly asked.

"That's how things normally play out, but there aren't actually any official rules stating that this has to be the case. These two just so happen to be in the same bracket, so barring any mishaps, they were always going to clash in the round of sixteen. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, it adds some excitement to this first half of the martial gathering," Qin Yuan said.

"Gu Qianxun has put on quite a formidable display in the first two rounds, and I'm sure she'll be eager for vengeance against Fang Chan. Perhaps the outcome of their previous battle could be reversed this time," Fu Jian mused as he took a meaningful glance at Sun Tu.

Chen Yang's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but he was aware of what Fu Jian was implying.

Even though it appeared that he was paying Gu Qianxun a compliment, he was clearly simply using that as an excuse to mention the fact that Gu Qianxun had been defeated by Fang Chan in their last encounter.

"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Fu. All Fang Chan does is eat and sleep all day, and he hasn't improved much at all since the last martial gathering. I'm afraid he may be reduced to a mere stepping stone for Gu Qianxun on this occasion," Sun Tu sighed, but there was a faint smile playing on his lips, and it was clear that he wasn't actually concerned at all.

"I think the battle between Li Feiyu and Wuchen will be very much worth watching as well. There already seems to be some bad blood between them, so this is a highly anticipated matchup for all of the spectators," Qin Yuan said.