Chapter 275: Old Master Tang’s Worry
The Jin Kingdom Emperor patted Prince Shengping on the shoulder, “Our children have secured the top two spots! Come to the palace for drinks tonight, let’s drink till we drop!”
Hmm, I’ve envied my imperial younger brother for having such an excellent and well-behaved daughter for eighteen years. Finally, it’s my turn to be the object of envy!
Prince Shengping thought, that’s right, as long as the top two spots were taken by the children of the two brothers, it didn’t matter who was first and who was second!
Moreover, he knew his daughter was competitive. Before this competition, she felt that the participating formation masters were not skilled enough and she didn’t bother to participate at all. So this was her first time competing, and she unexpectedly lost!
His daughter was too proud! This time, Xingnong’s return was just the right opportunity to let her know that there are always people better than her.
In this world, no one can stay in the first place forever.
Even if no one among your peers can surpass you, there will always be someone who comes after.
Old Master Guo also said her formation skills had hit a bottleneck and hadn’t improved much this year. He hoped that after this competition, she would recognize her own shortcomings and make even greater progress in the future!
“Alright! Let’s celebrate tonight!” Although his daughter would be unhappy tonight, Prince Shengping was still happy that his imperial older brother’s princess had won first place.
Time passed quietly as the audience waited anxiously and the formation masters worked diligently. Finally, the sound of a bell rang, signaling the end of the two-hour time limit.
The participating formation masters emerged from their self-created formations one after another.
Some had confident smiles on their faces, while others looked dejected.
Princess Shengping walked out confidently.
Within the two hours, she had set up two fairly difficult formations. She was quite satisfied with her work this time, so she happily walked towards Prince Shengping.
“Father, how many points did I get in the previous round?”
She knew her father would have checked the scores beforehand.
Prince Shengping smiled, “Wouldn’t it be better to wait for Old Master Guo to announce it?”
Seeing him say this, Princess Shengping assumed her results were excellent and he was waiting to surprise her!
She smiled, “Father, you’re always keeping me in suspense!”
She subconsciously glanced in Xingnong’s direction.
Xingnong had also walked out, but her expression was indifferent, showing neither joy nor anger. It was impossible to tell whether she had successfully set up a formation.
She knew about that empty space. Her master had personally set up a formation eye with boulders. To design a new formation based on that formation eye within two hours was no easy feat!
In the first round, she didn’t get a single small yellow flag, which meant that every chess formation she set up scored below five points. Her total score could only be around fifty points at most.
It was simply impossible for someone who could only set up five-point chess formations to create a high-scoring formation in that empty space!
Xingnong sat down next to Chu Tiankuo. Chu Tiankuo handed her a bowl of chilled watermelon juice, “Are you tired?”
“Not really,” Xingnong replied, taking the watermelon juice and taking a sip.
She was so thirsty!
During those two hours, she was so engrossed in her work that she had forgotten to drink even a single sip of water.
At this time, Old Master Guo stood on the platform and announced, “The results of the first round are out. The first place goes to…”
The participating formation masters instantly straightened up and looked towards the platform. The surroundings fell silent.
“The formation master from Chu Kingdom, Princess Xingnong of Jin Kingdom, with one hundred and twenty points!”
The audience: As expected! But one hundred and twenty points, that’s too incredible!
She set up twelve formations in one hour, and all twelve got full marks?
Was she a demon?
No, the formation master from Chu Kingdom, Princess Xingnong of Jin Kingdom, what a title! Old Master Guo was so humorous!
The participating formation masters were also shocked, some even suspecting they had misheard.
How was this possible?
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Didn’t she not get a single small yellow flag?
The formation masters were competing earlier, so no one knew that the four grandmaster-level formation masters had spent a whole hour at Xingnong’s table while scoring.
Wen Yuanqian, Li Wenhao, and others were stunned for a moment before looking at Xingnong with delight!
They knew the formations Princess Xingnong set up wouldn’t be bad!
They all received two small yellow flags, how could Princess Xingnong not get a single one!
Princess Shengping’s jaw dropped in astonishment. Had her master misread the name?
Old Master Guo continued to announce, “Second place, Princess Shengping of Jin Kingdom, fifty-four points!”
Princess Shengping: “…”
Fifty-four points?
Less than half of Shen Xingnong’s score?
This was impossible!
“Third place, Luo Fan, thirty-eight points, fourth place Zhao Luran, twenty-five points, fifth place Yang Jun of Jin Kingdom, twenty-four points, fifth place Feng Lin of Jin Kingdom, eighteen points, sixth place Fengdie of Yan Kingdom, fourteen points, seventh place Zhang Hui of Jin Kingdom, thirteen points, eighth place Wen Yuanqian of Chu Kingdom, twelve points, ninth place Li Wenhao of Chu Kingdom, eleven points, tenth place Yang Zhenming of Jin Kingdom, ten points, Gu Xiao of Yan Kingdom, ten points, Mai Wei of Chu Kingdom, ten points, eleventh place He Jingfeng of Jin Kingdom, nine points, Yang Xie of Zhao Kingdom, nine points, Yan Kingdom’s…”
Soon, the scores of the fifty-five formation masters in the first round were announced.
Old Master Guo continued, “This is just the ranking and score of the first round. The scores of the second round haven’t been released yet. And the third round, the formation breaking challenge, hasn’t even started! In the individual competition, the scores of the three rounds are accumulated, and the final ranking is based on the total score. Everyone, keep up the good work! Now, the third round officially begins! Light the incense!”
Then, a stick of incense, as thick as a thumb and as long as a whole arm, was lit and placed in the incense burner.
Before the participating formation masters could fully digest their scores, they hurriedly rushed off to break the formations.
The rules for this formation breaking challenge were that within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, they could break as many formations as possible! As long as they successfully broke through a formation, they would get points!
While the formation masters were breaking the formations, the ten judges went back to score the second round.
The formations of the top twenty in the first round were scored by the four grandmaster judges, while the remaining thirty-five were scored by the other six judges.
Old Master Guo walked towards the formation set up by Xingnong without hesitation.
The other two formation masters immediately followed!
They all wanted to see Xingnong’s true formation skills!
Only by using the materials available on site to set up a formation could one truly see the true skill of a formation master.
Formations set up with chess pieces were always simpler.
Only Old Master Tang hesitated for a moment. After thinking about it, he reminded the three who were eager to rush towards his disciple’s formation, “Why don’t we start with the second place first?”
The three turned to look at him.
Old Master Guo didn’t think much of it, assuming Old Master Tang wanted to avoid any appearance of bias. He said, “Old Master Tang, are you trying to avoid any appearance of bias? Are you worried that going to break the formations together will affect our judgment? Don’t worry, you don’t have to say anything later, just follow us. And we won’t say anything when we’re breaking the formations of our own country.”
Old Master Tang shook his head, “No, I’m just worried that if we go break my disciple’s formation first, we might get trapped inside and can’t get out. Then we’ll have to wait for her to finish the competition and come out to lead us out. I don’t mind, it’s a formation designed by my disciple. A great master produces outstanding disciples, I won’t feel ashamed. I’m just afraid that you might lose face.”
The three: “…”
