Chapter 277: Capable, Willful
Outside, the crowd soon saw Xingnong emerge from one of the formations. She navigated the formations as if she were walking through her own backyard – entering through the front door and exiting through the back! And just like that, she had completed the formation! It hadn’t even taken the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
Then, the judge in charge of scoring awarded her ten points!
And the other formation masters? They were still cautiously exploring with their little notebooks, making notes as they went. It felt like they were still knocking on the door, waiting for the owner to open it and let them in.
Xingnong entered each formation, walked around, and emerged as if it were her own backyard. In the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, she had already completed five formations!
Meanwhile, Princess Shengping had only just emerged from the first formation.
A formation master stationed outside the formation to keep time said with a smile, “Congratulations to Princess Shengping for successfully navigating the formation in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea!”
Princess Shengping’s lips curled up slightly at his words. She had assumed she was the first to emerge. Glancing at the record sheet in his hand, her steps faltered. She saw that the first name on the list was Chu Kingdom Formation Master Princess Shen Xingnong, who had successfully navigated the formation in an instant!
“Princess Xingnong has already emerged? In just a few dozen breaths?”
“Yes! It felt like Princess Xingnong just walked in and out. After everyone went in, I started drinking my water, and I hadn’t even finished my water before she came out!”
He had been so surprised that he had forgotten to congratulate Princess Xingnong before she entered the next formation!
Princess Shengping: “. . .”
Was she a bird? Did she transform into a bird and fly into the sky, then turn back into a human and walk out at the exit?
Otherwise, how could she have possibly walked in and out in just a few dozen breaths?
At that moment, Xingnong emerged from the sixth formation.
The formation master keeping time in the distance had already witnessed Xingnong’s prowess in navigating the previous formations. He began counting his own breaths from the moment Xingnong entered – ninety breaths!
So, he announced in a loud voice, “Congratulations to Princess Xingnong for successfully navigating the formation in ninety breaths!”
Princess Shengping: “. . .”
Ninety breaths? So, she practically just walked around and came out?
“Thank you.” Xingnong politely expressed her gratitude and walked towards the next formation.
Princess Shengping watched in disbelief as Xingnong entered the seventh formation!
At this point, the formation master keeping time beside Princess Shengping couldn’t help but remind her, “Princess Shengping, time is running out! Shouldn’t you hurry and navigate the formations? If you keep standing here, Princess Xingnong will probably emerge from the seventh formation the moment you enter the second!”
Princess Shengping: “. . .”
For her to emerge from the seventh formation the moment she entered the second, unless she could actually fly!
With a dark expression, she strode towards the next formation.
If this person weren’t a formation master from Jin Kingdom, essentially her senior martial uncle, she would definitely punish him!
Just as Princess Shengping reached the next formation and was about to step inside, she caught a glimpse of a purple figure emerging from the corner of her eye. Then, she heard someone announce in a loud voice, “Congratulations to Princess Xingnong for successfully navigating the formation!”
Princess Shengping: “. . .”
Damn it, was this Shen Xingnong even human?
Even her master wouldn’t be this fast if he personally came to navigate these formations, right?
After all, these formations were specifically designed for the Youth Formation Master Competition. They posed some difficulty, but they were definitely not extremely challenging! Some were even less difficult than the Peach Blossom Formation that Xingnong had navigated for the first time. So, for Xingnong, she truly understood how they worked the moment she walked in, without even needing to rely on intuition.
The afternoon sun was strong, and feeling hot and tired, she didn’t want to waste any time, so she simply walked straight out!
Anyway, the area where each formation was set up wasn’t large, and she walked quickly, so she could emerge in a little over a minute!
Therefore, by the time Xingnong had completed all four formations, Princess Shengping, Luo Fan, Zhao Luran, and the others were still navigating the second formation, while many were still stuck in the first!
Seeing that Xingnong had completed all the formations so quickly, Prince Shengping stroked his beard and said, “Why did Old Master Guo set up so few formations this time? And are these formations too simple? How did Xingnong finish them so quickly?”
The Jin Kingdom Emperor stroked his chin, “It shouldn’t be. Didn’t you see that Songya is only navigating the second formation?”
✿✿✿
Prince Shengping: “. . .”
Songya was Princess Shengping’s name.
After completing the formations, Xingnong went to where Chu Tiankuo was. She estimated that she wouldn’t be able to participate in the team competition today, so she said, “I’m going back. It’s too hot! Let me know if anything comes up.”
The competition was held at the Formation Masters Guild, and they had arranged rooms for each participating formation master to rest.
Xingnong was simply going back to her room to rest.
Chu Tiankuo stood up, “I’ll escort you.”
“No need, you stay here and watch over things! I’ll go inform Father Emperor, and he’ll arrange for someone to escort me.”
Hearing this, Chu Tiankuo didn’t insist, lest the Jin Kingdom Emperor think he was trying to do something to Xingnong and guard her like a thief.
Xingnong went to inform the Jin Kingdom Emperor that she was tired and wanted to go back to rest.
The Jin Kingdom Emperor immediately arranged for someone to escort her back to her room to rest, “Father Emperor will stay here and wait for the results of your competition. Old Master Guo and the others still haven’t emerged from the formation you set up, so someone will inform you of the results as soon as they’re available! But you must have achieved a perfect score again this time after navigating ten formations.”
Xingnong had directly completed all ten formations and was the first to emerge!
When she came out, the incense stick still had a large portion left unburned.
Scoring the formation navigation was straightforward. For each formation successfully navigated within the time limit, ten points were awarded.
Therefore, Xingnong scored a perfect one hundred points again this time!
Xingnong nodded and left.
The time of one incense stick passed unknowingly, and all the participating formation masters were brought out by the formation masters keeping time outside.
This time, Princess Shengping had navigated a total of five formations, Luo Fan six, Zhao Luran four, and most of the others only one or two, with some even failing to complete a single one.
When these people learned that Xingnong had already finished, and the Four Elders were still inside the formation she had set up, scoring it and hadn’t emerged yet, while she had gone back to rest because she was tired, the expressions on their faces were as colorful as a painter’s palette!
Zhao Luran sneered, “Having an emperor as a father and the Chu Kingdom Crown Prince as a future husband is truly different!”
Wen Yuanqian, who happened to be behind her, heard this and retorted, “Wrong, being able to finish the competition early is what makes the difference! If Miss Zhao could complete the formations in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, you could also go back to rest first!”
Li Wenhao nodded, “That’s right, it’s called being capable and willful! If you have the ability, you can do it too!”
“Indeed, Princess Xingnong’s abilities were never given to her by her father! It’s her own excellence that she has earned for herself!”
Zhao Luran rolled her eyes and returned to her seat, waiting for the results.
Everyone also returned to their seats, discussing the formation navigation they had just experienced, talking and waiting for the results of the formation navigation and setup competition to be announced.
However, they waited until the sun was almost setting.
At this time, the other six formation master judges had finished scoring the thirty unnamed formations and emerged.
