Chapter 252: A Favor (Fourth Update)

It wasn't just Sun Zhongyan; all the Mystics present were stunned.

They all knew how complex the final Mystic Array on the chessboard was. Forget redrawing it—even if they were asked to trace it bit by bit, it would likely be difficult.

Not to mention, Chu Liuyue was tracing it from the very end back to the very beginning!

This was countless times harder than reciting a book backward!

Yet, Chu Liuyue seemed to remember it clearly, every single stroke flowing smoothly and naturally!

"Even if she cracked that Mystic Array, it should be impossible to remember it perfectly..."

Even the people from Tianlu Academy couldn't help but whisper in discussion.

"Could it be that she has actually seen that Mystic Array before?"

It seemed that only this could explain why she could solve the Mystic Array so quickly and even restore it completely!

Dongfang Qing let out a cough.

"That... don't you all know that this girl has always had a photographic memory?"

During the Contemplation Class, although Chu Liuyue had always kept a low profile, he had observed her closely several times and had long discovered that any Mystic Array seemed to be no problem for her.

As long as she wanted, she could not only crack them quickly but also draw out the complete patterns of the Mystic Array!

Whether she could actually manifest a high-level Mystic Array was another matter, as her current realm could not yet erupt with such powerful and abundant energy.

However, exactly how each strand of power should be traced, she knew perfectly well!

Dongfang Qing clearly remembered once when Chu Liuyue seemed bored during class; she had been repeatedly fiddling with that chessboard at her seat.

He had caught a glimpse by chance and only then noticed she was actually tracing a Mystic Array!

From that moment on, he knew this girl was not simple.

This was also why, no matter what, he hoped Chu Liuyue would participate in this Mystic Master competition.

"Truly?"

Even Sun Zhongyan found it somewhat hard to believe.

He did not interact with Chu Liuyue much on a regular basis; aside from that mid-term assessment, he had almost never seen her performance regarding Mystic Arrays.

Looking at her now, it really was...

"But what is she doing like this?"

They soon learned why Chu Liuyue had done this.

After Chu Liuyue had finished re-tracing the Mystic Array stroke by stroke, she suddenly stopped.

"If I'm not mistaken, you reached this point just now, didn't you?"

She showed the chessboard to Si Ting.

Si Ting was immensely surprised in his heart and nodded

"Correct."

A smile curled at the corner of Chu Liuyue's mouth as she looked toward Xi Wanwan.

When Xi Wanwan saw the restored chessboard, a cold sweat had already broken out on her back.

With a light flick of her finger, a faint, ethereal line was plucked from the chessboard by Chu Liuyue!

"Xi Wanwan, do you recognize what this is?"

The object in Chu Liuyue's hand was only about an inch long. Although it appeared transparent, it reflected some light under the sun, allowing everyone to vaguely identify it.

"That is—"

Sun Zhongyan's expression changed.

"The Silver Soul Hook?"

Upon hearing the words "Silver Soul Hook," many people showed expressions of shock.

Legend had it that this item was made from rare Heavenly Snow Silkworm silk; it was soft and transparent throughout, yet incredibly tough and even sharper than blades and swords!

However, this item had one major flaw: it could only be used once.

Once deployed, the Silver Soul Hook would become extremely fragile and turn completely into waste.

But from a certain perspective, this also became one of its advantages.

At the very least, it was perfectly suited as a hidden weapon.

It had high lethality and would not leave any clues! Once a period of time had passed, it would completely dissolve on its own, leaving no trace behind!

It was just that Heavenly Snow Silkworm silk was extremely precious; ordinary people had never even seen it, let alone used it.

"When these chessboards were brought onto the competition stage, they were all thoroughly inspected. There should absolutely be no such thing mixed in!"

Sun Zhongyan immediately realized something and looked at Xi Wanwan with a stern, fierce expression.

"Xi Wanwan! How do you explain this!"

Xi Wanwan had completely frozen the moment Chu Liuyue plucked the Silver Soul Hook up.

Her whole body was ice-cold, and her mind was roaring so loudly that she could barely hear what Sun Zhongyan was saying.

Her face was unnaturally pale as she instinctively denied it

"I... I don't know! That's not mine!"

Chu Liuyue lightly fiddled with the Silver Soul Hook in her hand and said lazily

"It's fine if you don't admit it, but anyone who has touched a Silver Soul Hook will have a faint silver residue left on their hands. Do you dare to show your hands?"

Xi Wanwan's body trembled, and her hand inside her sleeve instinctively curled up.

How did she know? How did she know!?

"I didn't! I didn't!"

Xi Wanwan continued to argue, but her guilty appearance was obvious to anyone.

Fu Yunshan's expression was also not looking good.

"If you are upright, you have nothing to fear from a crooked shadow. Wanwan, just show your hands, and you can prove your innocence!"

Xi Wanwan was extremely anxious, and tears welled up in her eyes, yet she refused to take her hand out no matter what.

"Dean, please believe me, I really didn't do—"

Seeing her like this, how could Fu Yunshan not understand?

Xi Wanwan must have secretly used that Silver Soul Hook!

"When cracking the Mystic Array on the chessboard, every single strand of power is extremely exquisite. One wrong step and the entire board is lost. If a Silver Soul Hook were to fall out at such a moment, the consequences would be truly unthinkable."

Chu Liuyue shook her head with a hint of lament.

"Such a tiny little thing is quite valuable. To have it vanish so lightly is truly a pity. Xi Wanwan, do you still want to deny it now?"

Xi Wanwan could no longer utter a single word, collapsing completely to the ground.

She stared blankly at Chu Liuyue, unable to comprehend how the Silver Soul Hook had been discovered, or how Chu Liuyue had found it!

She only knew that now that this matter had been exposed, her future was completely ruined!

Fu Yunshan was also immensely infuriated and shouted angrily

"Why did you do this!? You have truly brought shame to my Nanfeng Academy!"

To think he had even spoken up for Xi Wanwan before; now, it felt like a series of loud slaps to his own face!

Xi Wanwan's tears fell like broken beads.

"It is all my fault, please punish me, Dean! Just... please do not implicate the others..."

Sun Zhongyan said in a heavy voice

"Brother Yunshan, regarding this matter, you must provide an explanation, regardless of the circumstances, right?"

When had Fu Yunshan ever lost face like this? At this moment, he only wished he could strike Xi Wanwan dead with a single palm!

He took a deep breath and said, word by word

"Xi Wanwan has an impure mind and used despicable methods. From this day forward, she is expelled from Nanfeng Academy! She shall never be admitted again!"

Xi Wanwan felt as if she had been struck by lightning; under the intense shock, she actually fainted.

Fu Yunshan didn't even want to spare her another glance. Suppressing the anger in his heart, he cupped his hands toward Sun Zhongyan and Cheng Han.

"This matter was due to my poor supervision. My apologies."

Fu Yunshan had made his stance clear, so naturally, the others could not say much more.

With a light squeeze of her fingers, the useless Silver Soul Hook instantly transformed into powder.

Setting the chessboard down, she began walking toward the bottom of the stage.

As Si Ting moved to step forward to thank her personally, a low laugh came from beside him.

"Miss Liuyue, now that you have helped others, could you perhaps do this King a favor?"