Chapter 247: Continue! (Four Updates)

Beside him, Su Bai realized something was wrong and hurriedly stood up, but he was still a step too late.

*Clatter—!*

The chessboard in front of him was caught in the shockwave of Sheng Yiming’s power as he scattered the pieces, flipping it over instantly!

The mysterious formation, which had already been partially deciphered, was thrown into total chaos in the blink of an eye!

Su Bai’s face instantly turned a mix of pale and ashen!

Sheng Yiming had done it on purpose!

Knowing full well that he was no match for Su Bai, he had taken the opportunity to destroy their mysterious formation as well, forcibly terminating the match!

He glared sharply at Sheng Yiming!

Being the closest, Sheng Yiming was the most affected; he fell directly to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood!

However, as his peripheral vision caught sight of the scattered chess pieces on the floor, a strange sense of gratification welled up in his heart.

Now, no one could continue!

The sudden turn of events on the field immediately drew everyone's attention.

Seeing Sheng Yiming in such a state, Fu Yunshan’s expression shifted instantly

"What is going on!?"

A look of guilt surfaced on Sheng Yiming’s face.

"D-Dean, I am sorry... because of my momentary mistake... it turned out like this..."

"You make it sound so easy! Now Su Bai’s chessboard is destroyed, what are we to do!? How will you compensate him!?"

Cheng Han was already in a terrible mood, and seeing this situation made him lose his restraint, erupting in anger.

He saw it clearly—Su Bai was clearly in the middle of successfully deciphering that mysterious formation, only to be interrupted by Sheng Yiming!

"As a Mystic Master, surely you know how much mental energy is required to decipher a mysterious formation! Now, all of it has been ruined by you!"

The academy's last hope rested on Su Bai. It didn't matter if Sheng Yiming himself was incompetent, but he actually dared to drag Su Bai down with him!

Sun Zhongyan knit his brows tightly and said

"With things having escalated like this, I'm afraid the competition must be temporarily suspended."

Cheng Han refused to accept this.

"The match was going perfectly fine, how can it just be suspended like this!? The progress of the three participants was already different; if we start over, wouldn't that be incredibly unfair!?"

He had thought Chu Liuyue was troublesome enough, but he hadn't expected Sheng Yiming to be such a piece of work as well!

Sun Zhongyan was also in a bad mood.

Anyone could see that Sheng Yiming had already begun to fall behind; Liuyue originally had the hope of competing with Su Bai for the top spot.

If they had to restart now, Liuyue would be the one at a disadvantage!

This girl had been competing for days, and she had disappeared somewhere last night, only to come running back now to continue the Mystic Master competition...

Heaven only knew how much longer that small frame of hers could hold up!

If it weren't for the fact that they were hosting this Qingjiao Assembly, he would have certainly made a scene!

Fu Yunshan felt the most guilty.

But since things had reached this point, retreating would only make him look more in the wrong.

He cleared his throat and said

"This matter is indeed Yiming's fault. But since things have come to this, I fear we truly cannot continue... How about we let the children rest for a while, and we prepare a new mysterious formation test?"

Both Sun Zhongyan and Cheng Han fell silent.

With things having escalated to this point, this was likely the only suitable compromise.

Sun Zhongyan said hesitantly

"Since that is the case... let us do as Brother Yunshan suggests."

In truth, he also had a bit of a selfish motive.

He was worried that Chu Liuyue wouldn't be able to handle the non-stop exertion; if she could take this opportunity to rest, it might be for the best.

Sheng Yiming kept his head lowered, slowly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, while a sense of relief and triumph surfaced in his heart.

If they started over, he might not necessarily lose to those two!

"Wait—"

Chu Liuyue, who had been standing aside without a word, suddenly spoke up.

She stared fixedly at Sun Zhongyan and said, word by word

"Elder Sun, this student requests that the competition continue."

Everyone turned to look at her simultaneously, their gazes strange.

The field had already become a mess; how could the match possibly continue!?

Even Sun Zhongyan found it difficult, advising

"Liuyue, I understand your feelings, but the chessboard is already destroyed. There is simply no way to continue the match..."

"My chessboard is not destroyed."

Chu Liuyue uttered the sentence calmly, yet it immediately stirred a storm in everyone's hearts!

"What!? Are you serious?"

Sun Zhongyan exclaimed in shock.

Sheng Yiming also snapped his head up, looking toward Chu Liuyue!

Chu Liuyue unfolded the chessboard in her arms.

The pieces upon it had not moved a single inch! Even the fluctuations caused by the partially deciphered mysterious formation were no different from before!

Her chessboard—was indeed perfectly intact!

Sun Zhongyan was both shocked and delighted; he never expected that under such circumstances, Chu Liuyue would actually be able to protect her own chessboard!

"Good, good, good! Since your chessboard is undamaged, there is naturally no reason to stop the competition! However, the others..."

Sheng Yiming went without saying, but Su Bai was truly being wronged.

It was a case of the city gates catching fire and the fish in the moat suffering the consequences.

If only Chu Liuyue were allowed to continue, it wouldn't seem quite right...

Chu Liuyue gave a faint smile and asked

"Elder Sun, you are able to repair chessboards, right?"

Sun Zhongyan blinked

"That is a given. Do you mean..."

"Please help Su Bai with his chessboard. Once it is repaired, I will continue the competition with him at the same time."

Sun Zhongyan’s eyes lit up—how had he not thought of that!?

"Su Bai, do you remember which step you had just reached?"

Su Bai nodded.

"That's fine! It should only take about fifteen minutes to repair!"

This way, it wouldn't delay the competition, and it would be fair enough for everyone.

As he spoke, he raised a hand, and Su Bai’s chessboard flew toward him.

Flowing light flickered from his fingertips, and the chaotic patterns on the chessboard rapidly became clear!

Watching from the side, Su Bai also carefully explained where he had previously reached in his deciphering.

Sun Zhongyan moved extremely fast, and the entire chessboard was restored at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After a quick inspection, he returned the chessboard to Su Bai.

"Take a look and see if it is in order."

Su Bai received it with both hands, checked it carefully, and bowed to Sun Zhongyan with a serious expression

"Thank you, Elder Sun."

Afterward, he looked at Chu Liuyue and nodded

"Thank you."

"No need for thanks. It is just a fair competition. I don't want people saying that my victory was unearned."

Chu Liuyue smiled faintly and found a seat to sit down again.

Su Bai did not say anything more.

However, his impression of Chu Liuyue had changed drastically.

Sheng Yiming was left standing there in the cold.

He dazed for a moment, and seeing that the two of them were already prepared to start, he suddenly jumped up in a panic.

"Wait a minute! My chessboard hasn't been restored yet!"

Even if the competition was to continue, shouldn't they wait for him to get sorted!? How could it be so sudden?!

Chu Liuyue rested her chin on one hand and gave him a lazy, half-smiling look

"If I remember correctly, your mysterious formation collapsed just now because of your own error in deciphering, right? According to the rules, doesn't that count as... elimination?"

Although she didn't finish the sentence, everyone could hear the underlying meaning.

—As someone who had already been eliminated, how could he have the face to continue standing there?

Sheng Yiming's words suddenly got stuck in his throat, and his reasonably handsome face became a spectacle of complex emotions!

(End of Chapter)