415 The Evaluation (2)

Shui had an idea of where he saw the man before, but that idea was also very vague so he couldn't put much trust in it. He kept thinking about it, but a clear answer didn't come up before the mayor addressed the issue of why there were only nine rankers present.

"As I'm sure all of you have noticed, there is one who is missing from our proud lineup of array masters. Nikolai Nien of the Staile clan, who was ninth on the Alterna Array Master Minor Ranking, has unfortunately passed away. He was an admirable array master who created the hundred mirror army array that was once used to fight back a beast wave, but he never stopped trying to improve it. He..."

The mayor didn't go into the details of his death, but went on to ask for a minute of silence to mourn him. Shui wondered how Emily would react to this scene, but he couldn't imagine it. Even if the entire town of Cyrus had a minute of silence in memory of his deceased family members, he didn't know what sort of face he would make.

Once the minute of silence was over, the mayor continued by introducing the rest of the rankers. When the final ranker's name was announced, Shui hoped that he would be able to figure something out, but unfortunately, it didn't ring a bell. Subsequent to introducing the current rankers, the first round began. However, even before that first round, a test was given to the participants. The three entrances to the stage that they were allowed to use, were locked, and could only be opened for use by one person through array techniques before it was reset. This was the initial round of lock and key.

Even when he heard about this from the elder who took over as master of ceremonies, Shui didn't doubt Emily's success for a single second. After the original group of hundreds was cut down to a mere fifty, it was announced that four rounds of lock and key would be used to decide the ten who would be allowed to move to the main evaluation. Since a fairly decent amount of array masters had managed to moved past the first round with their achievements, the total number of array masters that were still in the preliminaries was nearly twice the number of those who made it to the first round, but only about a tenth of them would be able to be a member of the final ten.

Before the first round actually started, five cages were placed on the stage. These cages were based on the same lock and key system, so once locked inside them, participants would have to use their array techniques to solve their respective puzzle locks as quickly as possible. Each cage had an independent timer so that all of their results could be compared, and only the array masters who opened the cage below a certain time would be able to move on.

Based on the impromptu line that was formed, Emily would be part of the seventh batch and none of the other participants interested him, so Shui wondered what he should do with this spare time. He had many arts that he wanted to improve, but he didn't want to attract attention to himself so he wanted something that wouldn't involve using his divine energy. As he kept thinking of how to train discreetly, his thoughts led him to the Tome of Shadows.

'That's right. It's perfect to test here.'

Ever since the incident at Black Rocky Plains, Shui felt that he was getting closer to figuring out the second chapter of the Tome of Shadows, so he frequently used the Perception Chapter so that he could get a clearer idea.

In this place with both experts and average cultivators; some in the open and others hidden, Shui suppressed his presence. Shortly after, it reached a level where those around him could only faintly remember that there was someone in his seat. At this point, Shui moved on to the next step.

He sharpened his natural senses and spread them out. The aim was to observe everyone and everything inside the amphitheater without being detected. The VIP section was likely to be more difficult so he decided to leave it for last.

Little by little, the area that he observed increased and he learnt about the people around him, who were previously just strangers. He couldn't suddenly figure out their names, but their ages, cultivation and current emotions were within his range. It felt similar to the state of omniscience he felt when he fully opened his eyes.

As he immersed himself in this feeling of superiority, Shui faced no problem covering half of the audience in his detection zone. He even managed to catch a few assassins and other dwellers of the underworld. However, as he was expanding his domain, his instincts warned him of danger so he hastily stopped the spreading of his senses. The warning signals responded to a seat near the top on his right side.

The one he had to be careful of had concealed their presence, but they didn't bring it to level of reverting to mortal so there was still a faint cover of aura above their skin. Shui briefly made contact with the surface of that aura and retracted his zone.

'A Sky Realm expert, and based on their skill, they're likely a perceptive one.'

He couldn't detect a lot from just that tiny contact, but it was enough to draft a new approach. This wasn't the first Sky Realm expert he found in the audience, but he had feeling that this one would be able to sense him if he wasn't careful. He could give up on capturing this expert in his domain, but he didn't want to disturb his flow.

Shui had to find a way to breach his guard, but at the same time, he couldn't give him too much attention. Just like you wouldn't notice a stranger whose eyes happened to scroll past you, it had to be as discreet as that.

Once he decided on a plan, Shui stopped thinking about the expert or about the audience. He objectively looked at his domain, and slowly expanded it. He covered multiple people in his senses at the same time, thereby diluting his attention on each. Through this method, Shui was able to capture the expert without even knowing it. Unfortunately, the brief moment of relief he felt when he did notice, shattered his previous efforts and so the domain that he had built-up faded in an instant. It was a shame, but since Emily was next up to go on stage, he didn't bother to make a second attempt and instead savored that feeling he had experienced.

When the time came for her to show off her skill, Emily was faced by choice unlike her competitors. Most of them were focused on how they could complete the puzzle as quickly as possible, and maybe while still looking composed. However, she was confident that it would be no problem for her even without the Still Heart state, so she had two options. She could either complete the puzzle in a decently short time, or she could go all-out and set a record. Neither option would directly improve her odds of beating future rounds, but considering her objective in entering the evaluation, her choice was obvious.

Less than ten seconds after Emily entered the cage, it was unlocked and she left it, leaving the crowd and her competitors absolutely speechless.