416 The Evaluation (3)

Emily kept a calm expression like what she had accomplished was no big deal, so even the MC took some time before he realized that he had to say something to the stunned audience.

"W-well, that was astonishing! Contestant Emily, who happens to be the disciple of the late Nikolai Nien, has left us speechless with her lightning fast speed!"

He tried his best to convey the excitement and shock that was bubbling up inside him, but the audience was already feeling the same way. From those in the general seats to the VIPs, everyone had to widen their eyes in wonder trying to figure out if what they had just witnessed was real. What she had accomplished wasn't impossible, but that was just in the case of an experienced array grandmaster. Even the current rankers doubted that they could pull off what she just did. After all, no matter how simple the puzzle was, it was designed for tier 3 array masters, meaning that it had to pose some challenge to those of that tier.

The audience's first guess was that Emily was actually a tier 4 array grandmaster, but considering her age that was harder to believe. Furthermore, the organizers knew that she had only recently been acknowledged as a tier 3 array master. The next explanation was that her master was exceptional, but Nikolai wasn't known for being particularly good at solving puzzles and he had only been ranked ninth.

As the audience went wild thinking about how she solved the puzzle so quickly, a certain VIP room was concerned with the same issue. In this room were Alicia and her brother, as well as a stately man who seemed to be in his 30s. He had a sharp look in his eyes and a well-trimmed beard that gave him an air of authority. This was the master of the siblings, as well as a guest elder of the Array Association. He was similarly impressed by Emily and expressed his astonishment, so Alex mentioned that they knew her.

The first time they met was at the entrance to Paraj, and at that time he had realized that Emily was an array master, but as a tier 4 array grandmaster himself, he hadn't paid much attention to her. When he first made his advancement, he was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to participate in the evaluation, but he was more interested in improving his own skill than getting exposure so he thought that there would be nothing to get excited about at this event. However, Emily proved him wrong by not only surpassing his expectation, but also igniting a fire of rivalry inside him.

After Alex told their master what he knew about Emily, both of them then turned to Alicia who had more contact with her. She could understand their eagerness as she was also surprised by Emily's skill, but she wasn't as astonished since she knew who was behind it.

"Your assessment of her wasn't wrong brother. She's good enough to solve the Myriad Flower Pavilion puzzle, but she should have needed to use her full ability to accomplish that. My guess is that she attained some form of enlightenment over the past few days."

It was a reasonable explanation, but the two men were reluctant to accept it.

"I understand what you're saying Alicia, but surely you know that enlightenment isn't something that can be gained so easily," their master said.

Alicia agreed with him but she then provided a supplementary point.

"You're right master, but what if a talented array grandmaster could guide her to this enlightenment?"

Just like elders would share their experiences with their disciples to promote their growth, array masters of higher tiers would be able to improve the abilities of lower tier array masters through their teachings.

Once again, they had to acknowledge the validity of her point, but the men were still unsatisfied. This time, Alex gave his response.

"You're thinking that it was him, aren't you?"

"Indeed, brother. I believe that he's capable of bringing her to this level. Correct me if I'm wrong, but even you would find it hard to beat her record, right?"

Alex frowned before replying, "I would need to see the puzzle first, but you're probably right. However, he would have to be much better than me to bring someone to that level, and even if you say he is, I'll have my doubts, sister."

"I know you will. In the end, this is just a hypothesis. Only she knows why her skills have improved so much."

"I feel like I'm being left out of the loop, but Alicia is right. For now, let's just look forward to her future performance," said their master.

Emily's heaven-defying ability gave her many favorable gazes, but many still treated her lightly. As disappointing as it was, several fellow array masters laughed it off as a fluke to protect their pride. There were others who believed that she must have spent all of her time practicing lock and key, but they themselves knew how ridiculous that would be.

In addition to those who refused to acknowledge her, there were also those who were wary and held malice towards her; these were the ones Shui paid attention to. He was surprised that she decided to go all-out, but he would use that to his advantage.

'I won't let anyone lay a hand on her.'

Afterwards, with there being no more surprises, Emily easily passed through to the next round which would be held the following day along with the third round. It should also be noted that even among the rest of the array masters that passed, a depressing cloud hung over their heads. Of course they felt relief, but as they looked at Emily, the fear that her true abilities were as good as she had shown shook them. They might only need to place within the top ten, but having one person, who was younger than them, so absolutely superior left a heavy weight on their chests.

On the other hand, Emily felt satisfaction from the surprised faces she had seen, but nothing else. She had already decided to win so her 'competition', if they could even be called that, were not her concern. It was the same for that minute of silence performed by strangers who barely knew her master. If there was a place she wanted to see it, it definitely wasn't here, so she considered it with indifference.

Subsequent to the ending of the first day of the preliminaries, Emily waited near the amphitheater exit for Shui, who she had spotted in the audience. Majority of the city had been watching the preliminaries, so every one took at least one glance at her as they walked by. A few wanted to ask for her autograph or make up some excuse to talk to her, but she was releasing a strong 'leave me alone' aura. However, there was one group who ignored this blatant mood of hers.

They were a group of two women and one man. One of the women looked younger than the other two, but there was a certain resemblance between her and the other woman. Normally, Emily would either listen to what they had to say and decide after that, or shoo them away immediately, but once she caught sight of their faces, she fumbled and took a step back.

'N,no...'

In this beautiful city filled with riches and hope, she was reunited with the symbol of her greatest fear.