Chapter 714

Si Huaruo said with dissatisfaction, "Hearing the word 'wise' from you doesn't feel like a compliment at all. Are you implying that we have self-awareness?"

Si Jingyu quickly opened her fan, covered her mouth, and laughed, "Oh dear, I'm so heartbroken to be misunderstood like this by the acting clan leader."

Upon hearing the words "Acting Clan Chief," Si Huaruo was so enraged that her bangs flew up. However, remembering the rule against violence, she had to suppress her anger and grit her teeth, saying, "Just you wait! I'll make you pay double for scheming against me in the next volume!"

"Calm down, she's deliberately provoking you," Murong Qing first advised Si Huaruo, then turned her gaze to Si Jingyu, "With your strength, you shouldn't be so far behind. Are you doing this on purpose?"

Si Jingyu put away her fan, tapped her chin, smiled brightly, and said, "Fine, it doesn't matter if I say it now. I did it on purpose, including the argument with the acting clan leader before the competition. It was to instill in you the impression that we two are at odds and will drag each other down, thus lowering your guard."

Murong Qing said thoughtfully, "Since Huaruo will definitely not let you win, when Huaruo walks in front, everyone else will focus their attention on Huaruo and subconsciously ignore you."

"That's right. After all, I'm not like that Miss Liu who has a built-in ability to ignore things. It's safer not to become the target of everyone's attacks when there are Spirit Transformation around. As for falling behind in the early stages, it's not a big deal. In entertainment-oriented competitions like this, it's usually easy at the beginning and difficult later on. An early advantage can easily be offset by the later difficulties. Rather, it's easier to gather intelligence when you're at the back, which is actually an advantage."

Si Huaruo angrily retorted, "You schemed against me again! How despicable and shameless!"

Si Jingyu blinked, feigning innocence. "Hey, how can you call something between rivals despicable and shameless?"

Then she flung open her fan, covered her mouth, and laughed, "Of course, it's because the people who were fooled were too stupid; they can't blame anyone else."

Si Huaruo puffed up her cheeks in anger, her golden hair flying wildly, almost turning her into Super Saiyans: "I've made up my mind! I'm going to follow you until we enter the battle zone, and then we'll die together!"

"The premise is that you can keep up with me—since I've chosen to be honest at this moment, the reason is self-evident."

Could it be that...?

Si Jingyu turned to Su Yingbo and said, "I accept the challenge."

The next moment, she entered the consciousness space, and what appeared in front of her was none other than Si Jingxi, the ancestor of the Si Clan. Moreover, this ancestor had no death aura on his body, no wrinkles on his face, and was as beautiful and graceful as a fairy, standing tall and elegant, just like when he was young.

"I never thought I'd experience that youthful energy again... The older I get, the more I understand how precious youth is."

With a sigh, Si Jingxi looked up at Si Jingyu and said, "Come, let this old woman witness the strength of the new generation of geniuses, so that I may leave without regrets."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, ancestor. Your grandson has no intention of fighting you here."

"Oh, are you going to surrender and admit defeat?"

Si Jingxi did not believe that the future clan leader she favored was someone who would give up easily. Although in the eyes of outsiders, Si Huaruo, who fought on despite repeated defeats, was the most competitive, if Si Jingyu were the kind of person who would take a step back and see the bigger picture, the two sides would not have been fighting until now. In essence, Si Jingyu's competitive nature was no less than that of Si Huaruo.

"No, I want to invoke my right to seek help from outside the arena," Si Jingyu said to the void, "Narrator-kun, I need to seek help from our family's ancestor Si Jingxi."

The Narrator-kun appears out of nowhere and says, "Permission is granted to request assistance."

A beam of light descended upon Si Jingxi, freeing her from control.

Seeing this, Si Jingyu bowed and said, "Please, Ancestor, do me this favor."

"Alright, alright, sometimes strategy is more important than force. You pass." Si Jingxi shook his head helplessly. "I concede."

The next moment, Si Jingyu regained consciousness and asked Su Yingbo, "Does this mean I passed?"

"Although I don't know what happened, losers are eliminated directly. Since you're unharmed, you've naturally passed." Su Yingbo took out the seal, tapped it, and handed it back to the other party.

Si Jingyu carefully put away the voucher, then turned to Si Huaruo and waved, saying, "I'll be going now. You enjoy yourself here."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Si Huaruo watched the departing figure, quite puzzled. "How did she do that? Did she just get lucky and meet a very weak opponent?"

Murong Qing analyzed, "It's possible, but it's also possible that she sought help from outside the arena."

Si Huaruo pondered, "Oh right, I almost forgot about this ability. Should I try to challenge it too?"

Murong Qing advised, "Let's forget it. There's a one-minute time limit for asking for help from outside the arena. If we encounter a Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, even if we ask a senior Spirit Transformation for help, one minute won't be enough to determine the winner. Besides, I've already waited seven minutes. Going back now would be a waste of all my waiting."

"I know, it's just that I can't stand that guy's arrogant attitude, ugh... I can't suppress the anger in my heart whenever I see her swaggering around."

Si Huaruo paced back and forth anxiously, constantly counting the time. As soon as the remaining three minutes were up, she immediately rushed forward with Murong Qing and Murong Wu.

"Now everyone should have passed, right?"

Su Yingbo counted the names, feeling like one was missing, yet also feeling like none were missing. He scratched his head, pondering, "Maybe they were eliminated in the previous competition and I didn't notice... Anyway, that's it. Narrator-kun, hurry and take me home, Ai Qing is still waiting for me at home."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yingbo's figure vanished in a flash.

About half a minute later, Liu Qingqing, covered in injuries, finally arrived at the checkpoint. She had clearly suffered a lot while passing through the trap zone. After all, her low presence had no effect on the traps, and since she was skilled in archery and Divine Arts, she was at a disadvantage against the sudden traps.

Where is the person in charge?

Liu Qingqing looked around but couldn't see anyone. Just as she was wondering what was going on, her eyes suddenly lit up. She picked up the stamp that had fallen to the ground, stamped it on herself, thanked the air, and hurried away.

Si Jingyu stepped into the mountain forest and found it filled with strange rocks and shrouded in mist. After taking only a few steps, she completely lost her way and could not even see the way back.

"A maze? A formation?"

Regardless of the method, Si Jingyu was confident in solving it. As the head of a clan, Qimen Dunjia was an essential skill, so he was not flustered. He delved deeper step by step, while gathering intelligence based on changes in the surrounding environment.

"... I see. It's the Sun-Moon Bizarre Transformation Formation, which is based on numerology. It uses the Four Elements Method to calculate the waxing and waning of the sun. Although the algorithm is a bit complicated, it's a dead array with no variables, so there are patterns to follow. With a little more time, we can get the correct solution."

While calculating with my fingers and proceeding according to the formula, I repeatedly go back and forth, and the fog gradually thins out, clearly indicating that I am on the right track.

However, along the way, she heard a rumbling explosion in the distance, clearly indicating that someone was using powerful Primal Qi to bombard the stone formation, attempting to forcibly break it with violent methods.

"It should be Hongdou inherited the power of the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King. Unfortunately, while this method would have a high chance of success in reality, in this evolved miniature world, any damaged stones will be repaired in an instant. Even if her True Qi is exhausted, she can forget about breaking out of the formation. Should we give her a hand?"

Si Jingyu recalled their shared experiences in the Barbarian Continent, where they had a familial bond. Moreover, she didn't dislike Hongdou's personality; she was obedient and innocent, and even if she were with Si Ming, she would pose no threat. There was no need to worry about her taking Si Ming for herself.

"... Forget it. With my strategy and her cultivation level combined, victory in this match would be a sure thing, and then there would be no fun at all."