Chapter 715

Si Jingyu smiled, abandoned the tempting idea, and continued to proceed according to the algorithm. After more than ten minutes, the fog dissipated, and she successfully exited the formation.

"That leaves one last checkpoint. Let's see what kind of tricky questions they have this time."

The person in charge of the fourth checkpoint was Jiang Zhengtai, who sat at a table with a bored expression, yawning. "Why did I have to watch a competition of a bunch of women? It's so boring. An all-around race should be a fierce competition of strength and speed between men. Only sissies like to watch women compete."

Si Jingyu ignored Jiang Zhengtai's sexist remarks. She looked him up and down, estimated his cultivation level, and considered the success rate of directly seizing the seal.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't look at me like that! Let me make it clear beforehand, this checkpoint doesn't require a stamp, so forcibly taking it won't work. Ugh, being stared at like that by a woman gives me goosebumps all over!"

Jiang Zhengtai sensed the danger in the other person's eyes and quickly declared, then complained, "And that woman who just passed by too, are all young girls these days so fierce? If all the women around him are like this, can Si Ming really handle it?"

Upon hearing the other party question her brother's abilities, Si Jingyu quickly retorted, "Only useless men would date useless women. A truly capable man can certainly keep a capable woman in check."

"Wrong. A truly magnanimous man must be able to keep a capable man in check!" Jiang Zhengtai immediately asserted.

Si Jingyu suddenly felt that the man in front of her was dangerous and didn't want to talk any further, so she quickly urged, "Enough with the nonsense, just explain what this level is about."

Thinking to herself, she was determined to stop Si Ming from dating this man once she got back to the main story; this guy was far more terrifying than any of her competitors present.

"The rules are simple: there are several cards on the table with names written on them. You flip over a card and defeat the target with the corresponding name. Only then can you qualify to reach the destination; otherwise, even if you reach the finish line, you don't win."

"As expected, the later the competition goes, the more it encourages competition and the higher the elimination rate becomes. However, this means that those who go first have to wait for those who go later, and the advantage of going first is greatly diminished... It feels like a third-rate entertainment variety show. To prevent one side from having too much of an early advantage and making the competition lose its suspense, the reward points in the last segment are often several times higher than those in the earlier segments."

Jiang Zhengtai said irritably, "You could have set up a trap up ahead."

Si Jingyu took a card, flipped it over, and after seeing the name on it, smiled with satisfaction, "It really is destiny."

Chinese New Year Special (Part 6)

Not long after Murong Qing and her group entered the mountainous area, they soon discovered that the real challenge here was not the strange rocks, but the formation.

Si Huaruo frowned and said, "Formation... According to the Lineage's plan, I should have started taking Qimen Dunjia courses two years ago, but because Si Jingyu refused to take responsibility, I became the acting clan leader. For the past two years, I've been busy studying management and haven't had time to learn Qimen Dunjia at all. The original courses have all been abandoned."

Murong Qing said with difficulty, "This is troublesome. I have studied Qimen Dunjia, but it leans towards military strategy. I have only learned the most basic Yi Dao Ten Formations in terms of formations. More advanced formations require a solid foundation in mathematics, and I have always struggled with advanced mathematics and have not studied it in depth."

The Ten Formations of Yi Dao refer to the One Yuan Two Formations, Three Powers, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Six Harmonies, Seven Stars, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, and Ten Directions. It is the mother formation of all formations, and its meaning is similar to 0 to 9 in mathematics, with the ten letters forming the foundation of mathematics.

Murong Wu said, "Sister, don't forget we still have the opportunity to ask for help from outside the arena."

Si Huaruo volunteered, "Let me do it. I know a senior who is proficient in formations."

Without waiting for Murong Qing to refuse, he quickly said, "Narrator-kun, I need to ask Senior Shi Muyan for help from outside the venue."

"Receive."

A beam of light descended, quickly revealing Shi Muyan's figure. Like her old nemesis Si Jingxi, she was in her youthful state, full of vitality, and her disfigured face had been restored.

"It feels so good to be young," Shi Muyan, filled with emotion.

Si Huaruo said, "Senior, you only have one minute. Thank you for your help."

"Oh, it's the Sun-Moon Bizarre Transformation Formation, a divination formation that tests calculation ability. Breaking this formation is very troublesome; half an hour wouldn't be enough. However, just getting out of the formation only takes a minute," Shi Muyan said confidently. "By the way, Si Jingyu is also participating in the competition, right? You absolutely cannot lose to her."

Si Huaruo nodded vigorously. "Of course."

Although Shi Muyan has now reconciled with Si Jingxi and resolved their past grievances, she still harbors resentment over her loss to Si Jingyu, who is a junior. Now that the feud is over, as an elder, she doesn't want to challenge her to a second match. Winning would be embarrassing, and losing would be even more shameful. Later, after learning about Si Huaruo's conflict with Si Jingyu, she passed on her own martial art, the "Heart-Severing Sword Technique," to Si Huaruo could save face for her.

She did this to atone for her guilt, and also because Si Jingyu was Si Jingxi's chosen successor. If Si Huaruo could defeat Si Jingyu, it would be equivalent to her defeating Si Jingxi in a sense—even though her inner conflict had been resolved, she had not completely let go of this competitive spirit.

Shi Muyan used her right hand to form a sword shape with her fingers, rapidly writing formulas and calculations on the ground with the Sword-Ray. With her left hand, she calculated using her fingers, obtaining various known conditions by analyzing the operation of the formation and filling them into the formulas.

Just as the one-minute time limit was about to expire, she dispelled the Sword-Ray, formed hand Law Seals, and used Divine Arts to summon a paper crane, saying, "Alright, I have inputted all the algorithms into the paper crane; it will guide you out of the formation."

After saying that, a flash of light appeared, Shi Muyan disappeared.

Thank you for your guidance, senior.

Si Huaruo felt quite grateful to Shi Muyan, because when she became the acting clan leader, Shi Muyan had already cleared up the misunderstanding with the Si Clan. Therefore, the Shi Muyan she knew was an old friend of the ancestor Si Jingxi, and a senior who had guided her during her tenure as acting clan leader. Although they did not have the title of master and disciple, they were in fact master and disciple.

Let's keep going.

The three followed the paper crane closely, navigating through the stone formation where visibility was severely obstructed. They quickly reached the exit and then learned about the test details for the fourth checkpoint from Jiang Zhengtai, who looked disgusted.

"So I don't need to flip the card, because Si Jingyu has already flipped mine?" Si Huaruo asked.

"That's right, it's a two-way street. The purpose is to encourage each other to fight. Otherwise, if one side wants to fight and the other side is desperately running away, the fight can't take place, and it loses its meaning. Of course, you can insist on flipping it over, but in the end Si Jingyu will definitely be the one who flips it over."

"Perfect timing, I also want to end things with her."

"Then, my brother and I need to choose."

"That's right, hurry up and flip through it."

Jiang Zhengtai spoke impatiently, showing no leniency towards Murong Qing's beauty whatsoever. If he were a service worker, he would surely have received a complaint.

"Wait a minute, you said he's your younger brother?" Jiang Zhengtai asked, turning his gaze to Murong Wu with curiosity.

Murong Qing sensed something was wrong and instinctively stepped forward to block him, asking in a deep voice, "Is there a problem?"

"... nothing."

Jiang Zhengtai withdrew his gaze, his attitude softening slightly, but still far from being enthusiastic, because Murong Wu looked too much like a girl and didn't fit his aesthetic at all.

Although he was gay, just as men don't want to sleep with every woman they see, he certainly didn't get aroused by every man he saw. He wouldn't even look at a weak, effeminate man like Murong Wu, and a "truly magnanimous man" like himself had no motivation to subdue him.

Murong Qing instinctively felt that something was wrong, as if her younger brother was being looked down upon, yet she also inexplicably felt a sense of relief, leaving her with rather complicated feelings.

"Sis, I got the card."