Who Was Behind It?

"That can't be right. I remember this was broadcast using divinity as a medium. How could this be interfered with? It's not like it's electromagnetic waves."

Inside the control room, a dozen technicians were frantically checking various instruments, trying to find the cause of the malfunction. The person in charge, sweating profusely, urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, restore the signal immediately! If there's a broadcasting accident, it'll be an international scandal. You and I will both be implicated, and His Majesty the Emperor might even have to personally apologize. No one can bear that responsibility!"

However, no matter how the technicians checked, they couldn't find the cause. All the instruments were running normally, but they just couldn't receive the images transmitted by the divine.

Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm, "Right Vice Minister, look outside!"

The person in charge turned his head and saw a huge pillar of light rising from the ground and soaring into the sky. Moreover, the pillar of light was not a solitary one, but appeared one after another, forming an encircling shape. Even a fool would know that something was wrong.

The powerful figures in the audience area realized that someone was causing trouble the moment the pillars of light appeared. But just as they took action and launched their attacks from mid-air, all the pillars of light connected and formed an array, enveloping the entire island. In an instant, space changed drastically, the universe shifted, and after flashes of strange light, everyone on the island, including nearly a hundred Spirit Transformation Grandmasters, disappeared!

Chapter 663 Who is the mastermind?

"Therefore, the rooster on the treasure map actually refers to the hour of You (5-7 PM). The rooster standing on the mountain represents the shadow of the mountain at that hour, and the golden comb signifies that the treasure is hidden at the very top of the shadow."

Si Ming asked Yu Shuying.

"Yes, it's a very simple riddle, you don't even need to Zisi."

Yu Shuying said in a tone that suggested, "I could get full marks on such a simple question with my eyes closed."

"Wait a minute, the hour of You (5-7 PM) is already dark. There shouldn't be any shadows left by then!"

"You have to consider the season for this. In summer, the days are long, and it's still bright at 7 pm. In winter, the days are short, and it's already dark by 5 pm. At this time of year, it gets dark around 5:30 pm, which effectively limits the time for us. Otherwise, if it were the hottest time of summer, we would have to consider which time the shadow would point correctly. Now we don't need to consider that; 5 pm is the only correct time."

"But there are so many mountains on the island, which one is it? What if this mountain happens to be in an area that has already been abandoned? Wouldn't that be disastrous?"

"Since you've given your reasons, you should understand that the organizers would never bury the treasure in the area that was abandoned a few days ago, unless it's something completely useless. Otherwise, a powerful treasure like the Military School Profound Armor, which could turn the tide of battle, would definitely be kept until the last day, even if it's just to increase the suspense of the competition."

"You think it might be Profound Armor?"

"It's highly likely. You can tell from the fact that they used 'mountain' as the riddle. There are many mountains on the island, so finding the right one won't be easy. Therefore, even if someone finds the map on the first day, it will be difficult to pinpoint the target. From this, it's not hard to deduce the organizers' intentions—because the treasure is very powerful, they don't want anyone to get it early in the competition."

Although the logic was a bit convoluted, Si Ming still understood it, and then asked one last question, "So which mountain is it?"

Yu Shuying replied in a tone of exasperation, like a teacher repeatedly asked the same question by a student, "Isn't it clearly drawn in this picture? It's this chicken!"

So it's a mountain that looks like a chicken?

"You usually seem quite clever, so why do you always make such silly mistakes on these kinds of questions?" Yu Shuying sighed. "It seems you're really not good at analyzing intelligence. You'll understand after a little thought. A mountain that looks like a chicken is practically telling everyone that I have a secret. Even if people don't find the treasure map, they'll still want to explore this mountain. So the symbolic meaning of the chicken can only be more subtle—it refers to the fact that the mountain's shadow looks like a chicken."

"So I have to wait until evening to determine which mountain it is? That's going to be a long wait."

Si Ming looked up at the sky; the sun hadn't even started to shine yet, so it was only around eight or nine o'clock.

Yu Shuying said, "Since you're so free, why don't you help me get a bracelet? I don't have enough points to get through the day."

Si Ming squinted and said, "It's really amazing that you can say such things with such confidence... Speaking of which, I'm really curious, with your strength, how did you manage to make it to the fourth day without being eliminated on the first day?"

Yu Shuying let out a sinister laugh and said, "Without restrictive competition rules, I have too many ways to win. Gu worms may be difficult to cultivate, but poison is easy to make. The relevant materials can be found all over the mountains and fields. Then, as long as I find a few food supplies, I can secretly put the poison in them, and then I can lie in wait for the prey to come to me."

Si Ming slapped his forehead. He had never been wary of something as simple as poisoning food. He instinctively felt that since these things were provided by the organizers, they must be safe. After all, he had never heard of any battle royale game where players could poison their equipment.

However, given his physique and the detoxifying effect of the Blazing Sun True Qi, he probably wouldn't even notice most poisons after ingesting them, as they would be digested clean in the blink of an eye.

"Most people are quite cautious, but there are always a few careless ones. Anyway, I didn't intend to catch everyone in one fell swoop; I'd take whoever I could get away with it. However, after three days of screening, those remaining are bound to be cautious people who wouldn't just swallow food as soon as they see it. Those people have already been eliminated."

Si Ming turned his head away, awkwardly agreeing, "Yes, yes."

"So I'll have to ask you for help today. Anyway, your points are already... what's that?!"

Yu Shuying's tone suddenly rose, and Si Ming looked in the direction she was looking. He saw beams of light rising from the ground in the distance, towering into the clouds.

"That's where we met up back then, right? I can sense the aura of several Spirit Transformation experts... Their Primal Qi is surging violently. They seem about to use their ultimate moves. What's going on? Could it be that those Spirit Transformation are itching to spar as well?"

Si Ming's guess was quickly refuted, because the beams of light connected in an array and fell from top to bottom, and all the auras disappeared, including those Nascent Spirit Transformation who had leaped into the air and were about to use their ultimate moves.

"What's going on? Remote Heaven Society a move?"

Si Ming was stunned by this scene. In his memory, the Remote Heaven Society was the one that liked to use such a massive array technique the most.

After her initial shock, Yu Shuying regained her composure, shook her head, and said, "It can't be the Remote Heaven Society. That kind of place must be under close surveillance by the Nation of Valor army. No matter how sophisticated the Remote Heaven Society's methods are, they couldn't possibly evade everyone's notice and set up such a massive formation, unless someone in the Nation of Valor high command is a member of the Remote Heaven Society and has close ties with the military."

Si Ming pondered, "The formation just now clearly exhibited spatial teleportation. The people there must have been transferred somewhere else. After all, with so many Spirit Transformation, other types of formations simply couldn't harm them."

Having traversed time tunnels multiple times, he was very familiar with this type of formation and thus immediately noticed the anomaly.

"To transfer so many Spirit Transformation in one go, the opponent must have a grand scheme... The Four Heavenly Divine Pillars!" Yu Shuying's eyes lit up. "If it was all really the work of the Remote Heaven Society, their target must be the Divine Pillars; they want revenge for their failed attempt last time!"

Si Ming nodded and said, "We need to report the situation as soon as possible so that the Nation of Valor can prepare for defense."

As for the outcome of the Martial King Cup, it was naturally not a consideration. Si Ming was clear about the priorities and immediately prepared to use his lightness skill to leave.

Just then, a pillar of light suddenly rose from the ground around the island, and several other locations also flashed with dazzling light.

Yu Shuying said, "Oh no, they want to move us all together."

"Don't even think about it!"

Si Ming instantly entered the state of Solar Prominence Eruption, his whole body flashing with golden light, his hair standing on end. Then he leaped into the air, circulating his True Qi while recalling the formation structure he had seen earlier.

"The Star Core Decay Blazing Sun Descent!"

Light gathered in Si Ming's palm, radiating an aura of destruction, coalescing into a single point and transforming into the image of nuclear decay.

At this moment, all the beams of light had appeared, shooting out rays of light from each other, trying to connect and form an array. Before his ultimate move was fully completed, Si Ming immediately pushed the ball of light in his hand towards a node of the array he remembered.

A deafening explosion was heard, and it was as if a second sun had appeared in the sky, releasing a large amount of light and heat. The destructive energy swept out like a storm. The remaining contestants on the island first looked up at the sky, but only saw a black figure appear in the bright white light, standing solemnly in mid-air, like Hou Yi shooting down the sun. But then they were so stimulated by the excessively bright light that they had to look down at the ground.