Contestant Number Twelve Cheated, I Protest!

The sudden exclamations from the crowd made Jita frown.

He covered his ears with his hands. The Paparal crossbowman walked off to the side, having somehow escaped Tian Lan's clutches. He took a bite out of an apple in his hand with a 'crunch' and commented, "Why is it livelier here than during the main competition?"

Luo Yu also looked curiously towards the arena, but could only see layers of backs blocking the view of what was happening inside. However, not far ahead, Tian Lan was waving at them, "Come on over here!"

There, Etila was frowning as she looked at the French Girl.

Tian Lan then cautiously turned around, holding Etila's hand with a somewhat fawning gesture, and shook it playfully, "Parker's awake, Sister Etila."

Etila couldn't help but chuckle.

Although she still pretended to be serious and said, "Don't use Parker as a shield," her slender eyebrows twitched slightly, and an unstoppable smile leaked from the clear, emerald green eyes of the elven girl.

Tian Lan secretly glanced at her expression and knew she had gotten away with it. She then threw herself at Etila, nuzzling her soft body and murmuring, "Hooray, Sister Etila!"

Etila shook her head helplessly and affectionately patted her head.

"Where's Brother Ed?" Tian Lan asked, looking up.

"He's called Shaya now." Etila then looked towards the arena.

Fang Heng walked onto the stage from the contestants' seating area, holding a Clockwork Sprite in each hand.

Since there were seven people in the second group, he, as the last to appear, was actually competing alone. Thus, all eyes on the vast arena were almost entirely focused on him.

Tian Lan watched the scene with some curiosity. "Look, it's Brother Ed," she whispered to Luo Yu, who was walking up behind her.

Luo Yu nodded, indicating he had already seen.

"But why is everyone so quiet?" Tian Lan looked around again, a little puzzled.

Etila didn't answer the question.

On the competition field, even though the performance of the sixth contestant had stunned everyone, people hadn't forgotten Fang Heng's astonishing performance earlier, nor had they forgotten his brilliant Short-Range Takeoff and Four-Winged Dance, or the captivating Sprite Dance amidst the thorns.

Not to mention the comical deliberate losing – it was truly unforgettable--

Everyone expected Fang Heng to bring something even more surprising. Some had even opened the Chasing Sprite in the Chosen System.

But Fang Heng was completely unaware of this. He was passing the sixth contestant, who stopped in front of him for a moment and looked up at him quietly--Beneath the brim of his low-pulled hood, under his silver hair, was a cold and beautiful gaze that stunned Fang Heng.

"Um..." He was about to ask something, but the other person had already passed him. A peculiar, faint fragrance lingered in the air, like the scent of scorched dragon blood wood, and only the Forest Dwellers of Luotao liked to wear such accessories.

Fang Heng turned his head, but the youth had already disappeared into the crowd.

The referee then signaled him to prepare. Fang Heng had to set aside his confusion and nod at the referee. He was about to link the Core Crystal of the Clockwork Sprite Type II as usual, but at that moment--

His heart skipped a beat.

Fang Heng suddenly realized he had forgotten something.

After the dial on his Flexible Control Gloves, the Silver Rail, and the Core Crystal were dismantled to make the Walker, only two Silver Rails remained. Since the two Silver Rails were still somewhat sufficient, he had overlooked this problem.

But to control two Clockwork Sprites with just two Silver Rails?

Was this a joke?

Fang Heng's mind buzzed, and cold sweat broke out.

While he didn't want to steal the spotlight, it didn't mean he didn't want the prize money--He planned to use the prize money to repay Miss Etila and the others. Winning the qualifying rounds was his goal.

And it wasn't just about winning. Two Silver Rails were simply not enough to control two Clockwork Sprites. Given his previous performance, suddenly being unable to even dual-control now – would anyone believe it?

This would be the opposite of hiding his abilities; it would draw attention! Fang Heng hadn't been able to gauge the strength of the First World artificers before, which led to his previous blunder, but that didn't mean he lacked analytical skills.

As he was thinking about what to do, the gnome referee blew his whistle.

His mind went blank: on the Rail Control Panel, each vertical rail represented the Clockwork Sprite's pitch, and the horizontal rails represented its yaw. Four Silver Rails controlling one Clockwork Sprite was a common configuration, while two Silver Rails were the minimum requirement for controlling one Clockwork Sprite.

Anything less than that was not something that could be compensated for by skill; it was simply impossible.

However, he stood there in a daze. Anyone else would have been booed by now, but at this moment, everyone inside and outside the arena was quietly waiting for his next move.

Fortunately, Fang Heng had some quick wit. He gently lifted his hand, allowing one of the Clockwork Sprites to fly up first. In an instant, he had a plan--He recalled the clever maneuver used by the Blood Night Demon Moon before.

That was to utilize the System Custody ability--

As the construct with the shiny brass casing vibrated its four wings and took off, before it even reached its highest point, it suddenly drew a downward curve.

The crowd let out a gasp, thinking it was an operational error--but in reality, the system had taken over the Clockwork Sprite's flight posture. Since Fang Heng's computation attribute was too low, the system was unable to operate the Clockwork Sprite's four wings independently, hence the descent.

It utilized Fang Heng's limited computational attributes to adjust the Clockwork Sprite's flight posture as best as it could. Fang Heng watched as the computation attribute under the Intelligence column on the status page dropped from 47... 39... 22... 13, finally jumping into the single digits.

A warning popped up in the upper left corner of his vision:

'Warning: Insufficient computational resources. Flexible Construct A (Clockwork Sprite Type II), flight posture about to lose control.'

But Fang Heng had already finished what he was doing.

He raised his middle finger, ring finger, and pinky finger upwards in sequence, like spread wings, allowing the other Clockwork Sprite to fly steadily from his hand.

Then he immediately switched targets, pulling up the descending Clockwork Sprite and yanking it back just before it hit the ground, while silently thinking, "System, custody of the second Clockwork Sprite--"

The first Clockwork Sprite drew an arc along the ground, then suddenly ascended, crossing paths with its falling companion--

He repeated this process continuously.

Two golden trails, like undulating waves, intertwined in mid-air. Everyone was mesmerized. They didn't know the situation Fang Heng was facing, only instinctively believing that this dual control was unstable, and that the Clockwork Sprites were wobbling precariously, full of near misses.

But they were surprisingly regular, always maintaining a consistent frequency of ascent and descent, never making a mistake as they rose and fell. Each time, they pulled back at the very last moment, making it thrillingly suspenseful.

At first, people thought Fang Heng was holding back—he had a history of doing so—but after watching for a while, someone noticed the glittering sweat all over Fang Heng's neck.

"What is he doing?"

"Can he not control two at once?" people murmured in confusion.

Some even started booing.

The fat man, Eternal Worm, had been intently watching Fang Heng's operation. He undoubtedly saw Fang Heng and the sixth contestant as his main threats in the upcoming matches. But upon seeing this, his furrowed brows lifted, and the fleshy bulges on his face relaxed.

"Haha," he became arrogant again and laughed heartily, "So this guy can only control one at a time! What kind of Combat Artificer is he if he can only do single control? With his processing power, he probably can't even operate a simple construct like a Walker!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Hudi, standing nearby, couldn't help but retort angrily upon hearing the fat man spewing such rubbish.

"Ha, isn't this Mr. Trash Combat Artificer?" Eternal Worm chuckled smugly. "Can't you see with your own eyes? This is the first time I've seen someone whose dual control is worse than yours. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The two seemed to be quite well-known here. The surrounding people chuckled upon hearing the fat man's words.

Hudi clenched his fists, trembling with rage.

Among the laughing crowd, only Mazak and Zhang Tianmou did not laugh. The latter's deputy had already disappeared. The man who stood as tall and imposing as a giant tower turned his head at that moment and asked again, "Is it him?"

This time, Zhang Tianmou shook his head. He didn't quite understand why Mazak was always concerned about this young man. He merely glanced at Fang Heng and then paid him no further attention.

These people didn't know Fang Heng's level, but he did—

For a Level 3 Combat Artificer to achieve this level of dual control was indeed quite good. However, to someone accustomed to geniuses, it was merely passable. Moreover, with 'that target' being such a shining example, he didn't have the energy to be distracted by a 'decent' Combat Artificer.

Let the major guilds have him. It all depends on whether they have the discerning eye for it.

Only Mazak's silent gaze remained fixed on Fang Heng, and he replied in a steady, powerful voice, "That's good then."

"That's good?" Zhang Tianmou blinked slightly, then turned his head.

Mazak shook his head and said softly to him, "You don't need to get involved in this matter." With that, he took a step back and placed his right hand on the bone pendant at his chest.

A steady, solemn voice seemed to emanate from beneath his chest: "The long, harsh winter is coming. We swear here—"

A low rumble swept over the top of the hall, as if a massive shadow was passing by.

But no one noticed anything.

On the arena, the control rail hummed and spun beneath the cloth cover. Fang Heng was completely focused, not daring to slacken even slightly. He didn't know if anyone else had experienced what he was going through—but this was undoubtedly the most rigorous challenge he had faced since entering this world.

Sweat poured down like rain. The two flexible rails constantly changed position, maintaining the flight paths of the two Clockwork Sprites.

Perhaps it wasn't spectacular or beautiful, but it was the ultimate clash of calculation and judgment. With every change, Fang Heng had only a fraction of a second to make a decision.

There was no room for error.

And it was at this moment.

He seemed to hear an illusion, like a shriek from the depths of his soul. The mark on the back of his hand suddenly became scorching hot, even emitting light. Fang Heng let out a muffled groan, and the Clockwork Sprite in the pipe suddenly lost control and flew forward—

It was about to crash into the pipe wall.

Fang Heng could no longer afford to care. He shouted in his heart, "Miss Tata!"

A blue light bloomed in his vision, and a line of text appeared:

'Dragon Knight System, activating—'

Eternal Worm was still chatting with others, looking smug. "There's no more time. Whoa—he even made a mistake. This is getting interesting. It seems your friend is no better than you, Mr. Trash Artificer."

Hudi didn't even look at the man, only watching Fang Heng nervously.

Not far away, Tian Lan let out a gasp, covering her mouth with her hand.

Everyone had seen the Clockwork Sprite suddenly fly out of control. Eternal Worm was about to make another taunt, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't close it—

The Clockwork Sprite that had been flying out suddenly hovered in mid-air in an almost impossible manner, reversed its spin, and adjusted back to its normal posture in a bizarre way.

Eternal Worm couldn't even understand how its wings were operating. It seemed to defy the fundamental physical laws of this world.

There was only one thing in this world that could achieve this level of calculation and reaction.

The Clockwork Sprite stopped in mid-air, and Tata's calm voice echoed in Fang Heng's mind: "If we want to make it into the top four, we need to make up for lost time, Knight. Please follow me—"

The Clockwork Sprite suddenly transformed into a golden light and shot forward.

"So fast..."

Even Fang Heng couldn't help but think this to himself.

He knew that the Artificial Dragon Soul possessed the most powerful computational ability in this world. It was the innate controller of the most complex Dragon Knight constructs. Naturally, controlling a small Clockwork Sprite was not a problem.

But he hadn't expected it to be this powerful.

This, however, ignited the young man's competitive spirit. He gritted his teeth, casting aside all surrounding sounds and distractions, including the burning mark on his hand: "Miss Tata, I'm coming!"

The four wings of the Clockwork Sprite suddenly unfurled.

He also followed suit, chasing after it as a golden light, one in front, one behind. Everyone only saw two streaks of light, one after the other, flying out of the bend.

"One minute and eleven seconds." The dwarf referee pressed the bronze stopwatch.

The first half took fifty-four seconds, while the more difficult second half took a total of seventeen seconds.

The scene was deathly silent.

If Fang Heng was a top-tier combatant in the Second World, perhaps people would have already considered one possibility – a Dragon Knight.

But he was just a rookie.

So even the Eternal Worm could only stare blankly and mutter, "Cheating... this is definitely cheating... there's no way to modify it in that state!"

The others felt the same way.

As soon as the two Clockwork Sprites flew past the finish line, they tumbled to the ground. Fang Heng was almost completely drained, as if he had been pulled out of water. He couldn't even control them to retract the Clockwork Sprites.

He leaned on the table, catching his breath, and immediately took off his gloves to check the mark on his hand. But the mark was fine; it wasn't glowing or feeling hot anymore.

Fang Heng looked around strangely, as if no one had noticed what had just happened.

A hallucination? he wondered, a little puzzled.

It was then that he saw Hudi waving at him from not far away.

"Well done!" Hudi was the only one in the crowd looking triumphant as he shouted, "Your next opponent is that fatso, teach him a lesson for me!"

Fang Heng finally realized that he had passed the second round. But he habitually checked his equipment, and his heart sank slightly. He moved his Flexible Control Gloves and discovered that another one of the last two Silver Rails had broken.

He figured the control pressure had been too great before, far exceeding its normal working load.

Fang Heng stood there, looking at the basically scrap glove, and for a moment, he felt lost. What should he do now? He didn't even hear Tian Lan excitedly shouting at him from the other side.

Then, a sudden, suicidal voice rang out:

"Cheating!" The fatso had been watching Fang Heng's every move. At this moment, he suddenly shrieked, "There must be something wrong with his gloves, Mr. Referee, I demand an inspection of his gloves!"

Fang Heng turned his head, staring at the guy dumbfounded.

Posting earlier today~