Zheng Qing's demonstration was very successful.
When the Silence Bird sang the incantation, "Quietly think about it," and a pale blue, calming spell-light bloomed across the Performance Stage, the young wizards by Crescent Lake could not help exclaiming in admiration.
Even atop Lishan Mountain, the elders of the various families and the guests from beyond the realm shed some of their displeasure at the young wizard's earlier rashness in taking the stage, their attitudes growing somewhat gentler.
Beautiful magic always transcended everything else and resonated in wizards' hearts.
Pop!
Pop! Pop!
One firework after another rose from the judges' stand.
Ten points, ten points, ten points...
Of the ten judges, nine awarded Zheng Qing a perfect score of ten. Only the last judge had yet to give a score, drawing sidelong glances from both the elders atop Lishan Mountain and the young people by the lake.
Not until the clamor gradually rose did the final judge reluctantly pick up the Quill Pen before him.
Pop!
A large crimson firework burst in midair. The glaring "zero points" threw Crescent Lake into an uproar, and even many family elders atop Lishan Mountain frowned.
Every judge had their own preferences and biases in scoring. That was unavoidable, which was why the Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt had arranged for ten judges to score together, in the hope of being as fair and impartial as possible.
But when everyone else had awarded full marks, someone had actually dared to give a zero—this could no longer be explained away with the word "bias."
Even three points or five points would have been something.
The elders atop Lishan Mountain refrained from interfering out of regard for their status, but the young wizards by Crescent Lake had no such reservations. Public sentiment was like a pot of boiling