Xu Qingtong walked to the edge of the grounds and stood quietly to one side, his eyes slightly narrowed as he waited for the presiding official to speak.
Just after the hour of Chen began, three people appeared on the platform. The man in the lead was Steward Li of the Talisman Crafting Pavilion. Xu Qingtong did not recognize the other two, but judging by their attire, they should have belonged to the Five Great Sects.
Steward Li took out a stone slab-shaped magical artifact and tapped it with his finger. The slab instantly grew to half a person's height and stood upright on the platform.
"Everyone, each of your names is on this stone slab. Simply extend your divine sense into it, and you will know your assigned place. Please check as quickly as possible and take your places!"
Hearing this, the competing disciples swept their divine sense toward the slab before Steward Li. Once they found their names, they walked toward the tables in the grounds.
When Xu Qingtong saw his name, he could not help giving a wry smile. His place was right in the center of the first row-the most important position, and also the most conspicuous.
The moment he stood before his table, countless gazes turned toward him. Being stared at like this made Xu Qingtong extremely uncomfortable. But things had already come to this, and there was nothing he could do.
Once everyone was in place, Steward Li said, "Everyone, to ensure fairness, identical talisman paper, talisman brushes, and cinnabar have been placed before each of you. Once the contest begins, you may not use your own items. Anyone who violates this rule will be disqualified immediately!"
He paused, then, seeing that no one raised any objections, continued, "After I announce the start of