Chapter 244: The first stage!

　　The person who spoke was Chu Liuyue!

　　Everyone’s gaze gathered on her; they all had mixed reactions.

　　Mu Hongyu and her friends cried out in surprise. “Liuyue! You’re finally here!”

　　Chu Liuyue headed in the direction of Tian Lu Academy’s students.

　　Mu Hongyu could not help herself and ran over to grab Chu Liuyue’s arm. “Y-you…”

　　She really wanted to ask Chu Liuyue what happened during the day and night she was missing and if she was hurt. However, she decided against it after recalling that they were in public and just stared at her friend excitedly.

　　Chu Liuyue’s heart felt warm. “I made you all worry.”

　　Mu Hongyu shook her head immediately. “What’s important is that you’re fine!”

　　Sun Zhongyan could not help but eye Chu Liuyue from head to toe. He was relieved when he determined Chu Liuyue to be fine.

　　Chu Liuyue smiled. “I got held back by something yesterday. Can I still take part in the competition?”

　　Sun Zhongyan immediately spoke up. “Yes! Of course!”

　　Even though there were only two hours left, and Chu Liuyue hardly had a chance of winning, her calm demeanor still drew objections.

　　“I don’t think so!” Cheng Han spoke up with a frown. “The competition is almost over. It doesn’t make sense for her to take part. Since she’s late, she has lost the right to compete!”

　　Sun Zhongyan retorted, “Brother Cheng Han, the Qing Jiao Competition doesn’t seem to have such a rule. Even though Liuyue is late, the competition is not yet over. Besides, she did sign up for the competition. Why can’t she compete?”

　　Cheng Han despised Chu Liuyue, so his objection was an instinctive move. He coldly laughed when he saw how defensive Sun Zhongyan was. “Rules make the world go round! If we let her compete, what do we do if others follow suit in the future? There will be chaos!”

　　Sun Zhongyan laughed. “Not necessarily! I don’t think many will take part in the competition with only two hours left. From my point of view, this is a show of her determination!”

　　Cheng Han was at a loss for words.

　　Sun Zhongyan had always been good at talking!

　　Fu Yunshan was disapproving as well. “Brother Zhongyan, no matter what, it’s not very appropriate to let her compete with so little time left.”

　　Sun Zhongyan placed his hands behind his back with a wry smile. “Brother Yunshan, could it be that you’re afraid Liuyue will overtake your students in the final two hours?”

　　Fu Yunshan’s expression stiffened. This is reverse psychology, but it has worked! If I don’t agree, it is as good as me admitting that my students are inferior to Chu Liuyue.

　　He scoffed coldly. “Since you’ve gone this far, there’s naturally no reason for me to object to this! But this is the only time!”

　　Sun Zhongyan glanced at Cheng Han again. “Brother Cheng Han, what do you think?”

　　Even Fu Yunshan had agreed, so objecting now would only make him seem petty.

　　Hence, Cheng Han waved his sleeves. “Since all of you insist, sure!”

　　He refused to believe that a stage-two Xuan Master could create any ripples.

　　Situ Xingchen glanced at Chu Liuyue. For some reason, she felt a little uneasy. “Master, are we really going to let her compete? This… seems a little inappropriate?”

　　“So what if it’s inappropriate? Can’t you see that Sun Zhongyan is hell-bent on helping Chu Liuyue? She doesn’t seem to be his disciple, but he pays a lot of attention to her for some reason…”

　　Cheng Han smirked as he spoke. “I think he’s just trying to make up for the fact that there’s nobody left from their academy. However, it’s crazy that he’s relying on Chu Liuyue to win! We can just watch from here! It’ll be the biggest joke if Chu Liuyue can’t even solve a single Xuan Formation at the end of it all!”

　　…

　　Sun Zhongyan felt a little more assured after seeing the other two give in.

　　Chu Liuyue said gratefully, “Thank you, Elder Sun.”

　　Sun Zhongyan waved. “There’s nothing to thank me for. Just head on up! There are only two hours left, so just try your best. Don’t think too much.”

　　He did not have much hope either.

　　Chu Liuyue nodded. “I’ll definitely try my best.”

　　With that, she headed over to the refereeing teacher and picked up the wooden card belonging to her.

　　Xi Wanwan looked at her with a frown. Since she ranked behind Chu Liuyue in the warrior competition yesterday, she was both jealous and afraid of her.

　　She was a little afraid when she saw the small ball of fur on Chu Liuyue’s shoulder. Naturally, she did not act as arrogant as she had toward Si Ting. She barely managed to keep her composure as she said, “I thought that you wouldn’t show after you took first place in the warrior competition.”

　　Chu Liuyue glanced at her with a smirk. “Why wouldn’t I? I would have missed a good show.”

　　As she spoke, her hand traced the shape of Xi Wanwan’s hand.

　　Xi Wanwan’s heart skipped a beat! Could it be that Chu Liuyue knows… How can that be? I acted quietly and secretly. Even the refereeing teacher at the side did not notice. Chu Liuyue just came back, so how could she have possibly seen it? She must be testing me!

　　Xi Wanwan shot Chu Liuyue a stiff smile. “I didn’t know that you were close to Si Ting. Do you think that I caused him to fail too?”

　　Chu Liuyue’s smile deepened. “This has nothing to do with friendship, but my eyesight.”

　　She pointed towards her eyes. “My eyes just can’t stand looking at dirty things.”

　　Xi Wanwan shuddered. The temperature was fine, and Chu Liuyue was smiling, but she felt cold.

　　It was like everything had been laid out in plain sight!

　　Xi Wanwan looked away nervously. She turned and left without saying anything else.

　　Chu Liuyue stared at her back for a while, finding it funny. She really did not know if Xi Wanwan was dumb or stupid. Did she really think that nobody would notice her lowly tactics? But now isn’t the time to pursue the matter.

　　Chu Liuyue quickly retracted her gaze and headed towards the arena.

　　She ran into Si Ting.

　　Their eyes met, and his eyes contained complicated emotions.

　　“Be careful, and just try your best.”

　　Chu Liuyue nodded with a smile. It’s a pity for Si Ting. Based on his actual ability, he definitely could’ve come in first. However, his hopes were dashed by the despicable Xi Wanwan.

　　The two walked past each other.

　　According to the number of the wooden card, Chu Liuyue found her position.

　　The chessboard was empty. Nothing was activated.

　　She contracted and moved her wrist. The lines of the chessboard changed!

　　The first Xuan formation was presented before her eyes.