This was the first time Shen Qian had seen Tantai Qin since that night.

Tantai Qin did not appear during the Jiutian Cup, but this time it is the main event of this year's "Treading the Nine Heavens" competition, so she obviously cannot be absent again.

In the waiting area for entry, Tantai Qin met up with Ning Zhiyuan and Cheng Qingqing, who were leading the team. However, the three of them had distinctly different auras. Ning Zhiyuan and Cheng Qingqing chatted and laughed, while Tantai Qin stood silently to the side.

However, she has always had this cold and aloof demeanor, so no one really took it to heart.

Until the bells that resounded throughout Shanghai rang, Shen Qian didn't find a chance to have a private conversation with Tantai Qin, and could only sigh and give up.

"All participants from all universities participating in the Nine Heavens Grand Competition, please line up in order and enter the venue in the order guided by the staff!"

A magnificent and powerful voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth, clearly audible to everyone.

The voice sounded somewhat familiar to Shen Qian. After a moment's thought, he recognized it as the voice of Ma Gongzuo, the Minister of Education of China.

Although they had never met in person, the two had a deep conversation online.

It was on that occasion that Ma Gongzuo advised him to temporarily give up the title of National Martial Arts Champion, saying that his stage had not yet arrived.

It's just unclear whether Ma Gongzuo was referring to the Nine Heavens Conflict at the time.

After the Nine Heavens Ranking was announced, Qu Bai, who was also the captain of the Jiangzhong Military Team, stepped forward and directed everyone to quickly line up and come to an area outside the parking lot.

This is a wide beach, more than ten kilometers away from the rolling waves of the East China Sea, but with such a wide view, you can see the azure East China Sea at a glance.

Having already been overseas, Shen Qian knew that it was just an illusion under the cover of a weather system; the real ocean was far more violent than that.

What puzzled Shen Qian was that although the vast beach in front of him was completely visible, he couldn't see anything at all. So where was the competition venue?

At this moment, contestants from various universities were scattered horizontally on the beach, creating a commotion, and many people had clearly noticed something was amiss.

"Formation..."

He sensed it briefly before sinking in and immediately understood.

Meanwhile, guided by the staff at the front of the line, the students on the beach began to enter.

Then, to everyone's surprise, the first row of people who entered suddenly disappeared.

It's like a drop of water flowing into a river, creating ripples in the air before disappearing completely.

"It really is a formation!"

Many people were shocked, but there were also quite a few worldly people present who quickly realized what was going on.

With the reassurance of their respective mentors, order was quickly restored on the beach.

Students from various universities lined up like dumplings being dropped into a pot, disappearing into thin air one after another.

After Ouyang Fei, who was in front of him, disappeared from sight, Shen Qian didn't hesitate and calmly took a step forward.

A slight dizziness and weightlessness came over me, somewhat similar to the feeling of passing through the "door" before sinking, but much shorter.

In just a moment, when Shen Qian came to his senses, the first thing he heard was the gasps of amazement from all around him.

Shen Qian looked up and, although he was somewhat prepared, he was still taken aback by the sight before him.

The seawater disappeared, and what appeared before us was an incredibly wide plaza paved with white jade stones, on which were thousands upon thousands of stone carvings of various shapes.

There are strange beasts, celestial phenomena, mountains and rivers, unknown magical artifacts, and all sorts of strange people and plants... all vividly depicted.

They are scattered throughout the square, like chess pieces.

The only thing they have in common is that they are all very large.

The shortest stone carvings are still over tens of meters tall, and some of the larger ones even exceed one hundred meters in height.

Looking up again, there was a ring of floating circular stone platforms in the sky above the square, which surrounded the square. There were many figures standing in them, but they were not very clear due to the obscuring clouds and mist.

"Those should all be the powerful figures who came to watch this time. Most likely they are from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and I reckon there are quite a few Kings and Nobles as well."

Qu Bai walked over at some point and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Qian.

Shen Qian nodded slightly. The competition rules had already mentioned that the Nine Heavens Competition would be presided over by Wu Wei himself. As long as the other kings and marquises received an invitation, even if they did not descend in their true forms, they would send at least a consciousness clone to attend the ceremony.

Do you know what these stone statues are for?

Shen Qian quickly turned his attention back to what was in front of him.

He vaguely felt that there was more to these stone statues than met the eye, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it for the time being.

"I don't know more than you, but since these stone statues are here, they are most likely related to the competition. We'll find out soon enough."

Qu Bai smiled and exclaimed, "In any case, this has already opened up a new space in a certain sense... What a grand gesture!"

He nodded before sinking.

This square is indeed located on the coast of the East China Sea, but it is actually an independent space, and the fact that it can accommodate so many people demonstrates its stability.

This is definitely the work of a king or nobleman, and even if a king or nobleman were to intervene, he would probably have to pay a considerable price.

Before long, the students from Jiangzhong Military Academy had all entered the square, and Tantai Qin turned to face them.

"come on."

After uttering just two words, Tantai Qin flashed up to the high platform.

Just before leaving, Tantai Qin's gaze still lingered on a certain spot.

"Alright, everyone, please relax. Professor Cheng, Vice Principal Tantai, and I will be here waiting for you until the competition is over."

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