After leaving, Lu Zhaozhao returned to the place where she had been waiting. When she arrived, two demon soldiers were already waiting for her there.
They led her to the resting area and told her that the competition consisted of three rounds, which would officially begin the next day. They advised her to prepare well and wait for further notice the following day. After saying this, they closed the door and left.
Lu Zhaozhao watched as the door closed tightly, and her tense shoulders relaxed.
She had thought that using the name of the Nuwa clan would reduce suspicion in front of others, but after arriving in Ming Palace City, she first met Wen Sheng, who was hiding her identity, then met the leaders of the eight clans, then learned so many secrets, and was forcibly dragged into an alliance that seemed unreliable.
"Sigh, things are really getting out of hand..." She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, a sense of worry creeping into her heart. What would she do if the reclusive Nuwa clan found out?
Her mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts, which made her extremely annoyed.
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, the day quickly passed.
There was a knock on the door, and a noisy commotion could be heard from nearby.
Lu Zhaozhao sat up, straightened her collar, steadied her hairpins, put on her veil, and stepped out the door.
All her worries and anxieties were pointless; she had only one goal right now: to become a member of the royal guard, get close to the Demon Lord to uncover the truth, and then return.
Outside the door, a bustling crowd gathered, with demons of all kinds in various costumes and appearances. In the outside world, wearing a veil would certainly attract the attention of passersby, but here it was just an ordinary outfit.
The assembly area was a large open space outside the Ming Palace. In the center of the open space stood a high platform, about ten meters in diameter, with a main seat in the middle and four seats arranged in two rows below.
There was no one in the seats at the moment, but the platform was surrounded by a circle of demon soldiers, and the outside was surrounded by layers of people participating in the selection.
Lu Zhaozhao looked around and saw that not only were the people on the stage absent, but the eight people from the eight major clans she had met yesterday were also not there.
A short while later, the sound of armor shaking the ground came from not far away. Two teams of demons marched in perfect unison to clear the way, and then lined up in two formations on either side of the high platform.
A group of people slowly walked along the cleared path. The one in the lead was dressed in golden armor, which was inlaid with various shimmering gems that gleamed in the daylight.
"This must be the esteemed person from the Taifeng tribe."
People around were whispering.
“Tai Feng…” Lu Zhaozhao murmured. She remembered that ancient books had described Tai Feng as having the appearance of a human with a tiger’s tail, and that he preferred to live on the sunny side of Zhen Mountain, where he would be surrounded by light. Tai Feng’s spirit moved the very energy of heaven and earth.
She turned her head to look behind the man, but did not see the legendary tiger tail. Instead, the four people following behind him had such tails, and they seemed to be members of the demon army under the jurisdiction of the Taifeng tribe.
Perhaps he has high cultivation and is hiding it, Lu Zhaozhao thought.
Following the five members of the Taifeng tribe were eight people led by Cheng Sangji and Qiehe.
Lu Zhaozhao looked on with some curiosity: it was reasonable for Qiehe to stand in the front row, after all, he was sent by the Taifeng tribe, and the highest-ranking person present today was also from the Taifeng tribe, but it was somewhat unexpected that Cheng Sangji was placed alongside him.
However, they quickly lost interest in exploring this unexpected event, as they soon parted ways.
Tai Feng and his five companions ascended the high platform and sat down. The members of the eight clans entered the crowd and stood in the first row.
A member of the Taifeng tribe stepped to the front of the stage and announced loudly, "Today's competition will be presided over by the Taifeng leader. Next, I will announce the first round of the competition, which will be abacus calculation. Now, I will escort you all into the arena. I wish you all the best of luck."
After he finished speaking, horizontal and vertical axes suddenly appeared on the ground, radiating light and forming a chessboard.
The ground began to shake, cracks appeared, and dazzling beams of light shot out from underground.
The earth shook violently, and people were filled with fear.
Lu Zhaozhao managed to steady herself and looked around.
Ordinary demons would stagger and sway, unable to maintain their balance. But the eight clans in front were different. Although they were also swaying, their faces did not show the panic of others; in fact, they could be described as relaxed.
Lu Zhaozhao frowned. Did they know the details of the competition beforehand?
Even with this thought, I couldn't figure it out. The light in front of me became increasingly dazzling, to the point where I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. After staying in this environment for a while, my eyes became dry and I started to have trouble seeing the scene in front of me.
The scenes began to overlap, and the two worlds continued to merge. Lu Zhaozhao gradually lost the ability to distinguish between the competition arena and the illusion, wondering which one was the real world.
Her vision went black, and her eyelids became so heavy that Lu Zhaozhao could only keep them open for a couple of seconds before she could no longer see anything.
When she opened her eyes again, she was in another world. There was no one around her; as far as she could see, she was all alone.
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