Chapter 47: A Ten-Second Knockout

The competition officially began.

The moment the question was released, a broadcast voice resounded in every examinee's chamber, urging them to give their all.

In mid-air, a digital countdown timer hovered behind each examinee, visible with a mere glance over their shoulder. Time ticked away like a death knell, pressing down on them with relentless urgency.

Ke Lu calmly picked up her pen and began writing immediately.

Outside the chamber, the host exclaimed in surprise, alerting the audience watching the competition live to the latest developments.

"Look, everyone! Our contestant from Liaocheng No. 1 High School—Ke Lu—has already confidently started her response, making her the first contestant to take action!"

The host surreptitiously glanced at the roster to confirm Ke Lu's identity. This name had never been mentioned before, unlike the well-known contenders like Qin Yu from Liaocheng No. 1 High School, Chen Yu from Liaocheng No. 2 High School, and Lu Ziming from Beijing Experimental High School. These star students had been closely monitored by the Spirit Array Association and were considered frontrunners for the championship.

Ke Lu? Who's that? Never heard of her, the host thought, though her professional demeanor kept her from saying it aloud.

Her professional instincts immediately seized on this potential bombshell. Her voice rose sharply:

"Unbelievable! While all the other top students are proceeding with extreme caution, Ke Lu has already completed her first Spirit Rune!"

"No testing the waters, no preliminary calculations—she went straight for the Core Array Nexus from the start! Is this almost arrogant confidence the roar of a dark horse, or... a catastrophic accident waiting to happen? Let's wait and see!"

A ripple of faint snickers spread through the audience. Everyone knew that in Spirit Array construction, even the slightest deviation could lead to disastrous consequences. Such recklessness seemed downright amateurish.

"No, why is everyone saying Lulu can't do it?"

Hearing the widespread pessimism, Su Rou couldn't sit still any longer.

Beside her, a know-it-all "Bro" leaned over with a condescending smirk: "Little sis, in Spirit Array work, caution is paramount. Rushing like this means she probably didn't even read the problem carefully. That'll mess her up later."

"Besides, if she makes a mistake and runs out of space, she'll have to request a new sheet—what a hassle."

While the Bro's points were technically sound, they were meant for ordinary people, not Ke Lu.

"Don't talk about Ke Lu like that," Su Rou retorted without hesitation. "For a Spirit Array Master with sufficient skill, this kind of array would be obvious at a glance. And Ke Lu happens to be one of those masters."

"Tch," Bro chuckled, glancing at them both. "Kids don't get it."

"Judging by how you're so supportive of her, you must be students from Liaocheng No. 1 High School too. I get it—emotional bias."

Bro's smug "I've got it all figured out" expression left Su Rou with a stifled rage. Arguing would be pointless—he wouldn't believe her anyway—and fighting wasn't worth it.

Su Rou knew it was practically impossible to convince anyone of Ke Lu's exceptional skill. Ke Lu claimed to be at the level of a Fourth-Tier Spirit Array Master, which would indeed make solving this problem a breeze. But who would believe that a high school student possessed the knowledge of a Fourth-Tier Master?

If the person in question weren't Ke Lu, Su Rou wouldn't believe it herself.

This feeling of being the only sane person in a world gone mad left Su Rou with a lump in her throat.

"Are you okay?" Gu Yunfan's perfectly timed reassurance helped calm Su Rou's emotions.

She looked at him earnestly and asked, "Gu Yunfan, do you believe me when I say Lulu will definitely win? Without any of that 'supporting my schoolmate' bias."

"Of course I believe you," Gu Yunfan said, his gaze sweeping across the competition arena, where competitors bustled about. He recalled the reports he had read.

To get closer to Su Rou, he had naturally investigated both her and her close friend, Ke Lu.

Ke Lu... a prodigy who had achieved Fourth-Tier certifications in both SATA and SAPA by the age of eighteen. The more he researched her, the more astonished he became. She had mastered nearly every Second Profession—forging, alchemy, spirit array mastery... the list went on.

Even Gu Yunfan, who had witnessed countless geniuses and could himself be considered one, paled in comparison to her dazzling achievements.

From that moment onward, Gu Yunfan's strategy shifted from wooing Su Rou alone to courting both of them. Such a prodigious talent couldn't be allowed to remain untapped—it would be a colossal waste.

"Of course I believe her," Gu Yunfan reaffirmed. "She's the most exceptional person I've ever met."

In Ke Lu's cabin at the competition arena, her pen danced across the paper with lightning speed, her hand moving so swiftly it left afterimages in the air.

Too fast, many observers thought, assuming she was scribbling nonsense.

But Ke Lu remained completely oblivious to the outside world. Even if she were aware of the doubts, she would undoubtedly dismiss them with disdain.

She had no need to prove herself to anyone. Her sheer skill would crush all skepticism.

With the final stroke of her pen, Ke Lu stopped drawing and stood up, walking over to the area where Spirit Array materials were laid out.

Here, contestants weren't just required to draw diagrams; they also had to construct a Spirit Array in this open space using the provided materials.

She glanced at the timer—only ten seconds had elapsed.

"Ten seconds!" The Host's voice boomed across the arena, his energy seemingly boundless. "Ke Lu has completed her Spirit Array diagram in just ten seconds! Will her Spirit Array succeed? We'll have to wait and see!"

Simultaneously, a drone camera broadcasting live from within the competition arena flew to Ke Lu's chamber. Through the one-way mirror, it focused its lens on her completed diagram.

In an instant, the massive screen at the top of the arena displayed a clear, magnified view of her diagram.

[Can someone explain this? I'm getting the feeling this diagram actually looks pretty legitimate.]

[Completely correct.]

A concise golden comment floated across the screen. Just as a critic was about to start criticizing, the golden verification badge flashed before their eyes:

[ President of the Provincial Spirit Array Association ].

The Host noticed this immediately and hastily asked, "President, are you saying that the diagram Ke Lu completed in just ten seconds is correct?"

Even the host himself felt the absurdity of his statement. These were all perfectly normal characters, yet when combined, they seemed utterly nonsensical. Ten seconds, and the other contestants hadn't even picked up their brushes yet.

[Exactly!]

The golden commentary stream confirmed this, adding,

[Looks like using a difficult question was the right move. It's unearthed a true genius!]

A Spirit Array is created by channeling one's own spiritual essence to communicate with the Laws of Heaven and Earth, using Spirit Power to draw the patterns and spiritual objects as catalysts to weave temporary or permanent "rule domains" in reality.

It is not merely a conduit for energy, but rather a sage's understanding and application of the world's fundamental principles.

Its core lies in the sequence: [ guiding threads from a single point, weaving threads into patterns, assembling patterns into diagrams, and establishing laws through diagrams. ]

Ke Lu always kept this principle in mind.

Under her hands, each Spirit Stone became a rock-solid foundation for the array.

Spirit Power flowed seamlessly to outline the array's patterns, culminating in the Peacock Demon Stone serving as the core array nexus.

From start to finish, there was no hesitation, no pause.

Everything flowed seamlessly, like a leisurely stroll rather than the tense moments of a competition.

The arena, which had been filled with hushed whispers just moments before, suddenly fell into deathly silence, as if an invisible hand had choked off all sound.

Every gaze was drawn to Ke Lu, unconsciously anticipating the outcome.