Chapter 46: New Rules, Explosive Difficulty

Competition Arena

A clear, resonant announcement echoed through the arena, the professional sound system ensuring every word reached every corner:

"Spirit Array Competition participants, please immediately proceed to the Central Competition Zone for registration. Repeat: All Spirit Array competitors must report to the Central Competition Zone. The competition will officially begin in ten minutes."

The announcement carried a slight reverberation, the announcer's polished tone harmonizing with the faint background music, creating an atmosphere of tense formality.

Ke Lu, as a competitor, followed the flow of people toward the designated competitors' entrance.

Su Rou and Gu Yunfan headed to the spectator stands.

"So, just these two seats?" Su Rou muttered, utterly perplexed.

Normally, in such arenas, spectators bought tickets and could sit wherever they pleased. Yet when they arrived at the spectator stands, they found every seat occupied except for two adjacent empty ones.

"Well, we're here together anyway. It's convenient to sit side-by-side," Gu Yunfan said, his acceptance unusually smooth.

Or rather, this was precisely what he had planned.

Many of the surrounding spectators were actors he had hired, deliberately leaving two empty seats near the Liaocheng No. 1 High School team.

"Fine," Su Rou said, reluctantly taking a seat. A bucket of popcorn was immediately handed to her.

"Want some?" Gu Yunfan asked politely.

Su Rou sized Gu Yunfan up with a skeptical glance before finally blurting out, "Gu Yunfan, don't tell me you're actually interested in me?"

She wasn't stupid. Even if she were oblivious, Gu Yunfan's deliberate attentiveness had raised some serious red flags.

"I have no such intentions," he declared firmly.

"Heh," Gu Yunfan chuckled softly. "Maybe I just see you as a little sister."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Su Rou's guard lowered slightly, sensing his sincerity. "I'm an only child."

"We're different races, after all."

"Who knows what the future holds?" Gu Yunfan's voice carried a deeper meaning.

On the competition stage, the host lingered instead of immediately stepping down:

"As you all know, we announced a new rule on our official website last week. This competition will now include an additional regulation."

"That bullshit again?" Qin Yu grumbled to Ke Lu beside him. "What's the point of announcing it just a week in advance? It's practically pointless."

Indeed, Ke Lu thought, this would be quite challenging for most students, but for me, it actually saves a lot of trouble.

On stage, the host continued, "For this competition, we will be introducing a new 'Capstone Challenge' segment."

"Participants who complete the original exam quickly and with high accuracy may apply to attempt the Capstone Challenge. This round involves solving advanced, beyond-the-syllabus problems. The top performers will advance directly to the finals."

"Now, please welcome the Vice President of the Provincial Spirit Array Association to address us."

On the central screen, a stern-faced middle-aged man straightened his tie and began his address in a standard official tone:

"To further elevate the competition's standards and discover truly exceptional Spirit Array talents, the Association has decided to introduce a special Capstone Challenge for this year's event. This segment aims to assess contestants' innovative thinking and depth of knowledge."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping across the hall:

"We expect the younger generation to proactively explore knowledge beyond textbooks. This will also serve as a crucial reference for future national-level competition selections."

"Furthermore, this measure is intended to accommodate participants who may be slower in execution but possess extensive knowledge reserves."

That's the father of the girl who had the argument with them earlier, Ke Lu thought, her gaze narrowing slightly.

His daughter is competing in this very competition, and the rules were suddenly changed. It's hard not to suspect something's fishy.

Yet she had to admit that his pompous justification was irrefutable.

Even knowing there might be ulterior motives behind it, she couldn't find any fault with his reasoning.

Soon, the competition began.

Ke Lu entered the fully enclosed booth.

Inside, there was a table, a chair, and the officially provided standardized paper and pen—nothing else.

The walls were entirely white, devoid of any patterns.

At the far end of the booth stood a large screen displaying the competition questions.

The booth was made of one-way glass, allowing observers outside to clearly monitor the participants' conditions.

However, no external sounds or light could penetrate the booth, ensuring the competitors remained undisturbed.

It appears to be a fair and impartial examination, Ke Lu mused.

She sat down, withdrew her gaze, closed her eyes to conserve her energy, and waited for the questions to be released.

"Competitors, please prepare yourselves," a voice suddenly announced over the loudspeaker. The number "10" flashed onto the screen.

Ke Lu's eyes snapped open, instantly locking onto the screen.

Ten-second countdown.

Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one!

The screen flashed, displaying a complex Spirit Array diagram.

This was the competition's challenge: to see who could deploy the Spirit Array in the shortest time while maximizing its effectiveness.

For Spirit Arrays, the precise placement of each array eye and material was crucial; even slight deviations could prevent it from achieving its full potential.

This was the core of the competition.

Ke Lu scrutinized the Spirit Array diagram projected on the screen. Compared to previous years' trials, the difficulty had indeed increased significantly—the array patterns were more intricate, and the energy nodes were more concealed.

However... to her, it remained merely trivial.

Meanwhile, the outside world erupted in uproar.

The Spirit Array diagram was swiftly uploaded online, and dozens of live streams instantly popped up across various platforms, offering commentary and analysis.

In the audience, people of different backgrounds reacted in diverse ways:

"This question..." In the front row of the audience, a middle-aged man wearing the emblem of a Third-Tier Spirit Array Master adjusted his glasses. "It's already at the level of a professional certification exam."

Beside him, a school teacher smiled wryly. "Among all the students I've taught in my career, probably very few high schoolers could solve this problem."

The live stream chat erupted into a frenzy:

[I'm a First-Tier Spirit Array Master, and even I'd have to put in some effort to solve this. It's seriously tough.]

[This year's contestants are getting a raw deal! Is this really a high school competition?]

[That girl in the school uniform looks so calm—the one from Liaocheng No. 1 High School.]

[Looks like the Vice President wasn't bluffing earlier. They really are trying to weed out the genuinely talented candidates. Only problems this difficult can truly reveal the contestants' understanding of Spirit Arrays, rather than rote memorization.]

[How hard must the final question be?!]

Even the veteran Spirit Array Masters on the judging panel were whispering among themselves, clearly surprised by the difficulty of the exam questions.