Just as the hall of discipline elder finished speaking, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rang out.
Li Nanzhu jerked her head up and saw that the pillar of light where Feng Qingping stood had already dropped by a tenth.
"Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect, the first array is broken!" The voice of the hall of discipline elder actually cracked slightly. "Time taken... one breath!"
The spectator stands immediately erupted into an uproar.
"That fast?!"
"That's impossible. How can everyone from the Five Elements Dao Sect be so formidable?"
"It's just a tier 1 array. What's there to make such a fuss about?"
While the crowd was buzzing with discussion, several more cracking sounds echoed through the arena in succession.
Other participants had also broken through their first arrays one after another, though their times were all significantly slower than Feng Qingping's.
"Fifth Senior Sister is too fast," Li Nanzhu commented in a low voice.
Duan Xianxing said with a grin, "It's just a tier 1 maze array. For Fifth Senior Sister, it's as simple as breathing."
However, when Feng Qingping began to break the second array, her speed slowed down noticeably.
She stood within the pillar of light, her fingertips lightly stroking the array disk as if she were seriously performing deductions. It wasn't until the fifth breath that she raised her hand to break the array.
Although this speed was still leading, it was no longer as shocking as the first array.
"Sure enough..." Zhu Yinxi twirled his jade flute between his fingers, his voice so soft only those from the Five Elements Dao Sect could hear him.
"Fifth Senior Sister is..." Li Nanzhu blinked.
"Hiding her strength," Mu Wenyan's voice rang out in their minds. "The Five Elements Dao Sect has been attracting too much attention lately."
Even Feng Weilan nodded slightly.
Attracting too much attention was only one reason.
Most importantly, with Feng Qingping's level as a tier 5 formation master at the age of twenty-one, showing her full strength would likely invite unnecessary trouble.
Jiang Yifan could refine tier 5 magic tools at twenty-three only because he was from the direct line of the Northern Territory Jiang family; others wouldn't dare move against him even if they were jealous.
But Feng Qingping was different. Although the Five Elements Dao Sect had a deep legacy, it had only recently made a name for itself and couldn't compare to the great clans that had been established for thousands of years.
More critically, everyone believed Jiang Yifan had only reached his level temporarily through a special secret method and that his actual level was still tier 4.
But Feng Qingping's formation expertise was at a genuine tier 5 level. Once exposed, there was no guarantee that people wouldn't try to sabotage her in the shadows.
Hiding her strength at this juncture was undoubtedly the wisest choice.
Over the next three tier 2 arrays, Feng Qingping's breaking times increased sequentially, maintaining her lead without being too conspicuous.
When the sixth array, a tier 3 one, lit up, Feng Qingping even intentionally spent more time on it.
She stood inside the pillar of light, her fingertips tracing complex patterns on the array disk, her brow slightly furrowed as if she had encountered a difficult problem.
Ultimately, she took thirty breaths to break the sixth array.
This time was now roughly the same as several other top participants.
Li Nanzhu noticed that the expressions of the elders on the judges' bench had indeed relaxed quite a bit.
One of them even nodded slightly, appearing satisfied with Feng Qingping's performance—she had shown talent without exceeding common sense.
For the final four tier 3 arrays, Feng Qingping controlled her time to around fifty breaths each, keeping pace with the other seeded players.
Until the final array—the soul-locking array.
A black mist filled the pillar of light. Even through the barrier of the array, one could feel the chilling aura.
All the participants were still holding on, but most of them looked distressed, with fine beads of sweat seeping from their foreheads.
"It looks like everyone is stuck at the final hurdle," Duan Xianxing murmured.
Feng Qingping likewise stood motionless within the pillar of light, her fingertips lightly stroking the array disk. Her cool eyes were as calm as water, showing not a hint of tension.
Li Nanzhu noticed that the elders on the judges' bench were staring intently at Feng Qingping, their eyes flashing with inquisitive light.
One-third of the incense stick had burned away, yet no one in the arena had broken the array.
Feng Qingping finally moved.
Her fingertips lightly tapped the array disk, and thirty-six runes slowly lit up, intertwining in the air to form a net of light.
The moment the net of light descended and touched the black mist, the array shattered instantly.
"Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect, the tenth array is broken! Ranked first!"
By this time, only half an incense stick's time had passed since the start of the competition.
A trace of regret flashed through the depths of Feng Qingping's eyes.
It was clear she had tried her best to slow her speed down, but unfortunately, her opponents were simply too weak. She had given them so much time, yet not a single person could keep up with her progress.
On the judges' bench, the oldest elder stroked his beard. "Feng Qingping of the Five Elements Dao Sect... she should be at the level of a tier 4 formation master, shouldn't she?"
"Indeed. I didn't expect the Five Elements Dao Sect to have a disciple so proficient in the Dao of formations."
The other judges nodded one after another, their eyes filled with approval, completely failing to notice anything unusual.
Feng Qingping tied the array disk back to her waist and then sat down cross-legged where she was, closing her eyes to adjust her breathing.
However, a careful observation would reveal that Feng Qingping's breathing was even and her spiritual energy was steady; she didn't look at all like someone whose divine sense was over-exhausted.
At this moment, the other participants were still struggling bitterly.
A few of the stronger cultivators had already broken the ninth array and were currently tackling the final soul-locking array.
But most people were still stuck on the seventh or eighth arrays, sweat dripping from their brows.
By the time two-thirds of the incense stick had burned, people finally began to finish all ten arrays one after another.
"Zhao Wumian of the Tianji Pavilion, the tenth array is broken! Ranked second!"
"Zhou Xuan of the Bagua Gate, the tenth array is broken! Ranked third!"
...
With the hall of discipline elder's announcements, the top thirty were quickly determined.
The pillars of light for those who failed to complete them in time automatically extinguished, and they could only leave the field in disappointment.
"The second round is about to begin!" the hall of discipline elder announced loudly. "Will the top thirty participants please enter the arena!"
As soon as he spoke, a commotion broke out in the arena.
"This is way too rushed!" a disciple dressed in Bagua robes shouted dissatisfactorily. "Breaking arrays consumes an immense amount of divine sense. You won't even give us time to recover?"
"Exactly!" another participant clutched his forehead, his face pale. "My sea of consciousness is almost drained!"
Feng Qingping caught a glimpse of the complaining crowd without showing any emotion, her steps still maintained a perfectly calibrated level of exhaustion.
"Silence!" the hall of discipline elder barked, his pressure instantly blanketing the field. "The competition for formation masters is meant to test comprehensive strength. The speed of divine sense recovery is also one of the criteria!"
On the judges' bench, the white-haired Elder Xuanzhen slowly rose to his feet. "A true master of the Dao of arrays should be able to quickly adjust their state on a rapidly changing battlefield. If you can't even handle this much of a test..." His gaze swept over the field. "You might as well forfeit early!"
These words caused the complaining to stop abruptly.
The participants looked at each other and could only grit their teeth and walk toward the center of the arena.
Li Nanzhu noticed that the corners of Feng Qingping's mouth twitched upward almost imperceptibly before she resumed her weary expression.
"Fifth Senior Sister is quite the actress," Li Nanzhu couldn't help but send a voice transmission.
Feng Weilan's gaze softened unusually. "She was like this even as a child. She could clearly trap someone instantly, but she insisted on putting on a show for a few moves first."
Li Nanzhu blinked. She was truly becoming more and more curious about the stories of her fifth senior sister and sixth senior brother.
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