"...How does that even work? Two predictions can't be correct at the same time." The first contestant was torn between confusion and humiliation.
"The gap in their readings is also too wide. If it was just a difference of one or two points of numerical value, such a reaction from the Mouth of Destiny could be considered normal. After all, one can never fully predict every detail. As long as the prediction is sufficiently close..."
Sister Mi, the second contestant, trailed off halfway through her sentence, appearing as puzzled as the rest of the audience.
While everyone was exchanging unsure looks with their peers, the young man whose scroll was being evaluated inside the treasure coughed awkwardly.
"...Uh, guys, I wasn't finished. There's more to the reading."
Han Xuhan found himself facing a crisis. If these predictions got any more accurate and detailed than this, it would not bode well for their team.
He needed to warn the other three of his martial siblings. Surreptitiously, he tried to tiptoe backwards into the crowd, only to find that feat impossible. The crowd was rooted to the spot, each disciple in it unwilling to move a muscle or blink. Nobody wanted to miss a second of what was coming.
Even his fourth layer of cultivation didn't provide him enough power to force his way out through them. And he didn't want to make a scene doing that either. That would just get him caught faster.
Distraught, he listened to the young man declare the next part of his prediction.
"I predict that the Phoenix Faction shall collude with the invaders."
Absolute silence.
The young man's finger was pointed at the second contestant, the girl surnamed Mi, letting Han Xuhan learn that the current faction of disciples in power was titled 'The Phoenix'.
However...what did that prediction mean? Surely not...
As Han Xuhan's thoughts raced, an orange glow attracted his attention.
The second highest floor of the pagoda was once more radiating light. Like a vibrant dancing belt of fire, its illumination overtook the bright red coil of the top floor.
But unlike the first previous one, this prediction not only made that floor light up, it also made its walls as transparent as the top floor!
What did this signify?!
Even Han Xuhan, a complete stranger to this sect, could understand the implications.
The most high-quality prediction in this contest was this!
"This is....this...you're framing me! You lot are trying to frame our faction!" Sister Mi roared furiously.
The guy who had carried over the treasure to the center of the crowd seemed to hold some authority among the disciples. The moment he raised his palm gently above his head, every disciple who wanted to retort against her words closed their mouth. Even the girl stopped halfway through whatever else she wanted to say.
"Shen Mi, the Mouth of Destiny isn't something we disciples have the skill to manipulate. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been treated as the most reliable teaching tool for the Starseers across the last century."
Shen Mi took a deep breath and calmed her tone.
"Then do you mind explaining why would we, the faction in power, stoop so low as to collude with foreigners? We have no motive to resort to such a crime."
"Oh but you do have a motive, a very strong one at that too," interjected the first contestant loudly.
All eyes turned to him as he explained.
"Right now, the Phoenix faction is in danger of being overthrown after their decade long reign. Obviously, none of you want to give up that seat of power. Which is why, you may have concocted a scheme to suppress the rebellion against your rule by colluding with the invaders from foreign sects. Using a new enemy to unite your own people is, after all, a very effective strategy, which history stands to prove. This makes perfect sense!"
His words were so logical, his analysis so fitting, momentum so powerful that even Han Xuhan was convinced that their team was somehow in cahoots with this Phoenix faction.
"Absurd! We would never do such a thing! Not a single disciple of our faction has ever been accused of misconduct so severe! And you wish to declare our entire faction a den of betrayers?"
Shen Mi's eyes were red, partly from rage, partly from humiliation.
"No." The first contestant shook his head.
"We wish to declare nothing. It is the Mouth of Destiny, this lifeless treasure that has declared your intent, your schemes. I say we should involve the Elders in this. Such a crime cannot go unpunished."
The crowd began to seethe in rage. All around Xuhan, the sentiment of the first contestant echoed out.
"How disappointing!"
"The little respect I had for the Phoenix faction has been destroyed."
"Despite being in power for so long, you still want more? You've failed, and yet you would employ underhanded tactics to keep ahold of your luxury? Do you lot even treat us as your peers? Your equals?"
"This seals it! We must oppose their commands at every step from now on!"
"Yes! No more compliance! No compromise can be made with this pack of backstabbers!"
"Disgusting!"
Han Xuhan didn't know how many factions there were among the disciple body of the Stardust Sect, but each and every member of these factions looked ready to fight it out with the Phoenix faction.
"Everyone! Quiet!" roared the other guy, his hand still raised.
There has been no crime committed...yet. One who hasn't committed a crime cannot be punished. And a destiny that has been read is a mere possibility, nothing else. Since the matter has been raised, the destiny has been declared, and the potential wrongdoer has been made aware of the consequences, we shall not interfere further. This is the golden principle. No need to make an exception here. We will treat this prediction the same way we treat every other prediction."
"Thank you, big brother Ao," Shen Mi said in a low tone.
"More than a thanks, I would appreciate it if that prediction is thwarted. Regardless, I think we are all forgetting an even more important matter," the young man surnamed Ao shouted.
"Right! The result of this contest has to be registered with the leaders," the first contestant piped in even though he had performed the worst in the competition.
It seemed like he was just happy to see the Phoenix faction lose.
Brother Ao took out the last scroll from the Inverted Pagoda, returning the treasure to its original colorless state.
"The winner of this contest is Leng Qing, a member of the Infinity Faction. His reading has outstripped both of his opponents' predictions, reaching the second tier of the Mouth of Destiny. The Phoenix Faction has now lost two out of three contests. If they also lose the third...the conclusion of the meeting between the Leaders shall reflect the wishes of the other four factions."
Gritting her teeth, the girl named Shen Mi stormed out of the encirclement of the crowd, with boos and jeers following her trail.
While the rest of the throng moved towards the third contest being held just a hundred meters away, Han Xuhan began to put some distance between himself and the rest of the crowd.
He had little interest in seeing what the third contest was about. He had more concerning matters to attend to. Nonchalantly, he took Fang Xie's hit list out of his robe while walking.
A detailed painting had appeared on the scroll at some point, showing a familiar young man.
Target: Leng Qing
Cultivation Base: Fifth Layer of Physique Transformation Realm
Cultivation Technique(s):
1. The Starseer Manual: grants the ability to predict the future
2. The Starheart Manual: A physical attributes enhancing technique
Remarks: This brat is someone who can predict your moves in a fight if you give him enough time to prepare. So don't do that, and keep in mind that he is what you'd call a body cultivator. His physical attributes are much more extreme than ordinary cultivators in the same cultivation base. Don't try to engage in direct combat with him. Find alternative methods to inject the Mindkiller potion into his body.
Sighing, Han Xuhan began to walk in the same direction as Shen Mi.
"...How does that even work? Two predictions can't be correct at the same time." The first contestant was torn between confusion and humiliation.
"The gap in their readings is also too wide. If it was just a difference of one or two points of numerical value, such a reaction from the Mouth of Destiny could be considered normal. After all, one can never fully predict every detail. As long as the prediction is sufficiently close..."
Sister Mi, the second contestant, trailed off halfway through her sentence, appearing as puzzled as the rest of the audience.
While everyone was exchanging unsure looks with their peers, the young man whose scroll was being evaluated inside the treasure coughed awkwardly.
"...Uh, guys, I wasn't finished. There's more to the reading."
Han Xuhan found himself facing a crisis. If these predictions got any more accurate and detailed than this, it would not bode well for their team.
He needed to warn the other three of his martial siblings. Surreptitiously, he tried to tiptoe backwards into the crowd, only to find that feat impossible. The crowd was rooted to the spot, each disciple in it unwilling to move a muscle or blink. Nobody wanted to miss a second of what was coming.
Even his fourth layer of cultivation didn't provide him enough power to force his way out through them. And he didn't want to make a scene doing that either. That would just get him caught faster.
Distraught, he listened to the young man declare the next part of his prediction.
"I predict that the Phoenix Faction shall collude with the invaders."
Absolute silence.
The young man's finger was pointed at the second contestant, the girl surnamed Mi, letting Han Xuhan learn that the current faction of disciples in power was titled 'The Phoenix'.
However...what did that prediction mean? Surely not...
As Han Xuhan's thoughts raced, an orange glow attracted his attention.
The second highest floor of the pagoda was once more radiating light. Like a vibrant dancing belt of fire, its illumination overtook the bright red coil of the top floor.
But unlike the first previous one, this prediction not only made that floor light up, it also made its walls as transparent as the top floor!
What did this signify?!
Even Han Xuhan, a complete stranger to this sect, could understand the implications.
The most high-quality prediction in this contest was this!
"This is....this...you're framing me! You lot are trying to frame our faction!" Sister Mi roared furiously.
The guy who had carried over the treasure to the center of the crowd seemed to hold some authority among the disciples. The moment he raised his palm gently above his head, every disciple who wanted to retort against her words closed their mouth. Even the girl stopped halfway through whatever else she wanted to say.
"Shen Mi, the Mouth of Destiny isn't something we disciples have the skill to manipulate. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been treated as the most reliable teaching tool for the Starseers across the last century."
Shen Mi took a deep breath and calmed her tone.
"Then do you mind explaining why would we, the faction in power, stoop so low as to collude with foreigners? We have no motive to resort to such a crime."
"Oh but you do have a motive, a very strong one at that too," interjected the first contestant loudly.
All eyes turned to him as he explained.
"Right now, the Phoenix faction is in danger of being overthrown after their decade long reign. Obviously, none of you want to give up that seat of power. Which is why, you may have concocted a scheme to suppress the rebellion against your rule by colluding with the invaders from foreign sects. Using a new enemy to unite your own people is, after all, a very effective strategy, which history stands to prove. This makes perfect sense!"
His words were so logical, his analysis so fitting, momentum so powerful that even Han Xuhan was convinced that their team was somehow in cahoots with this Phoenix faction.
"Absurd! We would never do such a thing! Not a single disciple of our faction has ever been accused of misconduct so severe! And you wish to declare our entire faction a den of betrayers?"
Shen Mi's eyes were red, partly from rage, partly from humiliation.
"No." The first contestant shook his head.
"We wish to declare nothing. It is the Mouth of Destiny, this lifeless treasure that has declared your intent, your schemes. I say we should involve the Elders in this. Such a crime cannot go unpunished."
The crowd began to seethe in rage. All around Xuhan, the sentiment of the first contestant echoed out.
"How disappointing!"
"The little respect I had for the Phoenix faction has been destroyed."
"Despite being in power for so long, you still want more? You've failed, and yet you would employ underhanded tactics to keep ahold of your luxury? Do you lot even treat us as your peers? Your equals?"
"This seals it! We must oppose their commands at every step from now on!"
"Yes! No more compliance! No compromise can be made with this pack of backstabbers!"
"Disgusting!"
Han Xuhan didn't know how many factions there were among the disciple body of the Stardust Sect, but each and every member of these factions looked ready to fight it out with the Phoenix faction.
"Everyone! Quiet!" roared the other guy, his hand still raised.
There has been no crime committed...yet. One who hasn't committed a crime cannot be punished. And a destiny that has been read is a mere possibility, nothing else. Since the matter has been raised, the destiny has been declared, and the potential wrongdoer has been made aware of the consequences, we shall not interfere further. This is the golden principle. No need to make an exception here. We will treat this prediction the same way we treat every other prediction."
"Thank you, big brother Ao," Shen Mi said in a low tone.
"More than a thanks, I would appreciate it if that prediction is thwarted. Regardless, I think we are all forgetting an even more important matter," the young man surnamed Ao shouted.
"Right! The result of this contest has to be registered with the leaders," the first contestant piped in even though he had performed the worst in the competition.
It seemed like he was just happy to see the Phoenix faction lose.
Brother Ao took out the last scroll from the Inverted Pagoda, returning the treasure to its original colorless state.
"The winner of this contest is Leng Qing, a member of the Infinity Faction. His reading has outstripped both of his opponents' predictions, reaching the second tier of the Mouth of Destiny. The Phoenix Faction has now lost two out of three contests. If they also lose the third...the conclusion of the meeting between the Leaders shall reflect the wishes of the other four factions."
Gritting her teeth, the girl named Shen Mi stormed out of the encirclement of the crowd, with boos and jeers following her trail.
While the rest of the throng moved towards the third contest being held just a hundred meters away, Han Xuhan began to put some distance between himself and the rest of the crowd.
He had little interest in seeing what the third contest was about. He had more concerning matters to attend to. Nonchalantly, he took Fang Xie's hit list out of his robe while walking.
A detailed painting had appeared on the scroll at some point, showing a familiar young man.
Target: Leng Qing
Cultivation Base: Fifth Layer of Physique Transformation Realm
Cultivation Technique(s):
1. The Starseer Manual: grants the ability to predict the future
2. The Starheart Manual: A physical attributes enhancing technique
Remarks: This brat is someone who can predict your moves in a fight if you give him enough time to prepare. So don't do that, and keep in mind that he is what you'd call a body cultivator. His physical attributes are much more extreme than ordinary cultivators in the same cultivation base. Don't try to engage in direct combat with him. Find alternative methods to inject the Mindkiller potion into his body.
Sighing, Han Xuhan began to walk in the same direction as Shen Mi.
