The Array Lord's Inheritance (11)

After Shui dealt with the young man, Emily expressed her concern through thought transmission.

"Are you sure that was okay? You've attracted their hostility."

"It's fine. As long as they can't cooperate, they won't be a problem. Besides, even if they can disturb me in the final test, I think it would be a good handicap."

"Hmph, I don't want to hear any excuses when you lose."

Emily kept her eyes on the book in front of her, but Shui could see that she was slightly pouting. He concealed his amusement at the sight and looked at the other participants. With his cultivation suppressed, he couldn't guarantee that he could win against all of them in a fight, but in terms of array comprehension, few were worth his notice.

As everyone tried to make the most out of their time, a countdown silently started in their minds. The tension rose in an instant, but no one started a commotion. They instead sharpened their focus and prepared for whatever would be thrown at them. They spent the remaining minutes in anticipation, eager to prove themselves.

Test 7: Compatibility II.

The moment the test started, the space began to change. The books and shelves rapidly faded into the distance while the tables and chairs came together in midair. While the tables combined and the chairs were placed around the wide round table, the rules of the final test entered their minds.

The summary was that they would have a debate on the law of growth. The initial order would be based on when they arrived at the grand library, and there would be five rounds in total. However, for every round, each speaker must present a new point which would be graded by the administrator of the test. If the point given didn't reach a certain standard, then the speaker would be disqualified. The winner would be whoever had the highest average score after five rounds. If there was a tie for the highest average score, then the debate would continue until that changed.

Before the final test began, the chairs lowered to the floor and everyone was given the chance to forfeit. Those who chose to do so would still get a prize for reaching this far, but naturally they would be unable to lay their hands on the inheritance. However, if they chose to keep going but lost, then they would have to leave without a prize.

Many hesitated at this junction, but the confident few strutted towards the table. There was an atmosphere around them that both incited challengers and scorned the weak. More followed in their footsteps, but around half chose to forfeit. For their prize, they would receive a scroll that detailed all of their individual faults, but whether they appreciated it depended on the person.

Once the participants of the final test were seated, the table swiftly ascended along with the chairs they sat on. During this time, the participants watched their rivals and quietly prepared their schemes. Eventually, they were so high that the floor was hidden by thick puffy clouds, that was when they stopped.

The test began with a quiver of the table. Now it was time for the person who made it to the grand library first to reveal themself, so everyone fixed their attention on the four previous suspects, while each of the suspects looked at the ones who came before them. A strong pressure was created that could make the weak of heart buckle, but she was already used to it. She straightened her back and started the debate with a sharp gaze.

"I shall begin."

Most were surprised that it was the smallest of the suspects who spoke, but as soon as they took a proper look at her, they noticed a strong light in her eyes and had to acknowledge that she was capable. Even those who sneered at the little girl made ugly faces once she started talking.

"To start off our debate, let's go with the very basic question of what is growth. Growth and time are inevitably intertwined, but depending on the type of growth, even infinite time can have no effect. Growth can be often misunderstand but..."

At first, they were impressed by her fluid speech, but as she went on, many got worried. According to the rules, everyone had to present at least one new point, but Emily was going beyond that. Although they didn't know the strict requirements for a point, in her speech Emily made about three solid points on the nature of growth. If one was confident about the topic, then it was a good move, which was why her rivals deeply furrowed their brows as she continued to strike off points from the ones they planned to use.

Eventually, someone couldn't endure it anymore and tried to object, but as soon as a few words made it out of his mouth, he vanished from his seat. No warning was given, nor did they hear the reason for his disqualification, but everyone came to the same conclusion.

'He was disqualified for interrupting her.'

It seemed a little harsh, but no one found a problem with one of their competitors leaving the table. Furthermore, Emily was slightly shaken by his sudden disappearance, so she stopped after finishing her current point.

"...That's all from me. Shin, would you like to add?"

Once she ended her turn, a blue pair of symbols appeared above her head. It was the score she obtained, but few could recognize it as '93'. She had probably explained some points better than others, but by choosing quantity she lost in overall quality.

Emily knew that her tactic would have little effect on Shui, but she wanted to see his reaction. Shui was very pleased by her cunning, but he said he wouldn't go easy on her so he had to show off his knowledge as well.

"In order to properly explore the nature of growth, I believe we should take an in-depth look at our history. In the times predating cultivation society, there were few views on..."

Shui went on to make several historical references. Some of the references came from eras that barely had any existing literature, so his rivals wondered if he was making things up, but few actually believed that. Even if they couldn't understand all of his references, the ones that they did get were proof of his legitimacy.

Similar to Emily, Shui thoroughly destroyed the confidence of many of his rivals. Even if they had points that weren't brought up, they weren't sure if they could explain their points as smoothly. One or two hoped that he had made a mistake that would give him a low grade, but even if they couldn't recognize the '95' above his head, his continued presence and overflowing confidence was enough of an answer.

The young gentleman who placed third, wanted to match up to Shui and Emily by showing off his superiority, but he couldn't bring up as many points as Emily nor could he provide as many details as Shui. Nonetheless, he also scored in the low-nineties.

The rest of the first ten gave points that scored fairly high, though no one else reached ninety. However, the others depended luck. Some had to use points that they made on the spot; some stuttered throughout their speech; some spouted whatever came to mind regardless of whether it was from already used points or gibberish. And as a result, only fifteen were left after round one.