Chapter 362: Chapter 155: Death Night (4)
At this thought, Ouyang Sword quietly noted Shen Bai’s actions in his notebook. He planned to study them later so he could imitate Shen Bai and recreate the scene.
Shen Bai smiled. "Just standard procedure. By the way, have they announced how the second round will be conducted?"
Everyone was already there when he arrived, so Shen Bai didn’t know if the details of the internal examination had been announced yet.
Ouyang Sword didn’t answer, but Xu Qian, who was standing nearby, eagerly jumped in to answer Shen Bai’s question.
"They haven’t announced the second round yet. They were waiting for you to arrive, Brother Shen."
This time, Xu Qian’s attitude toward Shen Bai had clearly shifted.
If before he had treated Shen Bai as a peer, now Xu Qian felt a genuine sense of admiration for him.
Such was the world where the strong were revered.
Strength was its own justification.
Principles were in the hands of the strong; in fact, the strong *were* the principle.
It was never a surprise to see admirers flocking to the strong. That was simply reality.
Shen Bai nodded. "Then we’ll wait."
With that, he began to chat idly with Ouyang Sword and Xu Qian while they waited for Feng Zheng and the others to reach a decision.
The rankings for the first round had already been announced the previous night.
Shen Bai hadn’t bothered to check them, nor did he have any interest. He had been completely absorbed in the joy of grinding his Skill Level.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the discussions over where Feng Zheng was standing began to quiet down.
At that, everyone turned their attention to where Feng Zheng stood.
Feng Zheng cleared his throat, took a few steps forward, and spoke slowly. "Congratulations to everyone for making it to the second round. We experienced some... abnormalities yesterday, but fortunately, they were resolved perfectly. It was a close call, but no harm was done."
Hearing this, the crowd nodded in agreement.
Feng Zheng paused for a moment before continuing, "The reason we adopted that method for the first round, aside from saving time, was to test everyone’s ability to work as a team."
"Once inside, you all had to choose whether to work alone or cooperate. Everyone makes their own choice, though there was a... minor incident..."
As he said this, Feng Zheng’s expression grew a little awkward.
This was hardly a ’minor’ incident. It was a major one.
That’s right. Someone chose to act alone—Shen Bai, for instance.
And others chose to cooperate and work together—everyone else besides Shen Bai, for instance.
But the result was that Shen Bai single-handedly surrounded everyone else.
A result like that could hardly be described as a mere ’incident.’
Feng Zheng seemed to sense the awkward atmosphere. He cleared his throat again and continued, "The Observatory’s internal examination is designed to identify talented members. The second round will consist of one-on-one matches, with pairings determined by drawing lots. The matches will take place on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of this very tower."
"As before, this is a single, composite Space. It was simply constructed in stacked layers due to its immense size."
"You don’t need to worry about an incident like the one in the first round. We, the judges, can also enter these three floors."
Duels determined by drawing lots were a standard method for the Observatory’s internal examinations.
Using this method for the second round wasn’t surprising to anyone.
Everyone looked toward Shen Bai, all of them hoping they wouldn’t draw him as an opponent in the duels.
But before that thought could even fully form in their minds, Feng Zheng immediately spoke again.
"As everyone is aware, we have a special situation in this year’s internal examination. Therefore, we have come up with a special solution."
At this, Feng Zheng beckoned to someone off to the side.
A moment later, a member of the Observatory with a red silk ribbon on his arm brought a chair over and placed it next to the Third Prince.
Confused expressions appeared on everyone’s faces. They didn’t understand what was going on.
People began to whisper among themselves.
"Why is there an extra chair?"
"I don’t know. That’s where the judges sit. Don’t tell me we’re getting a new judge?"
"I’d say it’s possible. I just wonder who the new judge is."
The discussions were loud at first, but they gradually died down as Feng Zheng’s gaze swept across the crowd.
Once everyone was silent, Feng Zheng turned to Shen Bai. "Everyone has witnessed Shen Bai’s performance. Therefore, the top honor for this competition will be given to Shen Bai."
"Shen Bai may sit to the side and patiently await the results of the matches."
"Of course, after the final round is over, anyone who is unconvinced is free to challenge Shen Bai."
At these words, the entire venue fell silent. Not a single person spoke.
The utter silence was almost frightening.
For some reason, this bizarre decision actually felt... incredibly appropriate to them.
Was there any suspense left in the internal examination now?
The answer was no.
Shen Bai could take on everyone by himself. Having him participate in the rest of the examination would be utterly pointless.
So this was a silent victory; no one could possibly defeat Shen Bai.
In fact, Feng Zheng’s decision even made some of them breathe a sigh of relief.
The reason was simple: if any of them were unlucky enough to draw Shen Bai in the second round, they wouldn’t even bother fighting. They might as well just raise their hands and surrender.
Drawing him would just be bad luck, a guaranteed stop before the third round.
That was why this decision felt so unbelievably appropriate to everyone.
Feng Zheng coughed. "Since there are no objections, we will proceed with this decision. Shen Bai, you may wait patiently at the side. This seat was established just for you."
Shen Bai was completely stunned. He hadn’t expected the Observatory’s principles to be so flexible.
