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Almost all the contestants started moving the moment he announced the start of the competition, choosing the metal materials they needed and starting to make them.
Mr. Zhang also returned to the referee's seat and watched and discussed the game with the other six referees.
"Old Zhang, look at that contestant from the Ordinary League. He seems a little strange." A ninth-level soul instructor on Old Zhang's right said doubtfully.
"Old Wang, what's wrong?" Old Zhang looked in the direction of his finger and his eyes fixed on Huo Qiuer.
Seeing this, his expression also became strange.
Compared with the other eight contestants who were racing against time, Huo Qiuer's performance seemed out of place. She had no sense of urgency at all, and she moved slowly and leisurely, selecting several rare metals and starting to engrave.
This move attracted the attention of all the referees.
In this situation, he is still so calm and confident. This player from the Ordinary Alliance must be a very powerful soul guide.
Huo Qiuer's next action also verified Mr. Zhang's guess. Her engraving was extremely skillful and fluent, and even Mr. Zhang couldn't help but nod in approval.
But after watching for a while, Mr. Zhang found something wrong.
This contestant from the Ordinary Alliance moved very quickly, but it seemed that... only speed was left.
The soul guide devices she made were not challenging at all. They were just the most basic soul guide cannons and soul guide rays.
And the level is not high either, it will definitely not exceed level five, it should be only level four.
This level of soul guide cannot be said to be weak, but it is definitely far from enough in the final of this soul guide competition.
Because of her low level, Huo Qiuer finished very quickly. While other players were still preparing for the early engraving, she had already completed the core magic circle and started making the outer shell.
Another ninth-level soul guide named Chen looked puzzled: "Could it be that she wants to use the remaining time to make other soul guides?"
Elder Zhang shook his head: "According to the rules, each contestant can only make one soul guide. Even if they make extra soul guides, they will be considered invalid during the inspection process."
Just when everyone in the referee's seat was puzzled, Huo Qiuer had already placed the finished soul guide gun on the production table, and then stood there with her arms folded, observing the surroundings coldly.
The soul guide and other materials on the table had not been touched again, and the production seemed to have been completely completed.
"This... She actually only made a fourth-level soul guide. Is she crazy?" Old Chen was even more confused. He didn't expect Huo Qiuer to treat the finals as a joke.
They were all ninth-level soul guides who witnessed Huo Qiuer's entire production process and were certain that this was just a simple soul guide ray without any special secret functions.
Zhang Lao stroked his beard, frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice: "I think Pingfan League definitely has its own intentions for doing this."
He turned his gaze to the other two members of the Ordinary Alliance.
The girl with long blond hair in a yellow skirt was making a long sword-shaped soul guide, which should be level 6. The other girl in a red skirt had also completed the prototype of a level 6 short blade.
Looking at the other contestants, two people from Xishui League chose level five, but these are also some of the most powerful level five soul guides. The others all made level six.
Old Zhang and Shangguan Wei'er were old acquaintances. He knew that Shangguan Wei'er was definitely not a fool when it came to such a huge interest, and she must have had her own plans for sending Huo Qiu'er.
Thinking of this, Mr. Zhang became even more curious about the blue-haired girl.
The players on the field were working hard, and the tense atmosphere also extended to the rest area.
Yan Shaozhe covered his mouth with his hands, frowned and looked at the rest area of Xishui League in the distance.
It was hard to imagine that as the dean of Shrek's Martial Spirit Department and a level 96 Ming Feng Douluo, he would suddenly make such an uneasy move.
"Shaozhe, what's wrong?" Cai Meir asked with concern.
Yan Shaozhe smiled gently and said, "Nothing, I'm just a little worried about the strength of the Xishui League and the Holy Spirit Church. Elder Xuan, Elder Du, after you win the ninth-level fixed-type soul guide shells, if a conflict breaks out with them, please stay with me and cover the retreat. The rest of you can take the children and break out of the West Mountain first."
Du Bu Si laughed and said, "My disciples from the Benti Sect haven't left yet, so there's no reason for me to escape first. Xuan Zi, if you're afraid of death, just run for your life."
Elder Xuan ignored him and said, "Shao Zhe, your martial spirit is the Phoenix of Light, which has a strong inhibitory effect on evil spirit masters. Please come with us to cover our retreat."
"It is my responsibility."
After Yan Shaozhe finished answering, he looked towards the direction of Xishui League again.
Xian Lin'er snorted coldly: "What are you looking at? You are so absorbed in it. Yan Shaozhe, is that your old lover over there?"
"Xian Lin'er, what did you say?"
"I think his eyes are more fixed on you than on you. Maybe his old lover is over there."
Her sarcastic tone successfully aroused Cai Meir's displeasure. Before Yan Shaozhe could even open his mouth, the two of them started arguing.
The Shrek students, represented by Wang Dong, could only sweat profusely, and no one dared to speak.
The interpersonal relationships among these older generations are quite complicated and not something they can get involved in.
Xishuimeng rest area.
Feng Ling and others also looked in the direction of the Ordinary Alliance.
"Deputy leader, the Golden Dragon Saint currently belongs to the Body Sect. If nothing unexpected happens, the Body Douluo is probably observing in secret."
Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng reported in a deep voice.
"And we got news that Shrek Academy might also appear near the western suburbs. The east, south and north directions have been surrounded by the Sun-Moon Empire's army. If they want to break out, they can only escape from the west mountain."
Feng Ling said coldly: "Hold still and wait for the game to end. Do not act rashly without my order. Although we have brought a lot of people, Shrek and the Body Sect are not that easy to deal with."
The rest area was not only populated by Elder Nangong Wansan and other elders in charge of the Xishui League, but also many other worshippers including Zhang Peng.
Ma Xiaotao was wearing a veil and sitting next to Feng Ling.
Zhang Peng gritted his teeth and said, "Deputy leader, the Benti Sect killed my disciples in the competition. We must catch them all in one fell swoop."
Feng Ling glanced at him indifferently: "I told you not to act rashly."
Her tone became much heavier, suppressing Zhang Peng's anger.
"Send someone to prepare first, and be ready to activate the West Mountain Secret Realm at any time. Once they arrive at West Mountain, they will be at our mercy." Feng Ling gave an order, and a priest left the rest area and flew farther west.
Under the gaze of all the audience, the soul guide timing device rang on time, announcing the official end of the soul guide production process.
"Time's up, everyone stops."
Boss Zhang shouted loudly, and the soundproof shield on the competition stage slowly disappeared.
"All contestants have successfully completed the production of soul guides. In the competition later, you will only be allowed to use the soul guide you made in this round."
The eight contestants, including Ye Guyi, couldn't help but wipe the sweat from their faces. Only Huo Qiuer didn't show any signs of fatigue, which made her look out of place.
Elder Zhang continued, "Next we will conduct a skills assessment. You will complete the skills assessment within the specified time. The last person to complete will be eliminated."
He deliberately glanced at Huo Qiuer's soul guide device and confirmed that it was really just a fourth-level soul guide ray with a peculiar shape. His doubts and curiosity deepened.
Chapter 377 Yan Shaozhe, I want your life!
After Mr. Zhang gave an order, a nine-grid tray was placed in front of each contestant.
In each grid, there is a square piece of rare metal, and each piece of metal has a different color.
Elder Zhang continued, "The requirements for the skill test are very simple, which is to complete nine different core magic array production techniques on these nine pieces of metal."
"For the sake of fairness, all the questions were randomly selected by the chief judge and the other judges just now, and none of you can use your own carving knives. You can only use the one in the tray."
"Question one: drill thirty holes. Question two: make fifty curved lines evenly spaced. Question three:..."
Mr. Zhang explained the questions one by one, from easy to difficult.
The expressions of several contestants began to become somewhat ugly.
None of the nine questions in this skill test were easy, and the metals used in each question were completely unsuitable for the corresponding question. The last question was complicated just for the sake of being complicated, and had no practical significance at all.
Elder Zhang said leisurely, "You only have a quarter of an hour to complete the time assessment. The last one to be eliminated will be based on the number of questions you have completed."
Several contestants looked even more embarrassed.
Even for a seventh-level soul engineer, it is not easy to complete these nine complex technical questions within a quarter of an hour.
"Skills assessment begins."
At the command, all contestants began the intense test at the same time, racing against time.
Zhang returned to the referee's seat and focused his attention on Huo Qiu'er again. Her performance still surprised all the referees.
Huo Qiuer frowned slightly and completed the test questions in her hand carefully.
But her speed was very slow, not even close to the contestants from Xishui League and Aodu Chamber of Commerce. The fastest contestant had already finished three questions, while Huo Qiuer had just finished the first one.
"What on earth does the Ordinary Alliance want to do?"
At this moment, Mr. Zhang could conclude that Huo Qiuer's soul engineer level was probably only level four. She could not pass the skill assessment at all and would most likely be eliminated in this round.
Mr. Chen on the side quickly reminded him: "Mr. Zhang, look over there."
Mr. Zhang turned his gaze to another female contestant in red from the Ordinary Alliance. The latter's performance surprised him even more.
She didn't even finish the first question, and didn't even move. She just sat there, letting time slowly pass by.
"Has the Ordinary Alliance gone crazy? This is the finals!" Old Chen exclaimed.
Old Zhang's eyes widened, as if he heard a thunderclap exploding in his head.
"I understand! I understand!" He couldn't help but blurt out, with an expression of sudden enlightenment.
Several referees nearby asked hurriedly: "Lao Zhang, what do you understand?"
Old Zhang said solemnly, "This is the secret weapon of the Ordinary Alliance. This is a master that Shangguan Weier found from somewhere. We want to send her to the finals."
"how do I say this?"
After guessing the intention of the Ordinary League, Lao Zhang couldn't help but sneer: "When I just came into contact with the contestant from the Ordinary League, I saw that her cultivation was not bad. She was more like a soul master than a soul instructor."
Elder Wang was stunned for a moment, and said, "I remember now. She was the member of the Snow Demon Sect who participated in the semi-finals of the Soul Master Competition yesterday."
Elder Zhang nodded: "Then this must be the foreign aid that Shangguan Weier invited. Think about it, what is the difference between this underground soul mentor competition and the regular soul mentor competition we usually hold?"
After his inspiration, Mr. Chen also responded: "The outcome will be determined by a competition, with no restrictions on means, and no regard for life or death."
Zhang Lao shook his head helplessly: "This is the common problem of these underground forces. They don't test the production of soul guides, but only pursue fighting and killing."
"Anyway, there are no restrictions on the use of martial spirits in the competition. Just find some powerful spirit masters. As long as we send them to the finals, they may be a match for the other two major forces."
"Shangguan Weier took advantage of the rules and found a loophole."
He sincerely admired Shangguan Wei'er in his heart, saying that she was really great.
Although this goes against the original intention of the Soul Instructor Competition, it does not violate the rules. As long as Huo Qiuer is not eliminated, she can smoothly enter the next stage.
"Mr. Zhang, then..." a referee spoke.