Wang Ye apologized to Sun Tinghou before retracting his gaze.

Without the pressure of Wang Ye's stare, Sun Tinghou barely regained his composure. He gave Wang Ye a deep look and finally spoke, "I will show you that someone powerful in the path of a cultivator can also shine just as brightly in the path of a magician."

After speaking,

Sun Tinghou seemed to avoid locking eyes with Wang Ye again and directly went to his own spot.

The judge's voice only rang out once both Wang Ye and Sun Tinghou were ready.

"Next, Wang Ye and Sun Tinghou will begin the first round of the competition: Stone Betting."

"Both contestants will select raw stones from the same area. Whoever extracts the most valuable raw stone will win this round of the competition."

"Duration: one hour."

"If, after one hour, the contestant has not selected their preferred rough stone, it will mean they voluntarily forfeit the first round of the competition."

"Begin!"

When the judge uttered the word "begin,"

the entire venue erupted in cheers once more.

On the main platform,

Li Tianxue, the president of the Tian City Mage Guild, directed his gaze at the master of the Divine Stone Workshop and asked with a smile, "Abbot, shall we make another bet this time?"

The master of the Divine Stone Workshop glanced at Li Tianxue.

In Li Tianxue's expectant gaze, the master of the Divine Stone Workshop decisively and straightforwardly refused, "No betting!"

Betting?

What a joke.

I don't need to bet because I already know I will win.

You don't even ask why, so what's the point of betting with you?

In the area occupied by the Wei City Mage Guild,

Zhou Ke watched Wang Ye and Sun Tinghou, who had already started selecting their stones. Although the competition had just begun for only a minute, Zhou Ke's hands were already sweaty.

Lin Shuang comforted Zhou Ke,

"Don't worry, there's no need to be so nervous. Wang Ye will definitely win."

Zhou Ke turned to look at Lin Shuang.

The girl's face was filled with trust in Wang Ye.

It was an expression that couldn't be faked.

This left Zhou Ke puzzled, prompting him to ask Lin Shuang, "You don't even understand magicians, so how can you be sure Wang Ye will definitely beat Sun Tinghou?"

Lin Shuang squinted her eyes, and her smile was like the warm sun in winter, "I may not understand the path of the magician, but I understand Wang Ye."

"Whatever Wang Ye sets his mind to, he basically succeeds. So in this competition at the Sorcerer's Headquarters, Wang Ye won't fail before he makes it to the top three."

Lin Shuang's words gave the impression of being love-struck, making Zhou Ke feel that Lin Shuang was inexplicably overconfident in Wang Ye.

But looking at Lin Shuang's smile and the trust in her eyes towards Wang Ye, Zhou Ke somehow felt that Wang Ye would indeed defeat Sun Tinghou in this match.

Quickly,

there was only enough time for an incense stick to burn left until the one-hour mark.

Sun Tinghou glanced at Wang Ye, who was still choosing raw stones. He placed his selected stone with his mark and said to the staff beside him,

"Please help me move this stone."

The stone chosen by Sun Tinghou was large.

Focusing solely on the path of the magician, Sun Tinghou had not even reached the level of a Seventh Grade Cultivator.

Therefore, having chosen such a large raw stone, he was unable to move it himself and had to ask the nearby staff for help.

The staff, hearing Sun Tinghou's request, quickly responded and started to get to work.

Being able to help Sun Tinghou,

was already a remarkable thing for these staff members.

Meanwhile, Wang Ye continued selecting stones.

Soon,

the time equivalent to an incense stick burning had almost passed.

With only ten breaths of time left before the first round ended,

the judge turned his attention to Wang Ye, who was still choosing stones. The audience above had already begun to murmur.

"Wang Ye probably can't find any stone with something good inside, so he doesn't dare to choose one, right?"

"Tsk, Wang Ye boasted so much from the beginning, yet it turns out he can't even select a single stone."

"What a disgrace. How did someone like him become a Second Rank Sorcerer?"

"Did you all forget? Wang Ye became a Second Rank Sorcerer through the Wei City Mage Guild. I'm sure most of you haven't even heard of it, right? Let me introduce you to this place. It's one of the lower-ranked mage guilds, and it was about to dissolve this year. But then Wang Ye came along; I bet you all know something about that, right?"

With the comments of a magician, the other magicians wore faces of comprehension.

Second Rank Sorcerer?

Seems like he's not a real Second Rank Sorcerer.

Probably became one through backdoor connections.

The judge was also somewhat unhappy as he looked at Wang Ye.

The external audience couldn't see everything happening on the scene.

But the judge could.

He had clearly seen Wang Ye using his gaze to intimidate Sun Tinghou in the beginning.

Thus his heart leaned more towards Sun Tinghou.

If Wang Ye really had the ability, refuting Sun Tinghou's comments would not be a problem.

But doesn't Wang Ye lack that ability?

How dare he act like that.

He really doesn't know the meaning of the word 'shame.'

With this thought, the judge directly spoke to Wang Ye, "Wang Ye of the Wei City Mage Guild, you only have ten seconds left. If you haven't chosen your stone after ten seconds, it will be considered as a forfeiture of the first round."

"Ten..."

"Nine..."

"Eight..."

As the judge began the countdown, the audience started yelling.

—— Forfeit.

The master of the Divine Stone Workshop looked a bit displeased.

In theory, after the judge said this, he shouldn't start counting down.

Just a reminder would suffice.

Counting down could potentially create immense psychological pressure on the contestants, causing issues in this round of the competition.

Nonetheless, the judge continued the countdown.

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