Emily and Shui had arrived at the amphitheater very early, but that didn't mean they were the first to reach there even excluding the competition staff. Spots could be seen taken in the audience seats and there were competitors refining their focus in the lounge reserved for them. Emily was one of the top contenders, so as soon as she arrived, she was targeted by almost every pair of eyes in the vicinity. She wasn't able to easily ignore these gazes as she tried to secure a spot for herself, but on the outside at least, she wore an indifferent face.
There were many who wished to interact with her, but in addition to the uncertainty regarding her skills, anyone who went up to her would surely become a target for others so no one was willing to take the first step. She would have preferred that they look at her with admiration and respect instead of suspicion, but this just drove her to do her best for today as well. She was confident in her own skills, but this was her first competition so she couldn't be sure that she would be able to give a stellar performance once again. However, she still set outclassing her competitors as her goal, for that was how she would pay back the shallow-hearted ones who had stayed by her master's side when he was well and quickly departed when he was at a low.
'Watch me, master.'
In the stands, Shui trained in the Perception Chapter like yesterday, but this time he focused on finding Emily's potential enemies. He believed in her, so he expected that she would show off her astonishing talent again. Therefore, he had to be prepared for the malice that she would be exposed to. He was sure that the Tower of Killers wouldn't be the only ones after her anymore, but as long as it was a traditional assassin, he wouldn't have to worry as he was sure that no one that her opponents sent would be stronger than he could handle. Nevertheless, he had to be careful of the ones that could go after her when neither him nor Dull Harmony could protect her, or the ones that could attack her with mystical methods that he couldn't detect.
Compared to the previous day, there was a clear increase in the number of assassins and those in similar professions among the audience. There was no doubt in Shui's mind that this was due to Emily's fame, but of the array masters with sufficient achievements to skip the first round, were characters involved in suspicious circumstances who were also being watched by the underworld. Although he knew that they would likely be overshadowed, Shui hoped that they would be able to take off some of the attention from Emily.
While he was watching the audience, day two of the preliminaries began. Considering how much buzz Emily had created, many wondered if the organizers would put her among the first or last batch of the second round, but since they made no such interventions, Emily ended up somewhere in the middle. Those who would come after her could only hope that they wouldn't be ignored once her performance was over, but those who came before her were even more unlucky. Few besides the judges could put aside their anticipation to pay them any attention, so they would inevitably leave a faint impression regardless of their results.
With every batch that came on the stage and left, the tension in air grew. Some had their hearts pounding with excitement, others were sharpening their knives in the shadows and a few were awaiting the appearance of a rival, but all of them were focused on one girl. It wouldn't be surprising if Emily buckled under the pressure of their gazes, however, these looks could not shake her determination.
It felt like an eternity for those who had to wait, but eventually, it was Emily's turn and everyone utilized over 100% of their focus and directed it at her. Even if she finished first, if she could not astound them once more, then she would probably be looked at harsher than those who had lost. She hadn't made an offensive statements or swaggered with arrogance, but that was the price of catching the interest of the audience.
She was either exceptional or disappointing, there were no other routes. As he had said, Shui would be proud of her no matter how she did, but Emily herself wouldn't accept it. She knew how outrageous the gift he gave her was, so if she couldn't produce results of the same caliber, then she would feel that she had let him down regardless of his own perspective.
As Emily made her way to one of the cages, the amphitheater went silent and both the staff and her fellow competitors on stage watched only her. Without anyone saying so, they agreed to let her go first. At this point in time, Emily finally felt nervous under the pressure placed on her, but her steps didn't pause for a moment. In a dignified manner, she arrived in front of a cage, and stepped inside it.
When the cage closed, she didn't sit down to meditate, but instead quickly entered the Still Heart state and looked at the puzzle on the lock. She could immediately tell that it was several levels higher in terms of difficulty compared to the puzzle of the first round, but that was to be expected of a competition as prestigious as this, so she didn't feel discouraged in the slightest.
While Emily silently challenged the puzzle, the audience, which included basically the entire city, held their breaths as they waited. Usually these puzzles took several minutes to solve, but they hoped and expected her to solve this one in under one minute. That would be longer than her previous time but they tried to be fair considering the increase in difficulty.
When twenty seconds elapsed, hasty cynics were the first to wear smirks and once it hit thirty, you could already hear their snickers, but before they got the chance to start an early celebration, the sound of a click resounded. It was a small sound, and yet even mortals felt the reverberation. And if any of them doubted their hearing, then her exit was all the evidence they needed.
"!!!!!!"
The entire city erupted like a volcano, filled with excitement and astonishment. Those who called her previous feat a fluke, now had no choice but to change their opinions. And those who already supported her, had their belief strengthened. The genius little girl instantly became the most popular person in the city and praised as 'Little Puzzle Princess' for her historic achievement. Though the person herself might find the title embarrassing, she had broken the record for the fastest puzzle solving for two rounds in the preliminaries so it was already guaranteed that her name was destined to be written down in future books related to the ranking.
Unaware of how red her face would be when she found one of these books, Emily left the stage with powerful steps. However, she didn't know that the real challenge only began now.