Chapter 471 - 470: The Center of Attention

The moment the light appeared, many people turned to look. This radiance was different from the one just before. The previous one had been a mere ray of light, while this was clearly a concentrated beam.

As the light appeared, countless stars began to materialize around it.

Starlight filled the heavens, creating the illusion of gazing up at a true night sky.

"Oh my god, this isn't the real 'sky full of stars,' is it?"

"It really does look like it. It looks almost the same as when I'm stargazing. Who is that? Who could actually pull this off?"

The appearance of the starlight instantly astonished the crowd.

Liu Yiyi was also watching the starlight. "That's truly incredible," she said. "Zhong Yiyang is going to lose for sure now."

Chen Yi said, "Yiyi Fairy, look at the center! Shouldn't you first see who's so damn impressive?"

At his words, Liu Yiyi looked toward the center of the starlight. She was surprised to find that it was Zhong Yiyang.

Zhong Yiyang himself was also looking up at the starry sky, a smile on his face. He must have felt he had performed exceptionally well.

"It's actually Zhong Yiyang?" Liu Yiyi said, pleasantly surprised. "Does that mean we have a chance to win the mysterious grand prize?"

Yang Mu asked, "Should we celebrate with hot pot?"

THWACK.

Xiao Xiaomo knocked Yang Mu straight to the ground. 'Doesn't he know how to read the room?'

"So is this the 'sky full of stars'?" Xiao Xiaomo asked.

Liu Yiyi shook her head. "I don't know, but I can take a picture and ask the people in our group. If all else fails, we can ask Fellow Daoist Po Xiao later. He should know."

Xiao Xiaomo nodded. "I'll ask. But isn't almost everyone eliminated by now?"

By this point, not many people were left on the competition field. As soon as Zhong Yiyang's light had appeared, the others lost almost all hope. Even if they had any, it was overshadowed by his display.

Number Ninety had been lucky to go one step earlier.

However, Zhong Yiyang's performance made him leave the stage dejectedly as well.

Because the prize was only for one person.

Only the strongest could remain.

Before he left, Number Ninety glanced at Jiang Zuo. "Fellow Daoist, are you still going to compete?"

Jiang Zuo just said coolly, "That is not the sky full of stars."

Number Ninety froze for a second. In the end, he didn't say anything more, merely giving a look of simple anticipation.

A short while later, the light vanished, and the stars dissipated.

Now, only a dozen or so points of light remained on the competition grounds, meaning only a dozen or so people were left.

Those people had no regrets. At least they had seen the legendary 'sky full of stars.'

"The winner's been decided, right? Should we get going too?"

Someone was immediately ready to head to the next event.

"Let's watch a little longer. We should at least see what the mystery prize is."

"That's true. You don't get to see a mystery prize at every event."

If it weren't for the mystery prize, many people in the audience would have probably left by now.

Su Qi, however, had no intention of leaving. 'It's good that person's light show is over. Now I can watch my husband.'

Whether he produced a beam of light or just a tiny glimmer, she would love it.

She would love it even if he produced no light at all.

'Those shallow young girls don't understand a thing.'

Just then, the host snapped out of her daze. "Did I… did I just see the sky full of stars? Oh, heavens! If only Number Twenty-five had looked my way."

"Number Twenty-five is truly incredible. Surely no one can surpass him this time, right?"

"Alright, to the twelve contestants remaining, your time is almost up. Please be quick about it."

"Speaking of which, does Boss Zhong have someone he likes?" Chen Yi asked.

It seemed that whoever the person at the center of the stars looked at would be drawn in to experience that sky full of stars.

Perhaps that was part of the Flash Star Fruit's charm.

Liu Yiyi replied, "I don't think so. He seems to be singularly passionate about cooking."

"I've never seen him get close to any Fairy, not since we were kids."

Xiao Xiaomo asked curiously, "Is Boss Zhong planning to walk the path of the culinary arts? Isn't he a Sword Cultivator?"

Speaking of Sword Cultivators, Liu Yiyi felt an urge to laugh.

But she couldn't bring herself to talk about Zhong Yiyang becoming a Sword Cultivator.

After all, Zhong Yiyang had begged her for a long time not to mention it, afraid of the embarrassment it would cause.

As for whether Zhong Yiyang would ultimately walk the path of the culinary arts, she had no idea.

"Look, almost everyone has left," said Liu Yu.

Indeed, almost everyone was gone by now. In total, only three people remained.

Now Su Qi was getting anxious. Her husband still hadn't moved. It looked like he was still watching other people cut their fruit.

The main thing was, time was running out.

'My husband probably doesn't know how to cut it at all,' Su Qi suspected. 'He must be planning to just leave when time is up.'

'Ah, but that's such a waste! I really want to see what he can make.'

'As long as he creates *something*, I'll find it romantic. It's a waste not to try, since it's free anyway.'

Jiang Zuo was, in fact, watching the last contestant cut their fruit. However, they didn't seem very skilled. They were sweating profusely as they cut.

'Their Talent for chopping is abysmal.'

When she made her final cut, there was only a faint glimmer of light, and then nothing.

Afterward, Jiang Zuo saw her sigh and leave her station.

She had really tried her best.

'Oh, it was a Fairy.'

'As expected. Men have more Talent for cooking. And for chopping, too.'

Now, the only ones left on the entire field were Jiang Zuo and Zhong Yiyang.

The fact that Jiang Zuo still hadn't moved was strange to many people.

What on earth is this person trying to do?

This isn't how you're supposed to stall for time.

Is he just grandstanding?

Or is he trying to get all the Fairies here to notice him?

That's it! A lot of people have taken the Divine Transformation Pill, and now he's making himself the center of attention. If his significant other is in the crowd, she'll definitely be able to spot him first.

That's… simply brilliant!

Many people were annoyed. 'Why didn't I think of that?'

Embarrassing?

Not at all. Since everyone had taken the Yishen Pill, no one could recognize them anyway. It's a natural safeguard.

All that matters is getting noticed.

Many single Cultivators were deeply impressed with Jiang Zuo.

"He's a role model for us single folks! If it helps you get a partner, his method is worth copying." Su Qi suddenly heard someone say this about her husband.

"Yeah, it's a little cringey, but with him just standing there, tons of Fairies are watching. One of them is bound to find him attractive, right?"

Su Qi: "..."

"Sigh, I wish I could have learned from him, but I left the stage too early. I just saw a lot of Fairies staring at this fellow daoist. The chances of him successfully snagging a Fairy are really high."

"..." A vein throbbed on Su Qi's forehead. She had the urge to cut these people down.

'My husband would never think that way! If he did, he'd be so dead.'

'But time is up. Why isn't he leaving the stage?'

Su Qi watched Jiang Zuo, and by now, many people were also watching him.

Even the host was watching. She couldn't help but ask, "Fellow Daoist, if you're forfeiting, please leave the stage. Everyone else is gone. Besides, time is up. A champion has already been decided."

Only then did Jiang Zuo finally look down at the Flash Star Fruit before him. He then said, "I'll be done in a moment. I don't care about the ranking or the prize."

'There was one more prerequisite for cutting a Flash Star Fruit: waiting.'

'Waiting for it to settle.'

The host was surprised, but she didn't intend to kick Jiang Zuo off. Instead, she said, "In that case, Fellow Daoist, please be quick."

At that moment, Jiang Zuo picked up his knife. Then, he tossed the Flash Star Fruit into the air.

To others, it looked like a perfectly ordinary toss, but only Jiang Zuo knew the secret behind the action.

The Flash Star Fruit was an incredibly magical fruit, and its formation was exceptionally clever.

It grew by absorbing starlight, and its ability to form a 'sky full of stars' was entirely dependent on its internal structure.

And that structure, along with its stellar brilliance, was not static.

To cut it, one had to know the correct position of its structure. Every single cut had to be precise, and one had to account for the structure's fluctuations. Only by doing so could a true 'sky full of stars' appear.

It was impossible to create a 'sky full of stars' in under three minutes.

A true 'sky full of stars' required more than three minutes to carve.

All eyes were on Jiang Zuo. Whether he had any real skill or not, he was without a doubt the center of attention.

Even if he couldn't cut it properly, it wouldn't matter. As long as he produced even a tiny bit of light, everyone would be able to see his face clearly.

Many people were growing genuinely impressed with Jiang Zuo. The man had used basic crowd psychology to build up an incredible amount of attention for himself.

Failure didn't even matter.

Once the Divine Transformation Pill's effects were over, everything would be okay.

And as the Flash Star Fruit was tossed into the air, everyone saw Jiang Zuo's blade move.

They only saw Jiang Zuo's blade flash once, circle the Flash Star Fruit, and then come to a rest as he calmly set it down.

Many people present were stunned. Because their Cultivation wasn't high enough, they couldn't even see how Jiang Zuo had cut it.

"Did he cut it?" someone asked a moment later.

"I don't think so?"

"No, he did. I saw it. It was incredibly fast, but there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of Spiritual Qi. He really used a normal blade to cut it."

"What? How many times did he cut? I only felt like he made a single slash."

Liu Yiyi said, "Such a fast blade… I just wonder what the result will be."

Chen Yi asked curiously, "He cut it? How did I not see it clearly? He's not just putting on an act, is he? To be honest, I'm pretty impressed. He managed to grab everyone's attention in an instant. The posturing alone was enough."

Xiao Xiaomo said, "You all say his blade was fast, but why isn't there any reaction at all?"

No one else knew either. Perhaps the man really was just putting on a show.

But Zhong Yiyang, who had seen Jiang Zuo's move, was stunned. He had seen it clearly. That Sword Skill didn't defy logic; in theory, even a normal person could have swung the blade like that.

But the technique it contained left him in absolute awe. 'So incredible,' he thought. 'This is the second person I've ever seen with such skill.'

The first was Po Xiao, the one who had taught him Sword Skill.

Zhong Yiyang saw the man make only a single slash, but that one slash could also be considered seven slashes, all cleverly linked together.

This kind of Sword Skill felt completely unattainable to him.

'I really want to learn that,' Zhong Yiyang couldn't help but think to himself.

Meanwhile, the audience, seeing no results, was getting restless. "Why hasn't anything happened? Did he even cut it?"

"Yeah, if nothing's happening, just give up. Don't waste everyone's time."

There were always jealous people in any crowd.

Just then, someone cried out in alarm, "Are you all blind? The Flash Star Fruit is floating in mid-air!"

It was true. The Flash Star Fruit was hovering in mid-air, unsupported by any power. It just hung there. And just as everyone was about to voice their confusion, the Flash Star Fruit finally moved.

It looked as if something was about to burst through its skin.

The very next second, the entire Flash Star Fruit erupted in an endless, gentle radiance.