Chapter 1527
Chapter 1527: Section 1528 Black Cat Chapter 1527: Section 1528 Black Cat “Let's meet up with the other judges first. Has the meeting started yet?” Falina murmured quietly.
Angel caught a word: “Meeting? What meeting?”
“It seems there is a meeting about quantifying competition standards, focusing on different scenarios that might occur in the arena to standardize the criteria for winning and losing,” Falina paused and then continued, “But for us, it doesn't really matter whether we attend or not.”
“After all, unless there's a special circumstance, guest judges rarely intervene in determining the outcomes,” Falina finished, then winked at Angel: “We just need to sit by the side, drink some tea, think about Alchemy Techniques, and the competition will be over.”
Angel: “…” So it seemed, he wasn't the only one planning to slack for points.
Just after Falina finished speaking, she contacted someone through the communicator. The light and shadow displayed by the communicator showed that the other person was a middle-aged woman with a stern face.
Falina communicated with her for a while, then closed the communicator and explained to Angel, “She is Witch Batina, a close friend of mine and one of the judges for the New Star Competition, but she is a permanent judge, not a guest judge.”
“I was originally wondering whether I should attend the meeting about the judging standards. Now I don't have to think about it anymore since Batina told me that the meeting ended almost half an hour ago.”
Angel showed a look of apology: “I'm late.”
“It doesn't matter. I also preferred not to attend the meeting, but I was slightly hesitant due to formalities,” Falina shrugged. “Your being a bit late has actually made a perfect choice for me.”
They walked forward, and since all the audience had already gone to the Boundless Battle Arena, there weren't many people outside.
Still, they occasionally encountered one or two people who all looked surprised upon seeing Angel. Although no one dared to approach, whispers could be heard in the wind.
“'Sky of Truth' wasn't exaggerating. Angel has actually been promoted!”
“Shush, keep it down. How dare you call his name directly? Be careful lest Wizard Pat hears.”
“Angel…the one next to Wizard Pat is the Water Pattern Witch, right? I heard that the Water Pattern Witch is a judge for this competition, so does that mean Wizard Pat might also be…”
“Ah, when I first came to participate in the New Star Competition, I was thinking about how Angel, as Jiebo's archenemy, would surely stage a thrilling fate-bound battle this time. Who knew, Jiebo is still a contestant, but he has become a judge.”
These murmurs were faint, but for an Official Wizard, if they wanted to listen, even the slightest whisper could be as loud as thunder by their ears.
Falina naturally heard these voices too, and she smiled, “With your current popularity, you might steal all the judges' thunder in the preliminaries.”
Angel: “That's not my intention. Plus, do judges need the spotlight? I thought only contestants cared about popularity.”
“Some people enjoy the feeling of being in the spotlight,” Falina said, “I've heard there are a few judges who really care about it, but they won't dare say anything since you've stolen the spotlight. After all, this is the current trend in Sky Mechanical City.”
Public opinion propelled Angel to the pinnacle, initially perhaps in a somewhat flattery manner. However, Angel himself had firmly secured his position at the peak and even climbed a bit higher, now reaching the level of an Official Wizard. What was supposed to be flattery has not only become a joke but has even pushed his popularity to a new climax.
The New Star Competition, a hotly contested event, couldn't overshadow Angel's brilliance. This could be seen from the fact that magician circles were nearly deserted two days ago during Ashiliye's class grab.
This was what Falina meant by the trend of the times.
Soon after, under Falina's guidance, they approached the backstage of the Boundless Battle Arena. This pathway was exclusively for Official Wizards, so it was very quiet, with no one else around, apart from the two of them.
As they walked down this long corridor, they suddenly heard loud thumping sounds.
Angel frowned and looked towards the source of the noise.
The sound came from a locked wooden door.
“It seems like…” Falina started to say but was cut off as the door suddenly burst open with a large hole, and a man's figure flew out from inside.
He was a blood-covered man, his eyes beginning to roll back, clearly knocked unconscious.
At that moment, a Black Cat nimbly leaped out from the hole in the door.
“This is what happens to those who offend me.” The Black Cat jumped onto the man's head, muttering in a human voice, its claws sharply evident as if wanting to rip open his skull.
Suddenly, the Black Cat sensed a faint scent of floral tea in the air, its body tensed, and it quickly turned around, its gaze meeting Angel and Falina's.
The cold light flickered in the Black Cat's green eyes, its pupils turned into a vertical slit.
But when the Black Cat clearly saw Angel and Falina's faces, its arched back slowly relaxed, seemingly recognizing their identities.
The Black Cat's tail drooped slightly, and it muttered “You're lucky” in a low voice, then turned and jumped back through the door, disappearing from sight.
A cold wind blew through, leaving only the man lying in a pool of blood.
“This door leads to the contestants' backstage,” Falina finally finished her earlier interrupted thought.
Angel pointed at the people on the ground: “So, this man and cat, are they both contestants in this competition?”
Farina stepped forward, a gentle mist enveloping the man's body. After a while, she said, “To be precise, only that cat is a contestant of the New Stars Competition. This person, although not dead, won't recover from his injuries for another three to five months.”
Angel recalled the cat from earlier, its appearance somewhat similar to Qi Li's Luna, but Luna was a female cat, and this one sounded male from its voice. Moreover, Luna is a Magical Creature, while that Black Cat is likely some sort of Bloodline incarnation.
Yet for an incarnation to be so perfect, almost exactly like a real cat, it shows it has transcended the half-beast state.
A Bloodline incarnation that surpasses the half-beast state and still retains control over its self, not being dominated by its beastly nature, signifies a high level of compatibility and understanding of its own bloodline.
Speaking of Bloodline incarnations alone, Angel thought this person might be the most compatible one he had seen among the apprentices.
While Angel was thinking this, Farina also remarked, “That Black Cat is almost in a full beast state, which is quite rare even among Bloodline Wizards. This New Stars Competition really has brought forth many geniuses never seen before.”
Angel casually added, “The newcomers nowadays truly seem more like monsters than humans.”
Farina gave Angel a peculiar look, thinking that if anyone should be called a monster for being extraordinarily powerful, it should be him, not the newcomers. This was what she implicitly criticized in her heart.
“Earlier, I saw Sharley's abilities, which were quite impressive. Did she advance this time?” asked Angel.
“Sharley moved on, but with her defiant personality, she's bound to offend many people in this competition,” Farina pointed at the unconscious man on the ground, “I just hope she doesn't end up like this man.”
The unconscious man was eventually taken away by staff, while Angel continued with Farina to the judges' room. Before leaving, Angel extended his spiritual power towards the competitors' backstage area.
It was bustling inside.
Although many competitors weren't scheduled to compete today, and the venue might not be the Boundless Battle Arena, Angel could see dozens of competitors, including the Black Cat he had seen earlier.
Entering the backstage, the Black Cat walked elegantly towards the front. Along the way, no one dared to approach, all watching it with fear. When the Black Cat reached a sofa with a backrest, its body slowly transformed into a handsome, aloof young man, the only unchanged feature being its cat eyes. As he scanned the competitors with those eyes, they all avoided his gaze.
However, there were several who didn't mind the Black Cat's stare.
For instance, a woman holding a handbag with pink hearts, yet surrounded by an aura so gloomy it seemed to swirl with dark energy.
And a youth, though exuding a faint aura of death, radiated the vitality of the morning sun.
A man sitting silently, his upper body bare and scarred, deeply immersed in cultivation.
A girl wearing a peculiar hat, smiling creepily and looking deranged.
And so on… All these individuals ignored the Black Cat's gaze, and the Black Cat himself paid them significant attention. It was evident that these were competitors on the same level as him, or perhaps even stronger.
Though Angel planned to be a judge just to earn some points, he wasn't there to simply get by; he was genuinely looking forward to this New Stars Competition, especially since his friends were participating.
Angel withdrew his spiritual power, unaware that as his spiritual energy moved away, a young man in a corner, engrossed in reading a book, curiously followed the direction of the departing energy.
…
Farina sensed Angel's curiosity regarding the competitors: “You seem quite curious about these competitors.”
“After all, I have to watch at least 10 matches, and I hope to see some exciting duels in these,” Angel responded.
Speaking of excitement,” Farina paused, “like in today's preliminary matches.”
Angel curiously asked, “Why would today's preliminaries be exciting?”
“Preliminaries draw many viewers, representing the face of this New Stars Competition.”
As Farina explained, Angel understood.
The so-called “preliminaries” weren't what he thought to be the first matches in order. Rather, they were deliberately selected duels.
However, according to Farina, this “deliberate” choice wasn't manipulated.
Because at the end of yesterday's New Stars Competition, all advancing competitors had already drawn lots for their matchups. They already knew their opponents' numbers, though the specific match schedules hadn't been set yet.
Competitors only knew their opponents' numbers, but officials certainly knew all match pairings.
Since the preliminaries represent the face of the New Stars Competition, and also likely the most popular matches besides the finals, it would be embarrassing if a preliminary match ended in one side surrendering, being one-sided, or lacking in skilled showcases, turning into a prolonged battle.
Therefore, among nearly two hundred matches, officials chose the most promising match to be a showcase duel for the preliminaries of the New Stars Competition.
Given it was deliberately chosen, the match, relatively speaking, is unlikely to be disappointing.
With this in mind, Angel curiously asked, “So, who is competing in this preliminary match?”