The Fake Heiress Turns out to Be a True Tycoon!-Chapter 997 - Capítulo 997: 997: Mystical Sect Tournament, Opening of the First Match

Capítulo 997: Chapter 997: Mystical Sect Tournament, Opening of the First Match
Three days later, the Mystical Sect competition officially commenced.
Before this, there were faint discussions online regarding the event.
The cause was someone posting a security check photo.
A man dressed as a Taoist was requested by the staff to open his luggage for inspection, from which he took out several magic artifacts like a Peach Wood Sword, a Soul Summoning Banner, and an Eight Drigrams Plate.
Staff responsible for security checks posted on social media that in the past few days, many Taoists indeed arrived in the Capital Metropolitan, carrying various mystical and geomantic objects.
Someone else captured a photo of more than a dozen Taoists dressed in a unified, modified Taoist attire arriving at the airport.
Subsequently, a netizen recognized that the so-called Taoist attire was actually the uniform of Sea City Taoism Academy.
[I’m sure I’m not mistaken; in the past, my daughter and Ariel have both worn it in “Inspiration.”]
There’s even a variety show screenshot as proof.
This instantly attracted more attention from netizens.
[I can confirm these are students from Sea City Taoism Academy. I also have evidence.]
Similarly, it was a variety show screenshot, capturing a new student seated behind Scarlett Jennings during a morning meditation, compared to someone in the group at the airport, showing they were the same person.
This led to the conclusion that these were bona fide students studying mystical techniques at the Taoism Academy.
Moreover, they might even be classmates of Scarlett Jennings!
[With so many coming all at once, could it be an exchange event of the Mystical Sect?]
[For so long, the Mystical Sect still treats us as outsiders. Is there any exchange event we can’t observe?]
[For so long, only Director Clark treated us as his own. I miss Director Clark!]
[The 189th day of missing Director Clark~]
After much discussion among netizens about the internal activities of the Mystical Sect, some prolific netizens and enthusiasts of mystical studies delved deeper.
They indeed uncovered something.
A special live broadcast room requiring an invitation code to enter.
The number of people in the broadcast was very few, incomparable to the previous “Inspiration” broadcasts.
Nevertheless, it broadcasted the grand occasion of the official commencement of the Mystical Sect competition that day—
“Welcome, everyone, to the triennial Mystical Sect competition, jointly organized by the Cathay Security Bureau, the Taoism Academy, and the Mystic Regulation Office, and sponsored by the Spirit Headquarters…
I am this year’s host, Violet Allen, and beside me is the head of the Spiritual Affairs External Liaison Department and also our special guest host for the event, Sawyer!”
Anyone who watched the academy competition last year could recognize the person speaking on stage as the North City Taoist Academy student who previously participated, Life Impermanence, Violet Allen.
Due to the special venue for this competition, Violet Allen was selected as one of the interim hosts.
Compared to Violet Allen’s enthusiastic openness, her co-host beside her had a more somber and steady demeanor, simply greeting the crowd,
“Hello, everyone.”
Below the stage were various masters and members of the Demon Clan who specially came to the scene, including students from the three Taoism Academies.
Seeing the eerie host Sawyer on stage made everyone shudder a little.
Even students or demon offspring who haven’t officially graduated from the Taoism Academy could clearly sense that the host on stage… wasn’t human.
Employed at Spirit Headquarters, the man named Sawyer was evidently a Ghost Cultivator.
Moreover, likely a Ghost Cultivator with over three hundred years of cultivation.
The Mystical Sect competition occurred once every three years, but it was the first time a Ghost Cultivator was invited as a host.
Just… quite refreshing.
Compared to the diverse thoughts of those below the stage, Violet Allen on stage was evidently much more excited.
First, she briefly introduced the competitors and judges of this Mystical Sect competition, then quickly moved to the main point,
“Next is the first trial of the Mystical Sect competition. Due to the special nature of the venue, our contestants will not be present; we will watch the event live through a special Spiritual Screen developed first by the Spiritual Affairs.”
As Violet Allen spoke, Sawyer raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and an immense screen appeared instantly in the hall, exuding ghost energy.
The screen linked with Image Keeping Talismans on the contestants, allowing real-time views of each competitor’s situation.
The group that first drew attention was, of course, Scarlett Jennings’ group.
You could see Scarlett Jennings and her team of six all wore identical Sea City Taoist Academy uniforms, just like during the academy competition before.
However, the location where the six were at that moment left everyone surprised because, judging by the background, they seemed to be… inside a villa somewhere??
Violet Allen commented,
“The rules for the first trial have been directly sent to each contestant’s phone via the Spiritual Affairs APP.”
It was apparent that the contestants shown on the screen were also watching the rules shared by Spiritual Affairs.
[The venue for the first round of the Mystical Sect competition is the Ghost Market.
Before the trial began, the organizer collected an item from each contestant through the various representatives and placed it in the Ghost Market.
Next, contestants shall enter the Ghost Market, locate their item, and successfully reclaim it. The contest ends when the Ghost Market closes, and failing to reclaim one’s item by then will result in disqualification from the trial, leading to immediate elimination.]
At that moment, Scarlett Jennings and her team were indeed at the villa Donovan Jennings arranged for their temporary stay.
They, too, were watching the rules that had been sent to everyone’s phones, a bit surprised by the content of the first round of this Mystical Sect competition.
“The venue is the Ghost Market? How does one enter the Ghost Market? I’ve never been there!”
Stella Gibson was the first to voice a soul-searching query.
Gregory Xander responded in a calming tone,
“The process of finding and entering the Ghost Market itself should be part of the first trial’s assessment.”
After all, if you can’t even find the competition venue, there’s no need to continue with the rest of the contest.
Evan Anson, a group member who, despite still not being deeply acquainted with the others since the academy competition, appropriately contributed,
“To enter the Ghost Market, we likely need to pass the Ghost Gate first, but right after the Ghost Festival, opening the Ghost Gate might be tricky.”
As soon as she finished, the other’s expressions displayed a sort of nonchalance.
Stella Gibson remarked, “Opening the Ghost Gate shouldn’t be difficult.”
Ashton Todd added, “There’s a Ghost Gate inside the Spirit Headquarters that can be opened at will.”
Gregory Xander asked Scarlett Jennings, “Can employees of Spirit Headquarters request to open the Ghost Gate directly?”
Scarlett Jennings shook her head, “Probably can’t exploit Spirit Headquarters’ authority.”
Their question was united as they asked, “Why?”
Scarlett showed them the notification she received; then, scrolling to the bottom, she discovered a line of supplementary text.
Nathan White, having noticed it earlier like her, quietly read aloud—
“Based on fair play principles, Spirit Headquarters employees are forbidden from using internal channels for privileges; violators will be disqualified from this Mystical Sect competition.”
Everyone: …
This supplementary note was clearly aimed at Scarlett, right?
Ashton Todd looked at Scarlett Jennings with some sympathy, seemed like the sponsorship from their part-time company wasn’t very friendly to employees.
Clicking his tongue, he simply said,
“When it matters, they can only count on me.”