In the back area of the national competition venue, the proctors’ observation area.

People watched the monitors via the Thousand-eyed Wind Birds. Hundreds of large screens were arranged around the area, forming a panoramic display.

Down below, each proctor had their own large screen to watch.

This year’s national competition was led by the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, which, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, had assigned over three hundred teachers to the event.

The remaining people were representatives of the imperial relatives, nobles, and ministers, as well as over a hundred teachers from prestigious schools, all here to observe the exam.

A buzz of discussion rose from the crowd, only to quickly die down.

The teachers merely glanced over without paying much attention.

This was the Zhou Capital, the nation’s Capital. It was both the political center and a city teeming with powerful individuals.

Even High-star Beastmasters who held sole authority in their own provinces had to be mindful of whether someone of a higher Star Level was present when they were at the foot of the Emperor’s throne.

If there was, they couldn’t speak loudly. They had to converse in hushed tones to avoid overstepping any boundaries.

The newcomer was none other than Ruan Huaiyi, a high-ranking official in the Court from the Ruan Family.

He had made a special trip to observe Gu Ming’s performance in the competition. The Ruan Family had invested significant resources in him, from pulling strings to obstructing his competitors. These investments had to yield a return several times over in the future.

The earlier buzz had been old friends greeting each other. After Ruan Huaiyi’s Perception picked up on the presence of a Beastmaster with a higher Star Level, he lowered his voice.

After finding out which screen was showing Gu Ming, he walked straight over and greeted the proctor monitoring him.

The latter didn’t stop him; in fact, this sort of thing was normal at the competition.

In the Capital, a vortex of power, no one could remain uninvolved. The proctor didn’t know how this big shot had gotten in, but since he was here, the proctor simply made way, letting him take the best observation spot to watch Gu Ming’s exam.

On the screen, Gu Ming was scrolling through a tablet.

His restless hand gripped a pen, sliding it idly across a sheet of scratch paper.

The competition provided standard model Pill Furnaces on-site, but contestants could also use their own to simulate the Array, as long as they weren’t afraid of the waste.

There was a competition-provided Pill Furnace next to Gu Ming. It was very ordinary, making one worry what would happen if the Power of his Array was too great and burned right through it.

"So careless. How can he use such a shoddy Pill Furnace? Xiao Xin, go send him two Four-star Pill Furnaces." As Ruan Huaiyi spoke, he released a formless, hidden Pet Beast.

The proctor glanced over but saw no Pet Beast. He knew at once that the man’s power was unfathomable; he couldn’t tell if its Pet Beast was a Six-star or a Seven-star.

After sending his Pet Beast to deliver the Pill Furnaces, Ruan Huaiyi carefully studied the Array Gu Ming was drawing.

He didn’t understand Arrays. After watching for a moment, he asked the proctor beside him if he could take a picture.

"Go right ahead, feel free," the proctor said with a smile, not daring to get on his bad side.

"Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to help him with the problem. I just don’t understand Arrays, so I’m taking a picture to ask someone else."

"Heh, I understand," the teacher said, smiling it off.

Ruan Huaiyi didn’t waste any time. He immediately took a picture and posted it in a group chat.

"Esteemed teachers, please take a look at this student’s Array design. What do you think of it?"

A moment later, his brows furrowed. ’How can this be the opening design? He’s doing it all wrong.’

He muttered to himself, then shook his head and turned to the proctor monitoring Gu Ming.

"Do you see any point to this Array? Isn’t this just a complete waste?"

The proctor gave a wry smile. ’It’s not my son taking the test,’ he thought. ’If he gets it wrong, he gets it wrong.’

But he didn’t dare say that out loud, so he could only offer another wry smile.

Ruan Huaiyi understood what the proctor meant and knew he was just venting.

Six hours had already passed since the start of the exam. Gu Ming had just finished organizing his thoughts. He was now combining his newly learned knowledge of modern Arrays with the future Array designs emerging in his mind, trying to find a balance.

His main approach was to use modern techniques to build the Array, using the future concepts as a reference.

The two Array systems had fundamentally different starting points and functions. He planned to use the Tide Array, one of the five mainstream Arrays, as that one could also raise the temperature.

But he knew he couldn’t be too hasty. People were watching him, so he had to incorporate clever, modular designs into the refinement process.

These flashes of brilliance were hidden in minute operations and could easily be misjudged unless one was watching his every move.

This was precisely why Ruan Huaiyi missed Gu Ming’s brilliant design elements. He only saw the Array’s initial form and thought it was completely off the mark.

This was clearly an Alchemy Furnace Array being controlled by a Water Element Pet Beast, whereas Alchemy was supposed to be the domain of Fire Element Pet Beasts. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Even if Gu Ming didn’t have a Fire Element Pet Beast, he could still train the wild Fire Spirit Pets in the arena.

As part of the exam’s setup, many Fire Element Spirit Pets had been released into the Dao Field.

Contestants could use body language or food as bait to get them to provide Fire Mana for the Array, all without forming a contract.

Therefore, this Array problem tested not only Array design but also the ability of contestants without Fire Element Pet Beasts to handle wild pets.

Seeing Gu Ming insist on going with a Water Element Array, Ruan Huaiyi grew anxious.

The Ruan Family had invested in Gu Ming because they saw his potential in the national competition.

They weren’t expecting an S Level rating; even an A+ or A-Level would bring enormous commercial value.

Any contestant who could participate in the national competition could boost product sales just by lending their name. This was precisely why the Ruan Family had offered their help.

In his eyes, Gu Ming was "a hen that lays golden eggs"—a sustainable asset, not a one-time buyout.

The more he watched, the more Ruan Huaiyi felt Gu Ming was "on the wrong path." He considered having his own Pet Beast secretly give him a hint.

After all, the on-site teachers could act as assistants and look up information, so a little reminder from him should be acceptable.

He decided to act on it. He waited for his Pet Beast to return, then sent it off again to deliver a message.

Meanwhile, Gu Ming had already chosen the Tide Array from among several different concepts.

Lacking the relevant knowledge, the initial Array Formation took him a very long time.

When Lu You’s Mouse Treasure returned, Gu Ming’s Cyan Treasure was still absorbing the new Spiritual Qi. Lu You had Mouse Treasure stay by Cyan Treasure’s side to cultivate, then used her Divine Sense to help Gu Ming adjust the Array’s parameters.

Gu Ming used his Divine Sense to inspect the newly delivered Pill Furnaces while glancing at his system.

Before he knew it, a Tide Array had slowly transitioned from its initial prototype to the second, more complete stage of construction.

Just then, Ruan Huaiyi’s Pet Beast arrived and secretly transmitted its voice to him. "You don’t have a Fire Element Pet Beast. How will you get the Array to meet the temperature requirement?"

Without looking up, Gu Ming replied, "This is the Power of the tides. It will naturally generate heat."

He shot it a glance. "Please do not interfere with my exam. This is what we agreed upon beforehand."

The messenger Pet Beast’s expression darkened before it turned and retreated.

Ruan Huaiyi wasn’t angered by the response. Instead, he took another picture of Gu Ming’s Array with his phone and sent it to his think tank’s group chat.

"Esteemed teachers, this is the latest Array Diagram. He’s still sticking with it. Can you take another look and see where the mistake is, so I can set him straight?"

His question was met with a long silence in the group chat.

"Actually, his Array isn’t entirely without merit," the proctor beside him murmured softly.

...

「On-site.」

Gu Ming ignored the warning from the Ruan Family, continuing to adjust the Array on his own.

It was true that this was a Water Element Array, but the Power between the tides could generate immense energy.

Ah Kun was part of it. As the Array’s main operator, its Spiritual Power flowed into the formation. Through continuous, rhythmic breathing, it unknowingly synchronized with its Wave-Swallowing Technique Battle Technique.

The energy within also ebbed and flowed like the tides, generating high temperatures at high tide and maintaining a stable temperature at low tide.

The on-site proctor watching the monitor nodded slightly. ’This contestant really does have his own ideas.’