The thirteen finalists stood up in unison, without hesitation.
The silence of the Celestial Plaza was so dense that one could hear the faint crackling of ancient runes on the 108 jade pillars surrounding it.
Qing Lanyue remained motionless at the center of the main disc, her silhouette standing out against the backdrop of eternal clouds that filtered the light into cold, diffuse tones.
She raised her left hand with an almost casual gesture.
From the spatial ring on her middle finger, a single plate emerged.
It was different from anything that had been used so far.
An ancient jade plate, with six perfectly symmetrical sides, its edges slightly irregular as if it had been cut from a natural block millennia ago.
Its size was impressive, nearly three meters in diameter, thick enough to be considered a slab.
