Chapter 302: Mysteries of the Demon-Locking Tower

Ding, ding, ding. Amid the continuous applause and cheers, a judge’s phone suddenly rang; after a moment’s hesitation, he finally answered it.

And what he heard next made him open-eyed with surprise.

“Everyone, quiet down!”

He immediately stood up, grabbed the microphone, and turned to address the audience behind him: “Ladies and gentlemen, this contestant’s magic act has far more wonders than you saw. Just now, a staff member from Mingsha City called to report that an image suddenly appeared on the inner wall of the first level of the Demon-Locking Tower – the very image that vanished behind the curtain during the performance.”

“In a moment, the staff over there will send us the surveillance video for everyone to verify.”

“Hmm? There’s activity at the Demon-Locking Tower too?”

At that, the atmosphere instantly fell silent.

“They’re here! Staff, please project that video for the audience!”

Just then, the judge’s phone beeped again and he spoke up.

Wow! After about a minute, when the audience could clearly see the image on the light screen, the venue erupted once more. Many people even stood up, cheering and pumping their fists for this magical spectacle.

On the previously nondescript black wall of the first level of the Demon-Locking Tower, a hunched witch bound in iron chains slowly emerged. At first, she struggled a few times before finally assuming the form seen on the curtain.

“Incredible! The design of this magic act is simply brilliant!”

Especially among the crowd from the Long Kingdom, whose excitement was off the charts.

Nothing more.

The Demon-Locking Tower subdued the Western witch – on a small scale, it was just a magic trick. But its deeper meaning ran far beyond that, as if it were saying that Eastern culture had overpowered Western influences.

More importantly, this trick wasn’t performed by a magician from the Long Kingdom; it was executed by a foreign contestant, suggesting that even they see it that way.

Once this magic competition is over, they’ll definitely have to check out the Demon-Locking Tower – snap a few photos along the way!

What does cultural suppression mean?

This is it! The mural above the first level of the Demon-Locking Tower says it all! “Chairman, what is Park Dong-hee up to?”

At that moment…

Jin Shanfú was nearly about to jump out of his skin from sheer impatience.

Honestly, Park Dong-hee’s trick was not meant to work like this. The proper performance would have seen the old witch appear, then soar through the air in a circle before smiling at the audience and saying, “Welcome to the Academy of Magic,” before returning to the curtain.

So what on earth is this?

The witch, bound by iron chains, was directly escorted to the Demon-Locking Tower in Mingsha City. Not only did this act avoid causing any harm to Mingsha City, but it also added a dash of the fantastical to the Demon-Locking Tower’s image.

What’s even more troublesome is how they’re going to explain this to the consortium in Country M?

The characters of Dino Park have been detained in the Demon-Locking Tower. How are they supposed to promote Dino Park now? Entering Dino Park will only remind people of Mingsha City.

It all seems designed to embolden Mingsha City and the Long Kingdom while undermining the prestige of Dino Park.

“This shouldn’t be happening.”

Meanwhile, Cui Xiaozhong was lost in his own thoughts, unable to snap out of it.

He knew better than anyone what this magic act really was. Park Dong-hee’s magic wand was essentially a small projector, and the witch’s image on the cloud-like mist had been recorded and sent over by Dino Park – there was simply no way for such an incident to occur.

“Could it be that Park Dong-hee is a traitor? Bribed by someone from Mingsha City?”

The more he pondered,

an inevitable thought popped into Cui Xiaozhong’s mind.

There seemed to be no other explanation.

While Park Dong-hee could control the light effects on stage, the activity at the Demon-Locking Tower would have been impossible without cooperation from the inside staff of Mingsha City.

The entire structure of the Demon-Locking Tower in Mingsha City was forged from precision steel, and every day it even staged a program featuring lightning striking the tower. There was no way Park Dong-hee could have prearranged anything over there.

Only Mingsha City’s own staff could do that.

“Just you wait!”

As Cui Xiaozhong’s expression darkened and his fists clenched tighter, Jin Shanfú reminded him once again.

“Chairman, Park Dong-hee has come down from the stage.”

At that moment, Park Dong-hee’s magic act had ended, and amidst a flurry of applause he had stepped off the stage. The host then returned to announce the name of the next contestant from the Long Kingdom.

“Let’s go! We need to get to the bottom of this! He must give us some answers.”

At these words,

Cui Xiaozhong narrowed his eyes and immediately stood up.

“Yes!”

Little did he know that while he was convinced his own contestant had turned traitor, Xu Hao in Wudi City was watching the competition through a light screen.

“How could they forget this? Soon we’ll have to spin another story,”

After a long pause,

Xu Hao couldn’t help but rub his brow.

In truth,

from the step-by-step construction of Mingsha City, Xu Hao’s own time-travel experiences, the successive appearances of Daoist Master Cangshan and You Gong, and the undeniable efficacy of the Zhu You Technique in Mingsha City – science simply could not explain everything.

But some things needed explaining, or else it would shatter the public’s worldview.

Then everyone would stop working and start poring over ancient texts from the Long Kingdom – and chaos would ensue.

“But how do we explain it?”

Ding, ding, ding. Just as Xu Hao frowned, his phone suddenly rang. Picking it up, he saw it was none other than You Gong.

“City Master, I didn’t do it!”

As soon as the call was connected, You Gong’s voice came through.

“I know!”

Xu Hao sighed softly.

Originally, he had warned You Gong that if the H Country contestant’s magic act turned out to be detrimental to Mingsha City, they would need to find a way to render the trick ineffective, turning it into a failed performance.

Since You Gong had agreed, he wasn’t about to change his mind at the last minute.

“That’s right.”

“Before leaving, Daoist Master Cangshan, with nothing better to do, replaced all the talismans on the Demon-Locking Tower with ones he painted himself. I suspect that has something to do with this incident.”

Xu Hao continued,

By now, everyone understood just how formidable Daoist Master Cangshan was.

“Oh, so that’s it! There’s no way to escape it – Daoist Master Cangshan’s talismans aren’t to be taken lightly.”

In an instant,

You Gong suddenly realized.

“But, Chairman, there’s one thing I can’t figure out. The H Country contestant’s display was merely a projection. So why did the Demon-Locking Tower react?”

After a pause,

Xu Hao asked again. This was the point he’d been stuck on earlier.

Every guesthouse in Mingsha City had a TV broadcasting various fantasy shows – be they Eastern or Western xianxia dramas – yet the Demon-Locking Tower had never reacted before.

Besides, even if there were a legendary magician or witch from the West, a mere projection shouldn’t trigger any response; the person in question would have to be in Mingsha City.

“City Master, this might be related to an earlier journey by Daoist Master Cangshan.”

After a brief silence,

You Gong’s explanation drew on for a good half hour.

“There’s really such a thing?”

Hearing this,

Xu Hao’s earlier doubts began to fade.

“Yes!”

After a pause, You Gong hesitantly asked, “City Master, what are we going to do about the next round? I’m worried.”

Originally, his medium-sized magic act, “Revival of the Paper Mandarin Duck,” involved stacking red paper to form a paper duck that would transform into a real, brilliant red bird flying toward Mingsha City’s Blood Lake, only to vanish into the waters.

But with the Demon-Locking Tower pulling this stunt, another performance would only add fuel to the fire – especially in the Xianxia Zone.

“If all else fails, just perform a traditional ancient color trick! We’ll grease over this matter, but we must keep a close eye on the H Country contestant.”

Standing up,

Xu Hao pondered for a moment before laying out his plan.

He and You Gong were on the same page – Mingsha City had already reaped big rewards in terms of reputation and traffic. Since they had benefited, it was best to keep a low profile.

“Alright, City Master! And if anyone asks, how should we explain the Demon-Locking Tower incident? The H Country side will definitely investigate.”

You Gong, while nodding, couldn’t help but add,

“If push comes to shove, we just stick to our story – there’s absolutely no way we can admit the truth.”

After a moment of thought,

Xu Hao glanced at his desk and suddenly had an idea, saying,

Time ticked by minute by minute.

Perhaps because the topic of Dino Park’s captured witch at the Demon-Locking Tower was so hot, the subsequent magic acts failed to capture the audience’s interest. And that wasn’t all.

Another H Country contestant even “made a fool of himself.” His act, meant to be a labyrinthine illusion, ended up failing to trap a single audience member on stage. The awkwardness was palpable, and the judges even awarded him the lowest score!

As for You Gong’s performance, though it didn’t have the explosive impact of the first act, it was serviceable – not bringing disgrace to the traditional ancient color magic of the Long Kingdom.

Some even remarked that if it weren’t for the overwhelming buzz surrounding the fourth magic act, You Gong’s performance might’ve ranked among the top three.

In the blink of an eye,

by 4 PM,

the medium-sized magic competition had come to an end. Unsurprisingly, the championship was awarded to Park Dong-hee from H Country. Yet at that very moment, the atmosphere in the Ancient Building Courtyard where the H Country contestants were gathered was unusually somber, devoid of the usual excitement of a championship win.

“Speak up!”

In front of a chair,

Cui Xiaozhong and Jin Shanfú stared intently at Park Dong-hee, their expressions ferocious enough to devour him.

“Hmph, if it weren’t for your influence, my own magic act would not have failed!”

Cui Xiaozhong declared, and the contestant who performed the labyrinth illusion joined in angrily, blaming Park Dong-hee entirely for the failure.

“Chairman, I really don’t know anything! When I went up on stage, everything was executed exactly as planned – I’ve been with you all these days, and you even handed me that magic wand just before the performance. When do I have time for such things?”

At that moment,

Park Dong-hee’s voice began to tremble with emotion.

Truth be told, when the image first appeared, he was even more baffled than the audience and judges. But by then, the entire magic act had spiraled out of his control – it was unstoppable.

“Every thief has one flaw – they’ll stubbornly deny even when caught. And you say you had no time? Could it be that I was the one who tampered with it?”

Cui Xiaozhong, seeing him launch straight into a slap,

By the time a phone call came in from Park Qi Ye in H Country half an hour later, Cui Xiaozhong was nearly beaten to death, and the Ross Consortium had already vowed to hold someone accountable.

“Chairman, I really don’t know anything. If you don’t believe me, just take another look at that magic wand!”

After being hit,

Park Dong-hee barely had time to cry out in pain as he began his frantic defense once again.

As an H Country native, he knew full well the disastrous consequences if this incident were pinned on him.

“Magic wand? You just reminded me!”

At this, Cui Xiaozhong raised an eyebrow and looked over at the magic props on the table.