Chapter 293: A Conspiracy Under Mingsha City
by xennovelTime flies; suddenly it’s 2 PM.
Haishi
Inside a five-star hotel, several men stared intently at the room’s computer screen, brows furrowed, and no one spoke for a long stretch.
At the helm was none other than Cui Xiaozhong.
This time
he personally led the team to the International Magic Competition—not for stellar results or millions in M gold, but solely to take down Mingsha City.
“How did they manage that?”
After a lingering pause,
Cui Xiaozhong turned toward the man behind him.
It was H Country’s top magician, Jin Shanfú, one of the performers of the grand ‘Chuan Yun Cave’ show.
“They must have used some high-tech trickery!”
After stroking his chin thoughtfully for a while, Jin Shanfú looked at Cui Xiaozhong.
“Can we crack it?”
At these words,
Cui Xiaozhong quickly fixed his gaze on Jin Shanfú, while the other contestants did the same.
Truth be told, none of them had expected such a stunt immediately upon arriving in Mingsha City.
Once the video hit the internet, not only were they dumbfounded—many grand magic performers were utterly baffled.
Simply put,
a number of competitors felt their acts paled in comparison to the mesmerizing, almost mystical visuals of Mingsha City’s venue—especially those planning high-altitude levitation! Besides, the competition is broadcast live worldwide!
If the performance doesn’t measure up to the venue’s grandeur, it’d be not just a loss in rankings but a source of massive embarrassment.
“We can probably crack it, but we need to study it on-site. Relying solely on the video won’t cut it.”
After a moment of thought, Jin Shanfú shook his head.
In the past,
he had heard Cui Xiaozhong and Park Qi Ye scoff at the idea of Mingsha City pulling such stunts, but only now did he truly witness their methods.
Needless to say,
once this video drops, many top magicians might withdraw just to avoid humiliation.
“Going on-site? Fine! We’ll reach Mingsha City by tomorrow afternoon. Then, study to your heart’s content! Of course, our primary focus remains on ‘Chuan Yun Cave.’ I noticed there’s a tall mountainside by the venue; if we can project that dazzling golden effect right at its peak, it would be perfect.”
After a brief silence, Cui Xiaozhong spoke,
“Yes, I noticed that too. With proper setup, there’s no doubt about it.”
Jin Shanfú nodded in agreement.
“And you all—set up the maze magic in the square in front of the mountain. Just choose an ancient building from your sketches; it’ll suffice.”
Turning around, Cui Xiaozhong addressed the rest.
“No problem!”
Unlike H Country’s participants, whose sole aim is to clinch the magic championship and prize money, many competitors are in it for glory.
In another room,
a blue-eyed, blonde foreign man frowned before his expression lit up as he clenched his fist.
“Interesting! Interesting. If I can make that island vanish, the grand magic title will be mine! The more mystical and enchanting the island’s aura, the better for my act!”
After a moment,
the man fixed his gaze on the screen, clenching his fist.
The island on the screen wasn’t just any island—it was the lake island where Biyou Palace is located.
This man, named David, is an internationally acclaimed grand magician and a top candidate for the championship. He’s one of the most popular figures abroad.
“So, what’s the plan for setting it up?”
Knock, knock, knock! Just as David began scrutinizing details from the video, a knock resounded from outside.
“Come in!”
Without turning around, David called out.
“David, here’s the latest intel! You’ve got two rivals this time: H Country’s Jin Shanfú and Long Kingdom’s Ma Qian!”
A foreign woman entered, holding a file.
“Ma Qian? The one who once performed while crossing the Great Wall of Long Kingdom?”
At these words,
David furrowed his brow and turned to her.
“Yes! Originally, Long Kingdom planned to field only traditional magic performers, but since all the ancient tricks have been exposed, they kept just one slot for them. The remainder are modern magicians!”
The woman nodded.
“This is getting even more interesting!”
A cold smile played on David’s lips.
Whoever it may be, he’d crush them all—especially Long Kingdom’s magicians.
“Don’t worry on my end! Whether it’s Ma Qian or Jin Shanfú, I’ve got it covered! But for the small and medium acts, we must be cautious; H Country’s magicians are formidable. And with Long Kingdom fielding mostly modern magicians, I hear they’ve got a few promising ones.”
After pausing briefly, David looked at the woman.
“Rest assured, I just came from the scene. The small and medium magic acts are fit perfectly; they’ll easily outshine the competitors from Long Kingdom and H Country!”
The woman immediately agreed,
“Alright then!”
Meanwhile, in Yan City at a hotel in the Third Ring, Long Kingdom Magic Organization President Xie Feiyang was packing his belongings while a few middle-aged men huddled around a computer analyzing data.
After a while, one middle-aged man turned to Xie Feiyang and asked,
“President, do you mean we can use these islands however we want?”
“Yes, but with one condition: do not tamper with the ancient structures on them. Some of those would be impossible to repair if damaged!”
At these words,
Xie Feiyang set his file down and replied.
As the Long Kingdom team leader for the International Magic Competition, Xie Feiyang had received a notice that morning, listing numerous stringent conditions.
The most crucial was that the ancient structures must remain untouched.
“We understand!”
Everyone nodded in unison.
Being locals of Long Kingdom, they knew full well the revered status of Mingsha City’s ancient buildings—structures that, aside from public works and commercial streets, could easily qualify for intangible cultural heritage status.
If any damage occurred, not only Mingsha City but all of Long Kingdom’s citizens would demand retribution.
“Leader, will the contestants from Mingsha City only perform traditional magic acts?”
After a pause, the middle-aged man glanced at the screen and couldn’t help but ask.
The man, Ma Qian—Long Kingdom’s seed contestant! According to Xie Feiyang, while they aren’t aiming to win in every category, they must at least secure one. Ma Qian is banking on the biggest one.
“Yes! And that performer named You Gong even signed up for all three traditional acts—small, medium, and large.”
At these words,
Xie Feiyang nodded.
“That’s a pity then!”
Ma Qian pressed on,
“What do you mean?”
“I just watched a video on Mingsha City. The visuals are stunning—if used in competition, they might even secure top rankings. It appears this is the signature move of that magician! Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to perform his modern magic and must stick to traditional tricks.”
Ma Qian sighed, a tinge of nostalgia in his voice.
He was genuinely awestruck when he first saw the video; recreating such effects would take him at least a month of preparation.
And that doesn’t even factor in the Crane Circling Magic.
By that measure, it’d take even longer.
“There’s no helping it! The orders are clear—Mingsha City’s role is just to showcase traditional magic, while winning is up to you! Ma Qian, your main opponents this time are H Country’s Jin Shanfú and M Country’s David!”
Xie Feiyang waved his hand dismissively.
Since Mingsha City’s contestants are specially selected, he never questioned them and certainly didn’t have the authority to meddle with their affairs.
“President, I understand!”
Xie Feiyang concluded,
“Alright, tonight we’ll all gather to study these two magicians’ past acts and, in the process, refine our performance strategies.”
“Understood!”
At 8 PM, as night fell—and perhaps due to today’s trending news—Mingsha City was noticeably livelier than usual. At the riverside guesthouse, countless tourists gazed enviously at those aboard the boat.
For now, a simple boat ride around Mingsha City’s artificial lake was enough, even if stepping ashore wasn’t yet allowed.
Little did these tourists know that
at that very moment on Penglai Pavilion, Xu Hao, Luo Peng, and Zhu Qiang were chatting by the railing.
“Brother Hao, I really didn’t expect that a few actors’ performance would send us trending! Our workload has skyrocketed!
Today, I saw so many by the lakeside lighting incense and trying out the Zhu You Technique.”
After a pause, Luo Peng looked at Xu Hao and said,
“Yes, I never imagined you’d bring in the Cranes from outside!”
At these words,
Xu Hao couldn’t help but glance at Luo Peng.
While others might not know why the organizers handed the International Magic Competition over to Mingsha City, he certainly did. Not only has it failed to neutralize the Zhu You Technique’s influence, but it’s also sparked a craze for the Huangdi Neijing.
He bet the leaders have already started picking at Mingsha City’s weak spots!
“Exactly, and those Cranes performed perfectly.”
Nearby,
before Luo Peng could reply, Zhu Qiang added,
“Brother Hao, I just think the lake felt too lifeless. Bringing in geese or ducks would be too commonplace, so I already contacted an animal park in the Northeast. At the time, I thought it was a minor detail and didn’t mention it to you!
Besides, General Zhu, I feel that today’s ‘Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea’ effect was far too obvious. You saw their rehearsal—you shouldn’t have let them perform today.”
Luo Peng awkwardly scratched his head.
To be honest,
Mingsha City trending with ‘Cranes in Flight’ owes a lot to our efforts.
“I was just trying to test the effect again. Who knew your Cranes would be let loose as well!”
Zhu Qiang hesitated before continuing,
“Alright, enough chatter. Let’s first decide on a name for this mountain. We can’t really call it Penglai Island, can we?”
Sighing, Xu Hao waved his hand and said,
“Now isn’t the time to cast blame! The important thing is that we’re all partly responsible—none of us, including the Daoist Master on the island, is without fault.”