Xuhan's confusion only grew as the other two disciples competing with this fellow submitted their 'readings' in scrolls as well. With all three scrolls presented on the desks, it was time for evaluation.
One disciple walked out of the crowd, carrying a bizarre object in his arms. Han Xuhan had assumed that was a rock until then. But once the disciple held it up to be carried into the center of the encirclement, he realized that it was probably some sort of a treasure belonging to the Stardust Sect.
All the observers except Xuhan clearly knew what it was. But much to his annoyance, no one explained its name or function. He could only rely on guesswork.
The object bore much resemblance to a pagoda, except it was inverted and hollow inside. It had been carved out of a large white stone, polished to the point where its smooth surface reflected sunlight.
The sturdy youth placed the heavy inverted pagoda onto the ground. Its narrowest part, the bottom layer of the pagoda slightly sank into the soil. All the disciples, including Xuhan, could see the hollowed insides of the pagoda. Placed like that, it looked like a round staircase leading to a palm-wide stadium at the bottom.
"Place your readings. You know what to do," the carrier said as he took several steps back stiffly.
The first disciple to submit his 'reading' grasped his scroll and walked over to the dazzling white treasure. Extending his hand forward, he held the scroll over the meter-wide mouth of the treasure and began to shout.
"Having read the stars, I predict that our first opponent in this round of the tournament shall be a team of disciples belonging to a sect of Continent Lou."
He dropped the scroll down to the mouth of the treasure. Instead of falling to the bottom like it was supposed to normally, the scroll stopped at the topmost floor of the inverted pagoda and began to float there as if on water.
On the exterior of the pagoda, the highest, and also the largest floor lit up like a heated iron furnace. It became a half-foot-wide circular wall emitting a burning red light. The rest of the floors below showed no changes.
While he was expecting a gasp to run through the crowd once more, what he heard was a collective, disappointed sigh.
One of the girls sporting the special bandanas on her head snorted loudly enough for the entire crowd to hear. She must have used her entire cultivation base behind the power of the snort to be heard amidst the chaos all around them.
"A prediction that barely qualified for the first floor, ahahah! Look! It wasn't even able to light up the full circle of the Mouth of Destiny. Only three-quarters of the first floor is shining!"
Han Xuhan craned his neck and stepped a few feet to the side alongside those standing near him to see the other side of the inverted pagoda.
Indeed, there was a portion of the top floor that wasn't radiating any red light.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
However, the young man who had submitted his scroll for evaluation appeared unfazed. Hands folded behind him, he shouted, "I wasn't finished. This was only the first part of my prediction."
The girl's countenance grew grim. But the crowd's disappointment was dispelled immediately.
These guys really hated the all-woman faction for some reason.
The young man shouted once again.
"I predict that the first team to invade us today shall be a team of four members!"
Han Xuhan nearly choked on his own spit.
What the fuck?
The red light emitting from the wall of the first floor of the pagoda brightened, and the previously dull portion of the floor lit up as well, forming a full, burning red layer. The entire first floor now took on the appearance of a red crystalline belt. They could almost see the silhouette of the floating scroll through the walls.
"A prediction that was able to fully clear the first floor. Well done," said the guy who had carried the treasure over.
The young man proudly took out the scroll floating within the pagoda and stepped aside, making way for the next disciple to submit his own prediction for evaluation.
The top floor of the pagoda lost its transparency and bright light, returning to the original metallic sheen.
A foreboding feeling enveloped Han Xuhan as the second disciple, the girl, walked to the pagoda and dropped her scroll inside, shouting her prediction for all to hear.
"I predict that the first foreigner disciple to set foot here on our island today shall be a male."
Half of the top floor of the pagoda lit up with the familiar bright red light.
"The second disciple of that attacking team will be a woman."
The other half of the pagoda lit up as well. But the walls of the floor didn't turn crystalline like before.
Wincing, she added another line.
"And both of these disciples would have a cultivation base below the Eighth Layer of the Physique Transformation Realm."
This time, Han Xuhan gasped along with the crowd, watching the walls of the top floor turn crystalline red, after which the smaller floor right below it began to radiate a different color of light– a blinding orange glow.
The level of her prediction wasn't enough to turn the second floor crystalline as well. But it still far outstripped the achievement of the first oracle. That young man looked visibly frustrated.
Han Xuhan did his best to glean the contents of the whispers around him.
"Sister Mi took more time than him to finish her reading. But the accuracy of her prediction is also way above his. Not bad."
"In their circle, she is one of the remaining disciples who can be called competent."
"Yeah. But one person isn't enough to keep a faction in power. They need to stop making things difficult for the rest of the disciples."
"Uh, guys? Did you forget that Brother Leng hasn't yet submitted his scroll?"
"He's a novice at this. I doubt he could even make the first floor light up."
The whispers once again died down as Sister Mi took out her scroll and the last participant of the contest walked over to the inverted pagoda and...stopped, appearing hesitant.
"What? Drop it inside," said the guy who had carried the pagoda over.
The boy's face took on a shade of red from embarrassment as he replied, "Uh, I'm sorry, but I think something went wrong with my reading. The results of my prediction are...well, it doesn't match anything they said."
Seeing him pointing at the first two contestants, the crowd let out a disappointed sigh.
"Still, you must have gotten something. Why so hesitant? Everyone gets a fact or two wrong sometimes. Did you discern anything new, at least? Anything outside their predictions?"
The young man shook his head. "The result of my reading was quite bizarre. I don't want to humiliate myself by shouting it out in front of everyone. And my lacking skills didn't allow me to read any deeper than my two seniors here. I just thought it would be fun to compete. I'll get it evaluated later on."
The way he made it sound fired up the crowd's curiosity instead of concluding the competition. To his horror, everyone around him except his competitors began to cheer him on.
"Submit it!"
"Submit it!"
"Do it now!"
"No shame in failures, brother!"
"Yeah, we know you're a novice stargazer. We won't discourage you."
"Just let us hear what you've managed to read."
"The wrong predictions are always the funniest shit."
"Submit NOW!"
Someone from the crowd jumped out, snatched his scroll, and threw it into the mouth of the pagoda.
Dumbfounded for a brief while, the young man caved in under the pressure. Exhaling, he began to speak.
"I predict that the first team to invade our island today shall be a team of NINE members, not four."
The first contestant instantly broke out in a hollering laughter.
"That's way too large a gap in the math, brother Leng! The Mouth of Destiny has already recognized my reading to be accurate. No wonder you didn't want to get yours evaluated!"
But while he was laughing his head off, he realized that an odd quiet had spread across the crowd. Every disciple was staring at the treasure with a confounded expression.
He turned to look at the Mouth of Destiny...and saw the first floor of the pagoda turn entirely red, its walls growing as transparent as the most exquisite glass.