After Sarah's decision, Nathaniel and his fiancée positioned themselves at their chosen entrance while Kendrick prepared behind his sister.
As soon as both sides were ready, they set out on their chosen paths, not hesitating to go first to show each other that they weren't trying to deceive each other.
Sarah planned to deceive Nathaniel because she knew what the right path was. She was afraid of choosing the right path and raising doubts in the minds of those cultivators that she and her brother were unlikely to win in battle. That's why she preferred the path leading her into a trap. As for Nathaniel, he didn't think about deceiving Sarah and Kendrick. He was really in doubt between the two paths and had chosen his option to investigate first. When he realized that Sarah had chosen one of the wrong paths, he was a little relieved and at the moment he ran, he only had in mind to go all the way and come back if it was the wrong one.
If he were wrong, he would go back and take the right path in no more than three minutes. After that, the exam would be over!
Thus, he moved forward without looking back, paying attention only to his front while watching out for traps and other competitors.
...
Thirty seconds later...
As Nathaniel and his fiancée followed the path they had chosen, the maze walls began to move while the ceiling opened up.
An elf's majestic voice announced. "Kendrick Stuart and Sarah Stuart have completed the Maze Challenge. Congratulations to the winners."
Nathaniel and Annie's eyes widened as they looked around, quickly spotting the end of the maze where the two siblings had just arrived.
"Those two..." Annie realized what had happened and looked at her fiancé, seeing the dark expression that had just formed on Nathaniel's face.
"Bastards!" He said in a low voice as he clenched his fists tightly, realizing that the red-haired woman had tricked him.
Sarah realized she was being watched and smiled in victory, having done what she could to fool these two and take the victory for herself.
If she couldn't beat Nathaniel with her power as a cultivator, she would have to do it with her intelligence! ...
After Sarah and Kendrick's victory in the maze, Minos' group celebrated, as this victory alone enabled them to climb another three positions in the main player rankings.
Minos, his group, and his two opponents had already won several prizes for their previous victories, but their chances of winning the top prize in the Continental Tournament were increasing.
After this victory, there were three more days of competitions to go, and the tournament was finally at the halfway point.
After the maze, Sarah and Kendrick would again compete in individual and team events with the rest of their allies. They would earn more points for the group, winning some and losing others.
It was time for the final part of the tournament to begin. Still, in this contest, there were no winners or losers among the competitors. Only the bettors could do better or worse in the part of the tournament that would determine the overall winner.
As such, everyone at this event on Elves Island was eagerly awaiting the final part of the event, the Secret Hunt!
...
In the area where Minos and his group were, while the younger members of the family were eating and chatting, the experts were doing the math to estimate how far they were from the position they were aiming for.
George said to Minos. "You are in 7th place on the main leaderboard, Your Majesty. You need to score another 10,000 points to reach first place."
"I estimate that if we get another 15,000 points, victory would be guaranteed for us," Ruth commented as she analyzed old results from the Continental Tournament and compared them to their current situation.
Minos knew that he could score even more than 20,000 points in these last days of the tournament with the bets he had placed there, so he felt his chances were real.
"Let's send a message to our team to follow what we've planned." He told his group to reinforce what they had told the competitors earlier to avoid stupid mistakes.
Hannah and George agreed, each of them having won a lot in the tournament so far, with Sarah's husband currently in 8th place in the tournament's most important ranking.
He didn't rule out the possibility of Sista winning the main bet. Minos might make a mistake, and since their bets weren't identical, he might finish ahead of the Black Plain Empire.
That made George doubly excited, as he felt that everyone would soon have their answers as to the winner of the competition.
Hannan was more relaxed, already thinking about her return to the Flowers Kingdom, even though she was cheering for Minos. If Emperor Stuart could get one more god for the Spiritual World and the Black Plain Empire, she and her state would be fine.
So they would soon pay a hefty sum to send their thoughts to the group preparing to participate in the Secret Hunt, the tournament's main event, which took place in a Spatial Kingdom.
...
On the leading platform of Elves Island in the city where the Continental Tournament was held, a spatial distortion stood in the middle of an area where more than 100,000 spectators were seated in the stands.
On this platform, dozens of Spiritual Sages were waiting for the Secret Hunt to begin.
Among them were Sarah, Kendrick, and the rest of their team, planning this final leg of their journey in the Spiritual World's most prestigious competition.
"My father has just sent us a message that reinforces his words at the beginning of the competition," Sarah informed the others as they lined up for the entrance to the Spatial Kingdom where the Secret Hunt would take place.
"We must follow his plans to the letter and complete what we came here to do. If we succeed, we'll all win valuable prizes to use when the war begins. He has personally promised everyone here armor developed from alien technologies."
Hearing Sarah's words, the people from Minos' allied forces felt more motivated and ready to carry out Emperor Stuart's wishes.
Seeing that the group understood that they had to do their best to secure points for their father, Sarah smiled and said. "Do your best. We'll meet again as winners in a few days!"
With those words, they were soon on their way to participate in the Secret Hunt that was about to begin.
