After hearing the words of the Saintess, Lin Mu felt a bit better.
"Yes, I hope that my teachings have had some effect on them." Lin Mu nodded his head. "I'll go see how things are gonna be. Let's go Little Shrubby." He called for the beast.
The Saintess watched as Lin Mu left again, and looked up at the sky.
"He should be able to figure it out soon enough…" she muttered before the clouds covered the courtyard and hid it again.
Lin Mu made his way to the Spring Valley Restaurant. The others were coming there as well and were apparently waiting for Lin Mu to contact them for a while now.
"Brother Mu Lin." Lu Xu was already waiting for him outside the restaurant when Lin Mu got there.
"Were you nearby?" Lin Mu questioned.
"Ah yeah. I was watching the formation array when Luo Liqin contacted me." Lu Xu answered. "So I just headed here quickly."
"That's good." Lin Mu said before looking at the sky. "Let's head in. The others should be here soon."
The two went upstairs with the servants guiding them formally. By now the servants knew about them and were quick to bring them to their designated room.
~Creak~
The first thing Lin Mu did was to fully open the balcony so that he could continue to observe the sky. He wanted to see if there would be any more changes and if there were; he needed to know about them.
Lu Xu didn't disturb Lin Mu either, letting him watch the sky. After all, he had been doing the same earlier too. It wasn't often one got to see formation arrays of this level be made that too a Spatial formation that could make a Spatial Plane.
Five minutes later, the others arrived pulling Lin Mu out of his trance.
"Brother Mu Lin, Brother Lu Xu." The Ming sisters were the first to greet.
Qian Wen simply cupped his hands, while Luo Liqin did the same.
"Come sit… It seems like we have an obstacle in our way." Lin Mu gestured to them. "Has Luo Liqin said anything to you?" he asked.
"No… nothing. He said you'll explain it in person." Qian Wen shook his head.
"Well then, the issue we have is that the next stage of the Tournament is going to be different from what we had first though." Lin Mu stated.
"What is it?" Ming Aolian furrowed her brows while the others got a bit anxious.
"All of you must have seen what the Temple has done right?" Lin Mu asked first.
"The Spatial Plane creation right?" Lu Xu replied.
"Yes… But it isn't just a single spatial plane." Lin Mu said much to their shock. "Instead of having individual rounds, I'm afraid that the Temple will be having a free for all battle. And for that, they have set up thirty Spatial Planes." He revealed.
"What!?" They were stunned upon hearing this.
"I had thought that it was a bit strange… but to make Thirty Spatial planes like this…" Qian Wen scratched his beard.
"Yeah… With how many contestants that are still left, this is the most efficient way of whittling down the numbers." Lin Mu spoke before taking out a sheet of paper.
He wrote down a few things on it while the others watched it carefully.
"From what Luo Liqin has gathered, there are over six hundred thousand contestants left. If they were to do individual matches it would take months for them to finish this round. I don't think they'll be extended it for that long." Lin Mu started to explain.
"While it is possible for the Temple to let it run for that long, I do agree with Brother Mu Lin that this is a more efficient option." Lu Xu spoke after listening.
"How will we enact our plans if this happens?" Ming Dandan asked.
"From what I can tell, they'll probably split everyone into groups of thirty thousand or more. Each such group would be sent into each of the Spatial planes and then left to fight." Lin Mu stated.
"Are we really sure that they'll do this though?" Qian Wen asked.
"They haven't sent any notification for match assignments yet, which makes me believe that it is highly likely to be true." Lin Mu gave his reasoning. "I think they'll be randomly assigning them to the different planes." He said.
Hearing this the expressions of everyone fell.
While they had confidence in themselves, an all-out battle was still very intimidating. After all, it was a massive number too.
"If they need sixty four contestants in the end there'll be roughly two winners from each plane. And four lucky ones that are able to last till then." Luo Liqin also thought over it.
"Indeed. That seems to be the logical answer." Lin Mu agreed with the man. "This is also where the crux of our issue lies. Only if all of us are together will we be able to follow through with the plan."
"Yeah, and an all-out battle means that the top rankers are already gonna win. If we are in the same plane as them we are bound to lose." Ming Dandan stated.
Everyone looked at Lin Mu, as they knew that the only one among them that could possibly stand against the top rankers was Lin Mu. Their belief was further reinforced due to the fact that the Crown Prince himself had chosen Lin Mu for it.
After all, they didn't think the man would waste his time on someone that wasn't up to the task. Thus if the Crown Prince had Chosen Lin Mu, it only meant that he had a high chance of reaching the finals.
But even if Lin Mu could reach that point, they all knew they wouldn't be able to do the same. Facing a top ranker would be an utter defeat for them. Even reaching the top 64 seemed a bit far fetched.
"Though isn't there also a chance that the top rankers might end up facing each other?" Qian Wen thought of something.
"That is true. But statistically speaking, it is highly unlikely that two of the top ten would end up in the same Plane." Lin Mu replied. "And even if they do, I doubt it'll be more than two of the top rankers." He added.
"If its two, then the winners are still decided. After all, they just need two people to survive from the plane." Lu Xu fidgeted with his fingers.
"I don't think the top rankers would fight before the finals either. They know better than to waste their energy or get injured doing that." Luo Liqin added.
"That's certainly a possibility. Unless someone randomly decides to fight, they'll have the tacit agreement of a truce." Lin Mu replied. "Which brings me to the point… If we are all to get through this, we have to aim for the lucky 4 positions."
With thirty planes and two winners each, Lin Mu reckoned only the last remaining plane might have the 4 lucky winners.
"The last plane that still has people fighting will have the highest number of winners… 6." Lin Mu stated.
"But that is only possible if we all end up in the same plane right?" Ming Dandan asked.
"Yeah, unless we can assure that, we might just have to give up." Ming Aolian nodded.
The group grew silent after this, all of them thinking deeply about how they might be able to overcome this. They knew how to possibly get to the top 64, but need to be in the same plane was going to be an issue.
Fifteen minutes passed like this after which Luo Liqin suddenly took out his communication Jade slip. He held it for a few seconds before a surprised expression appeared on his face.
"What is it?" Lu Xu asked.
"I just got some information from the betting pavilion. They seem to have reached the same conclusion and us and are redoing their system for bets. But I also got some interesting information along with that." He replied.
"And what might that be?" Ming Dandan asked.
"A few people noticed that the Priests from the Temple are setting up a large dais in the central area of the Tournament Grounds." Luo Liqin replied. "They are assuming that this might be the entry into the Planes."
"Entry into the planes huh…" Lin Mu rubbed his chin for a minute before an idea appeared in his mind. "I think… we might actually be able to get into a single plane together."
"How? Do you intend to tamper with the entrance?" Qian Wen asked curiously.
Lin Mu had skills that could stay hidden from the notice of the Temple, thus he thought that he might be able to do the same here.
"Maybe… But I need to take a look at the Dais myself." Lin Mu said before standing up.
"I'm coming too." Lu Xu and Luo Liqin said.
"Then we'll come too." The Ming sisters and Qian Wen didn't see a reason to wait either.
"Very well, let's go together." Lin Mu nodded his head and they all left the restaurant.
