Chapter 354: Great Transformation

A black veil obscured Chen Ling's expression. If others could see through the veil, they would have seen "I want to perform" practically written on his face. However, his feigned reluctance only boosted Wu Shaohua's confidence even more.

"What's wrong with it? Are you scared??" Wu Shaohua scoffed. "That wretched performer earlier only got three points. If you're afraid you can't beat me, just say so. Bow down and apologize to me right now, and I can pretend nothing happened."

"Well... it's mainly about the judges... isn't it against the rules?"

"Honorable judges, what do you think?"

Wu Shaohua looked at the judges. The expressions of the six judges were subtle as they exchanged glances. Normally, unregistered contestants weren't allowed to perform on stage, but... Wu Shaohua had offered too much.

"Since they are both young people with dreams, let's give them a stage," Supervisor Zhou said with a smile. "However, it's agreed that the scores won't be counted towards the final selection. Everyone can just watch."

The murmuring among the crowd grew louder.

"Brother Lin, what are you doing...?" Li Qingshan, who was beside him, saw this scene and felt extremely anxious.

The turn of events completely exceeded Li Qingshan's expectations. He looked at Chen Ling in red, bewildered, unable to understand why he would deliberately provoke Wu Shaohua. Was it perhaps to stand up for him?

"Don't agree, absolutely don't agree, Brother Lin..." Li Qingshan secretly prayed in his heart.

Liu Qingyan, huddled in the corner, unconsciously furrowed her brows, looking at Chen Ling with a puzzled expression, wondering what he was thinking.

Under everyone's gaze, Chen Ling thought for a moment with some hesitation, then nodded.

"...Alright then, I'll perform!"

The cloud of displeasure on Wu Shaohua's face immediately vanished. He sneered at Chen Ling, then walked off the stage, leaving an empty space for him. "Go ahead?"

After speaking, he gave a look to the six judges below the stage, and they instantly understood.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the figure in the large red opera robe first walked to the wall and turned off the lights above the audience seating. Then, under their puzzled gazes, he slowly ascended the steps, step by step, finally standing under the spotlight, smiling as he faced the crowd.

Aside from the theater in his mind, it had been a long time since Chen Ling had stood on a stage. Although this place was crude and small, at least there were living audience members, not just dark figures with crimson eyes. This gave him a long-lost sense of familiarity and ease.

Seeing Chen Ling on stage, Supervisor Zhou spoke in a deep voice:

"You're an opera performer, right? What role do you play? Which script?"

"Me? I don't perform opera."

Everyone's brows immediately furrowed. They looked at Chen Ling, their expressions seeming displeased, just about to say something, when Chen Ling's voice rang out again:

"But, I have another performance."

"What?"

Chen Ling's lips curled slightly upwards as he spoke slowly, word by word:

"The human disappearance and appearance act."

Audience expectation value: 3.

"The human disappearance and appearance act?" Wu Shaohua scoffed from below the stage. "So, it's a magician in an opera robe? Just some deceptive sleight of hand. I'd like to see what kind of tricks you can pull with such a boring act."

Hearing this, the crowd below also found it rather uninteresting. Magic performances were nothing new in the Mortal Realm. They had been thoroughly understood decades ago and were considered boring tricks that could only fool children.

The judges exchanged glances and calmly said, "You may begin."

Chen Ling nodded.

"I need a judge to assist me... Supervisor Zhou, would that be convenient?"

Supervisor Zhou was slightly taken aback. Although he wasn't interested in this performance, seeing everyone look at him, he hesitated for a moment before getting up and walking onto the stage. He wanted to see what kind of trick this person in red was planning.

Supervisor Zhou stopped beside Chen Ling and spoke impatiently, "Alright, what's next? How are you going to make me disappear?"

Chen Ling placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face the area below the stage. Seven judges' seats faced him, two of which were empty. Beyond them was a packed, shadowy audience.

"Supervisor Zhou, tell me a name, and I can make that person, along with their personal belongings, appear. Do you believe me?"

As soon as this statement was made, surprise appeared in everyone's eyes, and Supervisor Zhou also froze for a moment.

Even though they were experienced judges who had seen countless performances, this was the first time they had heard of such an absurd magic trick. Usually, a human disappearance and appearance act involved making a person nearby vanish and then reappear. They had never heard of someone being able to summon a person by name, along with their personal belongings?

If this could truly be done, it would only mean Supervisor Zhou was his accomplice, but Supervisor Zhou absolutely couldn't be. This immediately piqued everyone's interest.

"Of course, the person you name must be real and not too far away," Chen Ling added.

"I don't believe you," Supervisor Zhou shook his head decisively.

"Name someone."

Supervisor Zhou's gaze swept forward, and a name immediately popped into his mind. He instinctively said, "If you're so capable, then make Supervisor Sun appear."

As soon as this statement was made, the murmuring below the stage grew even louder. The expressions of several judges were subtle, looking at Chen Ling on stage with faint smiles.

Chen Ling, however, was not surprised by this. Or rather, everything was within his control.

Before his transmigration, Chen Ling had encountered many top magicians and learned numerous tricks. Some of these were called "psychological magic," such as guessing numbers, guessing suits, or other precognitive tricks. The principle behind these tricks was fundamentally simple: psychological suggestion.

Before Chen Ling went on stage, he had already turned off all the lights above the audience seating. So, from the stage looking down, the only bright area was where the seven judges' seats were, with darkness beyond. This would invisibly confine a person's subconscious to the visible area in front of them. This was also why Chen Ling put his hand on Supervisor Zhou's shoulder to adjust his line of sight towards the center.

At the same time, among the seven judges, Supervisor Sun's absence had left the deepest impression on them. Recently, whenever that name was mentioned or heard, it would be etched into their subconscious. And Chen Ling's addition of the condition "not too far away" further locked in the answer Supervisor Zhou was about to give.

Superficially, Chen Ling gave Supervisor Zhou the initiative, but in reality, from beginning to end, he only left Supervisor Zhou one option. This was the wonder of "psychological magic."

Upon receiving Supervisor Zhou's answer, Chen Ling's lips curved slightly upwards. He scanned the area below the stage and slowly began:

"Then... the magic begins."

Audience expectation value: 3.