Destined Entwining: Capturing My Devoted Beau

Chapter 931: Chapter 454: The Abnormal and the Supernatural (First Update)

The Stetford Corporation’s headquarters is located in a very tall building.

The two of them took the elevator to the thirty-seventh floor and stepped into a spacious hall.

The entire hall was luxuriously decorated, yet it also possessed a mysterious Eastern charm.

Countless dazzling crystal bulbs adorned the ceiling, forming a large five-star shape that almost covered the entire hall.

The hall’s floor was made of black banyan wood, looking somewhat like rosewood, though it definitely wasn’t rosewood.

Nowadays, even the wealthiest in the world wouldn’t use rosewood for flooring to decorate an entire conference room.

It’s not about the money, but there’s simply not enough quality material to squander like that.

The hall was so spacious that four Roman columns stood in its center.

The surface of all four walls was clad in redwood, with a row of antiquated zitan chairs and tea tables lined up against the foot of the walls.

The hall was divided into two sections, with the east side higher and the west side lower.

The elevated eastern section occupied about a quarter of the hall, while the other three-quarters was a lower venue space.

The venue was filled with many comfortable yet rustic-looking single seats, meant for those holding tickets to watch the first-round competition today.

The elevated eastern area featured a speaker’s podium and two crescent-shaped long sofas, one placed to the left and one to the right of the podium.

The eight contestants selected for the first round of competition were seated there.

The central podium was reserved for the host.

The seats below were gradually filling up with people.

The ten judges, along with Quentin Parker, the Supreme Judge, sat in the front row below the stage.

Evan Stetford and Richard Stetford were also present, along with the Sheldon family’s three members: Aiden Sheldon, Autumn Stetford, and Ruby Sheldon.

Ava Harlow and Spring Spencer sat next to Autumn Stetford.

Additionally, there were local Chinatown leaders, wealthy Chinese descendants, and their relatives and friends.

For instance, Kenneth Osborne, who held a ticket given by Caitlin Gilbert, was there, along with Caitlin Gilbert and Olivia Gilbert, who were seated with Kenneth.

The Daoists who participated in yesterday’s competition, apart from the top eight, the top twenty were also allowed entry with tickets.

They were seated with elders and high-ranking members of the Grant Branch.

Before eight-thirty, the conference hall, which could accommodate three hundred people, was already packed tightly.

Those who could be here today were among the upper echelon of overseas Chinese descendants.

Lawrence Winters didn’t know many people, but she could read faces a little.

As she gazed around, the aura of so many people felt varied.

She was seated with Daoist Wang, with two older Daoists over fifty beside her, who seemed excited as if it was their first time making it to the top eight.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gilbert was seated on the right sofa with three other people.

His demeanor was both composed and relaxed, clearly a seasoned veteran, not his first time here.

His unhurried state calmed the three forty-something Daoists beside him, making them much quieter compared to the more lively side where Lawrence Winters was seated.

Daoist Wang felt his two eyes were not enough, looking up, down, left, and right, almost itching to take out his phone to snap a few selfies to share with his disciples.

He squinted at the zitan chairs below the walls and said, ”...Are those antique reproductions? But the aging is really impressive, they’ve even got a nice patina.”

Lawrence Winters squinted and looked at them, smiling silently.

If those were ”reproductions,” she felt she could gouge out her own eyes.

Those were obviously ”antiques,” with another term, known as ”cultural relics.”

The Stetford family’s corporate company using these genuine ancient pieces as everyday items, that was true luxury...

After some more casual chatting, the large clock on the opposite wall of the hall began tolling loudly.

It was now eight-thirty, and the host was about to speak.

Evan Stetford was the first to step up.

Today, he wore an elegant light gray suit, further accentuating his graceful demeanor, like a nobleman stepping out of an ancient book.

However, standing on stage, the imposing presence of a Chinatown leader began to manifest.

He glanced at the crowd below, and everyone instinctively fell silent, speaking no more.

Evan Stetford smiled slightly and nodded, ”Welcome everyone to the first round of the 18th Celestial Path Sect World Cup Championship.”

”In previous years, we invited participants to this venue to present their issues, which were then resolved by our Celestial Path Sect’s most outstanding experts. The judges scored based on the difficulty of the issues and the proficiency in resolving them.”

As Evan Stetford spoke, he paused slightly.

The audience couldn’t help but feel their hearts leaping to their throats.