He dared to be the first to act for a reason.

Being the first meant the highest attention; as long as he performed well, his reputation would soar.

Of course, there was also the risk of backlash due to unfamiliarity with the rules.

Between risk and reward, the young man chose to take a gamble.

Suddenly, someone pointed at the bottom of the stone tablet and shouted, “Hey, hey, it’s showing the characters!”

The characters that appeared at the bottom of the tablet were read aloud: “Eastern Region, Nanping Continent, Qi Yuanbing.”

“Qi Yuanbing… That’s me, that’s me! I’m Qi Yuanbing! Does successfully carving my name mean I’ve passed this test?”

He won the gamble!

The young man looked at the examiner for a reaction but found none.

He wasn’t disappointed.

Examiners are always like this, hoping to scare you away with their cold demeanor.

Successfully carving the name on the first stone tablet greatly boosted the young man’s confidence.

He felt like he was the chosen one and was about to become a stunning dark horse, like Fairy Ruqing.

Full of confidence, he moved to the second tablet.

A young man, often called “the pretty boy,” tried attacking the stele again with a powerful spell.

However, the golden light on the stele remained undisturbed, and he began to doubt the effectiveness of his attack.

“Why isn’t it reacting?” he asked anxiously. “The previous stele responded, but this one didn’t, even though my second attack was stronger.”

The crowd around him murmured in confusion.

“Is it failing?”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s working.”

“Looks like he can’t figure out the pattern now!”

The pretty boy turned to the examiner in desperation. “Examiner, why isn’t the stele reacting? The first stele worked, but the same method doesn’t seem to be working here! My second attack was even more powerful!”

Far to the east on Sandboat Island, Fang Zhiming, sitting cross-legged atop his luxurious carriage, looked at the pretty boy with disdain.

“Fool. If every stele responded to the same attack, what’s the point of having different ones?”

Fang Zhiming considered himself a genius and had no interest in associating with fools. His gaze shifted to the striking figure in red amidst the crowd, revealing a hint of wariness.

Just as he had previously focused on Ming Ying, Fang Zhiming had now turned his attention entirely to Qin Ruqing.

Elsewhere on Sandboat Island, several hidden presences indicated that many were lying in wait, ready to seize their opportunity. These top-ranked talents attracted much more attention than ordinary people. Revealing themselves too early could lead to their techniques being copied or unnecessary targeting.

For now, the competition had just begun, and these top talents had time to observe.

Qin Ruqing, however, seemed entirely unaware of the attention she was attracting, mingling casually with the crowd.

Qin Ruqing communicated telepathically with Qirong. “That person has been eliminated.”

Qirong was taken aback. “Is that so? But the testing has only just started.”

Confused, Qirong chose not to ask questions aloud, knowing the crowd around them was too noisy.

The examiner’s voice came, “If the stele doesn’t react, that’s the result. Now, the final test begins.”

The pretty boy was shocked when the examiner closed his eyes. “Does this mean he won’t be watching the rest of my tests?”

Overwhelmed by anxiety, the pretty boy’s performance suffered. His attacks were weak and ineffective, failing to make any impact on the stele.

The examiner remained with closed eyes, as if already knowing the outcome. “Next. Is there anyone else who wants to try?”

With the golden ring still floating in the air, maintaining the ancient stele’s state was a significant drain on his energy.

After observing the pretty boy’s failed attempt, Qin Ruqing calmly said, “Let’s go.” She turned and began to walk away.

Qirong followed swiftly. “Aren’t we staying to watch?”

Qin Ruqing shook her head. “The requirements for this stele seem to differ. It’s not necessary to watch others now.”

They continued their way, leaving the scene of the test behind.

“Have the results come in?”

“Yes, they’re available, but since it took them so long to get the results, I won’t have time to compete later. Instead of waiting for them, I might as well try it myself.”

She was really pressed for time.

Qirong nodded and said, “That Qi family person is really strange. Even though he didn’t understand the stone tablet’s mysteries, he was so eager to start. Now that he’s failed, he’ll probably regret it for life!”

To this, Qin Ruqing’s comment was, “He’s just a gambler who lost.”

Arriving in front of the group of small stone tablets, Qin Ruqing said to Qirong, “Qirong, find a spot and try it yourself.”

He couldn’t rely on her for everything.

Qirong nodded obediently.

Once he found a position not too far from her, Qin Ruqing turned her gaze back to the small stone tablets.

After a moment’s thought, she raised her index finger, and a ball of fire appeared.

It wasn’t her innate divine fire, but rather a spiritual flame generated spontaneously by her Tianhuo spiritual root.

She flicked the flame, and with no special force—just a regular experiment—the red spiritual fire landed on the stone tablet.

Immediately, the tablet’s golden light surged, and a golden vertical line rose up, reaching halfway before slowing down and finally stopping at a mid-to-high position.

Qin Ruqing showed a thoughtful expression and used a proper spell attack for the second test.

The golden line went higher this time, but there was still some distance from the top.

On the third attempt, Qin Ruqing used her innate divine fire, and the golden line shot straight to the top of the tablet.

Qin Ruqing’s expression turned satisfied. Ah, the obsessive-compulsive disorder was finally at ease.

The examination official’s eyes, which had been closed, opened at some point, and his gaze fell on Qin Ruqing.

There was a hint of subtle surprise in his pupils.

To have the golden line reach the top so easily? This was unprecedented.

Just as he was astonished, there was another commotion from Qin Ruqing’s side.

With a loud bang, she shattered the tablet.

Qin Ruqing jumped a few times to avoid the flying debris, lest the sharp stones tear her elegant (pretentious) attire.

Afterward, she cupped her hands and apologized to the surrounding onlookers:

“Sorry, it made quite a noise. Please continue!”

Continue?

Auntie, don’t you know how many people are watching you?

Who doesn’t recognize you?

Whether the others continued or not, Qin Ruqing didn’t care.

She remained focused on her own efforts.

Let them watch if they want~ If they can figure out a flower from this, I’ll admit defeat.

After about a quarter of an hour, having shattered almost all the tablets, Qin Ruqing finally stopped.

She looked towards Qirong, their eyes meeting, and Qirong nodded back.

Qin Ruqing transmitted a message, “Can you see the mysteries now?”

Qirong replied, “The first tablet tests pure strength; the stronger the attack, the better. The second tablet tests explosive power, focusing on momentum and technique. The third tablet tests speed; the faster, the better.”

Qirong answered without hesitation, clearly able to discern the mysteries without Qin Ruqing’s guidance.

Qin Ruqing smiled, “Good, you go first.”

The two approached the examiner.

Without hesitation, Qirong addressed the examiner, “Examiner, I’m ready to begin the test!”

The examiner, having not dared to close his eyes since the secondary tablet was shattered, looked at Qirong first, then glanced at Qin Ruqing beside him, and said, “Are you certain?”

Given the previous failures…

As the exam progressed, five participants had already failed.

While they had scores, in the examiner’s eyes, it meant elimination.

Qirong confirmed, “Understood.”

The golden ring was once again summoned, and the ancient stone stele lit up.

Without hesitation, Qirong approached the first stone stele.

Confident in his abilities and in his sister’s advice, he threw a powerful punch at the stele.

The punch, imbued with immense force, struck the stele with a resounding thud.

The impact was so strong that it shook the air, but the stele remained unmoved.

The spectators were stunned by the raw power.

Qirong’s punch had been so intense that it could have shattered bones in an ordinary cultivator.

Yet, he seemed unaffected, only slightly shaking his hand before calmly observing the stele.

The stele responded with a dramatic display of golden light.

It divided into ten sections, and a golden line rose from the bottom, crossing through the layers.

It slowed and stopped at a point between the fifth and sixth layers, indicating Qirong’s result.

Uncertain about the significance of the golden line and the layers, Qirong glanced at his sister.

Seeing her calm and even smiling slightly, he felt assured that he had done well.

Ignoring the examiner’s wide-eyed surprise, Qirong moved to the second stele.

This time, he took a moment to gather his “qi,” and his next punch, though seemingly simple, was executed with precision and speed.

The stele again responded with a burst of golden light.

The golden line stopped at a point closer to the top of the fifth layer but didn’t reach the sixth layer.

In his third attempt, Qirong focused on speed, which was his weakest area.

As expected, the golden line barely crossed the fifth layer’s boundary.

It was clear from the results that Qirong’s strength was his greatest asset, followed by his explosive power, while his speed was comparatively weaker.

After completing his tests, Qirong turned to the examiner with a sheepish look and asked, “Examiner, how did I do?”

The examiner, momentarily dazed, finally nodded and looked at Qin Ruqing. “You two should be tested together. We’ll score both after she finishes.”

Qirong’s eyes widened, and the crowd gasped at the examiner’s decision to delay the scores.

Qin Ruqing, initially surprised, smiled.

This arrangement suited her perfectly.

The attention of everyone on Sandboat Island shifted to Qin Ruqing, who was now surrounded by a curious crowd.

The tension and anticipation in the air were palpable as people eagerly awaited her performance on the stele.

The testers had stopped their own attempts.

Since the esteemed Qin Ruqing was about to take action, they naturally wanted to watch the spectacle first!

Several presences scattered around the floating island seemed to be unable to restrain their fluctuations.

Standing in front of the first stone tablet, Qin Ruqing went over a series of spells in her mind.

This stone tablet was clearly of a different level from the previously shattered small tablets, so she couldn’t afford to be arrogant or slack off—especially with so many eyes on her; she couldn’t afford to slack off.

With that in mind, she decided to use her Qinglian Seal.

This was her innate divine ability awakened after her Dao Physique advanced.

It was one of her most powerful offensive techniques.

Qin Ruqing focused her dark eyes, and her hands began to quickly form seals.

The complexity of her hand seals was astonishing; just by looking at the seals, one could tell that this was an extraordinarily formidable divine ability.

A ball of golden mist slowly appeared in her palms, dreamlike and ethereal, yet carrying a mesmerizing aura.

The golden mist began to solidify, forming a lotus flower.

The lotus started as a bud and gradually unfolded its petals.

As each petal opened, the surrounding temperature increased.

By the time the lotus was half-open, the heat around Qin Ruqing was unbearable.

The examiner watched in alarm, wondering what spell Qin Ruqing was about to use.

He raised a barrier to isolate the crowd and then watched Qin Ruqing with a grave expression.

At this moment, the lotus petals had fully opened.

It floated and rotated between her hands, giving it an almost divine appearance.

But Qin Ruqing’s expression was extremely serious.

She suddenly bit her tongue, and a mist of blood sprayed out, staining the golden lotus.

The sight was so stunning that the red-clad divine woman seemed otherworldly.

Qin Ruqing changed her hand seals and declared, “Blood Sacrifice!”

The golden lotus began to spin rapidly and moved toward the stone tablet.

Though the movement was slow, it inexplicably made one’s heart race, as if an invisible hand was tightening around their hearts.

The examiner’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

When the golden lotus touched the stone tablet, it seemed to slowly sink as if it were a heavy object submerging into water, completely engulfed by the tablet.

After a brief pause, the entire stone tablet suddenly surged.

Golden light rippled like waves, and the stone tablet vibrated with a buzzing sound, seemingly burdened by the massive energy it was absorbing.

The examiner, who was casting with the golden ring, felt his eyelids twitch uncontrollably, as if an ancient whale had swallowed him whole, and his spiritual energy was drained instantly.

The examiner was on the brink of being drained!

He hurriedly accelerated the circulation of his spiritual energy to barely avoid being drained.

The examiner, connected to the ancient stone tablet, felt it humming and operating, causing him to see stars.

Finally, the stone tablet absorbed the energy, and a golden column of light shot up into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, it broke through five layers, and then continued upward at full speed.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the golden column advanced through: six layers, seven layers, eight layers…

It only slightly slowed down upon reaching the ninth layer and finally broke through the tenth layer.

And it continued upward!

The ancient stone tablet had only ten layers.

Qin Ruqing glanced at it and couldn’t clearly discern the exact position of the golden column at the tenth layer, not due to a lack of spiritual sense, but because the area above the tenth layer seemed to have a built-in shielding effect.

However, she felt that her performance was quite satisfactory.

After all, the Qinglian Seal was one of her trump cards.

Satisfied, she rubbed her hands and moved to the second stone tablet.

Just as she was about to begin, the examiner, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly raised a hand.

For some reason, he looked as pale as gold paper, gasping for breath.

Qin Ruqing was startled. “Examiner, what’s wrong?”

The examiner did not respond, struggling to maintain his composure, and said, “You… you should take a break.”

…Let me catch my breath too.