With the number of contestants dwindling, Le Gui could no longer simply coast along. However, as long as the remaining competitors weren’t from the same sect, she could still stir up discord among them. But once only two remained alongside her, there would be no need for scheming—they would undoubtedly team up to eliminate her first before turning on each other.

With Yaoyao now out of the competition, Le Gui had no one to mimic anymore. She could only imitate the moves of the remaining contestants as best she could. To those watching, it appeared as though she could instantly master techniques that others spent centuries perfecting, wielding them with even greater proficiency than their original users.

The path of cultivation was supposed to be arduous and full of hardships. Everyone accepted this as an undeniable truth. Yet, watching Le Gui today, they realized that some people could effortlessly obtain what others spent lifetimes striving for.

No—she was not only matching them, but far surpassing them.

A heavy silence fell over the audience. The expressions of those watching her grew increasingly complex. The only exception was Li Xingqiao, who had rushed over after finally finishing the tasks assigned by his senior brothers. His eyes shone with admiration as he gazed at Le Gui.

He, too, wanted to be like her. He had to work even harder. Blood surged in his veins, and his breath quickened with excitement. When Le Gui struck down her last two opponents with a single move, he could no longer contain himself and let out a cheer.

In the vast arena, aside from the sound of the wind, only Li Xingqiao’s excited exclamation could be heard. Le Gui turned her head in his direction, about to greet him, but then she remembered—she now belonged to the Demon Realm. Getting too close to him would do him no good. With that thought, she coolly looked away.

Li Xingqiao, however, was unbothered. Instead, he felt a little embarrassed, realizing that his outburst might have made things awkward for his friend.

The silence continued to stretch. Le Gui exhaled lightly and whispered to Seer Mirror, “So… can I go to His Lordship now and collect my reward?”

“Not just yet,” Seer Mirror said with a hint of amusement. “Such a grand performance would be incomplete without a final act.”

Le Gui paused. “What?”

Before she could process his words, a powerful surge of spiritual energy erupted from within her. In the skies above, auspicious clouds began to gather. Just as she was about to panic, a voice from the audience cried out in shock, “She’s about to form her Nascent Soul!”

At that moment, every gaze locked onto her.

Under the weight of their scrutiny, Le Gui forced a stiff smile and murmured through gritted teeth, “Seer Mirror, what the hell are you doing?”

“Tell me,” Seer Mirror mused, her voice unhurried. “For the elite of both the mortal and immortal worlds—those admired by their peers, nurtured by their elders, and blessed with countless opportunities—those who are proud, untouchable, and stand at the pinnacle of their generation… what do you think they would feel if they suddenly encountered a genius far superior to themselves?”

Le Gui glanced toward the viewing platform. Di Jiang was watching her with interest, as if he, too, was curious about her response.

She thought for a moment before answering, “Admiration?”

Seer Mirror and Di Jiang both laughed, clearly amused by her naïveté.

“No. What they feel is jealousy, resentment, and fury.” Seer Mirror’s voice turned eerily soft. “It is the realization that no matter how hard they try, they will never measure up. It is self-doubt and the crumbling of their own perceived greatness. It is the arrogance of ants when faced with an elephant…”

As she spoke, cries of pain suddenly rang out from below the stage. Le Gui instinctively looked down and saw that many of her former opponents had collapsed, coughing up blood. They seemed to be enduring some kind of unbearable torment, while the mere spectators remained unaffected.

“See? This is how a Dao heart gets shattered by such thoughts.”

The mirror’s tone was indifferent, as if it were merely an uninvolved observer.

More and more people in the audience fell to the ground, wounded. The sect leaders on the viewing platform could no longer remain seated. They rushed forward, each tending to their own disciples. Yaoyao, meanwhile, supported her injured senior sister. When Zhao Wuyou hurried over, full of concern, Yaoyao subtly injected another trace of spiritual energy into her senior sister’s already unstable meridians.

Her senior sister let out a pained groan. Zhao Wuyou immediately shoved Yaoyao aside and took his daughter into his arms. “Daughter, what is wrong?”

“It hurts… my chest hurts…” his daughter whimpered.

Zhao Wuyou checked her spiritual core, and his expression darkened at once. Meanwhile, Yaoyao chose this moment to cough up blood and collapse weakly to the ground. Zhao Wuyou ignored her completely, focusing all his attention on healing his own daughter. Yaoyao, seemingly accustomed to being overlooked, simply sat quietly on the side, waiting.

Le Gui slowly blinked, taking it all in. After a long pause, she finally understood.

“So… His Lordship sent me, a mere mortal, to participate in the Trial Tournament and take first place… just to watch them all lose their minds?”

“The destruction of one’s Dao Heart makes further advancement in cultivation nearly impossible,” the Seer Mirror gloated. “These old fools forced my master to waste two thousand years of cultivation just to mend a minor injury. Now, my master has made sure their centuries of painstaking efforts go to waste. Seems fair, does it not?”

[Hmm, in a way, it is a form of mutual sacrifice.]

The scene below was in utter chaos. Le Gui instinctively felt it was not wise to linger any longer. She silently looked toward Di Jiang, who was still seated in the viewing pavilion, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

…Di Jiang was thoroughly entertained and did not seem inclined to intervene.

After a brief pause, Le Gui chose to slip away unnoticed.

“Le Gui! Le Gui!”

Just as she was moving away from the crowd, she heard Li Xingqiao calling out to her. She hesitated for a moment before stopping.

“Le Gui, you are amazing!” Li Xingqiao looked at her with pure admiration in his eyes, devoid of any negative emotions.

Le Gui smiled. “Thank you.”

“You must be feeling terrible right now, aren’t you?” Li Xingqiao asked cautiously.

Le Gui was puzzled. “Why would I?”

“The people down there, many of them suffered inner turmoil because of how quickly you improved. You must feel guilty about it,” Li Xingqiao reasoned. He assumed she had left without claiming her reward out of remorse.

Le Gui, who did not feel guilty at all: “…Mm, a little.”

“It is their own imbalance that led to their injuries. This is not your fault!” Li Xingqiao earnestly explained. “The path of cultivation is long. Some advance quickly, others slowly. One cannot demand others slow down just because they cannot keep up.”

Le Gui happened to think the same way but still put on a solemn expression and nodded. “Thank you. I feel much better now.”

Li Xingqiao let out a relieved sigh.

“I—I do not have much to offer as a congratulatory gift, but please take this jade pendant. You can exchange it for spirit stones in an emergency,” he said, taking out a jade pendant from his robes. He seemed a little embarrassed as he handed it to her. “Of course, you are already at the Nascent Soul stage, so you probably will not need it, but it is a token of my appreciation…”

“This is the jade pendant you were holding when you were born, is it not?” Le Gui asked helplessly.

Li Xingqiao froze for a moment before his eyes lit up. “How did you know?!”

“…Keep it safe. Do not give it to anyone, no matter who asks,” Le Gui warned.

Li Xingqiao, still a bit confused, nodded.

“And stop being so trusting. You need to be cautious around others,” Le Gui continued. She thought about how, once she returned to the Demon Realm and became queen, she would finally obtain Wuliangdu and be able to leave. This might be her last chance to advise him. “Especially your senior brothers. Be extremely wary of them. If one of them ever asks you to help hide a small jade box, under no circumstances should you agree.”

That jade box contained the inner core of a serpent demon. In the original story, Li Xingqiao helped an unnamed senior brother hide it, which led to him being accused of colluding with the Demon Realm. At that time, he had already begun to stand out, gaining various fortuitous encounters. Many people envied him, so they did not even bother investigating before framing and persecuting him. That was how he ended up barely escaping with his life and fleeing to the Demon Realm.

It could be said that all of the male protagonist’s hardships began with hiding that jade box. In the original story, after escaping, he eventually inherited Di Jiang’s wealth and became the new ruler of the Demon Realm. But now… Di Jiang seemed like he would live a long time. There would be no inheritance to claim. If so, why suffer through all that misfortune?

“Remember my words. Do not tell anyone,” Le Gui emphasized, patting the sixteen-year-old boy on the arm.

Li Xingqiao, though still young, was already taller than her. He was momentarily stunned but still nodded. “I understand.”

“Then this is goodbye. If anyone asks about me, say you do not know me or that I deceived you. Just make sure to sever all ties,” Le Gui instructed.

Li Xingqiao hesitated. “But… why—”

“No reason. It is for your own good,” Le Gui interrupted.

Li Xingqiao was silent for a long moment before asking, “Then… when will we meet again?”

Le Gui thought for a moment and said, “If fate allows it.”

Such a perfunctory answer, yet Li Xingqiao took it seriously. “Alright!”

Le Gui: “…”

After parting ways with the still somewhat naive Li Xingqiao, Le Gui headed straight for the Dengtian Pavilion, planning to wait for Di Jiang there. However, before she could get far, she unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.

“Elder?” Le Gui was surprised.

It was the steward of the Seer Mirror’s parents.

The steward smiled as he approached. “My masters have already arrived at the other courtyard. However, upon hearing that the third trial had ended, they found the event uninteresting and decided to leave. I suddenly remembered that I had promised to invite you to meet them when they arrived, so I was on my way to the tournament stage to find you. Who would have thought I would run into you here?”

“What a coincidence,” Le Gui replied, forcing a smile.

Seeing her hesitation, the steward asked, “So… shall we go meet them now?”

Le Gui: “…”

“Yes,” the Seer Mirror answered without hesitation.

Le Gui: “…Let me think about it.”

With that, she darted off to a quiet corner.

“What are you hesitating for?” the Seer Mirror sounded exasperated. “I have searched for them for thousands of years. If we miss this chance, who knows how long it will take to find them again!”

“But I feel like we should inform His Lordship first,” Le Gui reasoned. “If it is just the two of us going, I do not feel at ease.”

The Seer Mirror was speechless. “What is there to be uneasy about—”

“I do not know. It just feels wrong. What if he is deceiving us?”

“So what? Do you think I can’t protect you?” Seer Mirror retorted.

Le Gui sighed. “That’s not what I meant…”

“Young friend, young friend!” The steward saw Le Gui standing alone in the corner, seemingly lost in thought, and called out to her twice. “Are you unable to spare the time?”

Le Gui hesitated. “I…”

“If you truly cannot, then never mind. We are about to set off,” The steward said kindly. “If fate allows, we shall meet again someday.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and left without hesitation.

The mirror grew so anxious that its demonic aura nearly burst apart. It immediately tried to take control of Le Gui’s body, but realizing that this was now unavoidable, Le Gui had no choice but to take the initiative.

Before the mirror could seize control, she hurriedly ran after him. “Elder, wait for me!”

“This way, please.” The steward led her down a small path.

Le Gui followed him to the end of the path. As soon as he pushed open the courtyard door, she stepped inside. Behind her, the steward lowered his gaze and quietly shut the door.

The courtyard faded from view once more.

A short distance away, two cultivators happened to witness the scene and exchanged puzzled looks.

“That prodigy from Hehuan Sect just disappeared?” One of them asked in confusion.

The other pondered for a moment before replying, “She probably feared trouble from the various sects, so she left without even claiming her reward. She is quite an interesting one. The first time she participated in a trial, she was just a mere mortal who couldn’t even step onto the competition platform. And now, she has already learned how to step into the void. It’s hard not to feel envious.”

“What’s there to be envious of?” The first cultivator snorted. “She seems a bit unhinged to me. Didn’t you see her standing there earlier, mumbling to herself for half the day? Who knows what she was talking about?”