The second golden pillar soared into the sky with equal, if not greater, force than the first one.

It even seemed to be faster, shaking the ground and bursting through the sixth layer, then the eighth… and finally, the tenth layer!

“Heavens, why does this one seem even faster than the last?”

“Does she have no upper limit?”

“Although we can’t see above the tenth layer, I bet it’s higher than last time. What kind of spell did she use? I clearly didn’t see her exerting any effort!”

Yes, this was the greatest mystery to everyone.

The height reached by the first tablet seemed reasonable, given the complexity of the spell—it must have been one of her trump cards.

But for the second tablet, Qin Ruqing merely placed her hand on the tablet for a while, and it was just as impressive.

Feeling the many puzzled gazes, Qin Ruqing smiled without saying a word.

For her, the second stone tablet was the easiest among the three.

Testing explosive power…

As a practitioner who views art as an explosion, she was most comfortable with explosive power.

Moreover, Qin Ruqing was the most straightforward kind of spellcaster—“I’ll just cast a fireball and blow you up.”

“What, no reaction? Then I’ll just do ten!”

Not only that, but after Qin Ruqing’s Dao Physique awakening, she had a skill that was practically tailor-made for today’s test.

Flame Seed Parasite.

She had previously used this technique to blow a hole through the belly of a Thundercloud Beast in a small floating island.

While this skill was effective, it had a significant limitation: it required direct contact with the target.

In combat, Qin Ruqing would either have to engage in close combat or feign injury to deliberately guide the target into contact with her.

However, when dealing with a stone tablet, she didn’t need to worry about such things—stone tablets don’t move.

She just needed to stand there and use her skill.

Just now, Qin Ruqing had directly planted over a hundred flame seeds.

She first triggered half of them intentionally and then detonated the remaining half through a chain reaction of the exploding seeds.

The power was tremendous!

As for the issue of skill exposure, Qin Ruqing was willing to bet that, aside from the evaluator, no one else had any idea of what had just happened.

By the way, speaking of the evaluator, Qin Ruqing quickly turned her head in the evaluator’s direction and indeed saw that the evaluator looked pale and was visibly distressed.

Wow!

Evaluator, are you alright?

Qin Ruqing asked softly, “Um, evaluator, may I request a break?”

The evaluator swallowed hard and then mumbled a gloomy “mm.”

So exhausted—so exhausted!

The evaluator was going crazy inside.

How could it be that a big shot from an Celestial family was reduced to this by a junior!

Although the main issue was still due to the ancient stone tablet, if it weren’t for this girl making such a commotion, he wouldn’t be in this state.

The evaluator’s job? Hmph, not even worth comparing!

After the evaluator recovered, he didn’t sit down but stood up directly, his bones making cracking sounds.

Then he looked at Qin Ruqing with a terrifyingly bright gaze.

His only thought now was to get this little monster out of here quickly.

If such a ten-level genius showed up again, his old bones might not be able to handle it.

“Let’s begin!”

Qin Ruqing, feeling a bit guilty, smiled and said, “Thank you for your hard work, evaluator. The third one should be less tiring.”

Her weakest point was speed! For the third stone tablet, Qin Ruqing was aiming to pass ten levels, which she considered a victory (hands clasped together).

The evaluator no longer believed any of the little monster’s words.

But Qin Ruqing wasn’t lying at all.

For the third stone tablet, she wasn’t planning to use any fancy techniques.

In front of the stone tablet, Qin Ruqing aligned her index and middle fingers in front of her eyes and closed them.

In a place unseen by others, her innate great perfection body roared into action at its utmost capacity.

Except for the previous life-threatening crises, Qin Ruqing had never activated her innate great perfection body to this extent.

As a result, she turned into a high-speed spinning machine, with her meridians feeling like they were swelling and on the verge of bursting due to the speed of Qi output surpassing input.

Suddenly, Qin Ruqing opened her eyes, and a flash of green appeared in her pupils.

Her joined fingers suddenly unleashed a Qi blast, which made a sharp, piercing sound due to its high speed.

The Qi blast hit the stone tablet.

This time, unlike the previous two attempts, it didn’t require buffering.

The efficiency of the speed-oriented stone tablet was high, and the golden column rose straight up to the heavens.

After surpassing the tenth layer with ease, it seemed she couldn’t be bothered to push any higher and abruptly stopped.

The examiner, who had been bracing himself for another round of internal bleeding (or rather, swallowing blood), found that this time he felt absolutely nothing!

From the results on the stone tablet, it was clear that this girl had passed the test, with all three tablets reaching over ten layers.

The examiner couldn’t help but transmit a message to Qin Ruqing, asking, “What did you finally insert into the stone tablet?”

He really felt nothing at all.

Even ordinary candidates shouldn’t be so inconspicuous.

Qin Ruqing smiled slightly and transmitted back, “It was just the most ordinary spiritual energy.”

Spiritual energy…

The examiner was initially surprised, but after thinking it over, he realized the key to it.

She must have compressed her body’s spiritual energy to the extreme, firing it like a spiritual arrow or a spiritual pellet.

Given the extreme compression of the spiritual energy, the speed of the shot was naturally immense.

The principle of great simplicity means that sometimes, simpler methods are sufficient.

Of course, it’s only because this girl dared to use such a straightforward method that her ability to compress spiritual energy to the extreme must be something not easily learned by others.

The three stone tablets: the first one tested pure strength; the second tested strength combined with technique.

Therefore, the third tested intelligence, or wisdom.

Realizing this, the examiner could only express amazement and admiration, and a sigh of resignation.

The top spot on the Golden List was indeed well deserved.

The examiner didn’t say much more.

Taking out the golden ring, he placed his palm on it and said, “Qin Ruqing and Qin Qirong, you may check your scores.”

Everyone’s jade slips seemed to chime, and the surrounding people, feeling the change, took out their jade slips to check the results.

On the Hero Ranking List, the top position on the Golden List still firmly held Qin Ruqing’s name, but behind the name, a score appeared.

Thirty points!

Three stone tablets, three types of tests, ten points for each, meaning Qin Ruqing scored full marks on all three!

This result wasn’t particularly surprising. Since the stone tablets only had ten layers of golden light, with Qin Ruqing’s golden pillars reaching the top, it would be unexpected if she didn’t get full marks.

What surprised people more was Qirong’s score.

He scored ten, nine, and nine points respectively, totaling twenty-eight points.

This score was unprecedented, placing him directly under Qin Ruqing, in second place.

With one in first place and one in second, the Qin family, which had seen a gradual drop in rankings, shot back to the top of the list, creating a significant gap with the second place.

Top of the Hundred Clans List: Southern Ridge Qin Family!

Heavens, what is this Qin family?

Not only did they produce the outstanding Qin Ruqing, but now Qin Qirong, whose talent seems to rival even those in the top ten of previous hero rankings!

On a huge reef by the western part of Sandbar Island, Dan Qing was sitting cross-legged, holding his personal sword, Fang Ning, on his lap.

At this moment, he was holding a jade slip, murmuring to himself, “What kind of spell did she use for the first stone tablet? Even from such a distance, I could feel a dangerous aura. I wonder how it compares to my Ten Thousand Peaks Sword?”

“The second tablet was unclear, and the third tablet had no visible fluctuation either…”

“Perhaps it’s because of the distance.”

Dan Qing grasped his sword and stood up: “Admiring from the high mountains and following the path of excellence. I will also challenge the tenth level!” With that, he vanished from his spot.

In another direction on the coastal reef, the Radiant Buddha Child twirled his prayer beads.

“The more I observe Fairy Ruqing, the more I feel she has a connection with our Buddhist teachings… I wonder if she would like the title of Radiant Buddha Maiden? Hmm, I should go ask her.”

The Buddha Child moved forward, a flash of golden light, and he disappeared from sight.

Fairy Ming Ying stood on a massive, thick ancient tree branch on the island.

Her magnificent bird had folded its wings and was standing beside her, preening its feathers.

Fairy Ming Ying’s pretty face was serious.

For her, the title of the number one female cultivator in the Four Domains was probably already taken.

To avoid being mocked later, she had to secure a position in the top five.

A beautiful woman without a good reputation had to focus on her career!

“Fortunately, I have already discerned the key. The first tablet tests strength, the second tests explosive power, the third is related to speed, and then the top level… reaching the sixth level should be considered full marks.”

“Qin Ruqing… Heh, such a monster, I won’t compare myself to her. First, I’ll surpass her brother!”

Fairy Ming Ying made up her mind, patted her magnificent bird beside her, and said, “Qingluan, when we make our appearance later, let’s be impressive…”

Fang Zhiming had been sitting in the luxury carriage for too long, his legs numb.

He stood up, holding a glowing communication stone, his not-so-handsome face full of seriousness.

The family communication stone had just sent a single message: “Join forces with the Eastern Region families to launch a full-scale attack!”

It was obvious who this attack was targeting.

The Fang family could not tolerate the Qin family rising so rapidly.

Qin Ruqing was an unprecedented major threat to the Fang family! Given time, if she grew stronger…

Fang Zhiming clenched the communication stone tightly, transformed into golden light, and disappeared into the carriage, murmuring:

“She must be paying attention to me as well. Why not meet with her today…” With that, the luxury carriage started on its own, heading towards the three towering stone tablets.

Next to the stone tablets, the scribe was preparing to announce the scores and encourage Qin Ruqing.

Although the evaluator’s job was undesirable, having served for several terms, it was his professional habit to offer some extra words of encouragement to a candidate of such caliber.

However, before he could speak, this girl pulled her brother and respectfully saluted him, then quickly said:

“Evaluator, you’ve worked hard. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now…”

Without waiting for a reply, she turned and vanished from sight.

The evaluator raised his hand… No, was someone chasing you?

However, in Qin Ruqing’s view, there was indeed something chasing her!

She had just outshone the top spot, and many families probably hadn’t even reacted yet, or even dared to believe it.

After passing the assessment on Sandbar Island, once the scores were released, her position as number one was firmly established.

Could those people sit still?

Qin Ruqing was almost certain that they would have this mentality:

The first place cannot be taken by an outsider from a small family;

I might not be able to be first, but it definitely can’t be you;

First, let’s team up to bring down the most prominent one, then we’ll continue with our own battles.

Qin Ruqing felt like she was a hot commodity right now, and even passing dogs would come to take a bite.

But would she let them?

As long as I run fast enough, they won’t be able to catch me!

Qin Ruqing grabbed Qi Rong and brushed past the number one sword of the Sword Sect;

She leapt up in front of the glowing bald monk;

She happened to encounter the beautiful Ming Ying standing on her magnificent bird, smiled at her, then stepped onto an unknown broken carriage;

She used the momentum from stepping off to kick off the gemstones embedded in the carriage roof—

Whoosh, whoosh, and she disappeared from sight.