Qin Ruqing was so unlucky that it shocked not only herself but everyone else too.

She was the first to enter the cave but took an unusually long time to come out.

Meanwhile, the people who entered after her finished their tests and exited one by one, but Qin Ruqing was still inside.

The other participants couldn’t believe their luck—they had a front-row seat to see the top-ranked person stuck in the cave! How amusing was that!

The aristocratic contestants gathered at the entrance of the Tianyun Island cave.

Normally, they would have returned to the foot of Mount Buzhou after their tests to wait for instructions, but now, no one wanted to leave.

“How incredibly unlucky is this! With Fairy Ruqing’s combat skills, how is she still inside? What could she have encountered?”

“This seems unusual. Could something have gone wrong inside?”

“If there was a problem, the examiners wouldn’t be so calm. They monitor the inside through golden rings, and since they haven’t acted, it means everything is normal.”

“She went into cave number eight. Maybe there’s something wrong with that cave? Are there any other candidates from cave number eight who can report what it’s like inside?”

Someone in the crowd spoke up—since there were only ten cave entrances, it wasn’t uncommon for numbers to overlap.

“I went through cave number eight. Inside, there seemed to be illusions making me fight against myself. Yes, an illusion of someone with the same strength and appearance as me. It took a lot of effort to get through.”

Everyone buzzed with discussion.

Honestly, that kind of test wasn’t easy. Fighting oneself… since it was a fight against oneself, the habits, weaknesses, and strengths would be fully known.

The difficulty was actually higher than fighting a regular high-level opponent.

But… this person’s ranking was only middle-high.

With Fairy Ruqing’s talent, she shouldn’t have trouble defeating herself, right?

After thinking it over, they shook their heads. “Fairy Ruqing must have faced a different challenge.”

Another contestant from cave number eight spoke up: “That test was hard enough, but mine was even stranger. I was just asked to find something. It didn’t involve combat at all.”

Someone curiously asked, “Find something? What a bizarre test. What did you have to find?”

“A living creature. I searched for a long time and finally caught a mosquito on the wall, and that passed the test.”

Everyone: This test… is indeed quite bizarre.

Eventually, more candidates from cave number eight shared their experiences, revealing that even in the same cave, each person’s challenge was different.

Some had ridiculously easy tasks, while others came out beaten and bruised.

It seemed Fairy Ruqing was just unlucky to face a particularly difficult test.

After marveling at her bad luck, the onlookers began to speculate about what exactly she might be facing inside.

The most important question was, could she make it out? The three-day time limit was almost up!

If she didn’t come out before the incense stick at the foot of Mount Buzhou burned out, her top rank would be voided.

Throughout the history of the Hundred Clans Conference, there has never been a case where the top scorer’s results were canceled due to sheer misfortune.

Curious about Qin Ruqing’s situation inside the cave, the already finished participants from various prestigious families began reaching out for information.

While the cave interiors weren’t visible from Tianyun Island, the outside world could access live streams provided by the Huicui Building every year, allowing them to check the current state of the conference.

So, the talented individuals staying on Tianyun Island managed to learn about Qin Ruqing’s situation in Cave No. 8 through the “I have a friend” channel.

One of them shouted, “According to my friend who is watching the live stream from Huicui Building, Qin Ruqing encountered a puppet in Cave No. 8!”

A puppet?

This test seemed ordinary, and many of them had encountered puppets during their trials.

The person paused and added with a strange expression, “Uh, this puppet is suspected to be at the Golden Core stage…”

The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.

The sea breeze had grown stronger, howling and causing the tall waves to crash against the rocks, creating a thunderous sound.

Someone gulped and asked, “Golden Core stage? Are you sure you didn’t mishear?”

The speaker, also incredulous, confirmed, “It’s impossible to mishear.

It was the third elder from Huicui Building who said it.

He’s a big shot from a prestigious family, so he wouldn’t deceive us, and Huicui Building is known for its credibility.”

Wow!

No wonder Qin Ruqing, who entered the cave first, still hadn’t come out—it turned out she was blocked by a Golden Core stage puppet!

Although the participants in the conference were all top geniuses, even geniuses need time to grow.

With a maximum age limit of twenty-five, even if you start cultivating from birth, you can’t reach the sky overnight.

For this conference, it was said that the most powerful contestant was Dan Qing from the Sword Sect.

But now, facing a Qi Condensation puppet, even Dan Qing wouldn’t be able to get through!

Some people still couldn’t believe it. Since the Tianyun Island examiner was nearby, they asked:

“Examiner, is it true that Qin Ruqing is being blocked by a Golden Stage stage puppet?”

The preliminary screening of the conference was nearing its end.

Apart from Qin Ruqing, only a few contestants hadn’t yet arrived.

The examiner didn’t hesitate to clarify these doubts.

With a hand resting on his belly, the examiner sighed, “It’s indeed the case. If we say that some previous contestants had extraordinarily good luck and triggered rare scenarios, Qin Ruqing’s bad luck is beyond measure. She triggered one of the rarest scenarios.”

“Her test involving a Golden Stage puppet is something that could be drawn by all contestants combined many times over and still not come up.”

“She drew it on her first try, which means she’s the unluckiest of the unlucky. It was bound to be her.”

So it was meant to be… sigh!

A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd.

Some were gleeful at her misfortune. Although they couldn’t reach her high position, they felt pleased to see her fall.

Others genuinely felt sympathy and shook their heads, saying, “It’s over. Qin Ruqing might really be unable to come out. She might become the first top scorer in history to have her qualification canceled.”

“Previously, a top scorer making a remarkable debut was surprising, but now, being unlucky to the point of universal condemnation is also remarkable, just that the former was a pleasant surprise, while the latter is a shock.”

“The one who truly stands out in this era!”

The top ten scholars on the gold list hadn’t left yet. When they heard that Qin Ruqing was trapped inside, they all decided to stay.

Dan Qing looked at the entrance of Cave No. 8 with a furrowed brow.

He was very worried about Qin Ruqing’s situation because, even for someone like him, who was at the Golden Core Stage, he wouldn’t dare say he could definitely get through it.

Qin Ruqing was someone Dan Qing had his eye on to sharpen his skills.

If she were disqualified from the tournament, it would mean the tournament had lost half its appeal for him.

Dan Qing, being the top swordsman of the Sword Sect, could have been directly admitted to the Ruins.

But he still chose to participate in the Hundred Clans Tournament.

The main reason, of course, was that the Sword Sect was very poor.

Dan Qing had ten junior brothers to support, and his master, the Hidden Blade Sword Master, had shown him the contents of his storage bag.

Apart from a few small spiritual stones and some items to care for his sword, it was almost empty.

The Hidden Blade Sword Master said, “Dan Qing, this family relies on you. You should have been preparing to enter the Ruins by now, but I’ve heard that the first prize of this tournament is exceptionally generous!”

“With so many mouths to feed at home, you should, ah, work hard! If nothing goes wrong, the first prize should be yours. If something does go wrong, well, just treat the one who surpasses you as a sharpening stone.”

“For sword cultivators like us, a sharpening stone is hard to come by and is worth as much as the first prize.”

So, Dan Qing came to the Eastern Region and then met Qin Ruqing.

He directly knocked her down from the top of the gold list, making her second and pushing himself up as the third.

Dan Qing, upon learning this result, was not disappointed but rather excited.

The more Qin Ruqing stood above him, the happier he was!

As long as he could defeat someone like her, his swordsmanship would take shape!

But now, his sharpening stone was trapped and might get disqualified.

Dan Qing, deeply troubled, looked around and found Qin Ruqing’s younger brother.

Qirong was feeling annoyed when suddenly he sensed a sharp aura nearby. He turned to see Dan Qing.

Oh, the top swordsman of the Sword Sect, poor and crazy.

This person had even taken a bunch of resentful souls from their soul cave before, and Qi Rong still held a grudge about it.

He immediately turned his head away, pretending not to see him.

Dan Qing spoke, “Could you tell me Qin Ruqing’s contact information?”

Qi Rong perked up, wary of what he wanted to do.

Dan Qing tried to sound gentle, “Qin Ruqing is in a dangerous situation. I’d like to encourage her and tell her not to give up easily.”

Qi Rong’s expression relaxed.

Among the many people who were gloating, this sword cultivator seemed quite upright.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “I can give it to you, but my sister is too busy to respond.”

Dan Qing replied, “That’s fine. As long as she can see it.”

… Qin Ruqing did see it.

She was in a very difficult situation, being beaten badly by a the puppet, and was sitting on a stone stool in the cave to rest.

Although she was experiencing bad luck, she still looked somewhat okay.

Not just okay, she was actually fuming with anger.

—”You’re really something! How did she end up with such bad luck!” Qin Ruqing thought.

Qin Ruqing gave a middle finger to the sky.

She often joked about being “unlucky” as self-deprecating humor, but after a few lucky draws recently, she started to believe her luck might be turning.

However, it might be that her earlier streak of good luck was exhausted or the gods of luck had taken notice and decided to mess with her.

Now, she was being targeted.

Facing a Golden Stage puppet—this was a task that felt nearly impossible! Qin Ruqing was angry but not overly panicked.

She still had some trump cards.

After advancing in her Dao Physique, she had awakened two major powers.

One was the Qing Lian Seal, which she had used before. It had three levels, but she could only use the first level.

The other was “Lotus Fire Embodiment,” which involved channeling her innate fire power to its extreme and enveloping herself with it, boosting her physical attributes and cultivation by 30%.

This meant that with this ability, combined with her already exceptional physical condition, she would likely be able to face the Golden Stage puppet head-on.

Of course, winning was still very difficult, but finding a gap in the puppet’s attacks to escape the cave wasn’t too hard.

But Qin Ruqing didn’t want to do that.

She was betting that all kinds of “monitors” outside were watching her.

If she used this move, it would reveal all her trump cards.

For a minor test like this, exposing all her secrets in front of her opponents and enemies seemed too much of a loss for someone as calculative as Qin Ruqing!