After finishing a match, Qin Ruqing spotted a familiar figure and cheerfully waved:

“Young Master!”

She lightly jumped over to stand beside the Fifth Young Master Youlin.

The distinguished Fifth Young Master, with sharp, handsome features but a gentle expression, greeted Qin Ruqing with his first words being, “Congratulations.”

Congratulations on your win.

Qin Ruqing was puzzled but still cupped her hands and smiled, saying, “Thank you, thank you. Congratulations to you too.”

Even though she wasn’t sure what to celebrate, it was all part of polite conversation!

After exchanging pleasantries, Qin Ruqing quickly asked:

“By the way, Young Master, did you see any updates in the historical images from the original rule cave after you went back?”

Qin Ruqing had a keen interest in the idea she saw in those images—a world-destroying formation requiring a thousand celestial beings for sacrifice.

She was eager to know what happened next.

The Fifth Young Master looked surprised for a moment, not expecting this to be her first question, but quickly became calm and shook his head:

“The original rule cave only shows us so much. Even if I go back, I’d see the same images. No new content has appeared.”

“Oh, I see.” Qin Ruqing was disappointed.

She muttered to herself, “How can they be so stuck on the ending…”

As they chatted casually, Qin Ruqing glanced at the rankings and noticed many new battle matches, with some strange pairings—like Rui Fenhua versus the Buddhist Son.

How did these two end up fighting?

One reciting scriptures and the other calculating luck?

“Why are so many people suddenly fighting?” Qin Ruqing was confused.

The Fifth Young Master smirked slightly, looking at Qin Ruqing with an implied message.

“Ah, you mean me? Am I the one leading the fights?” Qin Ruqing pointed at herself.

She defended, “I saw a lot of chaos before, but the rankings didn’t record it!”

The Fifth Young Master gently said, “Only formal one-on-one duels are likely to be recorded. The ones where people just cause trouble and leave are considered too trivial to be noted.”

Qin Ruqing nodded, “Speaking of which, why don’t you pick an opponent, Young Master? It seems like the trial has some criteria for selection, and these fights are probably to improve their scores.”

The Fifth Young Master replied softly, “No one dares to challenge me right now.” He turned to Qin Ruqing, “Do you want to fight me?”

Qin Ruqing laughed, “I’ll pass. I just fought with you earlier, and it would be awkward to fight again!”

Actually, she felt that since she had already fought and received her rewards, there was no point in doing it again.

She quickly changed the subject, “So many matches have happened. Young Master, let’s place a bet on the outcomes!”

“Feng Mingyue vs. Lu Zhiyao…”

Qin Ruqing stroked her chin, noting that this appeared to be the most high-profile match on the surface.

However, she didn’t know much about these two and found it difficult to judge.

Fifth Youlin said, “Bet on Feng Mingyue to win.”

He seemed quite cooperative with Qin Ruqing.

Qin Ruqing glanced at Fifth Youlin, puzzled, as if to ask why he was so confident.

Fifth Youlin smiled and explained, “I’ve interacted with both of them. Unless Lu Zhiyao has made significant progress, she won’t be able to match Feng Mingyue.”

Qin Ruqing thought about it and realized that it made sense.

They all lived in Penglai, so it was normal for them to meet and understand each other.

“Then, Ming Ying vs. Dan Qing…” Before Fifth Youlin could comment, she interjected, “This one’s tricky. Ming Ying is probably only participating because she feels pressured. She really doesn’t want to fight a sword cultivator!”

Fifth Youlin looked at Qin Ruqing and asked, “Are you familiar with Ming Ying? Why doesn’t she want to fight?”

“Sword cultivators are pretty fierce, and they don’t fit the aesthetic of the female cultivator from the Eastern Region. Plus, Ming Ying seems a bit scared of Dan Qing. She avoided him during the Hundred Clans Conference, haha!”

Qin Ruqing chuckled as she spoke.

Fifth Youlin looked at her and, despite his usual calm demeanor, found himself amused by the situation.

“Finally, The Monk in Buddhist, or rather, Rui Fenhua from the Rui family. Little Pink Flower is a nickname I gave her. I can’t figure out how she’ll fare against Hui Neng, the Buddhist disciple.”

Fifth Youlin replied without hesitation, “Bet on Hui Neng to win.”

In Fifth Youlin’s view, Hui Neng, when truly serious, could reach the level of Feng Mingyue.

However, Buddhists were always mysterious and low-key, which contributed to their lack of fame.

Qin Ruqing turned with a bright, excited expression and said, “No, you don’t understand the power of the Luck Emperor!”

Fifth Youlin genuinely didn’t understand what “Luck Emperor” meant and thus didn’t grasp the supposed power.

But he was about to find out.

---

To Hui Neng, it made no difference who he fought.

However, facing the relatively unknown Rui Fenhua, also known as Little Pink Flower, was a novel experience.

Before the battle began, Hui Neng said to Little Pink Flower, “Amitabha, I apologize for any offense.”

Rui Fenhua weakly replied, “Please, Buddhist disciple, show mercy!”

Without further words, Hui Neng began to chant sutras, standing still.

As soon as Fenhua heard the Buddhist Monk chanting scriptures, she got scared and immediately blocked her hearing.

But the mysterious chanting still echoed directly in her mind.

Trembling, she sat down, closed her eyes, and began to sense the power of destiny, all while cursing the Buddhist Monk’s head to crack open.

To an outsider, it was a confusing sight—a tense battle, yet both sides remained eerily quiet.

In this battle between destiny and fate, the goal was clear: if you could win while sitting, you’d never stand.

The Buddhist Monk was chanting peacefully when suddenly a loud metallic sound rang out from his head.

Clang!

The Monk opened his wise eyes, and the chanting stopped.

Fenhua was shocked by the Monk’s seemingly steel-hard skull.

When she saw his gaze, a chill ran down her spine, and she wanted to back away but forced herself to stay put.

With a trembling voice, she said, “Monk, I don’t want to fight you, but there’s no retreat on the path of inheritance. This is about my dao, I… I have no choice!”

The Monk replied, “My scriptures tell me that you are not as scared as you appear.”

For a moment, the delicate facade on Fenhua’s face shattered.

Just like when Qin Ruqing first met the Monk, she had said that even if he wasn’t entirely evil, he wasn’t entirely good either.

Qin Ruqing didn’t have the Monk’s scriptures, but she relied on her experience as a fellow “master of changing faces” and an expert in hidden intentions to sense these things.

Qin Ruqing also held another belief she never mentioned—everyone knew that truly delicate and weak girls rarely wore pink. The fact that Little Pink Flower wore pink meant she couldn’t be that fragile!

Little Pink Flower didn’t have time to defend herself or maintain her carefully cultivated persona.

The Buddhist Monk’s scriptures had already started manifesting in her mind. At that moment, a bright, shining word appeared in her mind: Desire.

Before long, Fenhua realized she was starting to think about men… and not just mentally, but physically too…

Furious, she looked up at the Monk and glared: “So this is how filthy you monks really are!”

But in reality, the Monk wasn’t filthy at all.

The scriptures he used in his attack would manifest differently depending on the person.

In other words, the Desire that appeared in Little Pink Flower’s mind, along with those thoughts, were simply her own inner desires magnified.

With the situation as it was, Little Pink Flower blushed, trying to think of a way to recover—her face wasn’t red from shame, of course.

Why would she be ashamed?

It was from anger!

She performed a mysterious technique, quickly drawing a symbol in the air with her joined fingers.

Her fingertips began to glow as she pressed them to her forehead.

Gathering the power of destiny, Fenhua desperately repeated in her mind, “I have no desires today, no desires at all!”

Her gathered power began to take effect, and Fenhua Flower calmed down… maybe too much. She even lost interest in fighting.

Quickly shaking her head to refocus, she squinted at the Monk. Before, she had just wanted not to lose, but now, she actually wanted to win.