Chapter 132

Not only did she seem unbothered, but she also appeared more energized with each lightning strike. How could this make any sense?

The elder murmured, “How long will this tribulation last for her?”

If her aptitude was as high as they suspected, it might take more than three days and nights, as tribulations typically intensified over time.

Successfully enduring the heavenly lightning would mean she had truly formed her Golden Core.

“It might take three days or even longer. We should stay here until it’s over.”

“Notify the unrelated cultivators outside to disperse,” the Sect Master of Wenjian Sect quickly decided. “The remaining inner disciples can choose whether to stay or leave. All elders and sect masters will stay here until Ye Qiao’s tribulation ends.”

Her tribulation affecting everyone outside was unprecedented in the cultivation world.

Yun Hen went to inform the other cultivators to disperse, then dismissed the barrier with a wave of his hand, saying, “You may leave now. The remaining inner disciples can return to their sects and prepare for the individual competition. Those from the Changming Sect should stay.”

The cultivators outside were eager to leave. No one wanted to stay and endure the lightning strikes. Seeing that Ye Qiao’s tribulation would not end for at least three days, they decided to watch the recorded images later.

Song Hansheng crossed his arms and stood there. Seeing the Changming Sect members gathering together, he remarked coldly, “I thought you would stay.”

“Our souls are with Ye Qiao,” Ming Xuan said lazily. “But our bodies are not.”

They couldn’t afford to stay and endure the lightning.

Yun Que couldn’t understand the heavenly lightning, but she had a vague bad feeling. She looked up at Song Hansheng with her water-bright eyes, “Senior Brother, does such a fierce tribulation mean she has strong talent?”

Song Hansheng replied, “Of course. Ye Qinghan endured his Nascent Soul tribulation for three days; the longer it lasts, the higher the talent.”

If one’s talent were low, the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t even bother to send lightning. Being targeted by the Heavenly Dao was a sign of extraordinary ability.

Yun Que’s fingertips tightened slightly as she suppressed her doubts. Why hadn’t she experienced a heavenly tribulation?

Not having a tribulation was rare in the cultivation world. The Five Sects were already unfriendly towards her. If they found out how she obtained her spiritual root, she might not even be able to participate in the individual competition.

Inside the secret realm, after Ye Qiao said this, the secret realm went into a frenzy. It was desperate to kick her but couldn’t reach her, nearly crying out of frustration.

Ye Qiao lay on the ground, turned over, and continued to endure the lightning strikes. She heard the secret realm’s voice, which was on the verge of tears, angrily asking her, “When will this tribulation end?”

“I don’t know.”

This was her first time undergoing a tribulation, and she had no experience. Initially, the tribulation seemed mild, but by late at night, the sky was scorched earth, and the secret realm within a hundred miles was devastated.

The secret realm tried to grit its teeth and hold on, thinking it could withstand for three days. After all, it was a creation of the heavens and earth and shouldn’t be so fragile.

Others thought the same.

Three days and nights—surely, it would be over by then?

On the third day, as dawn broke, the elders stood quietly waiting. When the sky lightened, one elder stood up, smiling with relief, “It’s the third day; it should be ending soon.”

Finally, it was coming to an end.

“Are you happy?” Qin Fanfan asked with a hint of melancholy.

“Happy,” the elders nodded. Who wouldn’t be happy to finally leave?

Fearing being affected, they had specifically set up a barrier, and the group of elders and sect masters were waiting like prisoners for Ye Qiao to emerge.

Qin Fanfan also smiled, “Then you’re celebrating too early.”

The tribulation of a heavenly spiritual root was different from that of a supreme spiritual root. He had checked before; Ye Qiao wouldn’t finish in less than five days, which meant there was still more than half of it left.

The elders: “…”

The secret realm was on the verge of collapse. It screamed in frustration, wishing it had never seen Ye Qiao since she entered.

Ye Qiao looked at the secret realm, which was continually disassembling and reassembling, nearing distortion and madness. She didn’t speak, seemingly lost in thought. It might not be long before it collapsed entirely.

She had previously experienced the collapse of a secret realm.

The thunderstorm raged on, each strike more intense than the last, continuing for five days.

When the final thunderclap fell, the secret realm completely dissipated before her eyes. Ye Qiao squinted, lying still on the ground.

Accustomed to the lighting inside the secret realm, she felt somewhat uncomfortable seeing the outside world, which was dark and still covered in lingering thunderclouds.

Ye Qiao rubbed her eyes lightly and stepped out, expecting to see a group of fans enthusiastically throwing flowers and welcoming her.

Instead, when she emerged, the scene was quite different from what she had imagined.

The audience seats were empty, and the elders’ seats were protected by barriers. When they saw her coming out, they all moved away as if she were a terrorist.

Ye Qiao: “?”

“What’s going on?” She walked over in confusion. The other inner disciples automatically made way for her, their gazes oddly distant.

The inner disciples exchanged glances, unsure of what to say. Ming Xuan broke the silence, “How does it feel after reaching the Golden Core stage?”

Ye Qiao instinctively looked inward with her spiritual sense and saw a round Golden Core. She blinked and replied, “It feels pretty good.”

The girl looked back at the dissipated phantom secret realm, thought for a moment, and said frankly, “It’s just that it’s a bit of a wasted secret realm.”

Having collapsed two secret realms, she wondered if she had some kind of curse.

She didn’t feel much discomfort, and she even seemed to get more energized with each strike. Except for looking a bit like a beggar after every tribulation, there were no other issues.

Elder Zhao: “…” Did this little rascal realize that her secret realms are a waste? He could already imagine how the Wenjian Sect would ask for compensation.

But a genius was indeed a genius. He could only pay up with tears in his eyes, adding to the financial burden of the already strained sect.

“Qin Fanfan!” The Wenjian Sect’s criticism, though delayed, was now forthcoming.

“You’ve ruined the secret realm of our Changming Sect for the second time,” an elder from the Wenjian Sect said coldly. “A grand secret realm that only appears once every hundred years—do you think it’s a place for them to just have fun? You ruin it just like that?”

It might take a long time for the phantom secret realm to recover and reopen. This year’s group of inner disciples was indeed remarkable.

One had dual cultivation, another had triple cultivation.

And Ye Qiao was a heavenly spiritual root.

Geniuses weren’t just in their own sect. As the host, the high-ranking officials of the Wenjian Sect certainly wanted to criticize them without hesitation.

Seeing the situation was not good, Qin Fanfan quickly jumped in front of them, seizing the topic, “It’s too much, too much. You actually destroyed the secret realm twice. Everyone, please stay calm. I’ll go reprimand her right away!”

Then he dragged Ye Qiao away.

“Oh right, right,” Elder Zhao suddenly had a thought, “I’ll also go reprimand her.”

He followed suit and ran off as well.

Other sect elders: “…” The entire Changming Sect seemed to be full of eccentric characters.

An elder from the Bishui Sect withdrew his gaze, frowning. With the frightening display of the five-day tribulation, the Changming Sect certainly gained a lot of attention. He sighed, “With such a genius, why did she go to the Changming Sect?”

“So how did she become an inner disciple?” Compared to the Changming Sect’s reckless behavior, they were more inclined to believe that Qin Fanfan knew she was a genius early on and had planned accordingly.

The mystery was solved.

It turned out that the seemingly naive Qin Fanfan was the one who hid things the deepest. They thought he was indifferent, but in reality, Qin Fanfan had been plotting from the beginning.

As many elders began to speculate, Yun Hen, who had remained silent, could no longer sit still. “She is a disciple of my sect,” he said expressionlessly. “Ye Qiao was brought back by me from the mountain.”

To put it bluntly, the Changming Sect had clearly taken advantage of him.

The Wenjian Sect Master glanced at him and said, “Ah, so that genius was originally from your sect? What did you do? Choose to rob her of her spiritual plants?”

Yun Hen: “…”

“Did you also make her kneel?” An elder from the Bishui Sect smirked. Although he disliked the Changming Sect’s arrogance, he also disapproved of Yun Hen.

In the Yueqing Sect, talismans were predominant, and it was hard to find a talisman cultivator in other sects. They recruited all talisman cultivators in the cultivation world without giving any to other sects.

Yun Hen’s face darkened.

He was feeling quite annoyed. Initially, learning that he had let go of a top-grade talent had already put him in a terrible mood. Now, the elders and sect masters from other sects kept bringing it up, as if to slap him in the face.

In Yun Hen’s eyes, Ye Qiao had always been the most mediocre of the children.

Yet suddenly, one day, everyone came to tell him, “Didn’t you know? She’s actually a genius!”

This overwhelming sense of disparity made Yun Hen’s mindset feel off-balance.

“She chose to leave on her own. Besides, that child wasn’t like this when she was in my sect,” he couldn’t help but defend himself. At that time, she was clearly just an unremarkable middle-grade spiritual root!

The Wenjian Sect Master countered, “Then why don’t you reflect on why she changed after joining the Changming Sect?”

Though they usually looked down on the Changming Sect’s lax and unambitious atmosphere, it must be said that compared to other sects, the atmosphere in Changming Sect was more comfortable.

Yun Hen fell silent. An elder from the Wenjian Sect calmly stated, “You regret it now because she turned out to be a genius. If she hadn’t been, would you be relieved that you had driven her away?”

Human nature is inherently biased. Yun Hen’s actions were understandable, but regretting now was a bit late. The situation was settled, and Ye Qiao’s status as a core disciple of the Changming Sect couldn’t be changed.

Yun Hen’s voice weakened as he explained, “I never intended to drive her away.”

If he had known Ye Qiao was a heavenly spiritual root, he would have certainly kept a position for her in his sect.

“Well, Ye Qiao is no longer in your sect,” the Bishui Sect Master said with a hint of sarcasm. “Now you’ve ended up with a rival. Changming Sect is now first in the team competition. Are you pleased?”

They weren’t happy either.

It was frustrating that a sect like Changming, which had been at the bottom, had stolen first place. Nobody was happy about it.

Yun Hen’s lips moved, but he couldn’t utter a word of rebuttal.

He only wanted to fight for the interests of his sect. If not for Xiao Que’s outstanding talent, how would he have been driven to snatch disciples and spiritual plants?

But letting go of a heavenly spiritual root and ending up with a supreme spiritual root seemed like a huge loss.

The more Yun Hen thought about it, the more regretful he became.

He had raised Ye Qiao, only for her to end up benefiting the Changming Sect. Qin Fanfan’s smug expression had left Yun Hen feeling as if he was being burned with fire. Unable to control his frustration, he glared coldly at the inner disciples, glanced vaguely at Yun Que, and took a deep breath, “Return to the sect.”

“She was beaten down by Ye Qiao,” Song Hansheng said as he walked by, sneering at her, “How embarrassing.”

The youth’s back was cold, and his arrogant demeanor made Yun Que extremely angry.

Su Zhuo quickly tried to comfort Yun Que, “Senior Brother Song’s character is like that.” While saying this, his thoughts drifted.

Second Senior Sister was actually a heavenly spiritual root…

Moreover.

He stared blankly at the sect rankings for the team competition, pursing his lips. If Ye Qiao had still been at the Yueqing Sect, perhaps they would have been in first place now.

*

With the fifth round over, the points were summarized, and Changming Sect rightfully took first place. The cultivation world was abuzz with discussions.

“Wow, Changming Sect, which had always been at the bottom, took first place? Is the cultivation world coming to an end?”

“No, no, no, Changming Sect earned it through their strength. For those who don’t know, check the recording stone. The new inner disciple will surprise you.”

“It’s really a huge surprise. A heavenly spiritual root inner disciple, who would have thought they’d be hidden until the end?”

Who could have guessed it was due to this tribulation? It was truly unimaginable.

“I was on-site; the five days of thunder—I can’t believe the secret realm was shattered.”

The scene at the fifth round was grand. A group of elders, sect masters, and inner disciples crowded inside a barrier just to avoid the residual effects of the tribulation. Such a sight was rare in the cultivation world.

…

The team competition had concluded, but the necessary procedures still had to be followed. For the Changming Sect, which had taken first place for the first time in years, it was natural that they were surrounded by a crowd of curious cultivators wanting to gather information. They were first, and their presence was notable, with enthusiastic Changming Sect fans nearly overwhelming them with their chatter.

“Ah, Ye Qiao!”

“In the cultivation world, who leads the trend? It’s Ye Qiao first!!”

“Qiao Qiao!”

They hadn’t even had time to return to their courtyard when they were blocked along the way.

“Get ready,” Qin Fanfan reminded. “In a moment, you all need to discuss your insights. The Wenjian Sect will gather all the inner disciples for a meeting.”

“Especially you five.”

First place deserved some ceremonial recognition, and of course, there would also be lectures from the elders before the individual competition started.

“At that time, they will ask you to share your experience of taking first place,” Qin Fanfan knew these kids had little experience. To be honest, he himself wasn’t experienced either; he had originally prepared for a last-place finish and going home for the New Year.

Who would have thought, who would have thought.

The result was that they ended up as first place.

“Just say a few words when the time comes. You can prepare a note to recite and just get through it.”

The group nodded thoughtfully. After a simple tidy-up in their courtyard, they went to the address provided by the Wenjian Sect for the meeting. Ye Qiao changed into a new set of clothes, as her red sect robes had been torn by the lightning. She casually pulled out a light-colored outfit and hung her bamboo shoot on her waist.

Changing clothes was already the greatest respect she could show to society.

The other inner disciples had already arrived. Today’s main characters were from the Changming Sect, and others were uninterested and low in spirits, especially towards Ye Qiao, who received resentful looks from a few inner disciples.

They hated people with such talented gifts.

And those who were low-key about their talent.

Damn it.

As they were about to go on stage to give speeches, Zhou Xingyun dawdled for a long time, unable to say a word. Ming Xuan pushed him, “Don’t be afraid.”

“Just say a little,” he thought Senior Brother was nervous.

Zhou Xingyun stood there, looking indifferent.

He looked somewhat dissatisfied.

“…Wait a moment.” After a while, he spoke calmly, “I forgot my lines.”

Then Zhou Xingyun slowly pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve, read it aloud, and coldly added, “Alright.”

He then stepped aside, making way for the others.

Elder Zhao rubbed his temples.

As expected, you couldn’t rely on these kids to be very reliable.

Zhou Xingyun’s actions caused a few seconds of silence. Eventually, Xue Yu was pulled forward. He was one of the more normal ones. An elder from the Wenjian Sect asked calmly, “The individual competition is approaching. Is there any disciple you want to team up with?”

“Oh.” Xue Yu was momentarily stunned, his tone calm, “Ye Qiao. We’ve trained together before.”

They had at least refined pills together in the same room, and since the little sister and he were the only two alchemists in Changming Sect, if he had to choose a partner, it would naturally be Ye Qiao.

“???”

Seeing Ye Qiao’s reputation about to be ruined, Mu Chongxi kicked him and awkwardly laughed, “Sorry, everyone. He doesn’t know how to speak, so I’ll handle it.”

The others nodded. With the individual competition approaching, the most anticipated were the core disciples of the Five Sects. The elder’s expression softened, and he said solemnly, “As the individual competition is near, if you have to pick one disciple from the Five Sects to face, who would you choose?”

Mu Chongxi replied, “Ye Qinghan. I like him.”

Both of them had natural sword bones and had never fought before. Mu Chongxi was genuinely interested in Ye Qinghan.

The other core disciples exchanged glances, their eyes filled with meaning when looking at Ye Qinghan.

The elders frowned slightly, feeling that the topic seemed to be veering off in a concerning direction.

“Ye Qiao.” Unable to tolerate it any longer, he turned to Ye Qiao, “You come forward.”

Now she was the main focus.

The previously disinterested core disciples raised their eyebrows upon seeing this. Every one of them had suffered in the secret realm at her hands.

Thus, they were all eager to hear what nonsense Ye Qiao might say.

Ye Qiao lazily said, “Thanks to my master, thanks to my senior brothers, thanks to the opposing sects for helping me grow, and thanks to fate for bringing us together. I believe that in the future, we will have a pleasant relationship.”

“Pfft.” Chu Xingzhi rolled his eyes and disdainfully dismissed her as insincere.

Seeing the core disciples below all rolling their eyes, Ye Qiao waved her hand, gave a slight smile, and made a summary, “Finally, the road is long. Don’t be too arrogant. Ye Qiao will keep you from wavering.”

“Everyone, see you in the individual competition.”

–

This chapter is 4,800 words.