Chapter 222

Changming Sect’s Trial Ground

After Ye Qiao was ejected, only the four of them remained to endure the trials. Xue Yu had it relatively easy; he wasn’t a combatant and was sent by the elders to be urged to practice alchemy.

Ming Xuan wiped the cold sweat from his brow. At that moment, he was struggling against the formation set up by the ancestor. If they couldn’t break it within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the ancestor would indeed start hitting them!

The four of them endured a brutal training regimen, and yet the ancestor sighed in disappointment, “Now, every disciple seems less capable than the last, and even the dual-cultivators are rare.”

Ming Xuan privately grumbled.

“Not everyone was as exceptional as you in your time,” he thought.

“So that’s why you are our ancestor,” Mu Chongxi flattered, trying to avoid a collective beating by appealing to the elder’s vanity.

The ancestor wasn’t impressed, “You’ve really let me down.”

“Oh, but Zhou Xingyun is still acceptable.”

Zhou Xingyun was highly compatible with Changming Sect’s sword aura and principles, and his strength was commendable. The ancestor was quite satisfied with him.

Zhou Xingyun felt like dying from the praise.

“That doesn’t give you a reason to beat me up,” Zhou Xingyun tried to remind the elder not to be so violent.

Elder Zhao intervened to rescue the beaten four, “Senior, Ancestor, there’s still one disciple who hasn’t arrived.”

“One less Ye Qiao.”

“Which one?” One of the seniors appeared, curiosity tinged in his voice.

“The little girl you chased away earlier,” Elder Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, met the seniors’ collective gaze, and hesitantly said, “That disciple has great talent.”

One of the seniors recalled and was noncommittal, “Oh, the one in the late stage of Golden Core? We thought she was from another sect.”

“But the place of inheritance requires Nascent Soul stage. Even if she isn’t Nascent Soul, she needs to be at the peak of Golden Core to barely qualify. She’s only in the late stage, so she doesn’t meet the basic standard to join the inner circle.”

“Even the most fundamental requirements for comprehension aren’t met.” They weren’t entirely unfounded; one must at least be at the peak of Golden Core to grasp their own Dao in the field, so they could control it after acquiring it.

The late stage of Golden Core couldn’t even reach the most basic Dao comprehension.

Elder Zhao shook his head, seriously, “Although she hasn’t met the standard, her talent is indeed high. Just two years into the sect, and she’s already in the late stage of Golden Core. She does have a field, but it’s said to be quite unusual.”

“Perhaps it’s because she opened it too early, so she can’t control it well. We wanted to bring her here to have the seniors guide her.”

The ancestor was taken aback, so she’s a prodigy?

“Then hurry up and bring her over! Why is she with the Chengfeng Sect? And the Yueqing Sect and the Wenjian Sect? Why are their marks printed on our inner disciples?”

“Quickly clean off those marks. Look at the petty and vindictive attitudes of Yueqing Sect and Wenjian Sect, you know they must be dirty. What if there’s something unsavory?”

Elder Zhao twitched his mouth.

He swallowed the remark about Ye Qiao’s potential to achieve the Three Cultivations.

It was better not to cause more trouble for the disciple at this point. Seeing the other four being urged, it was clear that Ye Qiao would fare even worse if she returned.

Meanwhile, Ye Qiao, who was fighting back and forth with the Chengfeng Sect members, was suddenly transferred to the Changming Sect’s trial ground. As soon as she arrived, she was pointed at by four hands. Her four senior brothers pointed at her, attempting to use her as a scapegoat for their trials, “Didn’t the senior say that dual-cultivators are rare in Changming Sect?”

“She’s a triple-cultivator.”

Mu Chongxi genuinely praised her, “Indeed, only Ye Qiao deserves your guidance, Ancestor.”

Ye Qiao, who had just returned, was suddenly pointed at by everyone. She was stunned, “What’s going on?”

The next moment.

A massive spiritual hand formed from condensed spiritual energy struck down from above her head. Ye Qiao tensed, using the Treading Lightly technique to steady herself. She performed a hand seal, and defensive symbols surrounded her. As the symbols burned, she was forcefully thrown, but before falling, she bent her knees slightly and managed to regain her balance.

The action was so proficient it was almost painful to watch.

Such an intense greeting right from the start.

“What’s the situation?” She looked up at her senior brothers, “Is this how our guidance battle is going to be, with repeated beatings?”

“No,” Ming Xuan corrected her mistaken notion, “Next, you will first be repeatedly beaten, then forced to refine pills, and finally, you’ll have to break the formation with me.”

Ye Qiao: “…”

She paused for a moment and quickly got up from the ground, “I might as well head to the Chengfeng Sect’s trial ground.”

Of course, she was only joking. There was no way she could leave. If she dared to leave today, the ancestor would make her understand why flowers are so red.

—Triple Cultivator.

The mention of such an enticing status stirred excitement among the elders, who hadn’t seen a triple-cultivator in nearly a hundred years. Ye Qiao seemed to have walked into a den of wolves.

Seeing the marks on her, the Changming Sect ancestor exploded, “Damn Wenjian Sect, they’re truly a bunch of brainless sword cultivators. Seeing a disciple, they just want to mark them. Are they dogs?”

Ye Qiao: “…”

The ancestor continued to rant, “Yueqing Sect, those scheming, despicable guys, even attempted to steal disciples from other sects. This is unforgivable.”

Ye Qiao: “…”

With Ye Qiao drawing the fire, the elders’ attention was indeed mostly focused on her, which allowed her senior brothers to catch a break. Ye Qiao drew her sword, no longer bound by any particular sect’s sword technique. As long as it was useful, that was enough.

Not resisting would truly lead to being taught a lesson by the sword cultivators.

Ye Qiao, who had previously been lacking in sword techniques, had now completely addressed this shortcoming. With the alternating guidance from the Chengfeng Sect and Wenjian Sect ancestors, she mastered the sword techniques and particularly the Seventy-Two Sword Techniques, making her sword, “Not Seeing the Lord,” a formidable weapon.

In the course of battle, the Changming Sect sword cultivators were increasingly impressed.

Having practiced sword techniques and talismans, the enthusiasm of the elders was overwhelming.

Ye Qiao paused, always on alert for the next sword or formation attack from behind. Ming Xuan casually asked, “So, what have you learned from the repeated beatings by the elders?”

Before Ye Qiao arrived, they had endured a full half-day of beatings.

“I’ve learned,” Ye Qiao replied with a pained expression, “and during the beatings, I came up with two pieces of information.”

“The good news is, they started fighting.”

“The bad news is, the one they’re fighting is me.”

Each sect’s trial had its own characteristics. The Wenjian Sect’s trial was fierce, with their sword intent capable of breaking myriad laws with a single strike.

They were facing the will of the Wenjian Sect’s ancestor.

Changming Sect’s trial was somewhat different.

Their sword techniques were light and fast, embodying the will of the Changming Sect’s ancestor. The techniques and cultivation methods were all about lightness and speed. Ye Qiao had reached the fourth form of the Clear Wind Technique, while the senior brother had mastered all six forms, and Mu Chongxi, like her, was stuck on the fourth form.

The seniors repeatedly demonstrated the fifth and sixth forms in front of them.

Ye Qiao focused intently on taking notes. Her talent for learning at a glance made Mu Chongxi envious; he could only practice repeatedly, striving to master the latter two forms during this time.

Finally, when they had nearly comprehended the Clear Wind Technique, the seniors halted the instructional battle. Ye Qiao vaguely heard someone sigh in regret, “If we had more time, we would have taught you a few more moves.”

“Next, go look for your respective inheritances.” The ancestor smiled, his tone cheerful and indicating he was a kind-hearted old man. “I look forward to seeing you obtain your own inheritance.”

The inner disciples, who had experienced inhumane training at their respective trial grounds, looked somewhat dazed when they gathered, as if suffering from exhaustion.

The grouping for finding the inheritance was straightforward: alchemists in one group, sword cultivators in another, talismans in one group, and weapon cultivators in another.

This unreasonable grouping made the disciples visibly upset.

“Borrowing Ye Qiao’s words,” Liu Yun’s mouth twitched, forgetting propriety in his agitation, he complained loudly, “We’re a pile of dung when gathered and scattered like stars in the sky. What do we do if a bunch of alchemists end up together and face danger?”

Despite everyone having a promising future, it was not an exaggeration to say that aside from the sword cultivators, the rest gathered together were basically a pile of dung.

“You won’t encounter danger,” Elder of the Bishui Sect urged impatiently, “Hurry up. The ancestors’ decisions are naturally based on their own reasons.”

The elders could only guard the periphery, as the task of finding the inheritance was beyond their reach; it was up to the ancestors to oversee.

Hearing that it was arranged by the ancestors, Liu Yun could only suppress his protests and return to the group.

Xue Yu scratched his head, suddenly surrounded by a group of female disciples. His shyness instinctively made him seek warmth from Liu Yun.

The Changming Sect’s inner disciples were all male, and Ye Qiao interacted with them like a brother. Facing a group of female disciples unexpectedly, he felt a bit out of place.

After forming their teams, Ming Xuan clicked his tongue, “We have to be with those annoying Yueqing Sect people? And that annoying Song Hansheng? They’ll definitely seize the chance to take revenge on me.”

Song Hansheng’s expression was blank, but his dislike was evident, “As if anyone wanted to team up with you. Ye Qiao is much better than you.”

He sincerely believed this; at least Ye Qiao was reliable. Ming Xuan’s words were just too irritating.