Chapter 223

Ye Qiao, Mu Chongxi, and Zhou Xingyun were grouped together.

So far, the sword cultivator group had the largest number of members, which meant their challenge was greater.

Once they were all set and divided into four groups, they were sent to the inheritance sites via teleportation arrays. Ye Qinghan and his group arrived first, while Ye Qiao’s trio arrived a bit later. They were heading towards the direction of the Sword Inquiry Sect and didn’t have time to exchange greetings.

Ye Qinghan glanced up, his eyes narrowing at Ye Qiao’s annoying face. With a reflexive motion, he swung his sword.

Trees behind Ye Qiao were cut down cleanly.

Between the two, there was no technique—just pure resentment.

After exchanging a few glaring looks, Ye Qiao stealthily approached Zhu You and asked, “Where is this? It looks a bit like an ancient forest.”

Zhu You looked around thoughtfully. “It does seem so. They say the inheritance site has everything, and that phrase is double-edged—everything in terms of inheritance, but it might also mean every kind of creature could appear.”

The ancient battlefield within the secret realm was filled with formations, but what exactly lay within the ancient forest remained unknown.

The journey had been relatively smooth. Whenever there was a disturbance, it wasn’t necessary for others to intervene; Ye Qinghan would clear the way with his sword. Any beast that accidentally crossed their path would be shattered by his sword energy, ruthless and unreasonable.

The youth’s eyes were filled with indifference, showing no sign of emotion.

Interesting.

“Emotionless Path.” The ancestor of Changming Sect stroked his chin. “The other child named Chu Xingzhi, if I’m not mistaken, follows the Path of Inquiry.”

The inner disciples of Sword Inquiry Sect were indeed intriguing. The Path of Inquiry was rare, and the Emotionless Path was even rarer.

There was no doubt that both were following the will of the Sword Inquiry Sect’s ancestor, their sword energy very domineering.

The sword cultivator group was unaware that they were being observed and analyzed by the ancestors.

As they moved deeper into the realm, the number of beasts increased, and other inner disciples began to take action as well.

Zhou Xingyun intercepted a rushing beast with his sword.

The Clear Wind Technique matched well with his innate sword bones. With a single sweep, Mu Chongxi cut down all the beasts in front of him with a sweeping motion, clearing them efficiently.

“These two disciples follow the will of the Changming Sect’s ancestor,” the Sword Inquiry Sect’s ancestor said with a cold tone. “The issue is with that child named Ye Qiao.”

Mentioning Ye Qiao made him feel heartache. He had thought she was a good seedling for their sect, but it turned out she ended up benefiting the Changming Sect instead.

The ancestor of the Chengfeng Sect snorted coldly, “It’s the Clear Wind Technique and the sword energy of Clear Wind and Bright Moon. However, it seems she’s not following the will of the founding ancestor.”

“That unruly child.” The ancestor of the Yueqing Sect spoke with a similarly cold tone, mixed with some interest. “She’s not following the will of the Changming Sect’s ancestor?”

Immediately, the other ancestors turned their attention towards the Changming Sect’s ancestor.

The ancestor of the Chengfeng Sect exclaimed, “Look, he’s been betrayed!”

The Wenjian Sect ancestor flicked his sleeve, deep in thought. “Indeed, she doesn’t inherit the will of the Changming Sect ancestor.”

This was quite peculiar.

“Speaking of the inheritances in this place, there are several,” the Chengfeng Sect ancestor laughed. “But it’s been a long time since any disciple managed to obtain them.”

This batch of disciples was completely unexpected: two with innate sword bones, one with a heavenly root, and the remaining disciples had talents not inferior to each other.

Let’s see how this year’s batch of disciples will grow.

…

Meanwhile, compared to the perilous grounds of the sword cultivators, the alchemists, who generally had weaker combat abilities, were sent to a less aggressive inheritance site by the Bishui Sect ancestor.

During their trial, they often faced threats from poisonous spirit plants and easily fell victim to them.

Miaomiao couldn’t help but get frustrated. “Where is the inheritance?”

“Hey,” just as she spoke, she saw a fellow disciple collapse, causing Miaomiao to rush over in fear, carefully checking their condition.

Si Miaoyan frowned, “Luckily, it’s just a faint.”

“But if we don’t refine the antidote soon, it could be fatal.”

Xue Yu found the fainting rather convenient and pondered if it was part of the trial.

So…

Would something else happen next?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, they took a few more steps and saw another person not far away, in the same condition as their unconscious comrade.

Si Miaoyan frowned deeply, reaching out to feel the scorching temperature of the stranger. “We’re running out of time. This person has the same condition as our fainted comrade. But we don’t have the right spirit plants for this kind of antidote.”

Moreover, this person appeared too suddenly.

“One of them is their comrade, and the other is just a stranger. What do you think these kids will choose?” The Bishui Sect ancestor said with interest. “If it were me, I’d choose my fellow disciple.”

“Normal people would choose their own.”

“But when faced with a possible trial that could grant them an inheritance, would they hesitate?”

Certainly.

But ultimately, they’d still choose their own.

The elder of the Bishui Sect spoke with a hint of interest, “Let’s test their reactions. If they perform well, they might indeed receive the inheritance.”

After all, these inheritances were just a means for the elders to assess the disciples’ abilities, judgment, and character.

Thus, each sect’s trials were varied and unique.

The elders found it quite entertaining to play around with these little lambs.

Xue Yu and the others didn’t dwell on it for long. Soon, an elder appeared with a small bottle of pills, smiling. “Do you want to save them?”

“But I’ll only save one. Which one will you choose?”

Indeed, this was a test of their decision-making.

Si Miaoyan’s expression changed several times before she calmed herself. Anticipating such a scenario, she, as the senior sister of her sect, naturally had to make the decision since it was their disciple in trouble. She quickly decided, “Save our—”

Just as she was about to say save their own, Xue Yu blocked her.

“Why should our esteemed disciples make a choice?”

“Only children make choices.” Xue Yu glanced at the elder with pity. “We want both.”

A trial?

Isn’t that just for them to act as they please?

After all, the ancestor wouldn’t actually kill them. He didn’t believe there was only one antidote. They could just capture and search him to find out.

“Huh?” Miaomiao was stunned.

Xue Yu looked at her, touched his chin, and smiled warmly. “We have six people; fighting one shouldn’t be an issue, right?”

With a broader perspective, they could just gang up on the elder and take the antidote.

Liu Yun slapped his thigh. “Damn, that makes sense!”

“If he doesn’t comply, we’ll beat him up.”

Even though one was unconscious, they still had five people.

Si Miaoyan was momentarily stunned but then smiled similarly. “Are you trying to teach us, the noble alchemists, how to handle things?”

“Unfortunately,” she said coldly, “we don’t accept that.”

The elders of Bishui Sect, who were initially amused by the show, suddenly had their smiles freeze.

These seemingly fragile alchemists were acting more arrogant than one another.

Could a group of alchemists really be this audacious?

The elder’s eyes widened in disbelief as he watched these little lambs, who had been struggling with the decision just a moment ago, now pulling out their alchemical furnaces. “Show some respect to your elders.”

Alchemists weren’t fighters. If five disciples attacked him at once, he certainly wouldn’t stand a chance.

Not to mention Miaomiao drawing her bow at him and others pulling out their magical instruments. Those who weren’t skilled with instruments were eager to try hitting him with their alchemical furnaces.

“….”

“Given the circumstances, let me tell you something philosophical,” Xue Yu stepped forward, furnace in hand, eager to act.

The alchemist elder held his breath, terrified they might blow his head off. He asked cautiously, “What is it?”

“More people,” Xue Yu said earnestly, “are meant to bully fewer people.”

“This isn’t right.” Seeing this development spiraling out of control, the Bishui Sect ancestor murmured, “This isn’t going as planned.”

“Who?” She thought back carefully, wondering who had corrupted their disciples?!