Chapter 46

Just as Ming Xuan was engrossed in watching, he heard Ye Qiao’s voice by his ear.

“Hurry up and follow Ye Qinghan to scavenge.”

He was momentarily stunned, “How do I scavenge?”

Ye Qiao had just thrown her stick to her senior brother and caught her breath. She immediately began pointing out directions: “Behind, behind Ye Qinghan. Do you know how to finish off a kill? When he’s about to kill a beast, surprise him from behind and take the kill. That way, it’ll count towards our hunt tally.”

Ming Xuan was momentarily stunned, then suddenly understood, “Master, I get it now.”

So that’s how it’s done.

After getting the tip, Xue Yu and Ming Xuan quickly each applied a concealment talisman and sneaked behind Wen Jian Sect. Whenever Ye Qinghan injured a beast, they shamelessly rushed in to finish it off.

At this moment, Ye Qinghan was too busy to notice the people around him and had no idea that two shameless members of Changming Sect were secretly scavenging behind him.

Before Ye Qiao joined Changming Sect, Xue Yu and Ming Xuan had the best relationship and often played together, so they had a good understanding of each other.

Ming Xuan held a talisman between his fingers to set up a formation, preventing sneak attacks by the beasts. Xue Yu was more straightforward. He directly smashed the beasts with his alchemy furnace, hitting them with precision every time.

Watching the formerly gentle Xue Yu smashing beasts with his furnace, Ming Xuan fell into a strange silence.

They could play together mainly because Xue Yu had a good temperament. Both from prestigious families, Xue Yu was not aggressive. He mostly focused on alchemy, unlike the two sword cultivators who were violent.

But now, good heavens.

Ming Xuan even considered being nicer to Xue Yu in the future. What if one day Xue Yu got unhappy and decided to twist his head off and kick it like a ball?

Xue Yu swung his furnace and sent a pouncing beast flying, “What are you daydreaming about?”

Ming Xuan snapped a few injured beasts with his talisman, shaking his head timidly, “Nothing.”

Ye Qiao noticed the activity of her two senior brothers scavenging and subtly kept her distance when passing her stick.

As a result, Wen Jian Sect and Cheng Feng Sect were even more miserably attacked by the beasts.

Watching the sword cultivators flying around, Ming Xuan thought joyfully, let them fight; scavenging behind them is fine for us.

The numbers on the jade slip, previously stagnant at the bottom for Changming Sect, were now skyrocketing.

Zhou Xingyun was faster than his junior brothers and sisters, so he took his stick and aimed specifically at Wen Jian Sect.

By the time Ye Qinghan sensed something was wrong and swung his sword, Zhou Xingyun was already gone.

Ye Qinghan’s forehead twitched, his facial expression contorted uncontrollably.

Being fast is that great?

And what was Zhou Xingyun doing mingling with those people!

…

On the other side of the secret realm, Su Zhuo looked puzzled at the jade slip showing the hunting numbers of the three sects rising visibly, “Where did they find so many beasts?”

Changming Sect, usually at the bottom, seemed to be overtaking them.

Su Zhuo felt something was wrong, but his senior brother had been eliminated on the first day for unknown reasons, and his little sister was nowhere to be seen. Only he and his other two senior brothers had worked tirelessly to find the beasts’ nests, running to marked spots on the map.

But they found them empty.

It was as if all the beasts had vanished overnight.

The spectators were anxious too, “Idiots, go find Ye Qiao.”

“She took all the beasts away.”

“If this continues, Yueqing Sect is in danger.”

The rankings on the jade slip refreshed at an alarming rate: Wen Jian Sect had 5000 beasts, Cheng Feng Sect 3000, Yueqing Sect 700, and Bishui Sect 600.

Meanwhile, Changming Sect, which had been stagnant at the bottom, had surged to third place within a single day.

Bishui Sect was doing alright, encountering quite a few beasts thanks to their unliminated and missing disciples. The five of them moved smoothly through the secret realm.

Miao Miao looked at the rankings and mumbled, “Changming Sect is actually in second place.”

Bishui Sect remained steadily in fourth.

Yueqing Sect, however, inexplicably fell to last place in the competition.

…

As the bright light of the teleportation array lit up, signaling the end of five days, all the disciples were sent out.

After the first round, the scores for the five sects were finalized.

Wen Jian Sect: 200 points.

Changming Sect: 150.

Cheng Feng Sect: 100.

Bishui Sect: 50.

Yueqing Sect: 0.

Seeing the rankings, Xue Yu and Ming Xuan both sighed in relief and high-fived each other joyfully.

Human emotions are not universal; seeing the rankings, all the Yueqing Sect members, except Yun Que, looked unhappy. Sect honor still mattered, and being last was a disgrace.

As Ye Qiao passed Yueqing Sect, she paused and started tapping her foot rhythmically.

Oh ho.

So much fun.

The faces of the five Yueqing Sect members changed simultaneously.

Song Hansheng’s tone was icy, “Are you mocking us?”

“No,” Ye Qiao said nonchalantly, looking up, “I’m just celebrating. Can’t I?”

“And what about him?”

Ming Xuan followed suit casually, “I’m happy too.”

Zhou Xingyun hesitated for a moment and, seeing their coordinated words, concisely said, “Happy.”

Seeing Song Hansheng wanting to retort, Changming Sect fans chimed in:

“Hey, we’re second; why can’t we be happy?”

“Yeah, what’s mocking about it? Our disciples are just happy!”

“Does Yueqing Sect control even people’s happiness now?”

“…”

Song Hansheng finally realized he couldn’t outtalk them and shut his mouth in frustration.

Ye Qinghan, despite being in first place, was equally frustrated. He coldly looked at Ye Qiao. Facing her smug smile, he seemed to want to avoid it, turning to his junior brothers and sisters, “Let’s go.”

“Although the Sword Seeking Sect is ranked first, why does it feel like their first place isn’t as satisfying as the Everbright Sect’s?”

“Seems like Ye Qinghan might be feeling depressed.”

It’s unprecedented in the world of cultivation for the sect ranked second to overshadow the sect ranked first.

“After so many years, the Sword Seeking Sect’s disciples have become so arrogant due to their strong direct disciples, they don’t even recognize their own parents. This is the first time they’ve hit a setback. It’s no wonder they’re feeling down.”

“Who did you place your bets on?”

“I bet on the Sword Seeking Sect.”

“I bet on the Cheng Feng Sect.”

“I bet on the Yueqing Sect. Their talisman makers are quite strong.”

Immediately, someone in the audience said weakly, “Since you all bet on other sects, I’ll bet on the Everbright Sect.”

With ten thousand seats available, those who came to watch were either well-informed family cultivators, capable loose cultivators, or at least some young masters and young mistresses of the cultivation world here to join the fun. In other words, they weren’t short on money.

Everyone was placing higher bets.

Initially, there weren’t many people betting on the Everbright Sect, but after the recent trials in the secret realm, they couldn’t help but consider whether they should also place some spirit stones on the Everbright Sect.

“Let’s wait and see. I still favor the Sword Seeking Sect.”

“Well, you take your time. I’m going to bet on the Everbright Sect. The betting is about to close in a few days.”

“…”

The surrounding discussions were unending. Yun Hen suddenly stood up, feeling a bit irritated, and prepared to find Ye Qiao for a talk when no one was around.

Given this disciple’s performance in the competition, Yun Hen felt that as long as she obediently returned to the sect, he might still forgive her mistakes.

Unaware of what Yun Hen was thinking, Ye Qiao seized the opportunity when no one was paying attention and quickly returned to her courtyard to sleep.

After they came out, Qin Fanfan wanted to talk with a few disciples, only to find that the biggest contributor had already disappeared without a trace.

“Where’s that girl Ye Qiao?” he wondered.

Mu Chongxi, who knew her better, said, “She probably went to sleep. She must be quite exhausted.”

After all the commotion.

…

After all the disciples from the five sects returned to their respective homes, Song Hansheng berated Yun Que furiously, “Are you crazy? Following the Sword Seeking Sect’s people? Don’t you understand we are rival sects? If Ye Qinghan had acted against us, you would have been the first to be eliminated.”

Yun Que, feeling somewhat at a loss, said, “…I’m sorry.”

“The next round is the Ancient Battlefield,” Song Hansheng said coldly. “You’re not allowed to follow the Sword Seeking Sect anymore, understood?”

The Ancient Battlefield is full of ancient formations, which is completely the domain of talisman makers. Although they lost some face in the first round, they could definitely regain it in the second round.

Moreover, the Sword Seeking Sect does not have any talisman makers, so they would definitely seek collaboration with them.

Song Hansheng just hoped his little sister wouldn’t shamelessly approach Ye Qinghan.

Yun Que, her watery eyes slightly lowered and feeling aggrieved, murmured in agreement. Aside from the Everbright Sect members, this was the first time a man had spoken so harshly to her.

Song Hansheng’s tone softened slightly, and seemingly casually, he asked, “By the way, was there ever someone like Ye Qiao in our Yueqing Sect?”

If their sect had ever had someone like Ye Qiao, with her ability to stir up trouble, it wouldn’t make sense for Song Hansheng to only now learn about her.

Yun Que shook her head in confusion.

In her impression, Ye Qiao was always quiet and reserved, so she didn’t expect her to evolve like this after leaving the mountain.

…

Currently, all the direct disciples from the five sects were staying in courtyards arranged by the Sword Seeking Sect. To avoid conflicts, they were not mixed together but each sect had its own courtyard.

Ye Qiao was groggily asleep when Elder Duan Yu pulled her up to review the events in the secret realm.

As the main culprit, it was only right that she was interrogated for a while.

“What’s the situation with the stick you have?”

Ye Qiao barely opened her eyes, “I found it. It’s called the Bamboo Snatcher. I don’t know much about it, but it seems to attract demonic beasts quite effectively.”

It appeared to be a good item.

Elder Duan Yu clearly thought so too. After examining it carefully, he said, “I’ll have a few weapon makers take a look to see if they recognize it.”

After a pause, speaking to the great contributor, Elder Duan Yu’s tone softened a bit as he patted Ye Qiao’s shoulder, “Also, good job.”

Ye Qiao nodded vaguely, her shoulder aching from Elder Duan Yu’s pat.

When she emerged from Elder Duan Yu’s courtyard, looking as if she had been tortured, her four senior brothers were already gathered discussing what to eat that night.

“Shall we go to a restaurant? To celebrate.”

“No way,” Mu Chongxi said with a pout. “Everything in Floating Life City is so expensive.”

They had thought the prices in the Everbright Sect’s territory were high, but it turned out that things near the Sword Seeking Sect were even more expensive.

“A meal costs at least a hundred high-grade spirit stones.”

Just thinking about spending spirit stones at a restaurant in the Sword Seeking Sect’s territory made them unhappy.

Ye Qiao rubbed her sore shoulder and turned to her senior brothers, pondering for a moment, “In that case, why not go find the neighboring sect? Song Hansheng still owes me money.”

“We can use the spirit stones he gave us to go to the restaurant.”

Spending spirit stones extracted from enemies would make them feel less uneasy.

Ye Qiao had had no chance to confront the Yueqing Sect in the secret realm, but with some time before the next secret realm opened, it was a good opportunity to collect her debt.

Xue Yu, who was resting his chin on his hand, perked up and asked, “How much does he owe you?”

Ye Qiao thought for a moment, “About tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones.”

Ming Xuan immediately stood up, “Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll collect the debt.” So many spirit stones shouldn’t be cheapened for the Yueqing Sect.

“At night,” Xue Yu said quietly, “they probably won’t hear us, right?”

If they went directly to the door, it would be considered causing trouble and provoking, leading to a deduction of competition points.

“That’s easy.” Mu Chongxi took out three drums, hit them a couple of times, and produced a muffled sound. “We’ll use this.”

“We’ll block their door and drum. I don’t believe the Yueqing Sect will lose face over this.”

“It doesn’t seem like a good idea.” Xue Yu hesitated, feeling that their group might end up getting collectively scolded.

“It’s fine.” Zhou Xingyun, who had been relatively quiet, finally spoke up, “We’re in second place.”

Implying that since they had just secured second place for their sect, their master wouldn’t punish them for something like this.

With the senior brother’s statement, all reservations were cast aside.

Ming Xuan took out two talismans from his mustard seed bag. “I have amplification talismans. We’ll use these to make the announcements.”

“I’ll do it! Let me shout!” Mu Chongxi was extremely excited.

“Sleep, damn it, and let’s get lively!”

…

As the moon rose above the willow tips, the usually quiet courtyards of the five sects suddenly became lively.

Mu Chongxi led the way, shouting loudly, “The Yueqing Sect owes money and won’t pay!”

Xue Yu nonchalantly added, “May lightning strike them.”

Ming Xuan chimed in, “Worse than pigs and dogs.”

Ye Qiao added, “Despicable and heartless.”

Zhou Xingyun chuckled. It seemed they were even using idioms now.

Mu Chongxi was leading with the slogans, while the others followed with gongs and drums. The noise was so loud that it woke up the disciples from the other sects.

The first secret realm had just ended, and all the direct disciples were exhausted, collapsing into sleep as soon as they returned to their quarters.

They had been sleeping soundly until the sudden noise startled them awake.

“What’s going on?”

Could it be that the Demon Lord had invaded the cultivation world?

…

Qin Fanfan, startled from his near-death state, heard the loud drumming and the familiar shouts from the disciples outside. He wiped his face and took a deep breath.

He felt as though the face he had just regained was now completely lost.

After finally getting second place, could these brats not behave themselves?!