Chapter 45 – Scumbag Breaks Down, Love-struck Brain Wakes Up

Outer Sect Examination Hall.

After a wave of dizziness, Ye Qingning saw the dense crowd around her and immediately knew that the disciples had been teleported back.

When the teleportation array lit up, she did hear the system prompt, but due to the dizzy spell, she missed the latter part of the message.

She only caught one line clearly:
[Congratulations on becoming the final recipient of the secret treasure Nine-Turn Yin-Yang Bottle. Points awarded: 600. Total points doubled. Current total: 2,340. Ranking: Number—]

She didn’t catch it. Really, she didn’t. She even suspected they did it on purpose to keep her in suspense.

Seriously, it’s like watching a drama only to be interrupted by commercials at the climax—so annoying. When it’s time to reveal the ranking, are the elders going to take a dramatic sip of water first? Who could understand her current mood?

She picked up her identity token to check her rank, only to find all information wiped from it. It looked just like an ordinary piece of wood again.

They really want to keep her guessing, huh?

While feeling frustrated, she suddenly noticed that on the high platform, aside from Elder Qiu and Chief Elder Tianji Daoist, the Supreme Elder Xuanyangzi was also present—and beside him stood a man she had never seen before.

Curious, she asked:
“System, who’s the guy in the middle? Is he an elder too? That face is not bad at all!”

The system chuckled, clearly proud:
[Host, you’ve got good eyes! That man is the Sect Master of Penglai Sect, Pei Yin. He’s the third male lead in the original plot. After taking the true daughter protagonist Ye Hanyue as his disciple, he slowly fell in love with her.]

[But a romance between master and disciple is forbidden, shunned by the world. Pei Yin had to hide his feelings deep inside.]

[Unfortunately, the ending wasn’t great. The Penglai Sect was destroyed by the collapse of the secret realm. Pei Yin was with Ye Hanyue at the time, helping her train. To save her from the collapse, he sacrificed his life.]

[If it weren’t for Pei Yin, with Ye Hanyue’s pathetic little lotus-level cultivation, she’d never have survived that disaster.]

[That two-faced little lotus clearly knew Pei Yin saw her as more than a disciple, yet she pretended not to notice and kept reaping benefits from him. Pei Yin was the ultimate chump of a backup plan.]

Ye Qingning now understood why she had immediately found him attractive. He was the third male lead from the original story!

In her previous life, she never joined Penglai Sect nor visited the secret realm near its sea, so naturally, she never saw Pei Yin. Now that she did—wow, the female lead had it so good.

As the Sect Master of the number one sect and someone whose cultivation had reached the Mahayana stage, Pei Yin naturally sensed Ye Qingning’s gaze.

His mood improved greatly at seeing his favored disciple looking back at him. If Ye Qingning entered the Sect Master’s Hall and became eligible for apprenticeship, he just might win her over before the Supreme Elder did.

Although she hadn’t used a sword during the examination, her ability to draw an invisibility talisman showed real talent in talisman arts. Plus, she was able to use talismans to set up a complex entrapment array. Clearly, she was made for the path of formations. If she became his disciple, he could teach her everything he knew.

The only problem was that Tianjizi was considered the number one expert in talisman formations. Judging by how he looked at her—just like Xuanyangzi—he would definitely compete for her as well.

“The Outer Sect Trial is now over. Let us reveal the final rankings. The top fifteen will be promoted to the Inner Sect effective immediately. Prepare to pack your things!”

As Elder Qiu finished speaking, a massive stone tablet began displaying the rankings.

This tablet, known as the Flowlight Monument, floated in midair. Using special spells, it could display ranking information.

What the disciples didn’t know was that the rankings had already started appearing on the monument the moment they entered the secret realm. It had been showing the top 100 in a rolling display.

In addition to the Flowlight Monument, there was also a special jade wall on the platform, capable of randomly projecting images from the trial grounds.

But only the elders on the high platform could see these displays. Disciples who were eliminated early had no access to real-time rankings.

As the rankings began revealing from 15th place upward, tension peaked in the hall.

After all, you only got a rank update when gaining points. If you stopped gaining while others kept going, you’d never know you got surpassed.

As the 15th name was announced, the hall erupted—some joyful, others devastated.

One male disciple, who thought he was still ranked 15th, saw that the name wasn’t his, and the new person’s score had surpassed his.

His last shred of hope shattered. He burst into tears like he had lost everything in the world.

“I can’t accept this! This morning I was still ranked fifteenth, and now I’ve been knocked out! I was so close! Just one more point!”

“You’re a body cultivator, why are you crying? Just try again in three months! I believe in you, junior brother!”

…

Ye Qingning saw that the 15th-ranked disciple had 1,320 points and thought, These people are ruthless! Absolute wolves!

Bai Wei had 1,500 points at the time and ranked fourth. Compared to the 15th rank, the difference was just over a hundred.

From the 14th to the 10th, each rank only had a gap of 10–20 points. Clearly, the top 15 were neck and neck.

When the Flowlight screen showed—Outer Sect Disciple Bai Wei, 1,550 points, Rank 8—someone finally broke down.

Qin Changsheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at Bai Wei with utter shock, his face darkening instantly.

His not-yet-fully-recovered eyes locked onto Bai Wei like she’d committed some unforgivable crime.

After being eliminated, Qin Changsheng assumed that even if Bai Wei wasn’t knocked out, there was no way she’d make top 15. At best, he figured she’d rank somewhere around 50.

He had her help for two reasons: one, to find out what past tests were like; two, if she agreed to help him, it meant she recognized him. Even if his own score wasn’t enough, he could confirm her identity in secret.

It wasn’t that he was coldhearted. It was just that Bai Wei was a woman. Even if she made it into the Inner Sect, so what? Except for the Hehuan Sect, which sect had female leaders? Even Penglai only had three female elders.

Even if she became the top inner disciple, did she really think she could inherit the sect one day? What a joke.

That’s why he believed he was the better candidate for the Inner Sect spot. Even if it meant sacrificing her, he would make it up to her later.

But now, she had entered the Inner Sect—he had been eliminated early!

He was her fiancé, yet she outshone him in every way. She was now an Inner Sect disciple while he remained in the Outer Sect. How would others look at him?

Ye Qingning loved seeing scumbags break down. She cheerfully congratulated Bai Wei, then innocently asked:
“Senior Sister, what’s wrong with Brother Qin? He doesn’t look too well. Is he going to be okay?”

Even a love-struck fool like Bai Wei had to wake up after this.

When she saw her own ranking, she had also checked Qin Changsheng’s expression. Just one glance told her everything—he was in a terrible mood.

He didn’t congratulate her for entering the Inner Sect. Instead, he gave her a cold stare. Who was that for?

At this point, she no longer believed he truly cared about her. The only one he loved was himself.

Such a fiancé? She’d rather not have one at all.