In the darkness, rustling sounds came from the Seer Mirror from time to time. The noises weren’t loud, but in the stillness of the night, each one was chilling.

Le Gui had no idea when she finally managed to fall asleep. All she knew was that when she woke up the next morning, her body felt heavy, as if she had been pinned down in her sleep. Her right ankle was even more swollen than before.

[Sigh, I shouldn’t have been so reckless yesterday.] 

She Looked at her injured foot with a resigned sigh.

“Get to the morning market quickly. Once we’re done, we’re heading up the mountain,” the Seer Mirror, now back to its palm-sized form, suddenly reminded her.

Le Gui paused, looking up to see a cluster of bright red dropwort flowers in the mirror. After a long silence, she asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“…Do you really think it makes sense to ask a mirror that?” the mirror retorted.

For once, Le Gui didn’t argue. She got out of bed and, limping slightly, picked up the mirror and headed outside.

“What’s with that expression? Are you upset with me?” the mirror asked, annoyed.

Le Gui stuffed it into her arms, but before she could respond, she spotted a familiar face in the courtyard. The young man was chopping wood, carrying water, and tending to flowers with great effort.

Li Xingqiao clearly hadn’t expected to run into her either. His eyes lit up at the sight of her. “Fellow Daoist?!”

“Stop calling me that. Just call me Le Gui from now on,” she said as she limped over. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, just doing some work,” Li Xingqiao casually wiped his sweat, his expression bright and carefree. “Since we outer disciples came to observe the Trial Tournament of our own accord, we have to cover our own expenses. A few of us made a deal with the innkeeper—we do some chores, and he gives us a discount on our lodging.”

“You’re the only one working?” Le Gui looked around but didn’t see anyone else.

“It’s not much work,” Li Xingqiao said cheerfully. “Once I finish chopping this firewood, clean the empty guest rooms, and separate the red beans from the green beans in the kitchen, I’ll be free to go out and have a look around.”

[…Separating red beans from green beans? What are you, Cinderella getting ready for the prince’s banquet?]

Le Gui looked at this naive young man, feeling a bit helpless. “Isn’t this inn formed by a magical artifact? The owner could just use spiritual energy to clean everything up. Why is he making you do all this by hand?”

“Because it’s more cost-effective to have me do the manual labor instead of using spiritual energy,” Li Xingqiao replied with an easygoing smile.

Le Gui: “…”

[Well, no matter how advanced magic gets, nothing beats free labor.]

She didn’t have any spirit stones to help him, so all she could do was pat him sympathetically on the arm. “Be careful and don’t let yourself get taken advantage of too much.”

“Oh… Oh, okay,” Li Xingqiao was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t been on the receiving end of concern in a long time.

Le Gui thought for a moment and took out twenty taels of silver. “When you’re done, buy yourself something nice to eat.”

“No, no, I can’t take your money,” Li Xingqiao hurriedly refused.

“Just take it,” Le Gui insisted, shoving the money into his hand. “I’m heading up the mountain soon. I won’t need it.”

But Li Xingqiao remained firm, refusing to accept it. Left with no choice, Le Gui sighed and put the silver back.

Only then did Li Xingqiao finally relax. “By the way, I know you wanted to offer a great gift to repay me because you didn’t want my senior brothers to give me trouble. I appreciate the thought, but please don’t. I already feel bad enough about you getting hurt because of me. If you go out of your way to repay me, I won’t know how to face you in the future.”

After speaking, he smiled a little awkwardly. “I’ve always been on my own, and it’s rare for me to make a friend. I really don’t want to lose you.”

[Ah, such pure and earnest sincerity.]

Le Gui smiled. “Alright, I got it… It’s getting late. Take it easy with your work, I’ll be going now.”

“Okay,” Li Xingqiao looked at her delicate face and suddenly became a little flustered. “The tournament officially starts in five days. Make sure to rest up and do your best to get a good result.”

Then, realizing she was still just a mortal, he quickly added, “But it’s okay if you don’t. The important thing is to participate. I’ll be there to watch you compete.”

Le Gui responded with a nod, waved at him, and left.

After leaving the greedy innkeeper’s lodge, Le Gui shook her injured foot and spent most of the day wandering around before finally heading up the mountain, despite the throbbing pain.

There were only five days left until the first round of the trial tournament. Normally, at this time, the mountain path should have been crowded with people. However, due to a well-known reason, no one was willing to go up before the very last moment. So after climbing a short distance, Le Gui realized she was the only one left on the path.

“How much further?” After half an hour of climbing, the pain in her foot grew worse.

“At your current pace? Another seven or eight days,” the Seer Mirror replied.

Le Gui: “…”

“I told you to start earlier,” the mirror sneered.

Le Gui plopped down onto the stone steps and refused to move.

“Get going. Even if you can’t make it in time, at least pretend to put in some effort,” the mirror urged.

Le Gui lazily replied, “What, are you afraid His Lordship will kill me?”

“I’m afraid you’ll drag me down with you!” the mirror snapped impatiently.

Although Le Gui had been carrying it all this time, it was the one making the decisions. When the reckoning came, it would undoubtedly be the first to suffer.

Unfortunately, Le Gui seemed to have developed the calm detachment of a person resigned to fate. She remained unmoved even after being scolded, only getting back on her feet after her foot had stopped aching as badly.

The mirror had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly halted again.

“…What now?” it asked in exasperation.

Le Gui cleared her throat. “Mirror, you said yesterday that people from the same sect can recognize each other by intuition, right?”

“Yes, why?”

Le Gui’s expression became strange. “I think I just experienced that intuition.”

“What do you mea—” Before the mirror could finish speaking, several stunning women emerged gracefully from behind the bushes.

The mirror: “…”

“Didn’t you say the Demon Realm never participates in the trial tournament?” Le Gui whispered. “Then why are there people from the Hehuan Sect here?”

“The Hehuan Sect doesn’t only dual cultivate with demons. They have plenty of lovers in the immortal sects as well,” the mirror explained leisurely. “Strictly speaking, they don’t fully belong to the Demon Realm, so it’s not unusual to see them here.”

While the mirror was explaining, the women had already noticed Le Gui. When they got a clear look at her, a flicker of surprise appeared in their eyes.

[…Excuse me, but your gazes don’t seem very polite.]

Le Gui never thought of herself as unattractive, even if she wasn’t strikingly beautiful. Meeting their eyes, she smiled graciously.

“She’s just a mortal,” one of the women murmured, circling closer. “And not particularly remarkable in looks. As for her figure… Has she even reached maidenhood yet? Why is she so flat?”

The woman pointed at Le Gui’s chest with genuine curiosity.

Le Gui: “…” Utter humiliation. I am fully developed! This is a normal size!

“I’ve been saying that our sect’s rule about allowing disciples ranked second and above to take in apprentices at will needs to be changed. Too many people just pick up strays from the mortal realm, bringing down the sect’s standards,” a sultry woman said sharply.

“Why change such a good rule? Didn’t Senior Sister once casually take in a mortal who now serves His Lordship on Diyun Peak? Never underestimate mortals. If they know how to seduce properly, even you might be outshone,” another woman countered.

Fox-like Le Gui: “…” The Wuyou Palace is as leaky as a sieve. Everything gets out.

Since they had been chatting for quite a while, it would be rude not to speak up. Clearing her throat, Le Gui greeted respectfully, “Greetings, Senior Sisters.”

“Who took you as their disciple?” someone asked.

Le Gui blinked innocently. “I don’t know. I somehow ended up in the Hehuan Sect without realizing it.”

It seemed that this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. The women showed no surprise at all.

“What’s your name? Why are you here for the trial tournament?”

Le Gui replied, “My name is Juzi. I’m just here to watch the excitement.”

Far away on Diyun Peak, the real Juzi suddenly sneezed.

The women continued circling her, examining her as if she were some rare creature. Being surrounded by beautiful women was enjoyable, but being stared at for too long became uncomfortable. Just as Le Gui was about to find an excuse to slip away, the women suddenly straightened up, forming two neat rows and bowing toward the steps ahead.

“Greetings, Sect Master.”

Le Gui froze. She silently shifted to the back of the line and finally noticed a woman in a purple dress who had appeared at some point.

Just as she was sneaking a peek, the woman’s gaze swept over and met hers. Caught red-handed, Le Gui quickly lowered her head.

“Why is there an extra one?” the woman asked coolly.

The most senior disciple in front stepped forward and answered respectfully, “We came across her by chance. She seems to be a mortal disciple, though we don’t know who took her in.”

“A mortal disciple.” The purple-dressed woman appeared thoughtful.

Le Gui hurriedly lowered her head. “Greetings, Sect Master.”

“Since you’re already here, come along,” the woman suddenly decided.

Le Gui had yet to understand what “come along” meant when murmurs broke out among the group.

“Sect Master, are you sure about this?” The sharp-tongued beauty from before hesitated. “This junior sister hasn’t even formally entered the sect, nor do we know if she has mastered the art of enchantment. What if she displeases His Lordship?”

“There is already a mortal serving on Diyun Peak. Perhaps His Lordship prefers them,” the purple-clad woman mused. “If she fails to catch his eye, she can simply withdraw.”

Hearing this, the others had no more objections. Le Gui blinked and suddenly raised her hand. “Sect Master, I twisted my ankle and can’t climb the mountain.”

The moment she spoke, everyone laughed.

“We’ll take you up there ourselves. You don’t need to climb step by step,” the senior sister said with a smile.

That was exactly what Le Gui wanted to hear. She immediately agreed with a happy nod.

A quarter of an hour later, she stared blankly at the familiar inn before turning to the others. “Weren’t we supposed to go up the mountain?”

[Why?! Why are we back at the inn again?!]

“We’re going up the mountain to perform for His Lordship. You need to learn the dance first before you can present it,” the senior sister kindly explained.

Le Gui: “…”

“You messed up, didn’t you?” The Seer Mirror spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. “But it’s fine. You’re from the Hehuan Sect. Learning a dance shouldn’t be too hard for you. Once you’ve got it down, they’ll take you up the mountain.”

Le Gui forced a hopeless smile.

After three days of relentless practice, she finally managed to stumble her way through the dance. The room fell into an eerie silence, and even the sect master—who had agreed to take her up the mountain—was speechless.

Le Gui wiped the sweat from her forehead and raised a weak hand. “How about I sing instead?”

“You can sing?” The sect master immediately asked.

One of the secrets to landing a job—never say no. If they ask, you say yes. You can always learn on the job.

Le Gui nodded with conviction. “Yes, I can.”

“Then sing something,” the sect master said, clearly skeptical.

Le Gui took a deep breath. “Blue-faced Dou Erdun stole the imperial horse~”

“Shut up!” The sect master snapped in frustration.

Le Gui: “…”

Realizing that she had lost her temper, the sect master pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath to calm down.

To be honest, she didn’t think Le Gui had the appearance or figure to be presenting a performance before His Lordship. However, the one serving at Diyun Peak was also just a mere mortal—equally unimpressive in both looks and stature.

For years, the Hehuan Sect had sent breathtaking beauties to Wuyou Palace like flowing water, yet not a single one had managed to stand out. This time would likely be no exception, so perhaps… it was time for a different approach.

The sect master remained silent for a long moment before finally deciding to take Le Gui along for the performance. The others were surprised but understood her reasoning. No one spoke up, but after the sect master left, the ridicule began.

“Every one of us was carefully selected from the finest within the sect before we were deemed worthy of appearing before His Lordship. And now, a mere mortal like you gets to stand among us. Consider yourself blessed with an opportunity of a lifetime.”

[Thanks, but if it weren’t for the fact that I need to reach the mountaintop before the competition starts, I wouldn’t want this so-called opportunity either.]

At the peak of Miaomang Mountain, a floating pavilion hovered in the sky.

Di Jiang’s expression grew colder, and the pressure around him intensified. The Immortal Emperor of the Immortal Realm had managed to withstand three days of this oppressive aura, but the others were not as fortunate. Some turned pale, others struggled to stay upright, and those with weaker cultivation began coughing up blood.

Amid the suffocating atmosphere, the sect leader of the Hehuan Sect pushed forward against the overwhelming pressure and stepped into the pavilion. “Greetings, Your Lordship.”

Di Jiang cast her an indifferent glance and ignored her completely.

“…Upon hearing that Your Lordship had come to Miaomang Mountain, we prepared a performance overnight to present to you. We humbly ask for your favor and permission to offer this performance,” the sect leader said, her usual cold and dignified demeanor from the Hehuan Sect nowhere to be seen. Under Di Jiang’s crushing aura, she didn’t even dare to lift her head.

Di Jiang gave her a bored look and didn’t bother responding.

To an outsider, his indifference seemed like a rejection. But the Hehuan Sect had never followed conventional wisdom. Without hesitation, the sect leader signaled for the dancers to begin.

The dead silence in the pavilion was broken by the smooth rhythm of drums and flutes. A group of veiled women, dressed in exotic and revealing attire, gracefully entered in a flowing procession. Their movements were fluid as they swayed to the music, captivating the eyes of both immortals and mortals alike.

When everyone danced flawlessly, the one who didn’t stood out even more.

Di Jiang’s gaze swept over the performers with disinterest—until his eyes locked onto an awkward figure stretching her arms stiffly.

He paused. “…”