With matchups finalized, the battles officially began. As the first pair of contestants stepped onto the stage, the Immortal Emperor and his entourage had already taken their seats in the viewing area, yet Di Jiang was nowhere to be seen.

Even though he never did anything besides sleep and never stepped in to help when she was in trouble, Le Gui still felt uneasy without him there. It was like waiting for a parent at a school meeting, only for them to never show up.

“Don’t bother waiting. He’s not coming,” the Seer Mirror said lazily.

Le Gui frowned. “Why not?”

“Because it’s boring,” the mirror replied.

“Wasn’t the first match boring too?” Le Gui argued.

“The first match was also boring. I was just as surprised as you when he showed up. The only round he’s interested in is the third one,” the Seer Mirror scoffed.

Le Gui paused at that. “Do you know what he’s planning?”

Even now, she still didn’t understand why Di Jiang wanted her to participate in the trial, let alone why he insisted that a mere mortal like her had to take first place.

The Seer Mirror responded casually, “I know.”

Le Gui’s eyes lit up. “What is it?”

“I’m not telling you,” the mirror said, barely hiding its amusement.

Le Gui: “…”

[Damn it. Now I’m even more anxious.]

Although she had no idea what grand scheme Di Jiang was plotting, the competition had to go on. As she was talking to the mirror, she caught sight of Yaoyao flicking her sword in a dazzling motion, its tip aimed directly at her opponent’s throat.

“Victory goes to Wangtian Sect’s Yuhuan!”

Another pair of contestants stepped onto the stage. Bored, Le Gui crouched in a corner, watching as more and more unfamiliar faces gathered near the arena. She couldn’t help but poke the mirror again.

“What now?” The Seer Mirror sounded impatient.

Le Gui tilted her head. “Why does it feel like there are more people here than in the first round?”

“Obviously,” the mirror said. “The first round was just a preliminary elimination, cutting the number of participants in half. It didn’t reveal anyone’s true strength. But this round is one-on-one combat. There may not be official rankings yet, but the sects can start identifying potential allies for the secret realm trial. Naturally, everyone who came for that is here to watch.”

Le Gui was stunned. “Wait, I thought only official participants could enter the secret realm?”

“Of course not. How do you know so little?” The Seer Mirror’s voice darkened, its demonic aura seeping through the glass. “The secret realm only opens once every thousand years. It’s not just for the contestants. Even if the major sects get priority, others can still follow behind and scavenge the leftovers. Something is better than nothing, right?”

Le Gui frowned. “But the contestants are all incredibly strong. Would they even let outsiders in?”

The Seer Mirror let out a cold laugh, its tone growing sharper. “The secret realm is filled with dangers. It’s always useful to bring along some disposable pawns to scout ahead and clear the path. That way, they can maximize their own survival.”

Hearing this, Le Gui suddenly felt uncomfortable. She had always known the world of cultivation was cruel and ruthless, but hearing it spoken so plainly still made her uneasy. “Do those people know they’re being used as sacrifices?”

“What does it matter? If they want to gamble on a better future, they have to accept the risks,” the mirror replied. The demonic aura within it surged wildly, almost shattering its own surface.

Le Gui licked her lips and glanced at the scattered cultivators eagerly watching the battles below. For some reason, she could feel their barely contained desperation.

“You’re awfully worked up,” she commented.

The mirror’s aura abruptly receded. After a long silence, a small lily appeared within its reflection.

The lily hesitated before saying, “I don’t know… I suddenly felt restless, like something was affecting me.”

“Are you calm now?” Le Gui asked.

Seeing her concerned expression, the lily actually felt a trace of guilt. “…Yes.”

“Then let’s go up,” Le Gui said, patting the mirror.

The lily wilted further with guilt.

Watching its dejected state, Le Gui smiled.

[Damn it. If we weren’t about to step onto the stage, I would have buried you in the dirt the moment you snapped at me.]

The arena stage was still over two meters high. Le Gui turned to the mirror first. “Can you carry me up there?”

The Seer Mirror, still feeling guilty, answered with complete indifference, “I can. But I don’t want to.”

“…Why not?”

“Because it’s a waste of spiritual energy,” the mirror replied matter-of-factly.

Le Gui: “…”

“Most people can use their spiritual energy at full efficiency, but I’m bound to a mirror. Even if I have a thousand times the energy, I can only bring out a fraction of its effect. That’s why I have to use it wisely. Carrying you up there is a pointless waste,” the mirror added, surprisingly offering an explanation for once.

By now, Le Gui’s opponent was already standing on the stage, waiting. All eyes were on her. She forced a stiff smile. “And this isn’t important enough?”

“Not enough,” the mirror said with absolute conviction.

Le Gui scanned the crowd for Li Xingqiao, hoping he could help her up again, but he was nowhere to be found. Either he was still busy with errands or his senior brothers were giving him trouble again. She seriously considered just climbing up in front of everyone when her opponent, the chubby disciple, suddenly reached out a hand to her.

“I’ll pull you up,” he offered.

“Thank you,” Le Gui said sincerely.

As soon as their hands met, she felt a strong force effortlessly lift her onto the stage. This time, she landed lightly and steadily, avoiding the awkwardness of her first match.

The chubby disciple gave her a respectful bow. “Well met, fellow Daoist. I am Qian Tong of the Lianqi Sect. Please guide me in this match.”

Le Gui returned the bow. “Well met. I am Juzi of the Hehuan Sect.”

“That’s quite a unique name,” the chubby young man said in surprise.

Le Gui responded humbly, “My parents love eating oranges, so they named me this way. I hope you don’t find it laughable.”

“Not at all. The fact that they chose this name shows their deep love for you,” the chubby young man said with a friendly smile. “Today’s match is just a sparring session. I hope you will show some restraint.”

“That sounds great. I love matches where we show restraint,” Le Gui replied, feeling a sense of goodwill toward her opponent.

As the bell signaling the start of the match rang, Le Gui was about to ask exactly what level of restraint they were talking about. However, before she could get a word out, the chubby young man’s gaze turned sharp, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy burst from his fingertips.

“Move left!” the Seer Mirror shouted in a voice only Le Gui could hear.

She instinctively dove to the left, and the spot where she had just been standing was instantly scorched black.

If that had hit her… Le Gui’s lips trembled as she looked at the chubby young man with an innocent expression. “Weren’t we supposed to show restraint?”

“I did hold back,” he replied politely before launching another attack.

“Move right!”

“Roll on the spot!”

“Stop retreating, or you’ll fall off! Circle around to his back!”

The Seer Mirror’s voice came fast and urgent, and Le Gui scrambled across the stage, rolling and dodging with all her might. After the previous match, the entire Miaomang Mountain had already heard about how a mere mortal advanced using defensive artifacts. Some spectators had come to watch the trial itself, while a significant number were here just to see how miserably she would lose this time. Watching her struggle so desperately, many in the crowd cheered gleefully.

Hearing the jeering, Yaoyao instinctively frowned. Before she could react, the senior sister beside her spoke up. “Yuhuan, you seem very concerned about this mortal.”

Yaoyao’s expression turned cold in an instant. “Why would I be? I just think it’s disgraceful for disciples of the immortal sects to be jeering like this.”

“She won unfairly in the last match. It’s only natural that people are angry about it,” the senior sister said indifferently. “Speaking of which, Hehuan Sect didn’t receive an entry token this year. Where do you think she got hers? Could it be from the Demon Realm?”

Yaoyao was silent for a moment before casually replying, “The Demon Realm has never participated in the trials. Why would they suddenly send a mortal here? She probably just got lucky and picked one up somewhere, not realizing how reckless she was being by entering the tournament.”

“That makes sense,” the senior sister nodded.

While they talked, Le Gui had rolled on the ground several more times. Parts of her clothing were already singed, yet she remained completely unharmed. The crowd’s jeering grew quieter, and even those seated in the spectator stands turned their attention to her. The chubby young man, panting heavily, finally voiced the question on everyone’s mind. “How are you so good at dodging?”

“It’s time to act cool!” the Seer Mirror reminded her. After spending so much time with Le Gui, it had picked up quite a few new phrases.

Le Gui had no idea what it meant, but she immediately straightened up and looked at the chubby young man with a provocative smile. “Did you really think I was just an ordinary mortal?”

“You mean… you’re not?” He hesitated mid-sentence, then suddenly widened his eyes. “Have you reached Foundation Establishment?”

[What? I reached Foundation Establishment?!]

Le Gui was just as dumbfounded.

As soon as he said it, the entire audience erupted into an uproar. Even those in the spectator stands looked slightly surprised. Normally, they paid no attention to mortals like her, so none of them had noticed until now that she had somehow reached Foundation Establishment.

“A mortal with no spiritual roots, advancing straight to Foundation Establishment in just two days?” The sect master of the Lianqi Sect frowned in suspicion. “She must have used some underhanded method.”

“That is quite the accusation, Sect Master Yang. Just because your Qi Refining disciple lost, does that mean she must have cheated?” Zhao Wuyou mocked.

The Lianqi Sect’s sect master sneered. “Whether it is true or not, it is up to the Emperor to decide. You and I have no say in this.”

Everyone turned to the Immortal Emperor. After a moment of silence, he said, “I see no abnormalities.”

So she really had reached the Foundation Establishment.

It was rare, but not impossible, for a genius to skip the Qi Refining stage entirely. However, this was the first time anyone had ever seen a mortal without spiritual roots advance so quickly. The discussion among the audience grew louder and more heated.

The chubby young man clenched his teeth and raised his sword. “So what if you’re at Foundation Establishment? I’m at the late-stage Golden Core stage. You think I’d be afraid of you?”With that, he charged at her once more.