On the luminous screen, Luo Luo's name shimmered in golden brilliance, overshadowing Chen Xuanyi's position below.
Luo Luo's act of saving lives had been witnessed by all.
The training ground fell silent for a brief moment before erupting into deafening clamor once more.
The glowing rankings swiftly updated, one unfamiliar name after another leaping upward, securing spots within the top hundred.
Chen Xuanyi's expression darkened.
Nothing stung a young man's pride more than being struck down at the height of his glory—like a dousing of ice-cold water after a resounding blow.
It was utterly humiliating.
The more dazzling his previous triumph, the sharper the slap to his face now felt.
Gu Meng watched helplessly as she tumbled out of the top three, her indignation flaring. "Absurd! This is utterly absurd! How can they retroactively award points without prior notice? What was the point of us working so hard to slay demons?"
"Now, that’s not entirely fair," someone nearby interjected kindly. "The rules were clear from the start—scores would be based on both demon slaying and on-the-spot performance."
Gu Meng snapped back, "Of course you’d defend them—you’re one of the beneficiaries! What kind of rotten rule is this? It’s blatant cheating!"
Unexpectedly, the person who’d spoken wasn’t one to back down either. "Hey, who are you calling a cheater? If I hadn’t been busy saving people, I’d have killed way more demons! And you—weren’t you just coasting along on some guy’s coattails? Talk about shameless!"
"Every single demon I killed was by my own hand!" Gu Meng retorted, her voice shrill. "The rules acknowledge that, so who are you to question me?"
"Oh ho ho!" The other scoffed. "Now you’re suddenly fine with the rules? Weren’t they ‘rotten’ and ‘cheating’ a second ago? Hypocrite much?"
Before Gu Meng could fire back, Chen Xuanyi’s face had turned as dark as a storm cloud.
"Enough!" he growled, his voice hoarse with suppressed fury. "Not another word!"
Gu Meng stomped her foot in frustration. "Brother Li, I’m just standing up for you! How does Luo Luo even deserve this?"
While one side wallowed in bitterness, others rejoiced.
The fellow who’d been slapping himself while rescuing people—muttering "hypocrite, idiot, white lotus" under his breath—couldn’t resist giving himself two more smacks. "This score’s insane—am I dreaming?"
In a corner of the training ground, three junior disciples from a minor sect clutched each other’s arms, jumping for joy. "We made it! All three of us! We’re on the list!"
"Thank heavens for our junior sister! If she hadn’t insisted on saving more people, we’d have slunk home in disgrace."
Many others shared their sentiment—initially resigned to failure, only to find themselves miraculously within the top hundred.
"Now this is a proper rule!"
"Us cultivators must never forget—slaying demons is meant to protect the common folk. We can’t lose sight of what truly matters!"
"Well said!"
Xu Junlan stared at her shockingly high ranking, blinked, then burst into laughter, jabbing Xu Junzhu with her elbow.
"Sis, this is the first time I’ve ever ranked above you!"
She’d been so fixated on competing with Luo Luo—saving lives just to one-up her—that she’d accidentally landed herself in the top ten.
Xu Junzhu: "..."
After the commotion died down, all eyes turned to the first-place winner of the preliminary round.
Yet Luo Luo showed no trace of joy or arrogance.
She climbed the bronze steps to the high platform before the luminous screen, her lips pressed tight, her gaze flickering occasionally with unreadable emotion.
Serious. Solemn.
Pretty Boy noticed something unusual—her mind was eerily silent, devoid of even her usual internal monologue.
Once she reached the center and stood still, her thoughts finally surfaced: Luo Luo! Remember to be diplomatic. Diplomatic, diplomatic, diplomatic!
Pretty Boy: "..."
Rubbing his throbbing temples, he listened as she began her speech.
"This preliminary round," Luo Luo said in her most measured tone, "was, in my opinion, terribly designed. Treating human lives as expendable is utterly irresponsible."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
Who in their right mind gave an acceptance speech like this?
Luo Luo continued with diplomatic precision: "If this esteemed sect understands that we cultivators train to protect the common people, why deliberately endanger so many lives? Such high-handed disregard is... shameful."
She paused, searching for a milder word.
The crowd erupted.
Luo Luo spoke firmly, each word deliberate. "I hope this sect will acknowledge its mistakes, correct them, ensure they are never repeated, and properly compensate the innocent civilians affected."
Inner Sanctum.
The assembly of grandmasters beneath the Azure Cloud Mirror fell silent for a beat.
Master Lingxue gave a soft hum of approval.
True Lord Pangyue of the Heavenly Path Sect pouted like a wronged child. "Must you Tai Xuan Sect folks be so rigid? With so many watching, nothing serious could’ve happened! And yet she scolds me so harshly in public..."
His gaze drifted to the other side, where the elder from the Heavy Star Sect remained fast asleep, having snoozed through the entire event.
Sighing, he leaned his mountainous bulk forward, his chins folding like stacked dough, and activated the voice-disguising artifact on the jade-bronze table.
A commanding voice boomed across the training ground:
"By that logic, do you reject not only this preliminary round but also your own first-place ranking?"
The crowd exploded into murmurs—some nodding, others shaking their heads, a few sighing, many indignant.
Chen Xuanyi smirked coldly. "What a fool."
Gu Meng gloated. "Serves her right for pretending to be noble! Now she’s tripped over her own hypocrisy!"
Xu Junlan bellowed, "Luo Luo, shut up and get down here! If my top-ten spot vanishes because of you, I swear—"
Xu Junzhu deadpanned, "When have you ever not been at odds with her?"
As the noise subsided, all eyes fixed on Luo Luo, awaiting her response.
She surveyed the sea of faces below and spoke slowly. "I know many here believe I won first place by sheer luck—that I merely stumbled upon the right strategy."
Murmurs of agreement surfaced.
"At least she’s self-aware."
"Pure luck! If I’d guessed civilians counted, she’d never have gotten that 8,888-point haul!"
"Is she actually suggesting a redo?"
The whispers faded as curiosity took over—what was Luo Luo really getting at?
Luo Luo declared, "If that’s what you think, you’re wrong. My victory had nothing to do with luck."
Her words landed like a hammer.
Silence fell. The crowd watched her, expressions ranging from puzzlement to amusement to outright skepticism.
"I’ll state two verifiable facts."
Suppressing the turmoil in her heart, Luo Luo continued, her voice steady and deliberate.
"First matter: In the 21st year of Tianyuan, Li Zhaoye and I swept through Dongyu Province, slaughtering over seven thousand demons."
"Daoist Xuanyi once attained enlightenment overnight in Dongyu, and Li Zhaoye was deeply fascinated by this."
"When we arrived in Dongyu, we found the land overrun by demons. The vast region had not a trace of spiritual energy, nor a single immortal sect outpost. Staying to exterminate demons would bring no benefit—only harm."
"But Dongyu had mortals too. If we left, our hearts would remain unsettled. Li Zhaoye said cultivators must never let their resolve waver."
"So we purged Dongyu clean."
Many knew of this affair.
When mentioned, people would say—"The Tai Xuan Sect had two stubborn fools who, with nothing better to do, wiped out every last demon in Dongyu."
Dongyu's spiritual veins had been shattered. There, spiritual power could only be expended, never replenished. Slaying demons brought no cultivation gains—only regression.
Li Zhaoye had originally gone seeking enlightenment to reach the Nascent Soul stage. Yet after months of relentless battle, his cultivation regressed instead.
"In Dongyu, Li Zhaoye was covered in wounds, and I lost a leg. To make it back for the last Qingyun Grand Assembly, he stuffed me into a giant chicken crate and carried me here."
At her words, many remembered.
Three years ago, Li Zhaoye had indeed arrived at the Qingyun Assembly hauling a massive chicken crate. Back then, he was still an unknown rookie. No one expected this "crate boy" would dominate the competition, winning by a landslide.
...Luo Luo didn't mention the crate originally held chickens—they'd eaten them all before reaching the venue.
Recognition dawned on many faces. "Ah—that's how it was! I remember now!"
"Exactly, I recall it too."
"Me as well! The girl with the broken leg even had a feather stuck in her hair—so it was her!"
Inner Realm.
Master Lingxue silenced the voice-transmitting artifact, gesturing for patience as Luo Luo continued.
True Lord Pangyue chuckled, resting his plump cheeks in his hands. "I'd like to hear her out too. No interruptions."
Master Lingxue gave a slight nod but kept his grip on the artifact.
"And the second matter?" someone shouted from the arena.
Luo Luo steadied her emotions and continued calmly. "Second matter: In the 23rd year of Tianyuan, during the demon tide in Chenzhou, Li Zhaoye and I saved thirteen villages."
"At first, we struggled. Too many demons, too many people—we couldn't protect everyone. People kept dying."
"Li Zhaoye was clever. He said this wouldn't work and had me gather everyone behind a defensive formation. We'd kill demons wherever they attacked."
"Because we'd done this countless times before, I could instantly deploy that same formation in the arena and save everyone."
She lifted her gaze to the sky beyond the giant bronze tree.
Blinking against the harsh sunlight.
Back then, she'd left the formation to rescue people on the other side of Wuyuan Valley. Some troublemakers delayed her, accusing her of tricking them to steal their belongings.
That delay trapped them in the demon tide.
Luo Luo shielded the villagers' escape but got stranded herself, nearly dying in battle.
When Li Zhaoye finally found her, though exhausted, he scolded her fiercely.
He taught her: When dealing with fools, skip the words—use fists to educate them.
Luo Luo remembered. So in the arena, she'd flung people aside without hesitation.
"These two events have countless witnesses and evidence. Their truth can be verified easily."
Hearing this, Master Lingxue slowly released the voice-transmitting artifact.
The Qingyun prodigies in the arena wore expressions of awe.
Luo Luo said, "As you see, this is how we've always operated—every deed documented. So does anyone still believe I saved so many in the arena by luck?"
Those who dared meet her eyes now did so with admiration.
"Luck? That's an insult!" someone declared. "Those 8,888 points are rightfully yours!"
"Absolutely! If anything, it's too little! Think of all the demons you've slain!"
"Wait..." Someone suddenly hissed, glancing at Chen Xuanyi.
Like cicadas in midsummer, murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Her and Li Zhaoye... Li Zhaoye?"
"But his personality changed completely after losing his memories."
"Right! That flirtatious arrogance earlier—since when did he ever spare a glance for mortal ants?"
"Such a drastic shift in character..."
Luo Luo's eyes met Chen Xuanyi's briefly before she coldly looked away.
Yes, if she outright accused him of soul theft, no one would believe her. But if she simply stated facts and let others draw their own conclusions?
People distrust others' words but trust their own judgments.
That was enough.
Luo Luo raised her head toward the source of that authoritative voice.
"Your sect's earlier question—I can answer now," she said. "I condemn your reckless disregard for lives, but the fault lies with you, not me."
Honest Luo Luo used the mildest tone to deliver the boldest words.
"It was I who salvaged your collapsing reputation."
"It was I who saved the most and earned the highest score."
"This first place—I, Luo Luo, deserve it beyond doubt!"
The arena fell silent.
Then someone began clapping fiercely.
"Well said!" "Undeniably deserved!" "I'm convinced—heart and soul!"
Soon, applause surged like tides, startling resting phoenixes into flight.
Cheers thundered under a sky ablaze with celebratory lights—a fitting scene.
The preliminary champion—rightfully crowned!
Amid the acclaim, Luo Luo tilted her head and called to someone below. "Li Zhaoye, let's go!"
Pretty Boy: "......?"
Being a mere stand-in wasn't enough for her now?
How dare she order a god around—such insolence!
But.
Seeing her triumphant little face—denying her this would breed lasting enmity.
Fine. A deity needn't stoop to mortal pettiness.
Resigned, he lazily raised a hand and pushed through the crowd.
"Coming!"
