Ji Zhaoxi was the first to break through her bottleneck, leaving the disciples gathered around the martial arena astonished.
Liuli had been excitedly watching the expressions of the others. Seeing the complicated looks on the disciples’ faces, she nodded in satisfaction.
As expected of their young mistress.
But she had known all along that her mistress would achieve such a result.
The steward elder was startled as well. He had been watching Ji Zhaoxi the entire time and now led her toward the platform.
He remembered this new disciple—hadn’t she still been practicing the basics not long ago? How had she improved so rapidly?
“Wait up there for the other disciples to come out,” the steward elder briefly explained.
“All right, Elder.” Ji Zhaoxi nodded.
She trudged slowly up the steps, sensing Wen Shubai’s gaze lingering on her from time to time.
At last, she stood before Wen Shubai and gave him a stiff greeting. “Senior Brother, where should I stand?”
Wen Shubai looked at the person before him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He wanted to reach out, but his hand froze halfway in the air.
“Little Junior Sister, you can stand on my left.”
They were standing very close—close enough to catch each other’s scent. The atmosphere between them was unbearably awkward.
Wen Shubai took a handkerchief from his sleeve and hesitantly held it out to Ji Zhaoxi. Acting on instinct, Ji Zhaoxi lifted her face, expecting him to wipe it for her.
Both of them froze.
Ji Zhaoxi hurriedly took the handkerchief from him and wiped her face haphazardly.
“Thank you, Senior Brother,” she said politely, though her ears had turned bright red.
Wen Shubai’s throat tightened. He answered in a low voice, “You’re welcome, Little Junior Sister.”
The Second Elder beside them was already so hungry that his face had gone pale. He really wanted something to eat—he was craving the braised pork knuckle from Drunken Immortal Tower.
Once this was over, he was definitely going to eat to his heart’s content!
Only then did he finally notice the two people standing beside him. They usually had such a good relationship, yet today they were standing there with exaggerated propriety.
“Shubai, did you have a fight with Miss Ji?” he asked, unable to resist gossiping.
How strange. Could these two actually quarrel?
Their bodies stiffened at once. Ji Zhaoxi pretended not to hear, while Wen Shubai replied politely, “Second Elder, you’re overthinking it.”
The Second Elder chuckled. Overthinking it, huh?
The Sect Master’s gaze swept over the two of them before turning toward the disciples training on the Path of Inquiry below.
In the center of the martial arena, the blue-gray mist began to twist violently. Within the formation, some of the disciples started frantically tearing at their collars, while others began laughing as though they had lost their minds.
Just then, a roar suddenly rang out from within the mist. One of the disciples had been completely corrupted by his inner demon. His eyes were bloodshot as he forcibly broke through the arena’s barrier, sending a surge of spiritual power straight toward the platform.
Ji Zhaoxi felt a thick murderous aura fill the air. The atmosphere gradually grew thinner, and before she could react, she was pulled into a scorching embrace.
“Wretch.”
The Sect Master did not even lift his eyelids. The instant the disciple charged forward, the terrifying might radiating from the Sect Master crushed him, sending his entire body slamming into a white jade pillar a hundred meters away.
The elder from the Discipline Hall immediately subdued him.
Disciples who lost their minds on the Path of Heart-Questioning would be forcibly awakened by the elders. However, once awakened, they would lose all their spiritual power and could only leave the mountain.
The Martial Practice Arena was utterly silent. Disciples who had been in the sect for years were no strangers to this sight, but to those who had only just joined, it was deeply shocking.
Ji Zhaoxi stared blankly at the scene. If Senior Brother also failed to defeat his inner demon later, would he end up like this too…?
Without thinking, she grabbed Wen Shubai’s robe.
Seeing how pale she was, Wen Shubai’s heart tightened. “Junior Sister, are you feeling unwell?”
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head gloomily. Wen Shubai used his spiritual power to examine her body, and only after confirming that she wasn’t injured did he let go of her.
The two of them were standing very close together, their moon-white Daoist robes pressed against each other.
“Junior Sister…” Wen Shubai was still worried. He gently rubbed the palm of her hand.
Unable to hold back, Ji Zhaoxi asked, “Senior Brother, will you end up like that too?”
Wen Shubai froze at the question. He hadn’t expected her to still be worried about him at a time like this.
His heart softened at once, and he consoled her gently. “I won’t, Junior Sister.”
Ji Zhaoxi knitted her brows tightly. “Don’t worry, Senior Brother. If something happens to you later, I’ll find the Second Elder to save you!”
The Second Elder, standing beside them, fell silent.
Did she have some kind of misunderstanding about him?
She might as well have asked the Sect Master to save her directly.
And did these two not see anyone else around them? Did they even realize where they were standing? They were surrounded by all the elders—and the Sect Master. Everyone had perfectly good ears!
At that moment, Liu Fuyin was still trapped in the illusion.
She dreamed that the silkworms in her family’s home had grown larger than humans. They had obviously transformed into demons, yet her father continued to protect them.
“Daughter, how can your heart be so cold? You’ve enjoyed all these years of comfort because of these little silkworms. How can you kill them? Do you have no conscience at all?”
Liu Fuyin was in excruciating pain. On one side were the silkworms, which had shown the Liu family great kindness; on the other was her duty to kill these demon creatures.
She was caught in a terrible dilemma.
There were still several disciples who had yet to emerge from the illusion, and the disciples below had already begun sighing.
After quite some time, one of them finally came out. She, too, made her way onto the elevated platform.
She was utterly exhausted. Just thinking about having to go through something this tiring every time there was a major examination already made her dread it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed something. She instinctively turned to look.
Wen Shubai and Ji Zhaoxi were standing very close together, their arms pressed against each other. Wen Shubai was carefully holding Ji Zhaoxi’s little finger.
Disciple: …
She couldn’t believe what she had just seen, so she silently turned her head away.
No wonder Ji Zhaoxi’s Daoist robes were a different color from everyone else’s. She had heard that Senior Brother had found them for her as well. Aside from the difference in size, her robes were exactly the same as Senior Brother’s.
Ji Zhaoxi stared at Liu Fuyin on the Martial Practice Arena, her brows tightly furrowed.
Was Liu Fuyin’s inner demon really this powerful? She had always thought that, aside from cultivating, Liu Fuyin never thought about anything else.
Trapped in the mist, Liu Fuyin’s forehead was covered in cold sweat. Her body trembled uncontrollably, and her face grew paler and paler.
The mist within her spiritual consciousness grew increasingly dense, yet she remained completely unaware of it.
Just then, the door of the Ji residence across from her opened.
Ji Zhaoxi emerged amid a swirl of mist, wearing a smug expression. “Liu Fuyin, you actually dared to release that monster for the sake of your family’s business. I’m going to tell the Sect Master and have him drive you down the mountain!”
Liu Fuyin in the illusion: …
Ji Zhaoxi continued to prattle on, but Liu Fuyin stared at her, her brows drawing tighter and tighter.
Her mind was a complete haze. She remembered that Ji Zhaoxi had never been the sort to tattle.
When someone had secretly reported on her as a child, she had been furious and told her parents never to sell that family pork again.
“Liu Fuyin, you’ll always be beneath my feet!” Ji Zhaoxi’s blue-gray face gradually twisted into something grotesque.
Liu Fuyin stared at her intently. The pain in her head grew worse and worse. Suddenly, she shuddered.
No—that was wrong. The sect-wide examination wasn’t over yet!
