◎The Ridiculous Dragon◎
Outside the stone chamber, the atmosphere was equally tense.
It had been many years since Qu Qingmiao’s time that the Alchemy Sect had seen a disciple with truly exceptional talent.
Not only were the outer sect elders of the Alchemy Sect closely watching the assessment, but even a few disciples from the Yunhua Sword Sect were observing from a distance.
Of course, they were only here for that single stalk of first-grade Silver Trace Grass.
Yu Nianrou eyed Jiang Yuan skeptically. "Senior Brother, are you sure that kid from the Su family can take first place?"
Jiang Yuan’s usually cold and stern face softened into a gentle smile as he patiently explained, "Su Yizhi is indeed the most outstanding disciple of the Su family’s current generation in the Northern Territory. However, because he was born to a concubine, he’s been suppressed by the main family at every turn, which is why he came to the Alchemy Sect. So don’t worry, Junior Sister—first place will undoubtedly be his."
"And even if he doesn’t get it, we can always return to the sect and ask Father to—"
Before Yu Chang'an could finish, Yu Nianrou cut him off sharply. "No! We agreed before leaving that we’d handle any troubles ourselves this time, just to shut those gossips up!"
She lifted her delicate chin slightly, her eyes sharp.
From the moment she was born, Yu Nianrou had been pampered and spoiled, never once suffering the slightest hardship.
She dined on spiritual delicacies worth thousands in gold, wore robes crafted from rare heavenly treasures, and wielded the finest spiritual artifacts and swords. Yet precisely because of this, others assumed her cultivation was merely the result of resources lavished upon her by her father—outwardly respectful, but inwardly dismissive.
At just twelve years old, she had already reached the peak of Qi Refinement. For anyone else, this would have earned them praise as a genius.
But for her?
All she ever got was a dismissive—
"Junior Sister Yu must have a very generous father."
This expedition was her chance to prove her strength to those naysayers. Unfortunately, she had carelessly gotten caught in the chaos of the beast rampage in Tonghua County, leaving her face injured.
If she returned to the sect now, begging her father for help while still bearing these wounds, wouldn’t that just invite more ridicule?
If Su Yizhi failed to secure that Silver Trace Grass, she would simply throw spirit stones at someone else to get it for her. And if they refused? Her sword would answer in her stead.
Her father had once told her—the world of cultivation was one where the strong preyed on the weak, where the powerful lived and the weak perished. So there was nothing wrong with her approach.
Yu Nianrou tightened her grip on her sword, the silver fur ornament dangling from its sheath swaying in the wind.
That Silver Trace Grass—she would have it, no matter what!
Inside the assessment hall.
The milk tea in Elder Wan’s cup had gone from jasmine tea to da hong pao, his tone slightly anxious. "How strange. Su Yizhi identified nine medicinal herbs on the first day, yet even now, on the sixth day, he still hasn’t found the last one?"
Qu Qingmiao countered, "Didn’t you suspect he might be a spy?"
Why was he so eager for the boy to finish, then?
Elder Wan chuckled awkwardly. "Even if he is a spy, we can still win him over with kindness and nurture him into a pillar of our Alchemy Sect in the future!"
Qu Qingmiao’s gaze swept over the sealed stone chambers.
More and more participants had begun cracking the alchemical formulas, but Su Yizhi remained in the lead, the nine glowing dots above his door standing out prominently.
Only two stone chambers had remained completely silent from start to finish, showing no activity whatsoever.
Suddenly, Qu Qingmiao raised her head, her lips parting slightly. "He’s out."
Almost the moment she spoke, a tenth light burst forth above Su Yizhi’s door—he had completed the assessment first!
But then something unexpected happened.
The neighboring stone chamber, which had shown no movement until now, suddenly flashed ten times in rapid succession. Both doors opened almost simultaneously, making it impossible to tell who had finished first.
The crowd’s expressions shifted dramatically—had another genius just cracked all the formulas at once?
The atmosphere grew tense, but Elder Wan’s face glowed with delight.
Wonderful! Surely this other prodigy couldn’t also be a spy, right?
Moreover, this person had remained silent until today before making their brilliance known—such steady temperament and patience only made Elder Wan admire them more.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" He praised three times in a row, his eyes fixed intently on that stone door, eager to see who would emerge.
Under the watchful eyes of all…
Qi Nanfeng strode out with light, cheerful steps!
Elder Wan scrutinized him from head to toe before nodding in satisfaction. "This lad is handsome, upright, and carries himself with exceptional grace—clearly no spy. A fine future pillar of our Alchemy Sect, and with proper nurturing, he won’t be inferior to Su Yizhi."
Qu Qingmiao gave him a sidelong glance. "Our Alchemy Sect seems to have quite a few future pillars these days."
Emerging alongside Qi Nanfeng was a short, youthful boy, his cheeks still carrying a hint of baby fat, his skin fairer than snow, and the corners of his eyes tinged faintly red—giving him an innocent, almost pitiable charm.
So this was Su Yizhi—just a young boy.
He looked dazed, as if lost in thought, and even tripped as he stepped out. But instead of getting up, he stayed on the ground for a moment, retching.
Qi Nanfeng startled, rushing over to help him up.
"Little brother, did you take a Fasting Pill? Ugh, I tried one too—that taste is truly indescribable. Luckily, I still had a few meat buns in my storage pouch, so I didn’t have to keep eating that awful thing."
Su Yizhi: "...Oh."
Seeing Su Yizhi emerge, Yu Nianrou, who had been waiting outside, could no longer contain herself and made to rush in.
However, disciples of the Alchemy Sect barred her way. "The assessment isn’t over yet. As an outsider, you may not enter."
Yu Nianrou hugged her sword and scoffed. "The first one’s already out. Can’t Su Yizhi come forward now to claim the top prize?"
When his name was called, Su Yizhi slowly lifted his head to glance at her before lazily lowering it again, making no move to approach.
Elder Wan explained patiently, "We must wait until the assessment concludes tomorrow and verify each participant’s submitted answers. Until then, we cannot determine the top scorer."
Qi Nanfeng, standing nearby, patted his chest confidently. "Exactly! Even though I came out a step behind him, what if I got everything right and he got everything wrong?"
Such confidence and pride—truly befitting a disciple Elder Wan had his eye on.
The elder gazed at Qi Nanfeng with deep satisfaction.
Yu Nianrou leveled her sword at Qi Nanfeng, her killing intent faintly palpable, but in the end, she restrained herself from acting out within the Alchemy Sect’s grounds.
"Fine," she said coldly. "Then I’ll wait one more day."
Stars scattered across the sky as dawn gradually brightened—another night passed.
The seventh day of the assessment had arrived.
On this day, the young participants began emerging from their stone chambers one after another, their faces a mix of joy and sorrow as they gathered in the hall, awaiting the toll of the bell that would announce the results.
As evening approached, Yu Nianrou, who had waited the entire day, finally lost her patience. For some reason, the wound on her cheek ached more intensely than ever, and she was desperate to obtain the Silver Trace Grass.
She raised her voice. "Everyone’s out already—why isn’t this over?"
Elder Wan frowned. He had long grown weary of this girl, but with a Nascent Soul expert backing her, he couldn’t afford to offend her.
He pointed. "There’s still one person left."
Following his gesture, Yu Nianrou realized that one stone door remained tightly shut. Perhaps because it had shown no activity at all, it had been completely overlooked.
"Someone who hasn’t come out by now must be a worthless failure," Yu Nianrou declared with absolute certainty. "Why waste time waiting for that one incompetent?"
This was a principle Yu Youyou had learned from Yu Bubie since childhood—there was no need to sympathize with the incompetent.
"Look at you, acting all high and mighty, meddling in everything. Anyone would think you’re the sect leader of the Pill Cauldron Sect," Qi Nanfeng couldn’t hold back and immediately snapped back. He had stepped out and noticed Yu Youyou’s absence, guessing she must still be inside the unopened stone chamber.
Elder Wan secretly rejoiced—this boy was good! He hadn’t even officially joined the sect yet, but he already knew how to defend the Pill Cauldron Sect’s dignity!
Yu Nianrou glanced sideways and finally recognized Qi Nanfeng. "Oh, it’s you. So the person inside… is that little beggar you carried up the mountain earlier?"
She tilted her head slightly, her smile sweet yet laced with mockery. At first glance, anyone would think she was a charming, innocent young girl.
But the words that left her mouth were—
"It’s been seven days with no movement. Do you think she’s already dead?"
A surge of fury shot through Qi Nanfeng’s head.
He sprang to his feet, ready to argue, but Jiang Yuan, standing protectively beside Yu Nianrou, gave him a cold glare. Under the spiritual pressure of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, Qi Nanfeng grunted and was forced back to the ground with a heavy thud.
This was the difference between cultivators and mortals.
Qi Nanfeng lay sprawled on the ground, took a deep breath, and forced out a strained smile.
He spoke in a mocking tone, "Calling someone a beggar? Honestly, you lot look more like a bunch of walking disasters to me."
He was speaking in the dialect of Tonghua County, completely unintelligible to the outsiders from the Cloud Hua Sword Sect.
Still, Jiang Yuan had a feeling it wasn’t anything complimentary. He turned to Elder Wan. "What did he just say?"
Cold sweat broke out on Elder Wan’s forehead. As an outer sect elder, he couldn’t afford to offend the Cloud Hua Sword Sect. But this boy in front of him was a rare talent he had his eye on—he couldn’t let these sword cultivators cut him down!
The old man had no choice but to improvise. "Ah… he said that you all are truly dragons among men, worthy of admiration. He admits his mistake and won’t dare offend again."
"Walking disasters" = "dragons among men"?
Well… it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Jiang Yuan was about to ask what "walking disasters" meant when Yu Nianrou had already drawn her sword.
"The bell marks the end, right?" She tossed her sword into the air and, under Elder Wan’s furious glare, flicked her slender fingers in a sword-control technique.
"Then I’ll make it ring right now!"
The gleaming flying sword shot toward the ancient bell with tremendous force. The next moment, the entire examination peak reverberated with the deep, majestic toll of the bell.
Yu Nianrou’s lips curled slightly.
Yet, just as the bell’s echo faded, the sealed stone door suddenly erupted in a blinding flash of light—
No, it was ten beams of light converging into one!
Before the bell’s sound fully dissipated, the stone door, closed for seven full days, finally swung open.
A small figure slowly stepped out.
The first thing everyone noticed was a pair of bare feet, covered in frostbite and scars. Looking up, they saw an oversized, tattered robe dragging on the ground, making the girl’s already small frame seem even tinier. Her face was deathly pale, save for the large, cat-like eyes embedded in them—dark and still, like a frozen pool.
The very picture of an orphan.
Yu Nianrou looked down at her with disdain. She had guessed right—it really was that meddlesome little beggar.
"So you made it out before the bell stopped," she sheathed her sword and scoffed. "But I bet you just threw ten random herbs into the box because you couldn’t crack the formula, didn’t you?"
The moment those words left her mouth, Qi Nanfeng felt as if an arrow had struck his knee. He immediately looked around, pretending he hadn’t heard anything.
Yu Youyou found the noise unbearable. She had been trapped for seven days before figuring things out, and her mood was far from pleasant.
Lazily lifting her eyelids, she drawled, "Sword swingers shouldn’t lecture pill refiners on their craft."
Before Yu Nianrou could retort, Jiang Yuan’s expression darkened as he drew his sword, ready to teach this insolent girl a lesson.
He had done this too many times before. Whenever Yu Bubie was absent, it fell to him to protect his junior siblings in their master’s stead.
But Qu Qingmiao, who had been silently observing, suddenly swept forward like a breeze. She grabbed Yu Youyou and tossed her into the crowd before positioning herself protectively in front of the younger disciples.
Her voice was icy. "Fellow cultivator, even if our sects are allies, you have no right to interfere with our examination!"
"Fine." Jiang Yuan sheathed his sword, his gaze fixed coldly on Yu Youyou. "Then I’ll wait until her examination is over."
Qu Qingmiao’s heart sank.
The entire cultivation world knew how fiercely Yu Bubie’s lineage protected their own. As long as Yu Youyou remained within the Pill Cauldron Sect, the Cloud Hua Sword Sect wouldn’t dare touch her. But if she failed the examination and had to leave…
Jiang Yuan would hesitate before acting against a member of the Pill Cauldron Sect, but he wouldn’t spare a second thought for a mere mortal. The life or death of a commoner rested entirely on a cultivator’s whim.
Yet there was nothing she could do. All she could hope was that the girl would pass the examination—though the odds were nearly nonexistent.
