The restriction was designed to stop candidates from cheating by hiding pendants in their storage bags and refusing to hand them over. Since they were forbidden to kill one another, such stubbornness would make the whole assessment meaningless.
The fat boy who had humiliated himself at the gathering point was now crouched in a corner, sobbing. He was the unfortunate victim whose pendant had been stolen. Worse, perhaps because he lacked experience, he had managed to get lost in the forest.
Having lost both his pendant and his way, he had almost no chance of passing. Despair left him with nothing to do but cry.
Watching the region through his surveillance techniques, the red-haired examiner was helpless. He had never encountered a candidate like this before.
Although he felt a little sorry for the boy, he still sent someone to escort him out. His examination was over. With luck, he might still qualify as an outer-sect disciple.
One shichen passed in the blink of an eye. The masked senior disciples perked up and looked at the red-haired examiner expectantly.
He laughed and waved them onward. “Go! Teach those little brats a lesson. Let them experience the wisdom of their senior brothers and sisters!”
“Yes!” the black-clad disciples shouted enthusiastically, rushing into the forest as though they had been given a tremendous jolt of energy.
Almost all began following the candidates’ tracks immediately. Only one remained behind.
The examiner glanced at him in surprise. He knew every disciple so well that he could identify them by their auras alone. “Hongyun, what are you waiting for? Aren’t you going after that boy for revenge?”
Qilian Hongyun gave a helpless smile. “Uncle-Master Ye Gui, my leg is still numb…”
Now genuinely surprised, Ye Gui came over and gave him a push. Qilian Hongyun immediately took the opportunity to sit down. Keeping up appearances until now had been agonizing, and at last he could rest.
Ye Gui sent his spiritual power through Qilian Hongyun’s thigh and looked startled. “That boy is extraordinary! His lightning power has actually seeped into your blood and is circulating throughout your body with it.”
Qilian Hongyun finally understood. “No wonder! At first only my ankle was numb, but now the entire leg is.”
Ye Gui was puzzled. Lightning attacks were powerful and could cause paralysis, but he had never heard of lightning power integrating into someone’s blood. On second thought, cultivation techniques across the world were wonderfully varied, and strange effects were hardly unheard of. Perhaps he simply lacked the experience to recognize this one.
He grasped Qilian Hongyun’s ankle and drove powerful fire-element spiritual power up through his leg. The violent energy forced the lightning power out of his blood bit by bit. Qilian Hongyun howled in pain, but Ye Gui did not stop until he had expelled every last trace.
“Uncle-Master… did I offend you somehow?” Qilian Hongyun was close to tears. The method had worked, but it had hurt terribly!
Ye Gui snorted. “You have the nerve to complain? You were outwitted by a boy who hasn’t even entered the sect. Maybe you should change your name from Qilian Hongyun to Qilian Humiliation.”
Qilian Hongyun looked aggrieved. “How was I supposed to know he was so strong? Honestly, Uncle-Master, I still don’t know how he spotted me.” His expression grew serious. “His attack wasn’t particularly fast. He couldn’t have noticed me only after I got close, or he would never have reacted in time.”
“So you’re saying your concealment techniques are poor and he detected you early?” Ye Gui sneered.
A dark cloud seemed to gather over Qilian Hongyun’s head. He went to a corner and started drawing circles on the ground. However it had happened, he had been outwitted. That much was undeniable.
“After this examination, you’re spending six months in the Practice Hall!” Ye Gui declared, exasperated by his failure.
“No! Uncle-Master, please! Don’t do this!” Qilian Hongyun wailed and lunged to hug his uncle-master’s leg. Ye Gui had anticipated him and promptly kicked him away.
Ye Gui’s black leopard roared and wore an almost human expression of delight. He should have been sent to the Practice Hall ages ago! When he cut the prettiest tufts of fur off my tail last time, Master should have sent him then!
“Get moving!” Ye Gui glared at Qilian Hongyun. “That boy is traveling with his younger brother. With your cultivation suppressed to Qi Refining, you might not beat them together.”
The mention of the brat who had humiliated him immediately restored Qilian Hongyun’s enthusiasm. “Don’t worry, Uncle-Master. I’ll definitely deal with him this time!” His tone changed. “And if I do, can you forget about sending me to the Practice Hall?”
Ye Gui sneered. “Deal with him first. If you fail, your time in the Practice Hall doubles!”
Qilian Hongyun’s eyes lit up. “Don’t worry, Uncle-Master! I’ll teach that brat proper respect for his elders! Daring to trick a senior brother like me? He needs discipline!”
With a whoosh, he rushed into the forest and vanished.
“Roar!” The black leopard protested. It had hoped to watch Hongyun suffer in the Practice Hall. Was Master really letting him off so easily?
Ye Gui smiled and patted the leopard’s head. “Don’t worry, old friend. That boy isn’t easy to handle. I suspect Qilian is about to run headfirst into something harder than he can manage.”
The leopard’s eyes shifted as it understood. Delighted, it licked Ye Gui’s hand, then promptly went off to find some female leopards in the mountains.
Ye Gui did not linger either. He vanished in an instant. He intended to find a few promising candidates for himself this year; his own master was also considering taking a final personal disciple.
The fighting in the forest continued. The weaker the candidates, the more urgently they wanted to gather three pendants and hurry toward the Flowing Light Sect. First place was tempting, of course, but more importantly, they doubted they could take pendants from the greatest geniuses or the senior disciples.
If they moved too slowly, the seniors might catch up and take their own pendants. At that point, collecting the six red pendants needed to meet the qualifying threshold would be almost impossible.
The seventh- and eighth-level Qi Refining applicants were not vastly different in strength. With an ambush, the outcome of their battles was anyone’s guess.
Some acted quickly, collected three red pendants and raced toward the Flowing Light Sect. What they did not know was that while they fought opponents at their own level, someone had already taken up position on the route ahead.
Many paths led to the sect, but all eventually passed through West River Valley. It was a long, narrow passage where travelers could scarcely avoid being spotted.
Wei Qing waited there quietly on a peak overlooking one side of the valley, where he could see the entire route. His face was stern, his bearing innately proud. That pride came from his true-dragon bloodline as much as from his own strength.
Outwardly, Wei Qing stood at Great Perfection of Qi Refining. In truth, he had reached that level a year earlier. The Great Liang Dynasty had grown out of an immense cultivation clan, and someone of his standing would have no difficulty obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill.
However, places in Qilin Tower were reserved for Qi Refining disciples. Therefore, Wei Qing had forcibly suppressed his breakthrough for an entire year in order to compete in this examination.
He was determined to take first place. With his strength, he had absolute confidence in succeeding.
“Hm? Someone’s coming?” Wei Qing frowned at a stealthy figure below. He remembered seeing the man standing beside Hu Yutian.
Hu Yutian and Xiahou Lian had long been on his list of rivals. Since the newcomer belonged to Hu Yutian’s circle, Wei Qing had even more reason not to let him pass.
He leaped down like a hawk, bringing a sharp, oppressive momentum with him. The sneaking man was exceptionally alert and looked up in time to notice. His expression changed, and he dropped low before darting away with astonishing speed.
Wei Qing remained impassive. He pointed a finger, sending a streak of white light hurtling toward the man’s back.
Feeling mortal danger, the man rolled desperately across the ground and avoided the attack. The white light struck with an explosive crash, raising a cloud of dust. When it cleared, a huge crater remained.
The man stared, his mouth twitching. Had that attack struck him, he would probably have died.
He glared at Wei Qing. That bastard actually dared try to kill him in defiance of the Flowing Light Sect’s rules?
“Hand over all your jade pendants,” Wei Qing said coldly.
“You dare disobey the Flowing Light Sect’s orders?” the man demanded.
Wei Qing’s expression did not change. “If I’d wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.”
The man froze. Had Wei Qing known he could dodge?
“Give me your pendants. Don’t waste my time.” Wei Qing’s cold gaze weighed heavily on him.
The man seethed, but did not dare resist. Wei Qing might not be allowed to kill him, but the rules did not prevent him from inflicting pain to obtain the pendants.
If he were injured, collecting new pendants would become much harder. Left with no choice, he handed them over.
Wei Qing received four red pendants and looked at him with open mockery.
The man knew Wei Qing was ridiculing him for failing to capture even one green pendant. But his cultivation technique was ill-suited to direct combat, and although the seniors had suppressed their cultivation to Qi Refining, their divine sense remained extraordinarily sharp. Trying to steal something from under their noses was almost laughable.