Lu Yi had just sparred briefly with a Foundation Establishment Stage Level Four cultivator on the 14th floor. Hmm... unless he used Level 7 or higher techniques, there was no way he could win.
Then, he was forced out.
Upon landing, Lu Yi noticed numerous gazes focusing on him. He paused for a moment before realizing something and looked toward the Qi Refining Trial Rankings.
At the very top of the rankings, he saw his name.
Lu Yi was immediately delighted.
First place! Not bad! Mission accomplished.
Lu Yi glanced at his panel, but then he froze.
The mission status did not show as completed.
What was going on?
While Lu Yi was still puzzled, Elder Xuan’s gentle voice rang out, “Young one, I didn’t expect you to reach the 14th floor. Truly impressive for someone so young.”
Lu Yi snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward Elder Xuan, quickly smiling, “Elder Xuan, you flatter me.”
Elder Xuan smiled slightly. “If that girl Mingyue doesn’t perform better, this first place should be yours. Reaching the top of the Qi Refining Trial Rankings with an eighth-layer Qi Refining cultivation is a first since the founding of our White Cloud Sect.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yi finally understood why his mission hadn’t shown as completed.
His second senior sister was still in the trial tower.
The mission would likely only complete once the rankings were finalized.
That meant he’d have to wait until the end of the day for confirmation.
Lu Yi didn’t mind. It was just a few hours of waiting. As long as his second senior sister didn’t surpass him, no one else should.
The reward wasn’t going anywhere.
Facing Elder Xuan’s praise, Lu Yi simply smiled, “Second Senior Sister’s strength is extraordinary. Her performance shouldn’t be bad either.”
‘Good heavens, I’m actually the first in the history of the White Cloud Sect?’
Thankfully, I didn’t display any techniques above Level 7 earlier. Otherwise, it would have been even more shocking.
“It’s a pity you specialize in swordsmanship. I can’t offer much guidance, but if you have time, you can visit Old Ming. You might learn something useful.” Elder Xuan was evidently very pleased with Lu Yi’s performance and chatted with him casually.
Lu Yi repeatedly nodded, “Elder Ming already invited me before. I’ll definitely visit often.”
Elder Xuan nodded in satisfaction and continued chatting with Lu Yi.
The trial tower allowed multiple participants to test themselves simultaneously.
Disciples kept exiting and entering the tower, and each time someone passed by Lu Yi, they gave him a strange look.
After some time, the doors of the trial tower opened again, and a purple figure was thrown out.
The figure staggered back two steps before stabilizing.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
It was Donggong Mingyue.
Donggong Mingyue looked a little pale, panting heavily. Her twin ponytails swayed slightly with her breaths.
However, her eyes carried a hint of excitement. She had finally defeated the Foundation Establishment Stage Level Three cultivator on the 13th floor and stepped onto the 14th floor!
Hmph! As expected, I’m the strongest... second strongest! I’m just a tiny step away from Senior Sister Lingshuang.
Right, I wonder how Junior Brother did? With his strength, he should have reached the 12th floor, right?
While Donggong Mingyue was pondering, she suddenly heard Lu Yi’s voice. “Second Senior Sister, are you alright?”
Donggong Mingyue looked at Lu Yi approaching with a concerned expression. She immediately straightened up, hiding her fatigue, and smiled. “How could I not be fine? I just spent too much effort defeating that Foundation Establishment Level Three cultivator. I’m a little tired.”
Donggong Mingyue thought to herself that she had to maintain her dignity in front of her junior brother.
Lu Yi nodded in agreement. “That Foundation Establishment Level Three cultivator was indeed formidable and quite troublesome.”
Donggong Mingyue: “?”
She froze for a moment and looked at Lu Yi suspiciously. “Junior Brother, how do you know that Foundation Establishment Level Three cultivator is tough?”
Lu Yi smiled. “I passed the 13th floor too.”
Donggong Mingyue: “???”
Her body stiffened. She turned her head rigidly to look at the trial rankings.
When she saw Lu Yi’s name at the top of the rankings, her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. “How is this possible?! Junior Brother, how is your ranking higher than mine?!”
Wait… isn’t Junior Brother only at the eighth layer of Qi Refining?
I’m already at the tenth layer with an innate Thunder Spiritual Body! How can he rank higher than me?!
Donggong Mingyue suddenly began to doubt whether her innate spiritual body was fake.
Seeing Donggong Mingyue’s expression of disbelief, Lu Yi worried that this might hurt her confidence. He smiled sheepishly, “I used all my trump cards to barely defeat that Foundation Establishment Level Three cultivator.”
Hearing this, Donggong Mingyue’s expression eased a little. She immediately felt reassured—she still had several powerful techniques with significant drawbacks that she hadn’t used yet!
Donggong Mingyue smiled brightly and said, “Junior Brother, that’s not good. The trial tower is important, but using techniques that harm your body is not worth it. It could affect your cultivation.”
Lu Yi nodded seriously. “Senior Sister is right. I’ll be more careful next time.”
Donggong Mingyue nodded, then asked, “Are you feeling unwell? I have some healing pills if you need them.”
Seeing Donggong Mingyue’s concern, Lu Yi felt warm inside and smiled. “I rested earlier and feel fine now.”
Donggong Mingyue nodded. “Then I’m relieved.”
Since Liu Ningshuang had not come out yet, the two continued waiting.
After a while, the Nascent Soul Rankings updated.
Liu Ningshuang had advanced from the 34th floor to the 35th floor.
This meant Liu Ningshuang could already defeat a Nascent Soul Stage Level Four cultivator.
This sparked heated discussions among the disciples.
“As expected of Senior Sister Liu! She’s improved again so quickly.”
“She’s still so young. I can’t imagine how far she’ll go in the future.”
“For someone like her, Void Refinement Realm is just a stepping stone. The real question is whether she can go even further.”
Donggong Mingyue saw Liu Ningshuang’s progress and smiled happily. “Senior Sister Ningshuang’s long seclusion has paid off.”
She then sighed, “How nice… I wonder when I’ll be as strong as Senior Sister Ningshuang? I’m still not an official disciple of the Peak Master.”
Lu Yi looked at Donggong Mingyue and smiled. “Don’t worry, Senior Sister. With your talent, it won’t take long.”
At that moment, the trial tower doors opened again, and Liu Ningshuang stepped out.
Her aura was slightly weak, but compared to Donggong Mingyue, she appeared much more composed.
Seeing Liu Ningshuang, Donggong Mingyue and Lu Yi immediately walked over.
Donggong Mingyue smiled. “Congratulations, Senior Sister Ningshuang, on advancing further.”
Lu Yi also smiled. “Senior Sister Liu is amazing.”
Liu Ningshuang’s expression softened slightly as she smiled faintly. “How about you two?”
She glanced at the Qi Refining Rankings.
When she saw Lu Yi’s name at the top, a hint of surprise flashed across her cool and elegant face. She looked at Lu Yi with curiosity. “Junior Brother Lu, you keep surprising me. Eighth-layer Qi Refining and yet you defeated a Foundation Establishment Level Three cultivator.”
Lu Yi smiled awkwardly. “I gave it my all to win.”
Liu Ningshuang looked at Lu Yi’s deep aura and simply smiled without saying more.
Lu Yi noticed her gaze and felt a bit uneasy. Does Senior Sister Liu think I didn’t give it my all?
He glanced at the cheerful Donggong Mingyue and felt relieved. Thankfully, my second senior sister isn’t that sharp.
Feeling tired, Donggong Mingyue said, “Senior Sister, Junior Brother, let’s go back. I’m exhausted.”
Liu Ningshuang and Lu Yi nodded.
The three bid farewell to Elder Xuan and boarded the white jade boat to return to Lingluo Peak.