Unfortunately, like everyone else, he saw nothing.
“It is too early to discuss such things,” Yu Lancheng said.
“True. We should wait until they pass the trials and have their aptitudes tested.” Wei Zhenghai also felt he had been a little hasty.
Yu Lancheng said no more and returned his gaze to the water mirror. Seeing that Qin Yu’s eyes were beginning to roll back, he paused, then released the force holding him down.
It would be no fun if he toyed with the little liar to death.
Qin Yu thought he was about to drown when the scene before him suddenly warped and shifted. A moment later, he appeared at the entrance to the trial realm, alive and in one piece.
The disciples stationed there were startled by his sudden arrival and took some time to recover.
“You are…?”
Qin Yu was equally alarmed to find himself abruptly transported somewhere with other people. Only after noticing that they wore the same attire as the disciples he had seen at the trial realm’s entrance earlier did he lower his guard.
Tang Si recovered first. He cast a spell on Qin Yu, instantly drying his soaked robes, before asking:
“Junior brother, what is your name?”
“Qin Yu,” he answered honestly.
Tang Si turned and called to someone seated at a nearby desk.
“Kang Hangzhi, make a note of it. First place in the trials: Qin Yu.”
“First place?”
The words felt unreal to Qin Yu. He did not even know how he had passed the trial.
Unaware of his confusion, Tang Si leaned closer with a broad grin.
“You haven’t heard, Junior Brother Qin? You’re the first of this year’s candidates to come out. Thanks to you, your senior brother has made a tidy fortune.”
Tang Si’s smile could hardly have been more sly. Not content with grinning, he even prompted Qin Yu with a look to ask him more.
The corner of Qin Yu’s mouth gave a barely perceptible twitch. Speechless, he nevertheless humored him.
“A tidy fortune?”
“I set up a betting pool. They all bet that Jiang Fu would be the first to leave the trial realm. But you came out first instead! As the bookmaker, I cleaned them all out. Heh-heh-heh…”
Tang Si showed no concern about offending anyone. In fact, he deliberately raised his voice.
Sure enough, the faces of several people nearby darkened at once. They looked ready to devour the swindler alive.
Even Qin Yu, who had no stake in the matter, felt his fists itching. This fellow really was asking for a beating.
How had someone this punchable managed to survive in Tiannan Divine Sect?
Only after showing off to his heart’s content did Tang Si drop his insufferable manner.
“I’ll take you somewhere to rest. Once all the other candidates have come out, the sect master will test your aptitudes. After that, you’ll be taking your masters.”
“Thank you, senior brother.”
Tang Si brought Qin Yu to a secluded courtyard, told him not to wander off, and left.
As soon as he left, a system announcement sounded in Qin Yu’s mind.
【Ding! Congratulations to the host on passing the trial and successfully taking first place from Jiang Fu. Reward: one mystery gift package and 2,000 points.】
【Host’s current balance: -3,000 points.】
“Only 2,000 points for taking first place? You’re way too stingy!”
Throughout the trial, he had either been chased by sharks or surrounded and bitten by them. After finally escaping the sharks, he had been forced underwater again and again, nearly dying on the spot several times. And all that earned him a measly 2,000 points?
【There are only 2,000. Do you want them or not? If not, I’ll take them back.】
“Yes! Who said I didn’t want them?”
【Hmph.】
Under the rules from above, this mission was not supposed to earn him so much as half a cent. The system had secretly contributed those 2,000 points itself because it thought so highly of him, yet he had the nerve to complain that it was not enough!
He simply did not appreciate a kindhearted system!
“???”
Qin Yu was baffled. Why had the system suddenly gotten angry? Did systems have a few days like that every month too?
One day later.
The final group of trial participants emerged from the realm. As soon as they did, everyone who had passed was summoned to Tiannan Divine Hall.
Qin Yu followed the others inside, only to be dazzled by the hall’s opulence the moment he entered.
The hall covered more than a thousand square meters, its decor lavish beyond measure. Polished marble gleamed beneath his feet, while countless luminous pearls studded the ceiling like stars. The pillars bore lifelike carvings of auspicious beasts, offering more splendor than the eye could take in.
Was Tiannan Divine Sect really this wealthy?
“We pay our respects to the Immortal Lords, the sect master, and the elders.”
He hurriedly knelt with everyone else to offer his respects.
Wei Zhenghai rose and surveyed the dense crowd below, nodding in satisfaction.
“Many disciples have passed this year’s trials. On behalf of Tiannan Divine Sect, I welcome you all.”
“Thank you, Sect Master.”
Once everyone had stood, Wei Zhenghai’s gaze settled on Qin Yu and Jiang Fu.
He had known beforehand that a youth named Jiang Fu was among this year’s candidates, born with a supreme-grade spiritual root. He had placed great expectations on the boy and assumed first place was his for the taking. He had never expected a Qin Yu to appear out of nowhere.
Anyone who finished the trial first must possess considerable talent and good fortune. But how did his aptitude compare with Jiang Fu’s? Perhaps the two should be put to the test together.
Wei Zhenghai was far from the only one interested in Qin Yu and Jiang Fu.
When the trial rankings were announced, the two highest-ranked candidates had naturally caught the attention of the assembled powerful cultivators. They were simply waiting for the aptitude tests before taking the two into their respective lineages.
Each had laid out a fine plan, unaware that one person among them had no intention of playing fair.
Yu Lancheng lightly crooked a finger. An invisible force immediately dragged Qin Yu forward, making him stumble several steps and nearly fall flat on his face.
Before he could work out what was happening, a cool voice sounded above him.
“What is your name?”
The moment he spoke, everyone in the hall turned their attention to him.
A man in ivory robes embroidered with silver sat composed in his chair. His silken black hair, secured with a jade crown, cascaded down his back. His sculpted features were as beautiful as those of a god descended to earth, while his clear, cold black eyes seemed untouched by worldly dust, unsettling the hearts of all who looked upon him.
Qin Yu instinctively pressed a hand to his chest. There was actually a man in this novel more handsome than Jiang Fu?
“System, who is he? You have three seconds. I want everything there is to know about him.”
【……】
This host was clever, certainly, but there was something a little wrong with his head.
Wei Zhenghai came to his senses and pinched himself. The pain nearly made him cry out on the spot, confirming that this was no illusion.
Immortal Lord Yazheng had actually taken the initiative to ask a disciple’s name!
“Immortal Lord Yazheng, are you…?”
“Haven’t you been urging me to take a disciple?”
“You truly intend to take one? Wonderful!”
Wei Zhenghai’s stern, aged face blossomed into a delighted smile. He swept out a hand.
“Which of these disciples has caught your eye? Take whichever one you like!”
Before long, the sect would have another Immortal Lord. The day Tiannan Divine Sect became the foremost immortal sect was within reach.
Neither man had concealed their conversation. When Wei Zhenghai addressed the silver-robed man as “Immortal Lord Yazheng,” an uncanny silence fell over the hall. No one dared so much as breathe too loudly.
Was this the legendary foremost Immortal Lord—Immortal Lord Yazheng?
Qin Yu was even more astonished than the others.
According to the novel, Tiannan Divine Sect had four Immortal Lords: Yunlang, Lixuan, Qiuyue, and Yazheng. Of the four, Yazheng possessed the Innate Dao Physique, a constitution seen only once in ten thousand years, and had reached the Tribulation Transcendence realm at just thirty. Yet he was rarely seen, and later simply became a missing person in the story.
Back then, Qin Yu had even made a point of analyzing why Immortal Lord Yazheng had disappeared. The only plausible explanation was that his character was simply too overpowered. Jiang Fu, the male lead, could not surpass him, so the original author had been forced to write him out.
Now Qin Yu could say with absolute certainty that Jiang Fu could not compare with Immortal Lord Yazheng—not in looks, cultivation, or talent.
With this man around, someone else would have to take over as the male lead.
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