novelraw Chapter 235 - 103: The Second Event [Part 1]
Chapter 235 - 103: The Second Event [Part 1]
After Lin Xian’er’s matter was handled, Wen Guiyun called Gu Qingqing and the others to sit together in Yue Zhao’s room."Geng Geng, how do you feel in the Secret Realm? Were you injured?" Wen Guiyun turned to Gu Qingqing and asked caringly.
"Master, how could your disciple be easily injured? The highest level in the Secret Realm is only the ninth-grade peak, which is similar to my current state." Gu Qingqing sat beside Wen Guiyun and said with a smile.
"That’s good, no matter how high your cultivation is, in your master’s eyes, you’re still a child, and I can’t help but worry about you." Wen Guiyun stroked Gu Qingqing’s hair, his smile very gentle.
"Master, you’ve dealt with Lin Xian’er, won’t Master Ye be displeased?" Yue Zhao asked Wen Guiyun with some concern.
"Don’t worry, it was Lin Xian’er who acted first, harming fellow disciples. In my younger days, I would have directly dealt with her, not like now. Your Master Ye is much more resilient than you imagine." Wen Guiyun took a sip of tea and continued, "Besides, Lin Xian’er’s performance in recent years has not been good. Master Ye has mentioned it to me several times; if not for her parents, Master Ye would have given up on her long ago."
Gu Qingqing and the others were surprised by this revelation, exchanging looks with each other.
"From Master Ye’s appearance previously, I thought the Array Hall might be handed over to Lin Xian’er." Yue Zhao, who had been in the Holy Land longer, was more aware of the relationship between Master Ye and Lin Xian’er and was completely unaware that Master Ye was already dissatisfied with Lin Xian’er.
"In recent years, since you don’t often stay in the Holy Land, you’re not aware. On the surface, Lin Xian’er appears commendable and considerate, but in secret, she has often set traps for other fellow disciples. Master Ye warned her several times, but she didn’t listen, so he gave up on her." Wen Guiyun said in a mild tone.
For him, Lin Xian’er was just an average disciple. Although she had some talent, at their level, disciples like Lin Xian’er were not worth their attention. In his eyes, Lin Xian’er wasn’t even worth a strand of Gu Qingqing’s hair. Having said that, he didn’t mention her again.
"In any case, you don’t need to worry about Master Ye being upset because of her. Focus your thoughts on the competition this time." Wen Guiyun put down his teacup and looked at Gu Qingqing and the others.
"Disciple understands." With Wen Guiyun saying so, Gu Qingqing and the others expressed their agreement on the spot.
"How about it? Do you have confidence in getting first place in the first competition?" Wen Guiyun glanced at his disciples, finally resting his gaze on Yue Zhao, raising an eyebrow and asking.
"We scored a total of 375 points, which should be quite good. As for whether it’s first place, it’s hard to estimate." Facing Wen Guiyun, Yue Zhao spoke objectively, without blind arrogance.
"It’s okay, ranking is not important, just pay attention to safety." Wen Guiyun felt that the status of Lingxi Sacred Land did not need to be proved by these competitions. As long as Yue Zhao and the others did their best, the most important thing was to protect themselves!
"Disciple understands." Yue Zhao nodded, indicating understanding.
Wen Guiyun did not stay long. After chatting with Gu Qingqing and the others, he left.
The next morning, Gu Qingqing and the others woke up early, prepared themselves, and went together to the Cloud Ascension Platform to check the results of the first competition.
They didn’t arrive too early. By this time, there were already many contestants on the Cloud Ascension Platform, gathered in small groups, discussing matters related to the competition, speculating on the content of the second competition, and waiting for the results of the first competition to be announced.
After about a quarter of an hour, the scores and rankings of the various teams appeared on the Cloud Ascension Platform.
"First place, Gu Qingqing’s team, members are Gu Qingqing, Yue Zhao, Mu Chen, Nan Hua, Jun Wu, Yun Ran, Zhuo Tingqiu, with a score of 375 points!
Second place, Bai Yunxing’s team, members are Bai Yunxing, Bai Yiting, Han Chaoyun, Lin Qiqi, Shangguan Lan, Nangong Xi, with a score of 359 points!
Third place, Zhao Qizhe’s team, members are Zhao Qizhe, Zhou Weiwei, Xuanyuan Ke, Huang Xin, Lu Feifei, with a score of 350 points!
...
Tenth place, Chen Xinhai’s team, members are Chen Xinhai, Chen Qin, Zhou Lang, Yun Qingyi, Lin Qingqing, with a score of 300 points!
..."
When they saw their team was in first place, Gu Qingqing and the others were not too surprised. After all, most of the high-scoring wooden tokens in the Secret Realm were obtained by them, and they also collected many low-scoring tokens. If they still couldn’t get first place, then there would be a problem!
The first competition eliminated a total of 300 people, leaving 700 from the original 1,000 participants. These 700 would proceed to the second round of the competition.
Gu Qingqing and the others secured first place in the first competition, and each received ten additional bonus points. The individual scores were at the forefront, with Gu Qingqing being the top scorer because Yue Zhao and the others let her have the better points cards. Even though she refused many times, Yue Zhao and the others were insistent.
According to Nan Hua, they were already quite famous in the Sub-immortal Realm and didn’t need more fame, but Gu Qingqing was different. To this day, many people still discussed behind her back about her being taken in as a disciple by Wen Guiyun. They wanted to use this competition to let everyone know of Gu Qingqing’s excellence!
As they had expected, when the solo ranking came out, everyone was quite surprised to see Gu Qingqing’s name.
"Who is this Gu Qingqing? I haven’t heard of her before?"
"Don’t you know? She is the closed-door disciple of the Spirit Fox Saint Master, rumored to come from the Lower Realm. The Spirit Fox Saint Master even held a grand disciple-acceptance ceremony to make everyone aware of her."
"Is she that impressive? Doesn’t the Spirit Fox Saint Master love her too much? Don’t Mr. Si and the others have any reaction?"
"It’s said that Mr. Si and the others adore their junior sister even more than Master Wen. Those who’ve seen her say she’ll get anything she wants. It’s heard that all the magic artifacts on her are crafted by Mr. Si, and besides that, Mr. Mu often makes her delicious elixirs. She’s truly pampered, no doubt."
"I’ve heard that too. Let me tell you, a friend of mine in Yunlan Sacred Land mentioned that their Saint Heir also dotes on Miss Gu. Haven’t you noticed they’re all in the same team?"
"Miss Gu is indeed something, to have so many high-profile figures doting on her!"
"Can’t be helped; it’s fate. Some people are just blessed with good fortune!"
"..."
Gu Qingqing, of course, wasn’t aware of these remarks. Upon learning her score, she went to draw lots for the second competition.
The second competition was also to be done in teams. Each team would draw a topic, follow the task instructions to complete it, and three elders dispatched by the major Holy Lands would accompany, supervise, and protect them throughout the process, scoring them based on task completion.
Yue Zhao and the others unanimously thought Gu Qingqing was lucky, so they had her draw the lots.
After presenting her nameplate, Gu Qingqing randomly drew a jade scroll, had it recorded by the registration staff, and then took it and Yue Zhao’s team back to their residence.
Lingxi Sacred Land sent over thirty disciples for the competition this time. Except for Lin Xian’er’s group, where two disciples died and Lin Xian’er was punished, Zhao Yan and Ruan Tian’er were also eliminated due to low points, leaving over twenty disciples remaining.
Back at their quarters, Gu Qingqing and her group gathered in Yue Zhao’s room to discuss the task details.
"The task description states that there have been serious murder incidents in Canghui City, with over twenty people dead. Among the dead are six or seventh-rank cultivators, and they died in peculiar ways. The citizens of Canghui City are now in panic, and the City Lord has sent a distress call to the White Tiger Sacred Land, hoping they will send disciples to assist them," Gu Qingqing relayed the information from the jade scroll to her team.
"To have the power to kill sixth or seventh-rank cultivators, it must be someone at least at the seventh rank or higher. No wonder the City Lord of Canghui City would seek help from the White Tiger Sacred Land," Yue Zhao nodded in agreement, analyzing the situation.
"Indeed, this task shouldn’t be too difficult," Nan Hua said casually, smiling while holding the jade scroll.
"We can’t be too complacent; this is just the City Lord’s account. We need to learn more once we get there, so everyone should stay vigilant," Yue Zhao, being cautious, felt the matter might not be as simple as the City Lord of Canghui City made it sound.
"Exactly, let’s assess the situation once we’re there," Gu Qingqing nodded in agreement.
"To avoid any delays, we’ll depart in an hour. Given the distance between Cloud Crest City and Canghui City, we’ll arrive by early morning tomorrow. Use this hour to prepare," Yue Zhao stood up, giving instructions to Gu Qingqing and the rest.
"Alright." Gu Qingqing and her team had no objections.
After leaving Yue Zhao’s room, Gu Qingqing and her team went to pack up. Of course, there wasn’t much to prepare since all important items were kept in their storage spaces, and only less significant things were left in the rooms.
An hour later, they completed their report and headed to the aerodrome to board the flying artifact.
Yue Zhao’s estimation was quite accurate; by early morning the next day, they had arrived outside Canghui City. Flight artifacts were not allowed inside the city, so they found an open space to land outside and then headed towards Canghui City.
From afar, they could see the black gas enveloping the sky above Canghui City, causing Yue Zhao and the others to frown.
"Everyone, be cautious. This situation might involve demon cultivators," Yue Zhao turned and advised Gu Qingqing and the others.
Gu Qingqing and her team also noticed the gas. Hearing Yue Zhao’s warning, they immediately nodded in agreement.
Canghui City was indeed greatly affected, with hardly any people at the city entrance. The guards were listless, advising them to leave quickly, saying Canghui City was not safe lately.