Chapter 5: Family Competition, Registration Controversy

In the hidden space under the stone wall, the cold air remained, but there was a faint medicinal fragrance compared to before.

Ye Li sat cross-legged, eyes slightly closed. The spiritual energy within her body was noticeably stronger than it had been a few days ago, slowly flowing through the several meridians she had initially opened. Each cycle brought a subtle but persistent strengthening sensation. The broken bones in her chest had mostly healed, leaving only a slight ache as a reminder of the injury.

She had become increasingly proficient in the fundamental techniques of the "Emperor's Scripture of the Dark World." With the occasional cool breeze from the fragments of the Samsara Mirror, her control of spiritual energy far surpassed that of her peers, and her efficiency was steadily improving. Using the cold spring and the herbs she had gathered from the surrounding area, she was able to concoct a sufficient amount of simple medicinal liquid, which, combined with her cultivation, had a significant effect.

Her current strength has firmly established her at the pinnacle of the initial stage of the Spiritual Awakening Realm, and she's only one opportunity away from a breakthrough to the intermediate stage. If this speed were known to the public, it would be enough to shock the entire Ye family. But for Li Zun, who once stood at the pinnacle of all living beings, it's still too slow, too slow!

The flames of revenge never extinguished, only smoldering silently beneath the calm ice. She knew that remaining trapped here wouldn't be a long-term solution. Even a small amount of the Ye family's resources, if leaked, would far surpass what she painstakingly gathered here. Furthermore, she needed a more legitimate identity and platform to more quickly connect with the outside world and gain more information about her enemies and the Samsara Mirror.

At this moment, the faint sound of bells in the distance penetrated the dense forest and reached her ears.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell rang nine times in a row, steady and solemn.

Ye Li suddenly opened his eyes. This was the bell ringing for the Ye family to summon all the young men. And at this moment, the only reason for such a large-scale mobilization was one thing—

Family competition!

Fragments of the original owner's memories instantly emerged. The Ye Clan held an annual clan competition to test the younger generation's progress and select outstanding talent. Those who excelled not only received generous rewards of elixirs, techniques, and even weapons, but more importantly, the top ten would receive recommendations to participate in the upcoming selection meeting for subordinate clans hosted by the Xuanyun Sect!

That is a springboard to a wider world and to a true sect of cultivation!

The "Ye Li" of the past was not even qualified to register because of his poor qualifications and lack of cultivation. Every year he could only watch with envy from afar, and was even ridiculed for it.

But now...

Ye Li stood up and brushed off the dust on her clothes. Although they were still worn, they were clean. Her face was still a little pale, but no longer sickly and weak, but with a restrained radiance. Her eyes were especially deep and calm, without a trace of timidity.

The opportunity has come.

She must seize this opportunity, not only to get a ranking, but also to fight for the qualification to go to Xuanyun Sect!

Without any hesitation, she tidied her appearance and walked out of this temporary residence, heading towards the Ye family's martial arts training ground.

…

The Ye family's martial arts training ground was now bustling with people.

The vast bluestone square was surrounded by the Ye family's children, stewards, and even some prominent servants. On the high platform sat the family head, Ye Tian, ​​and several powerful elders, looking down solemnly.

In the center of the square, several tall arenas were erected. Registration was located to one side of the arena. Behind several long tables sat several expressionless stewards, responsible for registration and checking cultivation levels. Many young men were queuing, eager to try, and the atmosphere was heated and tense.

Ye Li's arrival was like a drop of water falling into boiling oil, instantly causing a small commotion.

"Look! It's that loser! Why is she here?"

"She doesn't want to sign up, does she? Haha, what a toad wanting to eat swan meat!"

"I heard that she beat up Wang Pozi and Li San a few days ago? Is that true?"

"It must have been sheer luck, or maybe those two were just careless! What could a worthless person like her be capable of?"

"Look at her, she seems quite calm. Isn't she just throwing herself into despair?"

Whispers and undisguised ridicule came from all directions. Those looks were disdainful, curious, and gloating, but no one looked him in the eye.

Ye Li turned a deaf ear to all this, his eyes calmly sweeping over the gloomy-looking Ye Tian and several elders on the podium, then he walked straight to the end of the queue at the registration office.

Her presence naturally caught the attention of the registration officer. The officer in charge of registration was a thin, triangular-eyed, goateed man named Ye Yong. He was known for fawning over the powerful, fawning over the direct descendants while being extremely harsh towards the side branches and servants. He had long heard that Young Master Yelang was looking for trouble with this worthless person, and now that she had the audacity to register, he sneered inwardly.

The line moved forward slowly. When it was Ye Li's turn, she walked to the table.

Ye Yong didn't even bother to raise his eyelids, and spoke lazily in a long tone: "Name, age, and cultivation level." There was also a manager next to him who was responsible for checking the cultivation level, which usually required the person being tested to input a trace of spiritual energy into a spirit stone.

"Ye Li, fifteen, awakening spiritual realm." Ye Li's voice was calm.

"Oh? The Spiritual Awakening Realm?" Ye Yong finally raised his eyelids and looked her up and down, a hint of sarcasm on his lips. "Ye Li? That famous 'genius'? You said you're in the Spiritual Awakening Realm? Haha, what a joke! Do you think the family competition is just a game? Anyone can participate?"

His words immediately drew laughter from the crowd, and several of the direct descendants at the back even began to mock him without hesitation.

"Manager Yong, quickly send her away! Don't waste our time!"

"That's right, why is a loser joining in the fun? He's simply lowering the quality of our competition!"

"Go back now! Stop embarrassing yourself here!"

Seeing this, Ye Yong became even more proud and waved his hands like he was shooing away a fly: "Did you hear me? Get out of here! This isn't the place for you! If you keep messing around, I'll punish you according to the family rules!"

Facing the crowd's ridicule and Ye Yong's provocations, Ye Li's expression remained unchanged. She simply looked at Ye Yong calmly and said, "Family rules? Which family rule states that disciples of the Qiling Realm cannot participate in the family competition?"

Ye Yong was stunned. He hadn't expected the other party to actually argue and even bring up the family rules. He was speechless for a moment. The family rules didn't explicitly state that those at the Spiritual Awakening stage couldn't participate. After all, reaching the Spiritual Awakening stage before the age of fifteen was considered quite impressive in the Ye family. Who would have thought that a notorious loser could achieve that?

But he wouldn't give in so easily. He argued, "Humph! Although the family rules don't clearly stipulate it, there are conventions! You're a well-known loser... uh, someone with ordinary talent. Who would believe you when you suddenly claim to have reached the Spiritual Awakening Realm? It must be a lie! An attempt to get away with it! As the manager, I naturally have to strictly enforce it!"

"Oh? Convention?" Ye Li's lips curled up slightly, revealing a cold arc. "Manager Yong, what you mean is that the rules of the Ye family are not the family rules written in black and white, but the 'convention' you mentioned? Or, does this 'convention' only apply to me, Ye Li? When other collateral disciples come to register, have you ever been so 'strict' in screening?"

Her voice was not loud, but it rang clearly in the ears of everyone present, with an unquestionable calmness.

The laughter around them gradually died down. Many of the collateral descendants, upon hearing this, revealed expressions of deep thought and a touch of resentment. Indeed, Ye Yong usually curried favor with the direct lineage and didn't hesitate to overly trouble the more established collateral descendants. However, he treated these helpless collateral descendants and children of servants with extreme harshness. Ye Li's words had hit a nerve.

Ye Yong's face turned pale and blue at the questioning. He pointed at Ye Li and said, "You...you are making excuses! You are being unreasonable!"

"We'll know if he's just being unreasonable after a try." Ye Li stopped looking at him and turned his gaze to the steward who was in charge of checking his cultivation. "Please check."

The manager was relatively neutral. Seeing Ye Li so calm, he pointed to the spirit stone on the table and said, "Just input a little spiritual energy."

Ye Yong wanted to stop him, but the steward glanced at him, forcing him to shut up in frustration, secretly resentful. He made up his mind: even if this loser was lucky enough to have some aura, he'd definitely only just started. The light from the spirit stone would surely be incredibly dim, and he could still mock and ridicule him then!

Everyone's eyes were focused on the gray spirit-testing stone.

Ye Li stretched out her finger and lightly tapped it. With a slight movement of her mind, a strand of spiritual energy within her body, far purer and richer than any other spiritual energy of the same level, separated and slowly flowed into it.

In an instant——

The Spiritual Test Stone suddenly lit up, emitting a steady and clear white light. Although it wasn't dazzling, it definitely exceeded the standard of the initial stage of the Spiritual Awakening Realm and even faintly touched the threshold of the intermediate stage!

"this……"

The manager in charge of the inspection was slightly startled, looked at Ye Li in surprise, and then nodded in confirmation: "The peak of the initial stage of the Qiling Realm, correct."

Wow!

There was an uproar at the scene!

"What?! She really reached the Spiritual Awakening Realm?!"

"Peak of the beginner level?! How is that possible? She was clearly a loser just a few months ago!"

"Could it be some kind of adventure?"

"Maybe I was hiding my incompetence before?"

Everyone was talking about it, their faces filled with disbelief. Even those direct descendants who had just been mocking loudly now looked as if they were being strangled, their faces filled with disbelief and embarrassment.

Ye Yong's expression instantly turned uglier, as if he'd swallowed a fly. He opened his mouth, wanting to find fault, but found himself speechless. Facts speak louder than words!

Ye Li retracted her fingers and once again fixed her gaze on Ye Yong, whose face was as pale as a pig's liver. Her voice remained calm, "Manager Yong, can I sign up now? Or is your 'custom' more effective than the spirit stone and this manager's words?"

Ye Yong was so angry that he was shaking all over, but under the watchful eyes of the crowd, especially those on the podium who seemed to be looking at him, he no longer dared to deliberately make things difficult. He could only grit his teeth and pick up the pen with great reluctance, and wrote the two words "Ye Li" heavily on the list, as if to expose the name.

"Hmph! So what even if you sign up? In the competition, swords and knives have no eyes. Be careful not to get killed by accident!" Ye Yong lowered his voice and cursed viciously.

Ye Li seemed not to hear it. After getting the wooden sign indicating that the registration was successful, he turned around and left without stopping.

Just after taking a few steps, a slightly timid voice sounded beside him: "Um...Sister Ye Li?"

Ye Li paused slightly and glanced sideways. She saw a thin, similarly plainly dressed young man, looking at her nervously. He was about fourteen or fifteen, with a delicate face and clear, yet timid eyes. He seemed to have only recently entered the Spiritual Awakening Realm, and his aura was still unstable. Ye Li remembered him; his name seemed to be Ye Xiaodou. His parents had died young, and he was a frequent target of bullying among the collateral branch of the family.

"Is there something?" Ye Li asked. Her tone was not enthusiastic, but it was not cold and rejecting either.

Ye Xiaodou seemed to have mustered up his courage and whispered, "Sister Ye Li, you...you are so awesome! You actually dared to contradict Manager Yong...you, you want to participate in the competition too? Be...be careful, I heard that Young Master Ye Lang and the others..." He stopped talking halfway and seemed not to dare to continue. He just looked at her worriedly.

Was this... a kind reminder? Ye Li looked at the young man in front of him, who was also struggling at the bottom of society, and her heart moved slightly. In this cold and indifferent Ye family, even a tiny bit of kindness seemed precious.

"Yeah, I know. Thank you." She nodded, her tone softening a bit, "You should do your best too."

After that, she turned and left without saying anything more. For her, being able to say "thank you" and "keep going" was a rare response.

Ye Xiaodou looked at her back, stunned for a moment, then a flattered expression appeared on his face and he nodded vigorously.

This scene naturally fell into the eyes of several direct descendants not far away.

"Hmph! A loser and a coward, yet they're together!" A direct descendant named Ye Hua sneered. He was one of Ye Lang's followers.

"You just got lucky enough to reach the Qi Ling realm, yet you dare to be so arrogant! You even talk back to the manager! You simply don't know how to live or die!" Another follower, Ye Lin, echoed.

"Brother Wolf has already given orders. If you encounter her during the competition, you must beat her to death! Let's see how long she can hold on to her complacency!"

"Yes! I must teach her a lesson she will never forget!"

Several people looked at the direction where Ye Li left, their eyes filled with resentment and hostility. In their view, Ye Li's behavior today was a serious provocation to their authority!

Ye Li felt the unfriendly gazes behind her, but she didn't turn around. The wooden sign in her hand was rough but solid, representing an opportunity, but also a sign that greater storms were coming.

She had officially entered the family's consciousness, for better or for worse. Small-scale discussions had already begun, with well-intentioned reminders and malicious hostility coexisting.

But that's exactly what she wanted.

Calm waters don't make a skilled sailor. Only wind, waves, and conflict can help her rise to prominence faster and gain everything she needs.

She gripped the wooden sign tightly and looked towards the tall arenas.

The competition is about to begin.

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