Advancement
"Elder Wu, wait a moment."
Yunwei stood in the center of the square, hands behind her back, sword in hand, her eyes clear and cold as a deep pool, staring directly at the person on the stage.
Elder Wu has always disliked calm and strong women, and he will surely take advantage of this competition to make a scene.
I rushed back after breaking through the formation with a single sword strike, precisely to guard against this.
Elder Wu looked up in shock and shrieked, "Nameless! The time has not yet come! Who gave you permission to break out of the formation without authorization? This is a serious violation! Do you want to be stripped of your qualifications?"
Yun Wei lightly touched the ground with her toes and gracefully landed on the high platform, looking directly at Elder Wu.
After a long pause, she nodded slightly, her face showing no fear: "Elder, do you know the seventh restriction of the Myriad Manifestations Illusion Array? It requires sword energy to penetrate directly into the array's eye to break through the barrier. Such a method cannot be used by anyone but those with pure hearts. This disciple is not talented, but I happen to know this method."
She paused, then continued, "The purpose of the Illusion Array Trial is to 'find fellow disciples.' Now that I have found Senior Brother Xie and eliminated the inner demons that bewitched the village and framed my fellow disciples, my mission is complete. Staying in the array any longer would not be of any benefit to the assessment, so I have dared to break it with my own strength."
She had already figured it out: rather than reacting passively, it was better to secure the "compliance" aspect first.
"The sect competition has strict rules, but there is no explicit prohibition against breaking the formation in advance based on strength. This disciple's actions are an exception, but not a violation of the rules."
He was speechless for a moment, his hand pointing at Yun Wei trembling uncontrollably, and his voice carrying a hint of exasperation: "Soliciting nonsense! Utter rubbish! The Myriad Manifestations Illusion Array is made by the sect's secret technique, containing the mysteries of heaven and earth. How can you break it just because you say so? You...you are disrespecting the sect's rules and blaspheming the mysteries!"
"It's alright." A gentle voice sounded from beside the two of them.
Yunwei turned her gaze and saw a person dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe with cloud patterns, holding a jade-handled whisk, who had quietly stood beside the platform at some point.
It was Elder Duan. A chill ran through her.
She still remembers the old man from Shitang Town, his brow furrowed in pain yet remaining silent.
Those who stand idly by, even if they have some good intentions, are no different from accomplices.
Elder Duan stepped forward slowly, gently waving his whisk to dodge Elder Wu's hand that was about to touch her face: "This time, the question of the Myriad Illusions Array was set by me. The purpose of the test is to see whether disciples can uphold their principles and trust their fellow disciples when there is a commotion and people are calling a deer a horse, rather than blindly following others."
"If you stand idly by while your fellow disciples are wronged, or even turn your sword against your friends to protect yourself, no matter how brave and strong you are, you are not the kind of person the Guiyun Sect seeks."
Elder Wu's face turned ashen, and he said in a low voice, "Your question is clearly a veiled attack! That traitorous disciple fell into demonic possession and committed murder; the evidence is irrefutable, and the sect leader himself has judged it. How can there be any doubt? Now you want to favor a disciple who looks so much like her?"
"What does Yun Wei's matter have to do with this woman?" Elder Duan's voice rose slightly, carrying a hint of sharpness. "Junior Brother Wu, are you truly not at all angry about eliminating her? How can sect rules be distorted by personal biases?" He continued, "Moreover, the Floating Dust Mirror is not solely under your control; each of the five elders holds one. The situation in the formation was witnessed by all the elders. Whether this woman should be promoted is not a decision you can make alone. The sect leader has already made it clear that this competition will only select the talented; how can we bury a worthy person because of personal likes and dislikes?"
There are actually five floating dust mirrors?
Therefore, the other elders also saw what she did in the formation.
Elder Duan invoked the sect leader's order to advocate for her.
Elder Wu's expression changed, and he wanted to refute, but he was interrupted by a continuous white light that suddenly lit up below the stage.
The appointed time has arrived. The illusion array has been deactivated, and all the disciples have been teleported back to the plaza.
As soon as everyone landed, they noticed the two elders facing off on the high platform, as well as the woman in white standing alone in front of the platform.
"Who is that? Why is he standing on the stage?"
"What makes her think she can stand alongside the elders? Has she done something wrong?"
"Shut up." A cold rebuke suddenly rang out, drowning out the whispers. Xie Lanchen's face was stern as he swept his gaze over the gossiping crowd. "Who is standing on this stage? Who are you to question them?" After saying that, he quickly glanced at Yun Wei, his expression complex and unreadable, before lowering his eyes.
"Silence!" Elder Wu shouted sternly, suppressing his anger.
He first berated those who performed poorly in the formation and eliminated them one by one, then unfolded the jade book and read out the names of those who advanced.
The cloud-trace beads around the disciples' necks emitted a bluish light.
Finally, Elder Wu closed the jade book and said coldly, "From this illusion array, sixty-three people will be selected to advance to tomorrow's arena battle. The matches will be drawn at Chenshi (7-9 AM) tomorrow; the winners will advance, and the losers will be eliminated!"
"Sixty-three? Wasn't it always sixty-four?"
"Yeah, where did one go?"
Her name wasn't on the list. Yun Wei's eyes turned cold.
Elder Wu actually resorted to such despicable means. She twitched her fingertips slightly, and her spiritual power subtly condensed.
Trying to block her path? That's incredibly naive.
The floating dust mirror came in handy, allowing everyone to see just how good the "inferior talents" Elder Wu had filtered out with his own biases really were.
The Floating Dust Mirror flashed and floated in front of everyone, replaying the entire process of Yun Wei calmly examining the corpse in the illusion array, seeing through the illusion, revealing the key point in one sentence, and finally slaying the demon with one sword, without harming a single villager.
"Look at the dust mirror!"
"Isn't that the one on the high platform? He's incredibly powerful!"
"Her Cloud Trace Pearl's color hasn't changed; could it be that she was rejected?"
Seeing this, Xie Lanchen immediately raised his voice and said, "This person's performance far surpasses most of those who have advanced. If even she cannot advance, what is the standard for the assessment? Where is the fairness? Is the result entirely based on the elders' preferences?"
Elder Wu was both shocked and furious, thinking that Elder Duan was manipulating the Floating Dust Mirror to oppose him. He turned his head and glared at him: "You!"
Elder Duan seemed not to hear and said loudly, "Please calm down, everyone. The competition was originally scheduled for sixty-three people, but this woman 'Nameless' has performed exceptionally well. Her temperament, wisdom, and strength are all top-notch, which matches the talent that Guiyun Sect is looking for. Therefore, after discussion, we have decided to make an exception and add one more person."
Although he didn't say it explicitly, everyone knew that the Floating Dust Mirror was in the hands of the five elders, and the situation in the formation had already spread far and wide. If Elder Wu continued to stubbornly refuse to budge, he would be disrespecting the other elders as well.
The sect leader had already given word that if he insisted on disobeying, he would not only fail to gain a foothold in the sect in the future, but he might not even be able to hold onto his position as an elder.
Elder Wu stared intently at Yun Wei's calm and composed demeanor, seething with hatred yet utterly helpless.
His throat bobbed, and he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: "...Nameless, advanced."
Before he could finish speaking, he could no longer contain himself, turned around and left without even looking back.
Yun Wei glanced at his back, then ignored him.
This "advancement" was nothing more than a compromise forced upon them by irrefutable evidence.
Her fingertips lightly brushed against the cloud-trace bead that had turned blue. Elder Wu had made a note of this today, and he would surely escalate the situation in the future.
The road ahead is fraught with difficulties; this is only the beginning.
Elder Duan reassured the eliminated disciples, stating that they must leave the sect before midnight tonight, and encouraged those who advanced.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Yun Wei was about to step down from the stage when Elder Duan called her back.
“Nameless.” Elder Duan looked at her with a complicated gaze. “You… are very much like one of my deceased disciples. She was just like you, exceptionally talented, resolute, and able to distinguish right from wrong. It’s just a pity… that heaven is jealous of talent. I hope you will stay true to yourself, uphold righteousness, and not… follow in her footsteps.”
Yun Wei glanced at him, her voice as cold as ever: "Thank you for your teachings, Elder. The way of a disciple lies only in the present moment, only in the sword in hand, and only in having a clear conscience."
After speaking, she darted away and landed on the ancient pine tree at the edge of the square.
Xie Lanchen was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, clearly waiting for her.
"How did you get through the test?" Yunwei asked as she approached.
The boy lifted his eyelids slightly, his tone nonchalant: "What else can we do? Find a pretext to approach that 'villager' who is the manifestation of the inner demon, use a little trick to force her to reveal her flaws, and make her obediently show herself and be executed."
Yun nodded slightly, not surprised.
She was wondering how Xie Lanchen would react when he saw the "herself" who was falsely accused of being a demon in the formation when she saw the young man's eyes suddenly narrow and he grabbed her wrist.
"What is this?" Xie Lanchen tugged at her plain white sleeve, staring at the extremely faint dark red mark, his brows furrowed. "You're injured again?" He felt a sudden tightness in his heart, the life bond subtly tugging at him, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Yun Wei withdrew her hand and pulled down her sleeve: "It's not an injury. It's from when I was wiping the face of 'you' who was splashed with filthy blood in the illusion array."
The boy's pupils contracted slightly, his face showing a faint look of confusion: "Why...why would you do such a thing? It's just an illusion, filthy and despicable, why dirty your hands?" As he spoke, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his mind in turmoil.
Why?
She didn't think about it at the time, only that the illusion, with Xie Lanchen's face, was so disheveled and vulnerable, so far removed from the sarcastic and unpredictable nemesis in her memory, that it was really an eyesore to look at.
“Even if it’s an illusion, that kind of appearance is still an eyesore,” she answered truthfully.
The boy's face froze, his ears turned bright red at a visible speed, and even his neck turned crimson.
Seeing his rapid breathing, Yunwei frowned and said, "Why is your face so red? Did you suffer internal injuries in the formation?" As she spoke, she reached out and pinched the back of his neck, forcing him to lower his head and press his forehead against hers.
After sensing for a moment, she released her hand, looking puzzled: "Strange, you don't have a fever."
Xie Lanchen covered his forehead, his face still flushed, and he was almost incoherent: "You...you..."
Looking at him like this, Yunwei felt even more puzzled. She had only wiped the illusion's face and checked his temperature using a normal method, so why had he become so disoriented?
She pursed her lips, feeling that the boy's thoughts were becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
“This method is simple and effective. Why not?” Yunwei asked.
“I said no, and that means no.” His voice deepened, and he raised his hand to straighten his clothes, his fingertips trembling slightly. “Especially not to do that to other people… In short, it’s not allowed anymore.”
Yun Wei remained silent for a long while, then coldly curled her lips: "When you saw someone exactly like you being falsely accused of being a demon in the illusion array, tied to a pyre and condemned by thousands, what were your thoughts?"
Elder Duan's setting of this illusionary array problem was clearly a reference to what happened to her in Shitang Town. The public outcry and blatant misrepresentation were exactly the same as her situation when she was falsely accused.
How could someone as perceptive as Xie Lanchen not see it?
Yun Wei's gaze darkened slightly as she pondered to herself. Knowing the boy as she did, she was certain he had seen through the trick at a glance.
However... given his personality, he would probably just scoff and curse Elder Duan for meddling, showing neither sympathy for her past nor indignation at the allusion in the question, treating it as a trivial drama.
After all, he has always been like this, coldly observing the world's turmoil, standing idly by if it doesn't concern him, and never showing any emotion on his face even if he is moved.
The boy fell silent upon hearing this, and his earlier embarrassment and anger quickly faded away.
He turned his head away, his dark, tousled hair obscuring the emotions in his eyes. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "What could I possibly think? I was just thinking about someone in Shitang Town who was framed and fell into demonic possession... She was probably just as helpless and abandoned by everyone."
Yunwei was suddenly taken aback.
Xie Lanchen had always been indifferent to the life and death of others, so this association was truly unexpected.
Could it be that the bond of life and death not only connects to life itself, but also to emotions?
Yun Wei remained silent for a moment, then reached out and gently touched his chin with her fingertips, turning his face back to hers: "Xie Lanchen, the past is the past, and dwelling on it is useless. I will take revenge on those who have slandered and defamed me. Since we have formed a bond of life and death and are facing this situation together, we must look forward. Dwelling on the past will only disturb our peace of mind."
She paused, then added, "Even the old stories of Shitang Town are nothing more than a situation that needs to be resolved for me. The game is not over yet, and we are all players, not pawns to be manipulated. Looking ahead and breaking out of this predicament is the right thing to do."
Xie Lanchen's heart skipped a beat. He felt that the cold face in front of him seemed to gradually overlap with the unapproachable figure in his memory, but with a warmth he had never felt before.
Does what she said mean she'd work with him to break the deadlock? Has she finally come to see him as a player, rather than just someone to be used?
After a long pause, the young man suddenly smiled and said, "You're right. Since we're chess players, let's finish this game properly. But..." He paused slightly, took a step closer, and his breath almost brushed against her cheek, "Senior sister, you should hold your sword tightly and be careful—your last ally may be far more dangerous than those enemies on the surface."
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