"Let me go! I don't want to leave my mother! Let me go!"
Little Qin An was held by a group of servants and gradually moved away from his mother.
"Mother, mother!"
No, no! Someone please save me!
"Master..."
Suddenly, the word "Master" awakened Qin An. "Master, yes, I still have a Master!" Qin An's eyes gradually cleared.
"Master is still waiting for me!" Qin An fully regained consciousness. "Everything here is fake, an illusion. I need to break free of this illusion. I'm still taking the test, and Master is watching me from outside."
As Qin An fully regained consciousness, the illusion shattered, collapsed, and dissipated like a broken mirror.
At the same time, the pressure on Qin An suddenly eased. Qin An's steps became lighter, and he climbed the stairs faster and faster.
He quickly surpassed everyone and finally reached the top of the ladder of inquiry.
"Oh my! Junior brother, the disciple you've taken in is truly remarkable. With such a steadfast mind, he's a promising talent," Venerable Lieyang couldn't help but exclaim.
"That's right, my apprentice is definitely the best!" Shu Lan said with great satisfaction.
From the moment Qin An fell into the illusion, struggled against it, until he escaped, everything was under their watchful eyes. Qin An's performance was outstanding, which made Shu Lan feel honored.
"Qin An was the first to win the second round."
The disciple in charge of the assessment led Qin An to wait aside.
Meanwhile, Qin An's outstanding performance also attracted the attention of many elders. The elders exchanged glances and nodded at Qin An from time to time.
The second person to walk up the steps to ask questions was Ye Feiyu.
"Brother Qin, you really are something else." Ye Feiyu gave Qin An a thumbs up.
Qin An remained unfazed, treating Ye Feiyu as if he were invisible.
"Hey, you're really boring." Seeing this, Ye Feiyu stopped talking and waited with Qin An on the side.
At that moment, Qin An looked up and met Shu Lan's gaze.
Shu Lan gave him a smile, and Qin An returned a big smile. Everything was understood without words.
When the time was up, some people still hadn't climbed up. Those people were all eliminated.
"I will be in charge of the third trial." An elder with white hair and a white beard flew out. With a wave of his sleeve, he opened a door in the air.
"Now you all need to enter this door. It leads to a small world. The task for the third level is to slay monsters in this small world."
Upon hearing the elder's request, some people began to grumble.
"Slaying demonic beasts? I've never done that before!"
"I've heard that monsters are terrifying, I'm so scared!"
"Am I going to fail this assessment?"
...
"The assessment will now officially begin." As soon as the elder finished speaking, people entered the door one after another.
When it was Qin An's turn, he resolutely stepped through the door without the slightest hesitation.
“Junior brother, their assessment still has a long way to go. Let me show you around first. Then we’ll go to the main hall and observe their performance through the water mirror. Is that alright?” Venerable Lieyang turned to Shu Lan and asked for her opinion.
“Okay, Senior Brother.” Shu Lan nodded, agreeing to Venerable Lieyang’s suggestion.
Venerable Lieyang led Shulan on a tour of the Star River Sect. Inside, pavilions and towers were shrouded in mist, exuding an ethereal and breathtaking beauty.
Many mountain peaks are arranged in a pleasing manner, surrounding the central main peak. On the main peak stands a grand hall, entirely constructed of jade, gleaming with precious stones, truly magnificent.
Finally, Venerable Lieyang led Shulan to a mountain peak. This peak was covered with magnolia trees, and featured flowing water and waterfalls. There was also a quaint little temple, entirely made of the hardest corundum wood. Beside the temple were several small houses built of bamboo. The whole place looked incredibly warm and inviting.
"This is Tinglan Peak, a place I've been preparing for a long time," Venerable Lieyang said with a hint of affection. "It was specially made for you, Junior Brother. Do you like it?"
Shu Lan had already taken a liking to Tinglan Peak when he first arrived. Not to mention that the design of everything in Tinglan Peak suited his taste perfectly, which made him even more satisfied.
"I really like it, thank you, senior brother!" Shu Lan looked at the beautiful Tinglan Peak with joy in her eyes.
"That's good!"
Venerable Lieyang led Shulan to the courtyard of the small hall, where a century-old orchid tree stood. Because the weather was still quite cold, the orchid tree was still covered in blossoms. A gust of wind blew, and some petals fluttered down, creating a truly delightful scene.
“Junior brother, imprint your divine soul into this array base. This way, this mountain peak will be yours, and you can activate or deactivate the mountain's protective array at any time.” Venerable Lieyang led Shulan to the location of the array base and explained to Shulan how to recognize Tinglan Peak as your master.
Following the instructions of Venerable Lieyang, Shulan successfully imprinted her divine soul into the array base.
"Junior brother." Venerable Lieyang took out a set of robes from his storage ring. "These are clothes specially prepared for you by the sect. Go and change into them. Come with me to the main hall in a little while to meet the others."
"Okay, senior brother." Shu Lan took the robe, went into the small hall, and changed her clothes.
"Senior brother, I'm all changed."
When Venerable Lieyang turned around, his eyes lit up.
Shu Lan was dressed in a white robe, the collar and cuffs embroidered with golden magnolia blossoms. Her long, jet-black hair was tied up high and secured with a small silver crown. She had a high, straight nose, thin lips, and sword-like eyebrows that slanted into a few strands of black hair at her temples. A bluish-green magnolia blossom mark between her brows added a touch of mystery, and her captivating peach blossom eyes gazed at Venerable Lieyang with a smile.
"This outfit suits Junior Brother perfectly; it's a testament to everyone's good intentions." Venerable Lieyang couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the radiant Shu Lan.
"Senior brother, you flatter me."
"Senior brother, when are we going to watch the entrance exam?"
"I knew you couldn't let go of your good disciple." Venerable Lieyang chuckled and tapped Shulan's forehead with his finger. "I'll take you there now."
After speaking, Venerable Lieyang led Shulan to the main hall of the main peak. After Venerable Lieyang introduced Shulan to the sect leader and other elders, he used his magic to condense a water mirror and watched the third trial with Shulan.
Meanwhile, Qin An had just entered the small world when a low-level demonic beast charged towards him. Qin An casually killed it with a single sword strike.
Just then, a hand patted Qin An on the back. Qin An instinctively slashed out with his sword.
"No, don't cut me, it's me, Ye Feiyu." Ye Feiyu dodged the sword with a sidestep and waved his hands repeatedly.
Qin An looked extremely impatient, practically screaming, "Why is it you again?"
"Brother Qin, let's go through this test together!"
Qin An remained silent and turned to leave.
Ye Feiyu quickly followed, "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."
And so, a duo was born: one who kept nagging and the other who was taciturn.
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