Victory celebration banquet
"Come on! Those who placed bets on Senior Sister Qi, come and collect your spirit stones!"
"That Pei Yin seems pretty good too? I'll bet on him next time."
"I really like Senior Sister Dongfang so much, but she was the first one to be eliminated. My idol from now on is Senior Sister Ye."
"..."
The venue was noisy. The celebration banquet was held at the Silver Bamboo Sect, and most of the disciples had already arrived by this time.
Qi Yuan was in a very bad mood at this moment.
Duan Yu and Song Yu, who were sleeping soundly in the middle of the night, barged onto Honglin Peak and kept knocking on the door, waking her up. They even stayed in her room arguing about whether Ningning was a spirit beast or not. Qi Yuan could no longer tolerate it and finally chased the two away.
Just after she lay down, Pei Yin and Lu Wenxing came again, making her spend a lot of time explaining that the cat wasn't there. After finally getting rid of them, Ye Yu and Yu Guanzhi also came one after the other, causing Qi Yuan to not be able to sleep until the early morning.
"Who's come to ask for the cat again?" Qi Yuan opened the door numbly and found that it was Sima Chu who came.
"Is there something you need, junior sister?" she asked.
Sima Chu held up the dress in her hand and smiled, "Senior sister~ You are the main character at today's celebration banquet. It will start in half an hour. Yun Xingjun entrusted me to let you prepare well, so you can't slack off."
"...What?" Qi Yuan was completely bewildered. "I'll change into my disciple's robes and go right away..."
"How can that be?" Sima Chu interrupted Qi Yuan's words as he closed the door, slowly approaching her.
"Your sect disciples' robes are too plain. It's no wonder they look bad in only white and green." She put the skirt down and stared at Qi Yuan.
"What are you going to do..." Qi Yuan swallowed hard and took two steps back.
*
Ye Hanyun sat in her seat belonging to the Silver Bamboo Sect and looked around, asking in confusion, "Why hasn't Senior Sister arrived yet? Today is her special day."
"It's not your territory. Senior sister must have gone to get ready. Which girl doesn't love to look pretty?" Ye Munian rolled her eyes at him.
"No way. Senior Sister never dressed up before, and I've never seen her wear anything other than her disciple's robes. Although Senior Sister is already very beautiful..." Ye Hanyun retorted, looking at Ye Munian.
The fruit in Ye Munian's hand rolled to the ground. His eyes were fixed straight ahead as he murmured, "Big...Senior Sister?"
"What are you looking at?" Ye Hanyun followed his gaze and fell the apple she was biting into to the ground.
"Senior Sister?!"
Qi Yuan was pushed over by Sima Chu, and awkwardly turned her head away, her ear tips turning bright red.
The girl's skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows resembled distant mountains shrouded in mist, her beautiful green eyes were like sparkling jade, her delicate face was lightly powdered, and her thin lips were rosy.
Today, Qi Yuan wore a long red dress, exuding a striking and aggressive beauty.
If she was once a cold and aloof beauty, so distant and unapproachable that even a glance from her felt like a desecration, creating an inexplicable sense of distance, then today she is radiant and captivating.
Sima Chu said with satisfaction, "How is it?"
Ye Munian was the first to react, clapping his hands and shouting, "Absolutely wonderful! I think Senior Sister is the most beautiful!"
Ye Hanyun joined in the applause, and the sound attracted the attention of the other disciples, who all looked over.
"Senior Brother." Cheng Jin waved to Ye Ting.
"What are you doing?" Ye Ting asked impatiently.
She pointed over there and said, "Look at Qi Yuan."
When Ye Ting heard the name, he looked over and saw Qi Yuan. His mind went blank, his brain was empty, and only his heart was pounding strongly.
He stared at him for a long time, then turned around and found that all the Water Spirit Sect disciples at the table were staring at him subtly. Ye Ting blushed, stood up and angrily said, "Why are you all looking at me? What's so interesting about me!"
“Of course you’re not good-looking. My senior sister is the good-looking one,” Pei Yin said abruptly.
Pei Yin rushed up to Qi Yuan and said incoherently, "Senior Sister, you're so beautiful! Of course, Senior Sister is beautiful every day! It's just that you feel different today!"
"Thank you. I'm a little uncomfortable." Qi Yuan felt nervous looking at the ground under the intense gaze of so many people.
Duan Yu laughed and patted her shoulder: "Don't be shy, you're the star of the day! Look, all the disciples over there are looking at you!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan took a deep breath and said firmly, "I understand." She smiled and waved to the disciples.
"Holy crap, my senior sister waved at me!"
"She was waving at me! I never knew my senior sister was so beautiful. I was always afraid of her, and I never dared to look at her for more than a few seconds."
"I want to be my senior sister's Daoist partner."
A cold, icy male voice rang out: "Impossible."
The disciple who had just spoken looked angrily toward the source of the voice, but swallowed his curses when he met a pair of cold, dark eyes.
Mu Qinghuai followed Ouyang Lanyue in. He transformed into Zhu Fu and successfully joined the celebration banquet as Ouyang Lanyue's friend.
His gaze lingered on Qi Yuan at the front for a moment, his ears suddenly turned red, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
"Ah Huai, does she know?" Ouyang Lanyue asked with a meaningful smile.
"I know." Mu Qinghuai met his gaze and snorted coldly. "Why are you asking this?"
“It’s alright. Let’s go upstairs to see her now.” Ouyang Lanyue grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.
Qi Yuan was exchanging pleasantries with Lu Wenxing and the others when she caught sight of Ouyang Lanyue approaching. Just as she was about to greet him, she saw Mu Qinghuai beside him, and her mind went blank for a moment.
"You did very well this time. Congratulations on winning the championship. Come visit me again next time?" Ouyang Lanyue asked with a smile, putting away her fan.
“Of course,” she replied, suddenly snapping out of her daze.
Yu Guanzhi said in surprise, "So you two really know each other? I thought it was a lie."
Pei Yin's expression turned cold, and he quietly withdrew from the group.
Mu Qinghuai's ears burned slightly. He cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to suppress the panic in his heart: "Qi Yuan, congratulations."
"Thank you." Qi Yuan touched the tip of her nose, her eyes darting around.
"Why don't you say more?" Ouyang Lanyue whispered.
"I wouldn't dare," he said.
Lu Wenxing looked at her with a gentle smile and said, "Congratulations, Junior Sister. You look great in this outfit today."
Qi Yuan replied generously, "Thank you, your ranking is also high this time."
"You look beautiful today." Mu Qinghuai blurted out in a moment of panic, her face turning red and then pale after she said it.
"Thank you." Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly lowered her head.
"Who is this fellow cultivator?" Wu Shangyao asked, looking at Mu Qinghuai.
Ouyang Lanyue introduced him: "This is Zhu Fu, he is my friend and also acquainted with Qi Yuan."
“Blessing? What a strange name,” Duan Yu said.
“It’s not that kind of blessing, it’s the kind that’s rising straight up.” Qi Yuan looked at the big man.
"Disciples, please be quiet and return to your seats. The awards ceremony is about to begin," Yun Xingjun announced as he stepped onto the stage.
Qi Yuan sat back down at the round table. To her left was Ye Hanyun, and to Ye Hanyun's left was Ye Munian.
The Silver Bamboo Sect has five direct disciples, so there are two seats left.
Ouyang Lanyue pulled Mu Qinghuai over and asked her with a smile, "There are no seats for the two of us, can we sit in your sect's seats?"
“Of course,” she said.
Ye Hanyun glanced over and rolled her eyes inwardly. Were they blind to have so many empty seats in the hall? This Ouyang Lanyue must be deliberately trying to sit with Senior Sister!
He whispered to Ye Munian, "There are so many empty seats, yet he can't see them. Don't you think Ouyang Lanyue's desire to sit here is a sign of ulterior motives towards our sect?"
Ye Munian thought about it and felt that it made sense.
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Lanyue took the initiative to sit next to Ye Munian, and Mu Qinghuai sat between him and Qi Yuan.
Ye Munian's pupils dilated in shock, and he asked Ye Hanyun tremblingly, "What should we do? He seems to be interested in me!"
Ye Hanyun ignored him and stared intently at Mu Qinghuai. Seeing that his neck was flushed and he was restless, she immediately made a decision: there was someone else who had designs on her senior sister!
"The 10th Sect Grand Competition has come to a perfect end. Now let's announce the results!" Ji Lin announced.
The disciples clapped, their eyes glancing at Qi Yuan, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Ji Lin held a slip of paper in his hand and read aloud, "First of all, let's welcome the champion of the two-person competition and trial! Qi Yuan, the eldest disciple of the Silver Bamboo Sect!"
Qi Yuan smiled and confidently walked onto the stage, kneeling on one knee in front of Ji Lin to await the award.
He raised his hands, and the prizes were immediately presented to everyone. Ji Lin solemnly announced in a deep voice: "The prize for the champion is the mental cultivation technique 'The True Story of Sword Elegance', the magic weapon 'Binding Heart Rope', and three thousand spirit stones."
She raised both hands to accept the prize, stood up, and faced everyone in the audience, saying, "Thank you for your blessings. I will work even harder in my cultivation in the future and will certainly live up to everyone's expectations!" She bowed, and thunderous applause erupted.
Ji Lin then said, "Pei Yin, the fourth disciple of the Lingjian Sect, emerged as a dark horse and won second place!"
Pei Yin walked onto the stage, knelt on one knee, and listened quietly.
"The prize for second place is the magic weapon, the Flaming Sword, and three thousand spirit stones," Ji Lin said.
Pei Yin accepted the gift with both hands and stood beside Qi Yuan, without intending to speak.
Ji Lin reminded him, "Please give your acceptance speech."
He frowned and said, "I won the award, thank you."
Ji Lin was taken aback, not expecting such a perfunctory answer, but still said, "Third place, Ye Ting, the eldest disciple of the Water Spirit Sect."
This wasn't the first time Ye Ting had received an award; he knelt on one knee after going on stage.
"The third place winner will receive the cultivation manual 'Cultivation Guide' and three thousand spirit stones."
He accepted the prize with both hands, stood up, and said to the audience, "I will be the champion next year."
Qi Yuan glanced at him coolly.
Ji Lin smiled and smoothed things over: "It seems this disciple is very confident! The top three are already decided, let's continue to see the next rankings!"
"The fourth place is also a dark horse, Lu Wenxing, the eldest disciple of Liu Gongzong."
"The fifth-ranked disciple of Yue Jinzong, Song Yu."
"Sixth place: Cheng Jin, the second disciple of the Water Spirit Sect."
"The seventh is Ye Hanyun, the second disciple of the Silver Bamboo Sect."
"Ye Yu, the fifth disciple of the Shanlin Sect, ranked eighth."
"Duan Yu, the ninth disciple of the Shanlin Sect."
"Nangong Xu, the tenth disciple of Lingjian Sect."
He read out the names of the fourth to tenth disciples in one breath before letting out a sigh of relief and saying, "All of the above disciples will receive three thousand spirit stones as a reward. In the first stage of the two-person competition, the top one hundred inner and outer disciples will each receive five hundred spirit stones."
Ji Lin clapped first and said, "Please come up on stage, all ten disciples. We'll have a celebration banquet from now on. Have a good time, everyone!"
The hall became lively, and the ten people on the stage started chatting as if they weren't even there. The disciples ate and drank well and had a pleasant day. Qi Yuan was especially satisfied with the magic treasure, the Heart-Binding Rope, and her good mood lasted until nightfall.
The celebration banquet came to a close.
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