Chapter 36 That little bit of cleverness, not much...
Time flies.
In just two days, thanks to the effects of the elixir, Sheng Zhiyi's meridians healed rapidly.
Ji Fuguang gave her two more pointers on the mental cultivation method, and Sheng Zhiyi practiced diligently day and night, desperately accumulating spiritual power, and finally barely reached the entry level.
However, among the outer disciples, this can only be considered the lowest rank.
This day marked the first day of the inner sect selection.
Sheng Zhiyi woke up early in the morning and couldn't fall back asleep, so she went out and paced back and forth on Shuanghua Peak, muttering to herself, "Swallowing the clouds and embracing the spirit, illuminating the heavens and refining the essence of stars..."
This was a mantra that Ji Fuguang had taught her. She had been practicing it for the past few days and had already memorized it thoroughly, but she still unconsciously recited it out now, as if these words could give her some confidence and strength.
She muttered to herself for a while, and then a creaking sound came from the quiet and secluded mountaintop. The door to the main courtyard was pushed open, and a figure in white slowly stepped in.
Sheng Zhiyi greeted him somewhat nervously: "Senior brother, you got up so early today."
Ji Fuguang raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips. "If I don't get up soon, I'm afraid this Frostflower Peak will be razed to the ground."
...
You start your day with sarcastic remarks, and you can't seem to get into a good mood without saying something sarcastic or cutting back, right?
Sheng Zhiyi glared at Ji Fuguang, then, as if remembering something, immediately smiled and said, "It's all thanks to Senior Brother's excellent teaching. If we're talking about walking on flat ground, Senior Brother is undoubtedly the best in the Tianyan Sect."
She was referring to the time when Ji Fuguang swung his sword during a competition and cut off most of a mountain peak belonging to the Tianyan Sect. This incident was quite controversial at the time. Some people thought that Ji Fuguang was disrespectful to his elders and acted recklessly, while others thought that he was a young genius with extraordinary talent.
At that moment, Ji Fuguang was in the midst of the commotion, yet he paid no attention to the noise around him, standing quietly with his sword in hand, looking down at the tip of his sword.
Man and sword have become one.
After this battle, even though no one recommended him, the cultivation world universally acknowledged that Ji Fuguang was the leader of the righteous path among this generation.
However, this matter was somewhat presumptuous for Ji Fuguang, who was upright and principled.
But Sheng Zhiyi insisted on bringing it up, and she did so in a grand and dramatic way.
Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled, and she blinked, saying with feigned seriousness, "My cultivation is shallow, and I still need to work hard to learn from my senior brother."
Ji Fuguang glanced at her with a half-smile, and said nothing more.
Strangely enough, Ji Fuguang's interruption actually made my tension and anxiety dissipate.
A cool morning breeze swept through the mountain stream, pulling the clouds in the sky into wisps and strands. The branches swayed gently, and the fragrance of pear blossoms suddenly intensified, mingling with the chaotic dance of falling cherry blossoms.
Sheng Zhiyi's heart stirred, and she took a step closer to Ji Fuguang, raising her arm.
Ji Fuguang stood still, his phoenix eyes slightly raised, quietly watching her movements, just as he had watched the tip of the sword back then. The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, the breeze was rustling, but he stood calm and composed, his clothes fluttering lightly, his eyes like a bottomless pool.
For some reason, Sheng Zhiyi suddenly felt her arm stiffen. She forced her fingers forward, touching Ji Fuguang's hair bun, and tried her best to keep her voice calm:
"There's a fallen cherry blossom here, I'll pick it down."
A cherry blossom hidden in her palm was gently tucked into Sheng Zhiyi's dark hair, and then she plucked it off.
As if to prove her innocence, Sheng Zhiyi immediately picked up a flower petal and showed it to Ji Fuguang.
Ji Fuguang's eyes swept over the wrinkled cherry blossoms, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, as if with a hint of mockery, yet also as if nothing at all. His tone was clear and gentle:
"Junior sister, you do have some quick wit."
Sheng Zhiyi breathed a sigh of relief, casually tossed the flower petals on the ground, and said with a grin:
"It's alright, it's alright."
In his mind's eye, the countdown had stopped, and the inexplicable system task of "putting a flower on Ji Fuguang's head" was finally completed.
Looking at the 100 points on the scoreboard, Sheng Zhiyi secretly resolved to save them for the crucial moment of the selection process.
It was already dawn. Sheng Zhiyi looked up at the sky, drew her "Jinghong Feather," and prepared to fly to the venue for the inner sect selection.
A gust of wind blew by, the spring breeze caressed the green waves, and flying catkins and tobacco leaves, pear blossoms filled the sky.
Sheng Zhiyi stretched out her arm and waved away the petals that drifted in front of her.
She didn't turn around, so naturally she couldn't see the scene behind her.
Amidst the chaotic spring scenery, Ji Fuguang was surrounded by a vacuum, where nothing could approach.
Even if it's just a single petal.
Ji Fuguang lowered his eyelids slightly, a faint hint of sarcasm appearing on his lips.
Unfortunately, he doesn't have much of that kind of cleverness.
Sheng Zhiyi flew to the venue on her sword. Standing in front of the huge square, she felt a little nervous looking at the crowd of people jostling each other.
She subconsciously raised her hand and pinched the hairpin in her hair.
It was the one that Ji Fuguang had given her before.
Ji Fuguang has a special status, and in principle he should not be required to participate in this inner sect selection, so now only she is left.
She didn't know anyone and felt a little lost. People passing by would brush past her shoulder from time to time, quickly say an apology, and then hurry on their way.
She, too, didn't know where to go.
Sheng Zhiyi composed herself and followed the flow of people forward.
After circling around the crowd several times, I finally found the registration area.
This opportunity for inner sect selection is extremely rare, and all the outer sect disciples want to try their luck, with the queue almost forming a circle.
When it was finally Sheng Zhiyi's turn, the disciples registering were all a bit tired. Holding the jade slip, they didn't even look up and asked, "Name?"
"Sheng Zhiyi".
"identity"
"Miscellaneous servants".
?
Upon hearing this, the previously noisy scene immediately fell silent.
The disciples who were registering also looked up and stared at her.
The news of Sheng Zhiyi's fight with Qin Shaoyang had already spread throughout the sect in the past few days. Despite being a menial servant, she fought against six outer disciples and held her own.
Some people were on high alert, some were indifferent, and some speculated behind the scenes whether it was at the behest of the senior disciple, and even wondered if it was a power struggle among the sect's higher-ups. Opinions were varied and their words were quite certain.
In short, without Sheng Zhiyi's knowledge, rumors that "the servant disciples claim they will definitely enter the inner sect" were rampant, and she had indeed become the center of public opinion in the Tianyan Sect recently.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Sheng Zhiyi reached out and took the jade slip engraved with her name and information.
He turned and left without any expression.
Squeezing back into the crowd and confirming that everyone else's view had been blocked, Sheng Zhiyi's face fell, and she gritted her teeth. Praise to death!
It's definitely a case of praising someone to death!
They just wanted her to draw attention to them so they could profit from the chaos!
I heard that the initial competition format was that participants could choose their opponents freely and earn points based on the results of the matches. If that's the case, she, as the one who stood out, would definitely become the target of everyone's criticism, and everyone would want to challenge her to see how she's capable.
Fortunately, the competition format suddenly changed yesterday, and it became a random grouping system. Each person's jade slip is marked with their own and their opponent's numbers and the competition venue. All that is needed is for the two people to arrive at the venue in time to compete.
This arrangement ensures that the opponents are random and there is no human interference.
Sheng Zhiyi silently thanked her God and quickly probed the jade slip with her divine sense.
In a flash of white light, her information appeared first.
Name: Sheng Zhiyi
Age: 19
Identity: Odd-job worker
Serial Number: 17
...
She quickly skimmed over the other content, her eyes catching the next line.
Players: 13
Match venue: No. 2
Match time: Chenshi (7-9 AM)
Chen Shi (7-9 AM)?
Doesn't that mean we'll start right away?
Fortunately, after circling the venue a few times, Sheng Zhiyi already knew the distribution of the competition venues. Now that the competitions were starting one after another, the crowd dispersed and no one blocked her way.
Sheng Zhiyi hurriedly walked towards venue number two.
The main venue is hexagonal, with each of the six corners containing a competition area. Multiple layers of seals are in place to prevent a repeat of the tragedy that occurred with Ji Fuguang, where a competitor suddenly shredded the sect's mountain peak.
Seats were set up on the hillsides around the venue for other disciples to watch the battle. There were also some higher seats reserved for the sect leader and elders. It was not yet known whether they would come, but the seats had to be prepared in advance.
Those who were not participating in the competition for the time being had gradually taken their seats on the hillside. The remaining people in the venue were sparse and could be seen at a glance.
As Sheng Zhiyi approached venue number two, she suddenly saw a figure hurrying towards her from the opposite side.
A thought struck her, and she realized that this was her opponent in this battle, so she began to observe him carefully.
Upon closer inspection, I was somewhat surprised.
Ji Fuguang called her Junior Sister every day, and she always felt that she was already considered young in the Tianyan Sect.
Unexpectedly, there are even minors in the Tianyan Sect.
The boy opposite her appeared to be a head taller than her, but his eyes and brows were full of lively spirit, even carrying a hint of childishness. He wore a gold crown with openwork carvings to tie his hair up, and a crimson robe with floral patterns, with a gilded beast-face belt around his waist.
He rushed over, the two red tassels hanging from his waist bouncing, giving off a feeling of wanting to act cute towards her.
Despite her inner turmoil and hesitation, Sheng Zhiyi continued walking, slowly stepping onto the second court, watching the boy get closer and closer.
The boy noticed her too and looked her over carefully.
Suddenly he turned and left.
?
Are we in the wrong place?
Sheng Zhiyi was surprised when she saw the boy turn around and run over again.
He hurriedly jumped onto field number two.
Almost at the same time, the heavy sound of bells and chimes echoed through the venue.
It's already Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
The young man held the jade slip, carefully checked it, then looked up and asked Sheng Zhiyi:
"You're number 17, right?"
Sheng Zhiyi nodded and asked, mimicking his manner, "That's right, you're number 13?"
The boy finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness, I didn't go to the wrong place this time."
He complained naturally, "It's all my mother's fault. She insisted that I be fully prepared before going out, which annoyed me so much that I just ran off and almost couldn't find a place."
He smiled at Sheng Zhiyi, revealing two small tiger teeth: "I've never seen you before, I thought I had the wrong person. My name is Shen Qingming. Which outer sect master are you a disciple of?"
There are also factions within the outer sect, and each master teaches different disciples, although some major classes are attended together.
Shen Qingming simply never attended these kinds of classes, so he didn't know many people.
Upon hearing this, Sheng Zhiyi smiled and said, "I am not an outer disciple."
Shen Qingming tilted his head in confusion.
Sheng Zhiyi was somewhat surprised, but seeing that he genuinely didn't know, she patiently explained, "I am a menial disciple."
Shen Qingming's eyes widened in surprise.
Sheng Zhiyi looked at him with a hint of surprise.
This guy looks completely innocent and naive, utterly ignorant of the ways of the world.
Shen Qingming's little tiger teeth reappeared, and his voice was clear and crisp:
"Really? My father said that if I can make it into the inner sect selection this time, he'll grant me one request. I think you're quite interesting. Aren't menial disciples supposed to serve others? Why don't you become my maid?"
Before he finished speaking, he drew his sword and swiftly thrust the tip towards Sheng Zhiyi's neck.
At this moment, Sheng Zhiyi's sword was still in its sheath.
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