Chapter 26: Seizing First Place

Song Junyu had never been good at comforting people. She fell silent, then simply raised a hand and gave her a gentle embrace.

“Listen. If you don’t want to go on living like this, crying helplessly will not solve anything.”

“You must set your sights on a single goal and see it through, even if it means enduring a life worse than death.”

Song Junyu lowered her eyes, her voice soft. “In this world of immortal cultivation, weakness is the greatest sin.”

After hearing this, Li Zhaodi wept until her entire body trembled. Only after a long while did she gradually calm down.

“…Liu Yu, can I really do it?”

The corners of Song Junyu’s lips curved into a rare smile. “That depends entirely on whether you truly want to.”

Li Zhaodi was silent for a moment. Then she abruptly pressed both hands to the ground and bowed low.

“Liu Yu! I want to try! When Senior Sister Qian used my blood to find her way, I was utterly unwilling. But in the future, I am willing to guide you with my own body. I only hope that I may remain by your side!”

Song Junyu’s brows drew tightly together. Li Zhaodi took this as a sign of refusal, and her heart sank lower and lower.

After a long pause, Song Junyu sighed.

“Dependence is the last thing you should have.”

“Li Zhaodi, I will do my best to look after you, but I will not agree to your request.”

Song Junyu’s gaze slowly grew more resolute. “Before you do anything else, you must first make sure that you are your own person.”

Her voice was calm, yet carried an unmistakable firmness.

Tears clung to the corners of Li Zhaodi’s eyes as she stared at Song Junyu in a daze.

…Become herself first?

Song Junyu said nothing more. She merely reached out and pulled Li Zhaodi to her feet.

“Let’s go. If we delay any longer, we won’t be able to claim first place.”

…

After Sheng Shuer left, Qian Lin’s expression instantly turned cold and severe.

Sheng Shuer had Fairy Baoluo as her patron. She could obtain anything she wanted, and no one dared deny her.

As for Qian Lin, she had to fight desperately for every resource she received.

She would never abandon Li Zhaodi.

“Senior Sister Qian, where are we going next?”

“To find that little wretch!” she said through clenched teeth.

Who could have expected that, in the very next moment, a black sack would drop over their heads? Immediately afterward, chaos erupted around them.

“Mmph, mmph…”

“You… Aaargh!”

Pain came without warning. At some point, Qian Lin had already lost consciousness.

A quarter of an hour later, Song Junyu clapped her hands and looked at the unconscious figures sprawled across the ground with a soft laugh.

“Tsk. What an unexpected windfall.”

She had originally intended to catch up with Wang Mo and the others, but on the way she had spotted a group of suspicious figures skulking about.

If an opportunity presented itself, she would naturally profit from it.

Qian Lin had been the strongest among them, yet even she had been powerless to resist. The others had stood no chance at all.

Just as Wang Xinglong was secretly preparing to hunt down another group, he was forcibly interrupted.

“Time’s up!”

Zhang Tian’s crisp voice pierced the empty space and resounded throughout the entire examination grounds.

A small teleportation array appeared beneath everyone’s feet, forcibly sending them out of the arena.

When they met again outside, it was obvious that far fewer people remained than when they had entered.

Song Junyu and the others were teleported directly into the center of the crowd.

She swept her gaze around and, sure enough, spotted Qian Lin and the others nearby, their faces swollen and bruised from the beating.

She hid the amusement in her eyes.

There was something immensely satisfying about striking from the shadows.

It was useful. She enjoyed it. She would do it again next time.

“Everyone—”

“Today’s examination is now concluded. You should all be able to see the large ranking board on the far right.”

His small face solemn, Zhang Tian surveyed the crowd. Once everyone had fallen completely silent, he continued, “All the points are listed there, and your rankings will determine whether you have the opportunity to choose your future master.”

Following his gaze, Wang Xinglong’s eyes immediately burned with excitement.

“Liu Yu, we’re first! First place!”

Lu Ling chuckled. “Not just your team. There is another team with the same score.”

Song Junyu followed her gaze.

Wen Zichang?

The name sounded vaguely familiar.

After pondering for a moment, she suddenly remembered that Aunt Liu had once praised a certain disciple without end, saying that he was destined for greatness and possessed extraordinary insight into the path of immortality.

That person seemed to be called Wen Zichang.

Judging by the fact that he had claimed first place, the praise was clearly deserved.

“Liu Yu, both our teams have the same number of points. How exactly will the Foundation Establishment Pills be divided?”

As though answering his question, Zhang Tian smiled and announced, “As outstanding talents have emerged in great numbers this year, two teams have achieved identical scores. By order of the Sect Master, both teams will receive the Foundation Establishment Pill reward!”

“That isn’t fair!”

Qian Lin’s shrill cry shattered the silence.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Covering her face, which had swollen beyond recognition, she slurred, “I remember you saying that no disciple was allowed to deliberately injure another after entering. We were beaten by someone else, and our identity jade tokens were stolen. In every sense, those people have no right to receive our points!”

Someone took the lead in shouting, and many teams with disappointing rankings quickly joined in.

“Exactly! Exactly! Some people were beaten half to death inside, and there were even deaths!”

Zhang Tian interrupted with a faint laugh. “Oh? As far as I know, you were the one who first tied up a disciple and whipped her, then ordered her to act according to your commands.”

“Why have you neglected to mention that?”

Qian Lin was stunned. Her face turned deathly pale, and she did not dare utter another word.

She had never imagined that everything she had done could be seen so clearly from outside.

Those who had been clamoring for an explanation fell silent at once.

As for stealing identity jade tokens inside, how many of them could honestly claim to have obtained theirs through wisdom alone?

Only then did Zhang Tian continue unhurriedly. “If I remember correctly, before entering, the senior disciples who led you here already warned you of the dangers involved.”

“I did emphasize that deliberate injury was forbidden. But I also said ‘deliberate.’ If both sides engage in a normal fight, then that is precisely the rule of survival of the fittest governing this examination.”

“Having explained it thus, does anyone still object?”

No one spoke.

Zhang Tian slowly raised a hand and sent a beam of light into the large ranking board.

A dividing line gradually appeared between the fiftieth and fifty-first places.

“Those above this line may proceed to the final master-selection assembly. Those below it may go to the mountain gate, where each of you will receive ten low-grade spirit stones as encouragement.”

“Ji Liu Yu, Wen Zichang, come with me.”

Zhang Tian swept out his sleeve. The senior disciples who had remained stationed at the checkpoints appeared among the crowd, leading away the dejected disciples who had failed to qualify for the next stage.

Song Junyu glanced in surprise at the small figure in the sky.

The Sect Master truly was interesting. He had not come in person, but had actually sent the Zhang brothers to preside over the event for him.

Still, Zhang Tian’s ability to control the crowd had genuinely surprised her. Despite his small stature, his cultivation seemed far from ordinary.

As these thoughts passed through her mind, she had already stepped onto the spiritual path Zhang Tian had sent down.