After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 32

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

Finally, the day of the inner disciple assessment arrived.

Qin Qingyi, uncharacteristically, woke up bright and early.

Zhou Zhixue looked at Qin Qingyi helplessly and advised, “Senior Sister, you really don’t need to see me off again.”

The young girl, mature for her age, politely declined Qin Qingyi’s request to escort her down the mountain.

She turned and descended the mountain alone.

Qin Qingyi was still worried, watching her retreating figure with teary eyes.

“Senior Sister, Junior Sister is just going to participate in the assessment,” Xie Su tried to persuade her.

Hu Yu, even more jealous, chimed in, “Exactly, exactly! When we went for the assessment, we never saw Senior Sister care this much.”

Qin Qingyi turned her head, squinting at him, “Do you have some complaint against me?”

Hu Yu shrank back, “I wouldn’t dare.”

Qin Qingyi gave a “humph” and turned to leave.

“If you’re not going, I’ll go myself.”

She was determined to watch this assessment.

Qin Qingyi summoned her Liubai Sword (Remaining White Sword) and flew directly towards the assessment venue.

The Sword Sect’s inner disciple assessment lasts for seven consecutive days. The first round of assessment was set up in the back mountains of the Zhi Jian Peak (Sword-Wielding Peak), where the cleared ground was large enough to accommodate the many disciples participating.

By the time she arrived, the first stage of the inner disciple assessment was about to begin.

“Master.”

Qin Qingyi gracefully descended and bowed to True Person Wen Qing.

As an Inner Elder, True Person Wen Qing naturally had to preside over the assessment. Not only her, but all Inner Elders currently at the Sword Sect who were considering taking on disciples had also come.

“Qingyi greets the Elders.”

She bowed to each of them.

True Person Wen Qing smiled and beckoned to her, “Qingyi, sit here.”

With that, she patted the seat beside her.

Seeing that her Master had saved a spot for her, Qin Qingyi immediately beamed with joy and happily went to sit down.

“Master, how did you know I would come?”

True Person Wen Qing glared at her playfully, “How could I not know?”

“You usually protect her like the apple of your eye. Now that she’s participating in the assessment, I didn’t even need to use divination to know you’d be here.”

Qin Qingyi wasn’t embarrassed by being exposed; she still looked cheerful, picked up the fruit plate on the nearby table, and started eating.

One Elder laughed at her.

“Why is Qingyi eating as soon as she arrives? Did Cangxue Peak (Hidden Snow Peak) cut back on the disciples’ food?”

Before she could respond, True Person Wen Qing picked up a peach and tossed it over.

“Go supervise the assessment properly, stop with the chatter.”

True Person Wen Qing scolded her with a smile. The other Elder wasn’t annoyed, caught the peach with a tilt of his head, wiped it casually, and started eating.

Qin Qingyi watched the scene. She recognized that Elder; he had a gentle temperament and was highly accomplished in array formations, but had not yet accepted any disciples.

As the time for the assessment arrived, the Elder finished his peach, discarded the pit, stood up, and ascended the Zhi Jian Peak. Using spiritual power to amplify his voice, he announced the first assessment content to those below:

“The first item of the Inner Assessment: Ascending the Heavenly Ladder.”

As he spoke, a brilliant golden ladder descended from above, connecting the base of the mountain to the summit.

“Those who climb the Heavenly Ladder within ten hours are considered qualified.”

“Disciples may use all their abilities, but must not harm fellow disciples. Those who violate the Sect rules and secretly harm fellow disciples will be disqualified from the assessment upon discovery, and those whose offense is severe will be expelled from the Sword Sect.”

The rules were concise. After the Elder finished speaking, he stepped back and announced the start.

Most disciples already knew these rules and didn’t say much. Upon hearing the announcement to “start,” they exerted all their effort to climb up.

Zhou Zhixue was no exception. She put her hand to her chest, her heart pounding rapidly.

Seeing everyone climbing up, she didn’t dare to be negligent. She took a deep breath and then climbed onto the ladder as well.

Up above, Qin Qingyi, who was waiting to observe but couldn’t see anything, was frantically stamping her feet.

She strained her neck, looking down the cliff, but could only see the golden light of the Heavenly Ladder. Nothing else was visible.

The Elders saw her like this and chuckled silently.

“Alright, alright, what are you so anxious about?”

Seeing her undisguised anxiety, True Person Wen Qing had no choice but to take out her Wanhua Mirror (Myriad Splendor Mirror) and hand it to her.

“Here, look. Don’t really jump down in your anxiety later.”

Qin Qingyi gave an awkward smile, didn’t refuse, took the Wanhua Mirror, injected spiritual power, and began to search for Zhou Zhixue among the many disciples.

The Wanhua Mirror was a top-notch item. As long as one had a person’s appearance information, and preferably a wisp of their aura or an object touched by their spiritual power, one could see that person through the Wanhua Mirror, even across vast distances. It was truly a good item essential for home travel.

Qin Qingyi had coveted this item for a long time, but unfortunately, True Person Wen Qing also treasured it greatly and refused to give it to her.

“Found her!”

Finally, after looking at nearly all the participating disciples, Qin Qingyi accurately spotted Zhou Zhixue’s figure.

The Wanhua Mirror displayed her image. Zhou Zhixue was diligently climbing the Heavenly Ladder.

This Heavenly Ladder was not something one could climb easily. It had three thousand steps, and there was spiritual pressure on it, making it harder to walk the higher one climbed.

Not to mention, there were various tests every five hundred steps. The Heavenly Ladder was named as such because it was modeled after the various dangers a cultivator might encounter on their journey of cultivation.

For example, the first five hundred steps of the Heavenly Ladder tested the Sword Sect disciples’ control over their own spiritual roots.

The five elemental spiritual roots—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and the extensions of wind, lightning, and ice. At this stage, each disciple would encounter spiritual power that countered their own spiritual root.

For instance, a Foundation Establishment stage disciple with a water spiritual root would encounter earth-element spiritual power here, while a fire-element one would face water-element.

Counteracting spiritual power at the same level made resistance very difficult. If one couldn’t resist, they would be swept down and have to start over.

Many disciples were caught unprepared at the first five hundred steps and were swept down by the counteracting spiritual power. Instantly, a chorus of curses erupted at the foot of the mountain.

Zhou Zhixue had just passed over four hundred steps and was only a few steps away from the five-hundredth step. Seeing many disciples around her being swept away, she immediately tensed up.

She didn’t want to be swept down.

Qin Qingyi shared the same thought.

“Don’t get swept down, please,” she muttered to herself, unaware that a crowd had already gathered around her.

The person in the mirror looked calm. Upon stepping onto the five-hundredth step, she faced a sudden fire-element attack head-on.

Flames surged toward her. Zhou Zhixue clenched her jaw and chose not to confront it directly, instead sidestepping to dodge.

But the next moment, a wave of heat suddenly attacked from behind.

“Quickly, dodge!”

Qin Qingyi was anxious watching from outside the mirror.

In a moment of peril, Zhou Zhixue crouched down, avoiding the attack once more.

Qin Qingyi finally let out a sigh of relief.

She patted her chest, settling her heart back in place.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness, it didn’t hit her.”

A voice sounded, conveniently expressing exactly what Qin Qingyi had been thinking.

She nodded, about to agree, but then her body stiffened suddenly.

Whose voice was that?

Qin Qingyi slowly looked up and realized that she was surrounded by Elders, all crowded around the Wanhua Mirror, watching Zhou Zhixue climb the Heavenly Ladder.

She raised her hand to cover the Wanhua Mirror and began to condemn these nosey Elders with her eyes.

Seeing her gaze sweep over, the Elders awkwardly looked up at the sky.

“Ahahaha, the sky is really blue today. Such nice weather, it’d be a waste not to bask in the sun for a while.”

“Oh dear, Elder Xie, what have you been busy with lately? I haven’t seen you around.”

“Don’t even mention it, Elder Zhou. Those few troublesome disciples of mine caused trouble outside, and I, at my age, still have to clean up their mess.”

Several Elders spoke evasively, trying to avoid Qin Qingyi’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Why must you all watch my disciple?”

True Person Wen Qing parted the crowd and walked in, slightly amused as she dispersed them.

Seeing her come to the rescue, an Elder touched his nose and said, “Heh, isn’t it because it’s rare to see a disciple this young?”

“The last time we saw someone this young coming to take the inner assessment was you, Qingyi. Cangxue Peak truly produces young heroes. True Person Wen Qing is truly blessed to have such excellent and talented disciples.”

True Person Wen Qing felt a little flattered by the praise. Under Qin Qingyi’s complicated gaze, she took the Wanhua Mirror and beckoned everyone to come and watch together.

“Come, come, don’t be shy, let’s all watch together.”

The Elders chuckled, and with True Person Wen Qing there this time, they shamelessly stayed put.

Instead, Qin Qingyi was squeezed out.

Qin Qingyi: ?

She glared indignantly at the chairs that were originally prepared for the Elders. They were mostly empty, as everyone was gathered by the cliff using the Wanhua Mirror to watch Zhou Zhixue pass the challenge.

Qin Qingyi: Then what am I?

She huffed and walked towards the only person still sitting in a chair: “Martial Aunt, look at them!”

She was going to complain to Shangguan Yu.

Complain about these Inner Elders neglecting their duties!

They were supposed to supervise the Inner Assessment, but they were all just interested in watching the spectacle!

She couldn’t even see her Junior Sister’s challenge anymore!

Shangguan Yu, however, was good-tempered and smiled, inviting her to sit down instead.

“You’ll know the result soon anyway, won’t you?”

Qin Qingyi grumbled, “That’s not the same. I want to see the process.”

What good was just knowing the result? Often, the process was the most important part.

Besides, Zhixue was still so young. The assessment on the Heavenly Ladder was dangerous. What if she got hurt?

She wouldn’t even be able to save her.

Qin Qingyi’s expression was downcast; her worry was clearly written on her face.

Shangguan Yu glanced at her, knowing she was feeling like a parent raising a child, terrified that the other party would encounter danger.

She narrowed her eyes; this mindset wouldn’t do.

“She passed! She passed!”

Just as Shangguan Yu was about to say something, several Elders’ joyful cheers came from the cliffside.

The sound immediately made Qin Qingyi’s back tense up.

Passed?

What passed?!

Shangguan Yu twitched her ears and said to her, “This Venerable One heard that your Junior Sister passed the first five hundred steps and is moving up now.”

Qin Qingyi’s eyes immediately lit up.

She was about to stand up to see what was happening, but Shangguan Yu used her spiritual power to press her back onto the stool.

“Martial Aunt?”

Qin Qingyi was puzzled.

Shangguan Yu handed her a cup of tea, signaling her to drink, “No need to rush. You can’t squeeze in there now anyway. There are plenty of liuying stones (image recording stones) on the Heavenly Ladder. You can watch the recording later; it’s the same.”

Qin Qingyi still wanted to argue, “But…”

Shangguan Yu shook her head, her clear, bright eyes fixed on Qin Qingyi, “Do you not believe she can pass?”

Qin Qingyi was taken aback and replied, “Of course not. Of course, I believe her.”

She had witnessed Zhixue’s efforts over the past two years, day and night, without fail, not a moment of slack. How could she not believe her?

More than anyone, she believed in her and hoped she would pass the assessment.

Shangguan Yu sighed gently, “Since you believe in her, you should sit here and wait for her to successfully ascend, then go congratulate her, instead of standing here worrying.”

After saying this, Shangguan Yu released her spiritual power restraint on Qin Qingyi.

“However, if you still want to go and look after hearing what Martial Aunt has said, then go. Martial Aunt won’t stop you.”

Qin Qingyi listened thoughtfully but no longer insisted. Instead, she calmed down and sat properly on the side.

“This disciple obeys Martial Aunt.”

She was too attached to the outcome.

In those more than seven hundred days and nights, Junior Sister had not slacked off for a moment, and she had witnessed her progress firsthand.

With Junior Sister working so hard, how could there be any reason for her not to pass?