After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 16

The deafening cheers surged like a tide, lasting for a long time.

On the arena, Ye Li stood alone. The sunlight sprinkled on her slightly frail but straight figure, plating her with a layer of golden halo. That set of washed-out, old clothes, at this moment, was no longer a symbol of destility, but instead became the mark of an underdog and a legend.

Countless eyes were focused on her, filled with fervor, reverence, admiration, jealousy, and an indescribable complexity. With her undeniable strength, she had swept through the competition and finally reached the summit, breaking the long-held monopoly of the direct lineage on the championship, creating an unprecedented miracle in the Ye Family’s history!

On the high platform, led by the Family Head Ye Tian, all the elders had risen. Their expressions were varied, but without exception, they all had to acknowledge the girl below the stage.

Ye Tian’s gaze was deep. Looking at Ye Li, he slowly opened his mouth, his voice, amplified by spiritual energy, clearly transmitted throughout the entire venue, suppressing all the noise: “This year’s Family Grand Competition is now concluded. The winners, step forward to receive your rewards!”

An official called out loudly, announcing the final rankings.

“Champion, Ye Li!”

“Runner-up, Ye Shi!”

“Third Place, Ye Yu (another direct lineage disciple who lost in the semi-finals).”

Ye Shi and the direct lineage disciple named Ye Yu were the first to step onto the stage. Ye Shi’s expression was calm, and he cupped his hands again towards Ye Li, expressing his admiration. Ye Yu’s face, however, was unnatural, his eyes darting away, clearly not yet recovered from the scandal of Ye Feng using poisoned needles and his own defeat.

Finally, everyone’s gaze focused on the champion.

Ye Li walked step by step to the front of the arena, facing the high platform.

Ye Tian looked at her, his expression complicated. He mused for a moment, then said, “Ye Li, your performance was outstanding, and you have brought glory… to the family. According to custom, the champion shall receive: one hundred low-grade Spirit Stones, ten bottles of Tier-One Body Tempering Pills, and the right to enter the family’s treasure vault to select one Upper Human-Tier weapon or item of equivalent value.”

Rich rewards! A gasp of envy echoed below the stage. One hundred low-grade Spirit Stones and ten bottles of Body Tempering Pills were simply astronomical for ordinary disciples! Not to mention the right to choose an Upper Human-Tier weapon!

However, Ye Li’s expression remained calm, as if she had only heard of ordinary items. She bowed slightly, her voice clear and cool: “Thank you, Family Head. Although weapons and pills are valuable, this disciple dares to ask if the opportunity to enter the vault to select a weapon can be exchanged for the selection of other items?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience was stunned.

She was passing up a ready-made Upper Human-Tier weapon to exchange for something else? What else in the vault could be more valuable than that?

The elders on the high platform also showed surprise. The Third Elder, Ye Lang, couldn’t help but let out a cold scoff: “Utterly presumptuous! How precious is an Upper Human-Tier weapon? How can other miscellaneous items compare? Do you think there are Earth-Tier treasures in the vault?” He was still annoyed by the Ye Feng incident and couldn’t resist mocking her.

The First Elder, Ye Xiao, however, frowned and looked at Ye Li: “What do you want?”

Ye Li looked up, her gaze frank: “This disciple only requests to enter the vault for a look. If there is an item that catches my eye, I will select it; if not, I will choose a weapon later. I ask the Family Head and Elders to grant this.”

Her words were neither servile nor overbearing, yet carried a subtle confidence.

Ye Tian looked at her deeply. This girl, time and again, exceeded his expectations. He waved his hand: “Granted. You may go to the vault and make your choice. I hope you won’t regret it.”

“Thank you, Family Head!” Ye Li bowed again.

The awarding continued. Ye Shi chose a heavy Upper Human-Tier giant axe, which perfectly suited his cultivation technique. Ye Yu chose a gleaming long sword.

When it was Ye Li’s turn to receive the Spirit Stones and Pills, she calmly took them and placed them into an ordinary cloth bag she had prepared earlier, showing little excitement.

The final highlight was the announcement of the qualifications to be recommended for the selection process of the “Xuan Yun Sect.”

The official loudly read out the list: “Based on the final ranking of the Grand Competition and comprehensive evaluation, those who have obtained the recommendation qualifications are as follows: Ye Li, Ye Shi, Ye Yu, Ye Feng (qualification pending, to be reassessed after punishment), Ye Ming…”

A total of five spots. Ye Li, due to her champion status, was indisputably placed first!

Upon hearing her name, a subtle ripple finally appeared in Ye Li’s calm eyes.

Xuan Yun Sect!

This was her ultimate goal for participating in the competition! Only by entering a Sect could she gain more systematic training, richer resources, a broader stage, and thus quickly increase her strength, pursue the secrets of the Reincarnation Mirror, and… settle the scores from her past life!

The next phase of her goal was presented clearly before her eyes.

The award ceremony concluded. The crowd dispersed, but the discussions about Ye Li would undoubtedly continue for a long time.

Ye Li did not delay. Led by a steward, she headed straight to the Ye Family’s Treasure Vault.

The Ye Family’s Treasure Vault was located in the family’s vital area and guarded by dedicated personnel. After presenting the Family Head’s decree, the heavy Black Iron Gate slowly opened, revealing the dazzling array of items inside.

The shelves were lined with all sorts of weapons, glistening with cold light and clear spiritual energy fluctuations, mostly of the Middle and Upper Human-Tier. There were also areas displaying pills, medicinal herbs, ores, and some miscellaneous items.

The guiding steward introduced: “Miss Ye Li, you can choose any one Upper Human-Tier weapon here, or an item of equivalent value. Time limit is the burning of one joss stick.”

Ye Li nodded, her eyes quickly scanning the weapon areas. Swords, spears, blades, halberds, axes, and hooks—all were exquisite pieces, but she merely glanced at them and paid no further attention. Although these weapons were good, they were not perfectly suited to her style, and she would soon need to replace them as her cultivation improved.

Her target, from the very beginning, was not these.

She walked towards the areas where the miscellaneous items were stacked. The items here were noticeably less valued than those in the weapon and pill areas, covered in dust, and appeared cluttered. There were incomplete jade pendants, rusted metal blocks, some strange objects with unknown uses, and a few tattered books.

The steward saw this and a hint of confusion and disdain flashed in his eyes, but he said nothing more.

Ye Li’s divine soul power slowly spread out, carefully sensing these “miscellaneous items.” Most were without any spiritual energy fluctuations, just mundane objects. But when she walked to a wooden box in the corner storing ores, the fragment of the Reincarnation Mirror deep within her soul trembled very slightly again!

A reaction!

She suppressed the excitement in her heart, crouched down, and carefully flipped through the odd-shaped, multi-colored ores.

Most were still common ores. But when her finger touched a fist-sized, completely grey, unremarkable ore, whose surface even had many honeycomb-like holes, the palpitation of the Reincarnation Mirror became distinctly clearer!

It was it!

She picked up the ore. It was quite heavy in her hand, far exceeding the weight of an iron ore of the same volume. A careful sense revealed a hidden, dormant yin-cold energy fluctuation contained within, which would be completely undetectable without the Reincarnation Mirror’s sensation.

“What kind of ore is this?” she asked, feigning casualness.

The steward leaned over for a look and frowned: “That one… I don’t know where it came from; it’s been here for a long time. It looks like some kind of inferior associated ore, useless. You can’t even use it for forging weapons; it’s too brittle. Miss, you should choose a weapon. This broken stone…”

Ye Li, however, seemed not to hear his suggestion. She looked at a nearby bookshelf, where a few neglected, tattered books were sparsely placed. She casually picked up an ancient book with a beast-skin cover. The cover had no writing, and the script inside was a very ancient script, mostly incomplete. It seemed to be a basic note on Array Formations or Runes, but the content was fragmented, completely incomprehensible to anyone, let alone for cultivation.

However, Ye Li’s heart shook with just a quick glance! She had seen this script in a certain ancient ruin in her past life! Some of the fragmented rune structures recorded in this note, while seemingly simple, contained extremely profound basic principles, even touching upon the rudimentary aspects of Spatial Arrays! Its value far exceeded those Human-Tier cultivation techniques!

“I will take this ore and this notebook.” Ye Li stood up, her tone calm but unwavering.

“What?” The steward thought he had misheard. “Miss, are you… are you sure? This broken stone and this worthless book no one wants? This… combined, they’re not even worth a Lower Human-Tier weapon! You are the champion; you can choose an Upper Human-Tier…”

“I’m sure,” Ye Li interrupted him, looking at him indifferently. “Just these two.”

The steward opened his mouth. Looking at Ye Li’s calm yet firm eyes, he finally swallowed his words of persuasion, merely muttering, “Truly… incomprehensible.” He took out a ledger to record: “Ye Li, retrieved one unnamed ore, one unnamed incomplete notebook.”

With the formalities complete, Ye Li walked out of the treasure vault, holding the heavy ore and the ancient notebook.

The sunlight outside was dazzling.

She lowered her head and looked at the two “unremarkable” gains in her hands, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.

Others would think she had suffered a huge loss, but only she knew that the value of these two items far exceeded the so-called Upper Human-Tier weapon by a hundredfold! The yin-cold energy contained in the ore might assist in cultivating the “Nether-Eon Emperor Sutra” or tempering some special artifact. And that notebook was a priceless treasure, concerning Array Formations and Runes, which were extremely important auxiliary means on the path of cultivation!

More importantly, both of these items might be connected to her future path, and even to the secrets of the Reincarnation Mirror.

A rich harvest.

She raised her head, her gaze looking into the distance, as if she already saw that higher and further stage—the Xuan Yun Sect.

The Sect Selection, she was determined to win!