After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 20

The carriage rattled and bumped, moving away from the city where the Ye family resided, leaving far behind the land that held too many complex memories.

After several days of travel, traversing mountains and plains, the carriage finally slowed to a stop. An instantaneous wave of sound, far more vast and tumultuous than the Ye Family market, instantly assaulted them.

Ye Li pushed aside the curtain and looked out.

Before her was an extremely wide mountain valley plain. At this moment, the plain was already a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, filled with deafening noise! All sorts of carriages and beast mounts crowded the outer clearing, with young men and women from dozens of cities, over a hundred families, and countless rogue cultivators within a radius of ten thousand li, converging here like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

Banners fluttered, robes streamed, and the air was filled with a unique, adrenaline-pumping atmosphere, a mix of youth, passion, tension, anticipation, and the scent of various spirit beasts used as mounts.

This was the selection ground of the Xuan Yun Sect!

As one of the three major sects governing this region, the Xuan Yun Sect’s triennial opening of its doors for disciples was undoubtedly the most crucial opportunity for countless young cultivators to leap over the dragon’s gate and change their destiny! The competition was a hundred times fiercer than the Ye Family Grand Competition!

Ye Li stepped out of the carriage with the other Ye family disciples and was immediately swallowed by the surging crowd, like a drop of water merging into the ocean. She could distinctly feel the pressure emanating from the surrounding auras, some strong, some weak, many of which made her feel a subtle sense of stress.

High-level Qi Initiation Realm cultivators were everywhere, and there were quite a few with the aura of Half-Step Meridians Condensation! Occasionally, there were a few individuals with extremely solidified auras, who were clearly in the Meridians Condensation Realm! These were undoubtedly the true geniuses cultivated with the utmost effort by certain major powers!

This was the true level of the younger generation in the Spirit World! The Ye family, dominating that small city, was truly insignificant when placed in this vast world.

“So… so many people…” Ye Xiaodou beside her was pale, his voice trembling slightly, clearly intimidated by the grand scale of the scene. Even the usually steady Ye Shi looked incredibly solemn.

Ye Li’s gaze calmly swept over the crowd. Her powerful spiritual sense allowed her to roughly gauge the cultivation depth of many people. She saw many well-dressed, arrogant scions of aristocratic families; many simply dressed but resolute-eyed rogue cultivators; and even some youths with distinctive non-human features or carrying unusual spirit pets.

At the same time, she keenly noticed several individuals whose auras were particularly striking:

A girl in an icy blue dress, with a cold and stunning face, who seemed to be surrounded by a faint chill, stood alone on a slightly elevated mound, giving off a “do not approach” vibe. Her aura had actually reached the Meridians Condensation Realm! The jade pendant hanging from her waist flickered with mysterious runes, clearly an extraordinary item.

A broad-shouldered young man, built like an iron tower, carrying a long saber on his back. His skin was bronze, his muscles were bulging, and his eyes were wild, emitting a ferocious, beast-like aura. His cultivation was also at the peak of Half-Step Meridians Condensation, and a small area around him was clear, with no one daring to approach.

A young man in a brocade robe, holding a folding fan, who looked elegant and refined. He always wore a gentle smile, but a trace of hard-to-miss shrewdness and calculation flickered in his eyes. His aura was equally unfathomable, and several youths who were clearly his followers were gathered around him.

These would all be potential formidable opponents or people she needed to watch out for within the Sect.

Just as she was observing, a gentle voice laced with delight sounded beside her: “Fellow Daoist, it really is you!”

Ye Li turned her head to see Su Wan Yun standing gracefully not far away, still in her light-green dress. Among the crowd of nervous or arrogant young men and women, she stood out as exceptionally fresh and refined. She looked at Ye Li, her beautiful eyes filled with a smile and a hint of joyful “I knew I’d find you” expression.

She seemed to have recognized Ye Li, who had reverted to female attire but hadn’t deliberately concealed herself, based on her impression and feeling from that day.

Meeting her pure and joyous gaze, Ye Li’s cold state of mind seemed to soften slightly, and she gave a slight nod: “Miss Su.”

“Just call me Wan Yun.” Su Wan Yun took a few steps closer, her smile gentle. “I didn’t expect us to meet again so soon. It seems we truly are destined. This selection looks to be even more difficult than imagined.” She sighed softly, looking at the immense crowd, yet without any fear.

“Mhm.” Ye Li responded.

Their brief exchange, in this unfamiliar and tense environment, naturally formed a small, temporary alliance.

Just then, on the high platform at the front of the valley, several powerful auras suddenly descended! The oppressive pressure enveloped the valley like a tangible entity, instantly quieting the noisy crowd by more than half!

Everyone looked up, only to see over a dozen cultivators wearing the distinctive cloud-patterned white robes of the Xuan Yun Sect appearing on the high platform. Leading them were three middle-aged or elderly individuals whose auras were profound as the sea. Their eyes shone with a sharp light when they opened and closed, and the pressure emanated precisely from them! Their cultivation was at least the Spirit Mansion Realm or even higher!

The ten or so people following them all possessed extraordinary bearing, with cultivations all above the Meridians Condensation Realm, clearly inner disciples or deacons of the Xuan Yun Sect.

“Silence!” A Xuan Yun Sect deacon with a stern face stepped forward, his voice as cold as ice, clearly reaching everyone’s ears. “The Xuan Yun Sect Selection begins now! The first test: age measurement and talent verification!”

The rules were simple and blunt. At the valley entrance, dozens of testing points had already been set up. Each point had a large Age-Measuring Stone and a more precious Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror fragment (a replica) which could roughly check for potential talent.

All participants had to pass in sequence. Their bone age must not exceed eighteen, and their talent potential must meet the minimum standard (usually indicated by the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror emitting a crimson light or above).

The line began to move slowly. The process was quick. Most young men and women placed their hands on the Age-Measuring Stone, which showed they were within the age limit. Then they pressed their hands on the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror. The mirror surface emitted different colors of light—crimson, orange, yellow—representing different talent levels. Crimson was for passing, orange was good, and yellow was excellent. Anyone who could trigger a green light was already a one-in-a-hundred genius and would cause a small stir.

Occasionally, someone whose age exceeded the limit, or whose talent only triggered a faint white light (unqualified), immediately turned ashen and was directly dismissed by a sect deacon standing nearby. The scene was cruel.

It was the turn of the Ye family group. Ye Shi went up. His age passed, and the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror emitted a deep orange light, close to yellow, which prompted the recording disciple to take a second look and nod, indicating he was good.

Ye Xiaodou’s palms were sweaty with nervousness. His age passed, and the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror emitted an orange light, counted as good, which made him greatly relieved.

It was Ye Li’s turn.

She calmly placed her hand on the Age-Measuring Stone. The stone displayed: Fifteen. Qualified.

Then, she placed her hand on the ancient-looking Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror.

The Nether-Sovereign Emperor Sutra inside her body subtly circulated, but was not fully activated. She carefully controlled the output of her spiritual energy.

However, the moment her spiritual energy touched the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror, an anomaly occurred!

The Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror trembled slightly, and then suddenly burst forth with a dazzling azure light! The brilliance was so intense that it even overshadowed all the surrounding testing points!

“Azure… Azure-level talent!”

“Oh my god! Another azure genius!”

“Which family’s young lady is this? We’ve never heard of her before!”

A huge gasp instantly erupted from the surroundings! Even the elders on the high platform who had been sitting with their eyes closed in repose couldn’t help but open them, their gazes locking onto her!

Azure-level talent meant the potential for a True Disciple!

However, the azure light only flared for an instant, as if being forcibly suppressed by some invisible force. It abruptly retracted, rapidly faded, and finally stabilized into a deep and solid… yellow light. Although it was still the yellow that represented excellent, it appeared much more “ordinary” compared to the instantaneous burst of azure brilliance.

The recording disciple was stunned for a moment, rubbed his eyes, and seemed to doubt what he saw. In the end, he recorded in the register: “Ye Li, Fifteen, Talent: Yellow (Superior).”

The surrounding crowd also let out a collective sigh of regret.

“So it was a flash in the pan…”

“Scared me for a moment, I thought another monstrous genius had appeared.”

“Superior yellow is still very impressive…”

A hint of surprise and confusion also flashed in the eyes of the elders on the high platform, but they didn’t delve deeper, assuming it was just a random fluctuation of the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror. After all, this kind of replica was not absolutely accurate.

Only Ye Li herself knew what had just happened! It was the Samsara Mirror Fragment! When the Heaven-Glimpsing Mirror attempted to thoroughly probe her foundation, the fragment autonomously stirred, not only masking her true talent (which was likely far beyond azure) but also forcibly suppressing the energy fluctuation and simulating a Superior Yellow level!

This was just right—not overly attention-grabbing to become a target, yet showcasing enough excellent potential to gain the Sect’s attention.

With a calm expression, as if the shocking phenomenon had nothing to do with her, she withdrew her hand and walked to the area designated for those who passed to wait.

Not far away, Su Wan Yun also completed her test. She was a pure green talent, which drew considerable attention. She looked at Ye Li, her eyes showing a trace of concern and confusion. She had clearly seen the abnormality of that moment but did not ask, simply giving Ye Li a gentle smile and walking over.

“Sister Ye Li, you… you came out so quickly?” Her tone was full of admiration.

Ye Li nodded: “It was alright.”

The two exchanged a smile. A tacit understanding born of sharing an ordeal quietly grew between them.

A little while later, Ye Shi also rushed out, gritting his teeth, drenched in sweat as if pulled out of the water. Ye Xiaodou, on the other hand, stumbled out just at the final time limit, almost completely exhausted.

In the end, less than a thousand people passed the two tests. The elimination rate was shockingly high.

A presiding elder stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the crowd who had passed the assessment. He paused for a moment on Ye Li, and then declared in a loud voice: “Congratulations to all of you who have passed the preliminary test and officially earned the qualification to participate in the final selection of our Xuan Yun Sect! Tomorrow, the final assessment will take place on Qing Yun Peak! Now, follow the disciples to the temporary lodgings for rest!”

Upon hearing this, most people showed expressions of excitement and anticipation.

Ye Li stood within the crowd, her gaze calmly fixed on the majestic Qing Yun Peak towering into the clouds in the distance.

She knew that the real challenge had only just begun.

And her arrival was bound to stir up new waves within this Sect.