Even If You're My Senior, It's Still Forbidden - Chapter 42

“You’re back.”

Returning to Thousand Spirit Residence, they happened to run into Mu Chanjuan tending to the herbs in the medicinal garden in front of the courtyard.

After emerging from her secluded cultivation, Mu Chanjuan had heard that Ji Weining had taken Su Jin’an to register for the new selection competition and, unusually, agreed to serve as the team leader for the event.

After all, it was a thankless task, typically handled by the elders in charge of the new selection competition.

Mu Chanjuan set down the herbs in her hands and asked, “Are you still participating in the competition?”

“Yes.”

Mu Chanjuan didn’t ask further. She reached into her sleeve, took out a small sphere, and tossed it to Su Jin’an, saying, “Be careful in everything.”

“Naturally,” Ji Weining remarked with a glance.

Though Su Jin’an had spent little time with her, she replied respectfully, “Thank you, Master.”

The distant bell rang, signaling the start of the second round of the competition.

Mu Chanjuan waved her hand. “Hurry along.”

Ji Weining wrapped her arm around Su Jin’an’s waist again and carried her toward the main peak.

Along the way, Ji Weining explained, “The second round takes place in the Trial Tower. The challenge involves formations. Each person will enter a small room and activate a formation according to the given requirements. The faster the time and the more precise the formation, the higher the score.”

“Senior Sister, you’ve already told me this,” Su Jin’an said with a helpless smile.

“I did?” Ji Weining belatedly recalled that she had started explaining it to her the night before and had repeated it again.

She was always worried that Su Jin’an hadn’t remembered clearly and had forgotten herself.

The distance wasn’t far, and they arrived quickly. Ji Weining released her hold on Su Jin’an’s waist, thought for a moment, and then looked into her eyes sincerely, saying, “Then I wish you success in achieving your goals, Junior Sister.”

“Weining Senior Sister!”

“Jin’an Junior Sister!” Liu Xiling, who had been standing outside the tower assisting, spotted them immediately. The registered cultivators had already gone inside to wait, and with nothing else to do, she was glad to finally see them.

Her eyes lit up as she continued, “You’re finally here! I thought you weren’t coming. Shen Jia was worried sick.”

“Weining Senior Sister, Jin’an Junior Sister.” Shen Jia had just finished inspecting the Trial Tower and came out to find Liu Xiling when she saw them return.

Her previously anxious heart finally settled.

From behind Shen Jia emerged a young woman dressed in black robes. “Jin’an Junior Sister, please come inside with me.”

Su Jin’an felt uncertain and glanced at Ji Weining.

Ji Weining said, “She’s from the Shadow Pavilion.”

For a moment, Ji Weining couldn’t recall her name, only remembering that members of the Shadow Pavilion dressed like this.

“Zhao Xi of the Shadow Pavilion,” Zhao Xi said coldly.

Liu Xiling leaned close to Su Jin’an and whispered, “She’s always like this.”

Zhao Xi clearly heard Liu Xiling’s comment but turned her back to wait for Su Jin’an.

Su Jin’an let go of Ji Weining’s hand, patted the back of it, and stepped forward. “Then I’ll trouble Senior Sister Zhao to lead the way.”

Ji Weining stood behind her, watching as she entered.

Su Jia went over and struck the bell outside the door, marking the start of the second round of trials.

“What, does Weining Senior Sister want to go in too?”

Ji Weining shot her a glance without responding.

Liu Xiling, rarely seeing her in such a state, teased, “You look like a resentful wife right now.”

“Who taught you to talk nonsense like that?” Ji Weining cast a spell at her, and Liu Xiling immediately lost her voice.

“Sister Weining, I misspoke.” Su Jia, noticing the commotion, walked over from outside the building and slipped a bag into her hand. “I apologize on her behalf.”

“You all spoil her too much,” Ji Weining retorted with a glare, but she smiled as she opened the bag Shen Jia had given her. Eventually, she lifted the spell on Liu Xiling and glanced at the single-round leaderboard floating in the air outside the building.

Su Jin’an was currently ranked fifth.

Ji Weining had also participated before; barring any surprises, the array techniques she had recently taught Su Jin’an should be enough to secure all one hundred points.

As long as she earned a bit more in the final round, it would suffice.

“Where’s the overall leaderboard?” Ji Weining asked Su Jia.

Su Jia took a round disk from her palm and handed it to Ji Weining.

“Why are there so many people this year?” Ji Weining frowned as she looked at the list.

“Some of them want to see you, Sister Weining.”

“Why would they want to see me?”

Su Jia pursed her lips and didn’t respond.

“What did you give her?”

“Nothing.”

“Where are my dried fruits?”

“Ah! You actually took my dried fruits? You promised to keep them safe for me.”

“Then why don’t you ask Sister Weining for them?”

“Su Jia, you’ve changed. You never used to treat me like this.”

Su Jia was already accustomed to Liu Xiling’s erratic behavior and remained silent, finding a spot to sit and wait for the round to end.

“Ahhh! You really have changed.”

“You’re becoming colder and more distant.”

“So, give me back my dried fruits!”

“So noisy.” Ji Weining opened the bag and started eating Liu Xiling’s dried fruits, casting a cold glance her way.

Liu Xiling shut her mouth.

She didn’t dare say another word.

“Can you go buy me more dried fruits?”

“Not really,” Su Jia replied with a playful smile.

Liu Xiling pouted and sat down beside her.

This round required waiting for everyone to finish the array challenges, one hundred in total, with a maximum time limit of one day.

The faster ones finished in just a few hours.

Ji Weining waited at the entrance for a long time but didn’t see Su Jin’an emerge, only noticing her score skyrocketing.

She had already climbed to third place with eighty points.

She must have twenty more arrays left.

They were all basic arrays, not too difficult, the real challenge would be in the third round.

“Look at her, she’s practically turning into a ‘gazing-at-wife stone,’” Liu Xiling whispered into Shen Jia’s ear.

Shen Jia glanced at Ji Weining and said, “Sister Xiling, you should watch your words.”

“Understood,” Liu Xiling replied, bringing over some snacks from outside and leaning against Shen Jia.

For now, she could only make do with these snacks, unable to go out and buy her beloved dried fruits.

“When does the third round start?”

“Three days after the second round ends.”

Ji Weining checked the leaderboard again Su Jin’an had climbed to second place with ninety points. The top few on the leaderboard were all stuck at ninety and hadn’t moved.

“It seems the ninety-first point is a bit tricky,” Ji Weining sighed.

Su Jia also glanced over. “It must be the Spirit Fire Array.”

A loud explosion echoed from the trial building.

“Sister, sister, someone set the building on fire!” A fellow disciple rushed over from the entrance to inform Su Jia.

They had already prepared for such situations. Shen Jia organized a team to enter and carried out a cultivator who had just reached the Nascent Soul stage.

Ji Weining glanced at the cultivator’s robes, which bore the name Sun Yan, and then looked up at the leaderboard, she was in third place.

So the Spirit Fire Technique was that difficult? But it didn’t matter she had already taught it to her junior sister. She looked up again and saw that Su Jin’an had taken second place.

Half a day passed quickly. The remaining arrays grew progressively more difficult, and the scores began to stagnate.

The top scorer had reached ninety-nine points, while Su Jin’an held second place with ninety-five.

Soon, she would be able to exit.

One by one, many began to emerge.

Upon seeing Ji Weining, they immediately cupped their hands in salute and greeted, “Senior Sister Weining.”

“Ji Weining!” A young woman in a light purple robe spotted her from afar and rushed over. Realizing how she had addressed her, she coughed lightly and asked, “Is it true that you’ll be leading the third round, Senior Sister?”

Ji Weining rose helplessly, brushed her sleeves, and replied calmly, “Yes.”

The young woman in purple suddenly exclaimed excitedly, turning to grab the hand of the person beside her. “Did you hear that? Senior Sister Weining will lead the third round!”

Ji Weining parted her lips slightly, puzzled by the reaction, and took half a step back. The bamboo flute tucked in her sleeve slipped out, soared into the air, and swiftly carried her away from the scene. It was truly unsettling.

The top score on the leaderboard jumped to one hundred, and Su Jin’an reached ninety-nine.

Almost there.

Ji Weining stood by the entrance, drawing frequent glances from those exiting.

“Senior Sister Weining,” a cheerful voice called out as a woman in black emerged. Her appearance was strikingly similar to Zhao Xi, as if carved from the same mold.

Only then did Ji Weining recall that the top scorer, Zhao Mu, was the person before her.

“Mm,” she acknowledged.

Zhao Mu glanced back at the leaderboard. “Junior Sister Jin’an should be coming out soon.”

“Senior Sister.” As soon as Zhao Mu finished speaking, Su Jin’an emerged. When Ji Weining looked up again, Su Jin’an’s score had also reached one hundred.

Ji Weining walked over and embraced her, then took out some dried fruit she had snagged from Liu Xiling. “It’s fresh. Want to try some?”

Zhao Mu scratched her head awkwardly and murmured, “I’ll head back first, then.”

Before Ji Weining could respond, she had already slipped away.

Su Jin’an clearly noticed Zhao Mu and asked, “Who was that? Why does she look exactly like the person who escorted me in?”

“Probably twins.”

Su Jin’an nodded, picked up a piece of dried fruit from Ji Weining’s hand, and tasted it.

“It’s a bit tough to chew.”

“Though hard at first, the flavor is like a refreshing breeze after climbing a mountain peak comforting,” Ji Weining explained, recalling the words she had once shared with her.

“Then it’s delicious.”

“Does Senior Sister like it?” Su Jin’an asked.

“Senior Sister likes it, but what I like most is you, Junior Sister.”

Su Jin’an finished chewing the dried fruit and laughed. “Such a smooth talker.”

Ji Weining took her hand. “Let’s go. We need to prepare for the third round.”

When they returned to Thousand Spirit Residence, they found that Mu Chanjuan had disappeared again. Ji Weining was long accustomed to her frequent absences, it was rare to see her even a few times a year. Either she was away, or she was away.

“These are things we might encounter in the third round,” Ji Weining said once they were back in her room. She pulled out a small booklet from her collection. Earlier, an elder had wanted her to lead the round, but the sect leader had sent her on a mission before she could take on the role. However, the elder had left the booklet behind. Having participated before, she knew the contents were largely similar.

“Once we enter the secret realm, just follow me. The trials will mostly revolve around illusions. If you fail to break through an illusion, you’ll be expelled.”

“My role is to ensure none of you remain trapped in the illusions.”

Over the years, many people have wanted to immerse themselves in the illusionary realm but ended up unable to escape.

“What kind of content is usually in the illusionary realm?”

Su Jin’an, unfamiliar with Qingheng Mountain, asked, “Does everyone know about it?”

Ji Weining nodded. “It hasn’t changed much over the years. If you can’t pass it in the first place, knowing about it isn’t of much use.”

“Huh?” Su Jin’an was somewhat surprised. In her understanding, tests were usually sealed, with designated examiners.

“In the end, it tests things like formations, spells, and finally, one’s temperament,” Ji Weining explained, then remembered the bead Mu Chanjuan had given her and added, “By the way, at critical moments, opening the bead our master gave can protect your mind.”

“Alright.” Hearing this, Su Jin’an roughly understood what the third round was actually testing and began to form some ideas in her mind.

Ji Weining added a few more words: “When you have nothing to do, you can read this booklet. The illusions you might encounter are pretty much limited to those. What’s important is protecting your own mind.”

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