All the disciples of Tianyan Sect cupped their hands and bowed.
“Emperor Dongxuan.”
Emperor Dongxuan, whose hair and beard were now half-white, descended gracefully from his celestial crane, dust-whisk in hand. His white robes fluttered lightly, giving him an air of immortal elegance.
Like everyone else, Bai Yuheng looked toward him, her gaze tinged with nostalgia. She still remembered the days when this man had joined her in teasing Yuan Guang—the scene as vivid as yesterday. But the man before her now had graying temples.
“Emperor, that girl is the one who cheated!”
The tall man who had shouted the loudest before pointed at her, then gestured toward another man leaning lazily against the boundary stele, sword in hand and eyes half-closed.
“Look at her—she’s as weak as a kitten. I could lift her with one hand! How could she possibly have slain so many beasts—more even than Li Tiankuo!”
Everyone turned toward Li Tiankuo, but he didn’t so much as twitch. He clearly had no interest in their bickering.
Emperor Dongxuan frowned.
“Yan Li, how have you been recruiting this year? How could anyone at all get into my Tianyan Sect?”
The tall man thought the Emperor was agreeing with him, and his heart leapt. To be praised before an elder—wouldn’t that make joining the Sect even easier later?
Thinking this, he grew bolder.
“Exactly, Emperor! You said it well. Tianyan Sect stands at the pinnacle of the Four Great Sects—representing the entire cultivation world! If we let a cheater like her join, it would disgrace our Sect and tarnish our name!”
Master Yan Li’s expression darkened.
“Silence! We’ve yet to determine whether she truly cheated, and already you insult and slander her? Who, then, is truly shaming our Sect? Such hostility toward a fellow candidate—foul language besides! Even if you passed the monster-hunt trial, I can still disqualify you! We seek not only talent and bone structure but also integrity and upright character. Remember this well!”
His sharp gaze swept across the gathered disciples, who immediately straightened.
“We heed the Master’s teaching!”
The man blanched, both embarrassed and unwilling to concede.
“Master, I was merely angry, not truly trying to insult her…”
“Enough. You stirred the crowd and sowed discord. Tianyan Sect has no place for people like you. Qing Luo, return his name token and escort him down the mountain.”
“Yes, Master.”
“I’m not leaving! Don’t throw me out!”
He struggled, nearly breaking free from the disciple restraining him. Another used a binding spell to hold him in place. Seeing there was no way back, he grew hysterical.
“So I get expelled just for calling her a slut!? If she didn’t cheat, then prove it! I’m not the only one who doubts her. If you let her pass without question, that’s unfair to everyone else! I refuse to accept it!”
“He’s not entirely wrong,” someone muttered. “Facts speak louder than words.”
“Facts? Her spirit bracelet recorded every beast she killed. If that’s not proof, what is?”
A bright-eyed girl in a goose-yellow gown stepped forward indignantly.
“Tch, who knows how that record was made? Maybe someone helped her!”
“Yeah, who knows who’s backing her? She’s pretty enough…”
“Exactly…”
The girl rolled her eyes. “Disgusting! Not everyone is as filthy-minded as you.”
The man sneered, glancing at her looks and temper.
“Fine, fine. Whatever you say. No need to get so worked up.”
“Don’t we have a Tracking Stone?” someone suggested.
“Just take three drops of her blood to trace her spiritual energy from the last incense stick. That’ll tell us the truth.”
“Yes! If she’s innocent, a little blood test will prove it.”
“Emperor, surely you won’t shield her?”
The crowd was getting restless, voices rising in waves.
“Enough noise!” Emperor Dongxuan’s deep voice cut through the din. “Such disorder is disgraceful.”
He turned toward the accused girl.
“The Tracking Stone requires a person’s essence blood and drains their spiritual power. It’s been obsolete for a hundred years—”
He stopped mid-sentence. His gaze lingered on Bai Yuheng’s face. For a brief moment, he was stunned.
So alike.
But not quite.
The person he knew was long gone—hundreds of years old by now, not this young. That cold, lifeless face could never look so vivid, so lively. And this frail body looked like it had just escaped hardship…
No, impossible. Not alike at all.
Dongxuan’s thoughts drifted. It had been so long since he’d last seen her that even his memory of her face was fading.
Bai Yuheng noticed his dazed expression and almost laughed. For a second, she thought he might have recognized her.
“Emperor, say something!” she piped up suddenly, mischief glinting in her eyes. “I, a weak and unarmed maiden, braved mountains and rivers to reach your Sect—just for this chance! I’ve spent over ten years cultivating, and you’d let a few careless words erase all that? Emperor, you must uphold justice for me!”
She even pulled a handkerchief from her sleeve and dabbed at imaginary tears.
“…”
“Though she looks delicate, one shouldn’t judge by appearance,” someone murmured. “A century ago, there was a great cultivator—ugly and scrawny, yet they often descended the mountain to rid the world of evil and even guided others through bottlenecks.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of that person—truly a legend!”
“Maybe appearances really can deceive.”
“But she said she traveled thousands of miles to get here. In these chaotic times, how could such a frail girl make it alone?”
“You’ve got a point…”
“Probably whoever helped her cheat also escorted her here. Isn’t that obvious?”
Around the expelled man, several others muttered,
“How could a woman be stronger than a man? Someone must have helped her. Stop pretending she’s some great immortal.”
“Even if she’s that skilled, no woman could reach such heights—unless…” They began whispering about whether she was even female.
“Are your eyes useless? Donate them to someone who needs them! Who says women can’t be as strong as men? You’re just blind and jealous!”
The group split again, arguing heatedly.
“Emperor?” Yan Li prompted quietly.
Dongxuan snapped back to attention and cleared his throat.
“Silence! Although the Tracking Stone is outdated, our Sect has long since developed a replacement—your spirit bracelets.”
Without waiting, he swiftly cast a spell. The bracelets resting on the stone glowed brilliantly, and with a whoosh, an image projected onto the sky—a recording of Bai Yuheng slaying monsters within a single incense stick’s time.
“Hmph! Let’s see what kind of trick this is!” the bound man sneered.
On the screen, the girl in red indeed wielded no weapon—just whatever she found: a branch, a rock, a leaf. Her movements were lightning-fast; before the crowd could even see her attacks clearly, the beasts fell in neat succession.
“Wow—”
Gasps spread like wildfire. Those who had doubted her, half-believed her, or scorned her were now stunned speechless.
Could that fragile-looking girl really move like that? Anyone would think she was a seasoned immortal!
The vision ended before showing the part where she killed the three-eyed beast—something she had deliberately erased.
Dongxuan frowned slightly but said nothing, merely noting that the bracelet’s functions needed improvement.
“Now, have you all seen?” Yan Li said clearly. “This young lady is a stranger to you all. Why would you slander her just because she appears weak?”
The man’s face turned ashen. He muttered “impossible” over and over, wide-eyed like a cornered rat.
Those who had mocked her were silent now.
“…Sorry.”
One voice broke the silence. Then, embarrassed and red-faced, others followed with hesitant apologies.
Bai Yuheng smiled and waved them off cheerfully.
“All right,” Dongxuan said, pleased. “Now that the records are complete, let them proceed to the next trial. Knowing one’s faults and correcting them—that’s what matters.”
Yan Li signaled to send the troublemakers away, then used an amplification spell.
“All candidates, stand beside the Spirit Testing Stone. This stone will assess your spiritual energy and root bone to determine your most suitable master. Place your hand in the groove—”
Boom!
Before he finished, a loud explosion sent shards of stone flying everywhere.
“???”
“!?”
“Cough, cough!”
“What happened!?”
“Why so much dust!?”
Dongxuan waved his whisk, casting a cleansing spell to clear the air.
When the smoke settled, everyone stared in disbelief.
Bai Yuheng awkwardly pulled her hand back and offered a sheepish smile.
“Uh…”
They stared at each other, speechless.
“Whoa! Incredible!”
“She… she blew up the Spirit Testing Stone!?”
“By the heavens!”
“Could she be… a heaven-bestowed genius!?”
“My god, it’s been ages since we’ve seen such a prodigy! I actually witnessed it with my own eyes!”
“Even if I’m not her sect-mate, just being in the same Sect will make me proud!”
“Tch, so she blew up a rock. Big deal,” someone muttered sourly.
The person beside him snorted. “If it’s no big deal, why don’t you try? Sounds like jealousy.”
“Bah, I’m not that bored!” He rolled his eyes, but secretly pressed his palm into the groove, channeling his spiritual power. Nothing happened—not even a flicker.
He muttered under his breath, “Hmph, what’s so great about that?”
His neighbor rolled his eyes again.
Meanwhile, Bai Yuheng felt her scalp prickling from the awkwardness. She and Yan Li just stared at each other.
“Ahem… I have no idea why it exploded,” she said lamely.
Even the ever-composed Yan Li was dumbfounded—but after the initial shock, his eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement.
Emperor Dongxuan, who had seen countless strange things, quickly ordered the disciples to escort the new recruits to their quarters.
A handful of the most gifted—including Bai Yuheng—were summoned to the main hall.
Bai Yuheng glanced around. Among them were Li Tiankuo, the aloof man from earlier, and the girl in yellow who had defended her. The rest she didn’t recognize.
Yan Li brought them inside and told them to wait.
Emperor Dongxuan sat serenely at the top, sipping tea. Four other seats remained empty.
“Ah, seems I’m not late after all.”
A cool, elegant female voice floated in before its owner appeared. The sound alone was enough to make Bai Yuheng’s heart jolt with recognition.
A woman in pale moon-white robes entered—the ethereal Emperor Lingzhen.
After so long apart, even that once-detached face now seemed dazzling to Bai Yuheng’s eyes.
She must have stared too intently, for Lingzhen paused mid-step, caught by surprise.
“You’re a new disciple?”
Bai Yuheng nodded.
“Name?”
“Bai Yuheng.”
Lingzhen frowned slightly. She had never asked Emperor Hengluan’s mortal name before ascension.
Troublesome.
“‘Heng’ as in?”
“‘Heng’ from the name Chang’e.”
“…Oh. Quite a coincidence, then.”
Lingzhen nodded and took her seat. A faint herbal fragrance drifted into the hall.
“Whew, just in time.”
A handsome man in blue robes entered barefoot, a basket of herbs in hand.
Yan Li beamed and hurried forward. “Master.”
“These are freshly picked herbs. Take them to the alchemy room,” the man said gently.
“Yes, Master.” Yan Li took the basket eagerly and left.
The man’s mild eyes swept across the assembled disciples, pausing when they met Bai Yuheng’s face.
“Hmm?” he murmured. “You resemble… an old acquaintance.”
Bai Yuheng let out an awkward laugh. “D-do I?”
“It’s my first time in Tianyan Sect. Perhaps I merely look similar to someone you know.”
He smiled warmly. “Indeed. There are countless faces in this world—no surprise if some look alike.”
“Yuan Guang,” Dongxuan said dryly, frowning at the dirt stains on the man’s robe, “next time you attend disciple selection, at least look presentable. You’re an Emperor of our Sect—its image rests on you.”
“My apologies,” Yuan Guang replied with a gentle smile. He made a cleansing gesture, and the mud vanished instantly before he sat beside Dongxuan.
“The Sect Master is still in seclusion,” said Emperor Lingzhen, sounding lazy. “Let’s just choose our disciples. I still have sword practice later.”
The elders nodded agreement.
Then Yuan Guang hesitated, glancing up.
“Should we… invite the one from Mount Wangxian?”
End of Chapter 2 – “Spirit Testing Stone: Could This Be the Legendary Heaven-Bestowed Genius?”