On the floating projection, the young girl, who had been looking as though it physically pained her to spend money just a moment ago, froze in surprise before immediately breaking into a radiant smile.
“Thank you, Star Brother, for the one hundred Energy Barriers! Big Brother, from today onward, I’ll be your personal accessory! I’ll be on standby twenty-four hours a day to cheer for you! If you tell me to go east, I absolutely won’t go west. If you tell me to walk your dog, I absolutely won’t—”
She suddenly paused.
“Wait, Star Brother… do you even have a dog? If not… what do you think about me?”
After saying that, she barked once.
“Woof!”
Then she cupped her cheeks and struck an adorable pose.
The viewers became so jealous they nearly went mad, flooding the chat nonstop.
【Who Do You Think You Are】: That’s what I call real money! One hundred Energy Barriers! Even if I sold everything I own, I couldn’t afford that… Why hasn’t Boss Ha finished his closed-door training yet? The streamer is living such a blessed life. I’m so jealous!
【Xiaoxiao】: Big Boss, you’ve lost your mind!
【Eaves】: Big Boss, you’ve lost your mind!
【Exotic Beast Enthusiast】: Big Boss, I want to be your dog too! Forget keeping a robotic pet—raise me instead! I can even come over so you can walk me!
【Your Strong One Has Arrived】: Big Boss, I want to be your dog too! Forget keeping a robotic pet—raise me instead! I can even come over so you can walk me!
【Boar Charge Forward】: Big Boss, I want to be your dog too! Forget keeping a robotic pet—raise me instead! I can even come over so you can walk me!
Xie Zhengxing’s eyes widened.
“Hey! What are you all doing? Trying to steal my Big Boss? Moderators! Where are the moderators? Hurry up and kick them all out!”
The moderator of Xie Zhengxing’s livestream was naturally the system itself.
Of course, she was only joking.
Since the system understood her intentions perfectly, it had no intention of actually kicking anyone out.
That didn’t stop the viewers from immediately denouncing her.
【Xiaoxiao】: How dare you, Xie Zhengxing!! You heartless woman! You’ve already taken our donations, and now you’re kicking us out? Boo hoo hoo~~~
【Even Passing Dogs Get Kicked】: How dare you, Xie Zhengxing!! You heartless woman! You’ve already taken our donations, and now you’re kicking us out? Boo hoo hoo~~~
【Who Do You Think You Are】: How dare you, Xie Zhengxing!! You heartless woman! You’ve already taken our donations, and now you’re kicking us out? Boo hoo hoo~~~
The young girl hurriedly softened her voice, gently coaxing and apologizing.
“My Beloved Consorts… My beloved consorts! Please don’t cry. I know I was wrong! From now on, I promise I won’t scold you just because of the Empress anymore~~~ You’re all the precious treasures of my heart~~~~”
The Empress?
Oviselas’ lips curled upward.
【*】: Rewarded one 『Tactical Prediction AI: “Falcon Eye”』.
【Xiaoxiao】: HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!
【Eaves】: Oh~ Big Boss~ Big Boss~ How are you~~~~ Is there still room in your home… for one more dog~~~
【Exotic Beast Enthusiast】: Big Boss definitely isn’t an ordinary person. He can casually donate the Federal military’s Tactical Prediction AI…
【Awake at 3 A.M.】: What do I do? I’ve suddenly developed a terribly evil wish… I kind of want Boss Ha’s closed-door training to last forever.
【Your Strong One Has Arrived】: I’m dying to know—does Big Boss still need a dog?
The chat exploded once again.
Message after message appeared, each one volunteering to become Big Boss’s dog.
Meanwhile, on the floating projection, the young girl puffed out her cheeks and loudly declared that the Empress and the imperial consorts were forbidden from engaging in yuri.
Oviselas finally couldn’t hold it in any longer.
He laughed aloud.
Only then did he lower his head and continue handling the mountain of official documents piled across his desk.
Thanks to the one hundred Energy Barriers donated by the mysterious Star Brother, Xie Zhengxing breezed through her next two matches just as easily as before.
By the final two rounds…
There wasn’t a single spectator left watching her matches.
Every disciple had already concluded that Xie Zhengxing was nothing more than someone with connections who had fixed her matches.
At the same time…
The sect elder presiding over the Outer Sect Disciple Promotion Tournament received the Recording Stones documenting Xie Zhengxing’s matches.
After presenting the stones, the supervising steward lowered his voice.
“Elder Sun, everyone is saying this girl bribed someone, which is why the three examining disciples all deliberately held back against her.”
Elder Sun frowned as he watched all three Recording Stones.
“There is indeed something suspicious.”
The steward hesitated.
“Then… should we investigate? Find out exactly who manipulated the examination and helped a participant cheat?”
“No need.”
Elder Sun’s expression relaxed into an indifferent smile.
“The first trial is easy to get through. The second trial offers no such opportunity.”
“A disciple without a steadfast and pure Dao Heart—one whose mind is filled with crooked schemes—will inevitably fail the second trial.”
“This afternoon, simply accompany me and watch.”
The steward lowered his head respectfully.
“Yes.”
That afternoon…
Xie Zhengxing arrived for the second trial of the Outer Sect Disciple Promotion Tournament—
The Trial of the Dao Heart.
Led by a guiding disciple, she arrived before a staircase roughly ten meters long.
It was called the Stairway of Seeking the Dao.
As participants climbed the steps, Inner Demons would arise to disrupt their minds.
Only those possessing an unwavering Dao Heart could successfully reach the top.
Many Outer Sect disciples who had also passed the first trial gathered nearby.
Xie Zhengxing casually counted them.
There were roughly three hundred.
She secretly clicked her tongue.
The promotion rate really is low.
She remembered how the examination grounds had been packed with at least four or five thousand participants.
Yet only around three hundred had survived the first trial.
Just as she was about to look away, the corner of her eye caught sight of a familiar figure dressed in pink.
The instant Xie Zhengxing noticed him…
He noticed her as well.
Waving enthusiastically, he jogged over.
【Xiaoxiao】: Ooh! It’s that really big sister!
【Your Strong One Has Arrived】: He passed too! That’s wonderful.
【Awake at 3 A.M.】: But his skirt is torn, and he has so many new injuries… He must’ve had an incredibly difficult time winning.
He stopped in front of Xie Zhengxing and happily grabbed her hand.
“Sister! I told you we could do it! Oh, right—I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Du Xinbao. What’s yours?”
“Xie Zhengxing. It’s nice to meet you.”
After introducing herself, she examined his injuries.
“You’re hurt? Which round did you get injured in?”
Du Xinbao scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“The fourth round. But it’s okay. I won.”
Xie Zhengxing immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
“That’s impressive.”
He actually won without cheating.
This kid is definitely something special.
Du Xinbao nodded earnestly.
“Once I enter the Inner Sect, I’m choosing the Main Peak disciples’ courtyard. The spiritual qi there is much richer. When the time comes, you can come cultivate in my courtyard.”
【Three Seconds for You】: How do we tell him that the streamer also passed the fourth round?
【Even Passing Dogs Get Kicked】: This sister really has such a kind heart.
【Xiaoxiao】: I knew it. Anyone who likes pink can’t possibly be a bad person.
【Awake at 3 A.M.】: Wait a second, Xingxing… Why do I feel like that old guy on the platform keeps glaring at you from the corner of his eye?
Glaring at her?
Xie Zhengxing looked up in surprise.
Sure enough…
He really was glaring at her.
And with an expression of unmistakable superiority and disdain.
Xie Zhengxing fell silent.
Did I offend him or something?
Without the slightest hesitation…
She glared right back.
She was willing to lower herself and work like a horse only for higher-dimensional beings.
As for everyone else…
Who the hell do they think they are?
【Your Strong One Has Arrived】: Wow! Streamer is so brave! So fierce!
【Little Cabin】: So cool! That’s right—stare him down!
【Exotic Beast Enthusiast】: The spirit beast he’s sitting on looks amazing. Is that a White Tiger?
Elder Sun, who was seated atop the White Tiger, blinked in disbelief.
“…?”
He turned toward the steward standing beside him.
“I’m not seeing things, am I?”
“She just rolled her eyes at me?”
The steward quietly replied,
“You saw correctly, Elder Sun.”
“She rolled her eyes at you.”
Elder Sun angrily flicked his sleeve.
“Begin!”
“Announce the start immediately!”
“Hmph! I’d like to see just how much longer she can remain so arrogant.”
He intended to personally witness how this audacious little cultivator—who possessed only early Qi Refinement cultivation yet somehow managed to bribe four disciples ranging from early Foundation Establishment to Peak Foundation Establishment into losing to her—would utterly disgrace herself on the Stairway of Seeking the Dao.
Dong!
A resounding bell echoed throughout the Shanghui Sect.
Immediately afterward, the steward’s amplified voice spread across the heavens.
“I hereby announce…”
“The second trial of the Outer Sect Disciple Promotion Tournament—”
“The Trial of the Dao Heart—begins now!”
Du Xinbao clenched his fist and gave Xie Zhengxing an encouraging gesture before resolutely stepping onto the staircase.
The steps quickly became crowded.
Watching everyone pushing and squeezing to climb upward first, Xie Zhengxing suddenly felt as though she had accidentally wandered into a train station during the Lunar New Year travel rush.
She hated standing in line more than anything.
So…
She patiently waited until the crowd had thinned out before leisurely making her way onto the staircase.