“Thank you, Sect Master.” The First Peak Peak Master appeared cold on the surface, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.
What a bunch of fools. Just as expected, they understood nothing.
After their spiritual roots were tested, Shen Yuexi and the others were escorted to Chasing Sun Forest.
Chasing Sun Forest had formed where two mountain ranges converged. It contained countless spirit beasts and even more ferocious beasts, making it a hunting ground where cultivators from the five great nations came to kill spirit beasts.
Male disciples in charge of the examination were waiting outside Chasing Sun Forest. As they distributed glass spheres, they explained the rules:
“You may not travel in groups. Within twelve hours, find the token hidden somewhere in the forest to pass the examination. Of course, considering that Chasing Sun Forest is filled with spirit beasts and danger lurks everywhere, if you encounter danger, you may crush the glass sphere. Someone will come rescue you immediately, but doing so will also count as forfeiting.”
After explaining the rules, they sent everyone into Chasing Sun Forest.
Since they were forbidden from traveling together, everyone split up as soon as they entered the forest.
The moment Shen Yuexi entered the forest, she lightly leaped onto a tree. She had no intention whatsoever of searching for the token.
The token’s location had not been provided. Chasing Sun Forest was vast, and searching for the token was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. They might even place themselves in danger in the process.
On the surface, the examination rules required them to find a token, but in reality, it was fundamentally a contest to snatch tokens—a selection of the victor in an internal battle.
Rather than search blindly like a fly, it was better to wait for her prey to come to her.
Thus, Shen Yuexi lay down on the tree and fell asleep.
In the Assembly Hall, the Sect Master and the Peak Masters were all stunned for a moment.
“W-wait, is she going to sleep?”
“Is sleep more important than the examination?”
“Hmph. Such a lazy person really is suited for the First Peak. My Second Peak absolutely won’t take her!”
The First Peak Peak Master let out a cold laugh and defended his future disciple without hesitation. “Why would my disciple need your Second Peak to take her?”
“Roar!”
A roar that shook the heavens and earth rang out. Shen Yuexi woke with a start, instantly flipping down from the tree and rushing toward the source of the sound.
A Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape nearly ten meters tall had blood-red eyes. Roar after roar, each infused with spiritual power, rang out without pause. It pounded its chest repeatedly, as if it had gone mad, chasing and attacking more than a dozen examinees!
Shen Yuexi watched with a frown. She remembered that a fifth-grade Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape belonged to the primate family, understood human speech, and was known for its exceptionally gentle temperament. Why had it suddenly gone berserk and begun hunting humans?
As she was thinking, she caught sight of a flash of silver-white light reflecting from the berserk Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape.
She focused her gaze, and her brows immediately furrowed.
Its ear!
They had actually put the token in the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape’s ear!
This ridiculous examination truly had no regard for human decency!
The dozen or so examinees hurriedly gathered their spiritual power and resisted the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape’s attacks with all their strength. But a fifth-grade Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape possessed strength equivalent to that of a Spirit General. How could they possibly withstand it?
The berserk Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape knocked them to the ground with a single swipe of its paw. Blood spilled from their mouths, and they were utterly powerless to fight back.
Just as the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape was about to crush their heads beneath its foot, a flamboyant red figure suddenly darted out from the side. Spiritual power surged toward the enraged giant ape.
Song Qiqi, who had been hiding at the very back of the crowd, watched Shen Yuexi while gasping for breath and hurriedly shouted:
“What are you trying to do, you useless thing? If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you! Everyone, run! She’s angered the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape. We’ll all be buried with her!”
The others grew both anxious and furious upon hearing this, and they began harshly berating Shen Yuexi:
“You have a non-elemental spiritual root. You can’t help us at all. Why didn’t you keep hiding over there? Why did you come out?”
“Exactly! We’re already in danger. If we don’t run, we’ll all die. Did you suddenly rush out because you’re afraid we won’t die quickly enough?”
“Get out of the way and hide somewhere! Stop coming out to cause trouble for us! You’re nothing but a useless burden!”
Only one woman with a face as cold as frost remained silent.
“Did I tie up your legs and stop you from running?” Shen Yuexi couldn’t be bothered to acknowledge their accusations and contempt. Spiritual power gathered in her hands.
Song Qiqi wiped the blood from her face and sneered. “Could it be that a useless person like you actually intends to turn the tide and save us all by yourself, so we’ll be forever grateful to you? I think you’d better save your spiritual power for running away. Otherwise, you won’t become a hero—you’ll just get slapped into a coward by the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape!”
Shen Yuexi smiled instead of growing angry. “Save you? What’s in it for me?”
The moment her voice fell, blood-laced spiritual power surged wildly toward the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape.
“She’ll definitely anger it! Run! Let her die alone, or we’ll all die!”
Someone shouted. The examinees were horrified, but the scene that unfolded the next second left them utterly stunned:
The Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape, which had been rampaging only moments earlier, was now docilely crouching beside Shen Yuexi, allowing her to climb onto its head!
What had happened?
How had the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape that had just chased them down and beaten them senseless become as obedient as a pet in front of her?
But she clearly had a non-elemental spiritual root and could only practice body cultivation!
“Roar…”
The Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape lay at her feet, its enormous crimson eyes fixed on her as it irritably dug at its ear with one claw.
Seeing its movements, Shen Yuexi tentatively asked, “Is your ear uncomfortable?”
“Roar…”
The Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape lay on the ground, still digging at its ear without pause. Its eyes turned toward her imploringly.
Only after climbing up did she see clearly that a black-iron token was firmly wedged inside the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape’s ear.
Shen Yuexi removed the token. The character “Ling” was clearly engraved on it.
The Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape calmed down and affectionately rubbed against Shen Yuexi. The primordial dragon qi emanating from the young girl had been terrifyingly powerful, and combined with her Beast-Taming Art, its deterrent force had made it submit instinctively from the depths of its heart. Now that she had not only removed the object wedged painfully in its ear but had also refrained from attacking it, it felt that the girl was gentle and kindhearted—a rare good person.
Song Qiqi saw the spirit beast that had nearly beaten them to death moments ago behaving obediently and ingratiating itself toward Shen Yuexi. Her already bloodless face turned livid with rage.
The others were shocked, all of them unable to believe what they were seeing.
“The spirit beast that was chasing us just now was dealt with so easily?”
“She actually knows the Beast-Taming Art!”
“She has a non-elemental spiritual root, yet her Beast-Taming Art can control a fifth-grade spirit beast!”
In the Assembly Hall, the Sect Master and the Peak Masters also exclaimed in surprise. After all, the Beast-Taming Art was the rarest of abilities on the continent.
“That was the Beast-Taming Art?”
“How can she be so proficient in it?”
“Who would have thought that a non-elemental spiritual root could tame beasts? The First Peak really has luck on its side.” The Third Peak Peak Master sighed. The most useless type of spiritual root could actually tame beasts. If she practiced body cultivation and also mastered beast taming, it would be a fairly good path for her.
The Sect Master also nodded in agreement. “Although she has a non-elemental spiritual root, it is fortunate that her Beast-Taming Art is both proficient and astonishing. She is indeed suited for the First Peak’s individualized instruction. Perhaps she’ll give us a pleasant surprise.”
The Second Peak Peak Master had always been at odds with the First Peak Peak Master. Naturally, he couldn’t bear to see the other man take in such a promising disciple, so he reminded him with a cold laugh, “Even if she knows the Beast-Taming Art, she has a non-elemental spiritual root. The possibility of her cultivating spiritual power is practically nonexistent. She can only practice body cultivation for the rest of her life, and her cultivation of the Beast-Taming Art will also be greatly affected. I’m afraid her skill will never progress beyond this level.”
Once he said this, the Peak Masters present, who had been preparing to compete for Shen Yuexi, could only shake their heads regretfully. The stronger one’s spiritual power, the stronger one’s Beast-Taming Art. Since she couldn’t cultivate spiritual power, it would be very difficult for her Beast-Taming Art to improve.
“As for how my First Peak’s disciple develops in the future, that is none of Second Peak Master’s concern.” The First Peak Peak Master glanced at him coldly and indifferently without becoming angry.
In truth, he was practically ecstatic inside. With that kind of talent combined with the Beast-Taming Art, how could her future be anything short of brilliant?
Ning Xingzhi secretly let out a sigh of relief only after seeing that his Little Junior Sister was safe.
Once the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape left, everyone finally emerged from their joy at surviving the disaster.
A cold and striking young woman in a white dress stepped forward and sincerely expressed her gratitude. “I’m Lu Aoshuang. Thank you, miss, for saving my life.”
Unlike Shen Yuexi’s dazzling flamboyance, Lu Aoshuang was just like her name, exuding arrogance from head to toe.
Once someone had taken the lead, the others, who were still embarrassed and ashamed, hurriedly apologized in unison.
They had mocked Shen Yuexi for having a non-elemental spiritual root, only to be saved by her moments later. No matter how much they looked down on her, they still had to lower their heads and offer their thanks.
“It was nothing,” Shen Yuexi replied calmly. She truly hadn’t done much, and she had even obtained the token for free.
Only Song Qiqi, hiding at the very back, secretly clenched her hands. Her face pale, she reminded everyone, “It seems this young lady found the token on the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape. But we were the ones who discovered the giant ape first. It’s not right for you to snatch the token like this, is it?”
In full view of the crowd, Shen Yuexi suppressed the urge to punch her to death and sneered in reply, “I obtained the token through my own ability. What, do you want to snatch it?”
Lu Aoshuang hated shameless little wretches like this most of all. Hugging her sword, she mocked, “You actually have the nerve to bring up the token? You were the first one to run away just now!”
“Everything has an order of precedence. We were the ones who discovered the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape first. You suddenly appeared and took the token. Who would be willing to accept that? This is an entrance examination, and the number of slots is limited. The tokens are meant to be fairly contested by everyone. Besides, even without you, we could have escaped. And even if you did save us, you can’t possibly expect us to repay you by sacrificing our futures, can you? Aren’t you being a little too greedy?”
After being rebuked by the two of them, Song Qiqi’s expression changed, but she quickly concealed it, putting on a righteous look as she accused Shen Yuexi.
Some of the others immediately wavered and voiced their agreement.
After all, they had spent more than half a day searching without seeing even a trace of a token, while Shen Yuexi had done practically nothing and simply picked one up for free.
How could they possibly feel at ease with that?
“Exactly! She wasn’t trying to save us at all. She had her eyes on the token from the beginning and only came out because of it!”
“We were the ones who found the token first! Even if she saved our lives, she can’t just domineeringly claim it for herself!”
“That’s right. If we hadn’t exhausted the Heaven-Piercing Giant Ape’s spiritual power at the start, then even if she knew the Beast-Taming Art, she couldn’t have dealt with it so quickly! We deserve a share of the token!”
“Shamelessness really is invincible.” Lu Aoshuang was shocked by the group’s brazen behavior, her expression turning icy with anger.
Shen Yuexi raised her eyes and cast a mocking glance at Song Qiqi. “Song Qiqi, you just want the token in my hands, don’t you?”
“So what if I do? Everyone wants to enter Lingyun Sect. Who dares to swear on their conscience that they don’t want it?”
Song Qiqi spoke with righteous conviction, not feeling that she had done anything wrong. She simply felt that Shen Yuexi was unworthy of entering the same sect as her. She provocatively looked at Shen Yuexi. “Shen Yuexi, do you dare to fight me in a duel? We’ll compete fairly!”