Yan Feng of the Sword Peak: She's a new disciple. At first, I was worried her cultivation was too low to heal me. I didn't expect that she'd heal me after playing just twice, and she even performed group healing on over twenty people at once!
Lin Ya of the Music Peak: The Music Peak is finally getting another little junior sister, and one with such high talent for the Dao of Music! I'm going to take a look.
Ji Guangji of the Spirit-Attuning Peak: I'm right at the entrance of the Trial Tower. I'll go buy a healing session now and give you guys feedback later.
...
He Wenyue of the Sword Peak: @Ji Guangji of the Spirit-Attuning Peak, is the healing done? How was it?
Ji Guangji of the Spirit-Attuning Peak: Extremely reliable. Highly recommended!
He Wenyue of the Sword Peak: !! That means we don't have to wait for wounds to heal on their own anymore! Eating too many healing pills causes pill toxicity, and once that accumulates, you need a Marrow-Cleansing Pill. Anyone who's used a Marrow-Cleansing Pill knows the pain.
Wang Le of the Book Peak: Don't you sword cultivators carry your swords and pick fights every day? You're actually afraid of pain?
He Wenyue of the Sword Peak: Sword cultivators are human too. No one can withstand being heavily injured in the Trial Tower every single day.
...
Gu Ningyun skimmed through the later messages.
He Wenyue of the Sword Peak: Is the music cultivator martial niece not coming anymore?
Wang Le of the Book Peak: Does anyone know her name? I forgot to add her to my friend list.
Qin Xiaosheng of Luoyue Peak: Reliable info—this new music cultivator disciple is named Gu Ningyun. Back when we were in the introductory music cultivation class, she was the only one who entered the Dao of Music. (Contact me for information trading; absolutely reliable.)
...
Seeing this, Gu Ningyun withdrew her divine sense. No wonder a group of martial uncles, seniors, and sisters had been messaging her during that time, asking when she would return to the Trial Tower to play healing melodies.
It turned out it was all because of this forum post.
Wen Xuan silently put down her identity jade token. “Alright, I think I understand now.”
Below Gu Ningyun's information were the level three Qi Refining disciples. Jiang Yao scrolled the light screen upward a few times.
Not far above was Wen Xuan's information.
Name: Wen Xuan
Team: Ruiyu Pavilion, Qixia Peak
Cultivation: early stage of Qi Refining level four
Expertise: alchemy
Role: support, attack
Note: This person is skilled in alchemy and may have poison pills on hand. When facing her, it is recommended to consume detoxification pills in advance.
“Did you actually prepare poison pills?” Jiang Yao asked with curiosity in his eyes.
Wen Xuan rolled her eyes speechlessly. “I wouldn't go as far as poisoning my fellow disciples. When given the chance to spar, isn't it more satisfying to just bash them with a mace?”
Mu Chenze's information was located around the middle of the level four Qi Refining disciples, similar to Wen Xuan's. It noted his expertise in arrays and advised precautions against him setting them up.
Gu Ningyun blinked. “Except for Jun Luo and Jiang Yao, the information on the three of us isn't very accurate.”
“It seems Qin Xiaosheng didn't manage to fully investigate secrets that were hidden deeper. We can use this 《New Disciple Xiaosheng's Remarks》 as a reference, but we shouldn't trust it blindly.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
《New Disciple Xiaosheng's Remarks》 recorded information on a total of six hundred and ninety-three new disciples, including Qin Xiaosheng himself.
As for how reliable his own information was, Gu Ningyun remained skeptical for the time being.
After patiently reading through all the disciples' information, Gu Ningyun leaned in and whispered to them, “Since 《New Disciple Xiaosheng's Remarks》 recorded us this way, why don't we play along with it and use it to our advantage?”
.
The first round of the individual competition, the basic assessment, was held at Preaching Peak.
The morning session was the assessment for the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》.
The plaza, which was usually bustling with people, had been halfway cleared out and set up with an isolation array.
On the open ground within the array, nearly seven hundred desks and meditation mats were neatly arranged.
When Gu Ningyun's group of five arrived, more than half of the seats were already occupied by new disciples.
As soon as she entered the array, Gu Ningyun noticed something different.
This array seemed to do more than just isolate the exam area from the outside; it also had the effect of disabling divine sense.
Exchanging a glance with Jun Luo, Gu Ningyun received an affirming look from him.
The atmosphere in the plaza was somewhat tense. Most disciples were holding their copies of the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》, cramming at the last minute.
Some were quizzing each other, while others had their hands pressed together in prayer for protection. Only a very small number of people were chatting casually.
They didn't speak and simply found a quiet corner to sit down.
Gu Ningyun and the others had long since memorized the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》 backwards and forwards. Not wanting to draw attention or make others wary, they also took out their copies and flipped through them silently.
As it neared the start of the Si hour, an unfamiliar martial uncle entered the plaza.
Sensing something, the disciples all sat up straight and watched him quietly.
The martial uncle walked to the platform at the very front and sat down. “I am the person in charge of your 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》 assessment. I belong to the Disciple Training Department of the Governing Peak. You may call me Martial Uncle Liu.”
He formed a hand seal, and immediately, a stack of exam questions and a set of brush and ink appeared on everyone's desks. “You have two hours to answer the questions. Begin.”
Gu Ningyun picked up the papers. Based on the thickness, there were at least twenty pages. The first page alone was densely packed with questions, and each one was stranger than the last.
“Scenario: You are exploring a secret realm. You are first injured by a sword cultivator's fire-attribute sword qi, then poisoned with cold toxin by an alchemy cultivator. While leaving the realm, an arm is bitten off by a demon beast. After exiting, you are ambushed by a demonic cultivator, and demonic qi enters your body.”
“You flee in panic and manage to find a cave to hide in, escaping your pursuers.”
“Question: Given that you have an ample supply of spirit herbs, how do you save your life?”
“Scenario: You are a Qi Refining stage talisman cultivator and encounter a Foundation Establishment stage evil cultivator blocking your path. If you cannot escape, what talismans will you use to kill him?”
“Scenario: You go out hunting for treasure and accidentally enter a land of fire spirit energy. Given that you have a full set of tools, how will you search for treasure?”
Gu Ningyun dipped her brush in ink and first wrote her name on the blank answer sheet: Qixia Peak | Ruiyu Pavilion | Gu Ningyun. Then, she began to answer the questions.
“Answer to Question 1: At this moment, I am heavily injured and must recover before I can leave the cave. I have fire-attribute sword qi, cold toxin, and demonic qi in my body, plus a severed arm. According to the urgency of the injuries—”
“First, chew the leaves of Blood-Clotting Grass and press them onto the wound of the severed arm, then bandage it with cloth. Simultaneously, consume the stem of the Blood-Clotting Grass. The two will work together to stop the bleeding.”
“Next, immediately place the leaves of the Feather-Dust Flower against the dantian area of the lower abdomen to prevent demonic qi from nearing the dantian.”
“Once the bleeding from the arm has stopped, consume the petals of the Feather-Dust Flower to expel the demonic qi from the body.”
“After the demonic qi is cleared, first place the petals of a Glazed Flower over the heart to prevent cold qi from attacking it.”
“Then take another Glazed Flower and consume its petals along with the leaves of Lake-Heart Grass. This will expel the cold toxin without stimulating fire energy or causing the fire-attribute sword qi in the meridians to go berserk.”
“Finally, consume the stem of the Lake-Heart Grass and the leaves of Cold-Soul Grass simultaneously. Once the fire-attribute sword qi is stabilized, use a cultivation technique to expel it.”
“After recovering from the injuries, consume Breath-Concealing Grass to hide your presence, disguise yourself, and leave discreetly.”
“Note: After leaving, once I am safe, I will investigate the reason for such bad luck, as there might be a conspiracy behind it. After uncovering the reason—since the aforementioned spirit herbs (especially the Feather-Dust Flower and Glazed Flower) are expensive and rare—I will employ clever tactics or improve my strength to recover my losses from the culprits.”
After finishing the first question, she moved on to the second.
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