On the high platform, after a moment of dead silence, the atmosphere became somewhat eerie.
"Pfft... Hahaha!" Bu Qingwei was the first to lose it, bursting into laughter. He slapped his thigh while pointing at the little smug "praise me" look on Li Nanzhu's face in the water mirror, absolutely delighted.
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant! This girl, Li, is really something else! Hahaha! Using the guardian demonic wolf to trigger the restrictions and clear her own path? How did she come up with such a devious idea? Hahaha! I’ve hosted so many of these assemblies, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone break through a trial like this! Interesting! So interesting!"
He laughed so hard he leaned back and forth, showing none of the dignity expected of a sect leader. Instead, he looked like a mischievous child who had just witnessed a fantastic play, his eyes shining with the excitement of discovering a hidden treasure.
"Sect Leader Bu! Mind your status!" Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao's face was ashen. "What is so funny about such opportunistic trickery and disgraceful conduct?"
"Oh, Sect Leader Ling, why so serious?" Bu Qingwei finally stopped laughing, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes and waving his hand. "The rules of the competition never said you couldn't use demonic beasts to trigger traps. To think of this method shows that the little girl’s mind is sharp! That’s what we call wisdom! Do you understand wisdom? It’s much better than those who rely on their high cultivation to charge in blindly, only to end up with a bruised nose, right? Hahaha!"
His words were clearly pointed. Ling Xiao's face flushed red and white with frustration, yet he found himself unable to retort. He could only let out a heavy, cold snort and flick his sleeves as he sat back down.
Master Hui Ming folded his hands, eyes lowered, but the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He silently recited a Buddhist mantra, though whether it was to pray for the demonic wolf or to calm his own desire to laugh was unclear.
The expressions of the other sect leaders and elders were also a sight to behold. Some were struggling to suppress their laughter, some shook their heads with wry smiles, and others, like Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao, wore looks of displeasure.
Liu Changhe, the sect leader of the Water Moon Sect, wore an expression quite different from the displeased or bewildered elders around him.
Not only did he not feel any discomfort at Li Nanzhu's "rebellious" method of clearing the trial, but he also stroked his chin with glints of light flashing in his eyes, the corners of his mouth even curling upward uncontrollably.
"Good girl... what sharp eyes!" Liu Changhe praised her in his heart. His gaze involuntarily drifted down the platform toward his own team, settling on his red-haired son, Liu Qingyang, who was stretching his neck and watching the Heart-Probing Bridge with an excited face.
"This Li Nanzhu is quite the talent!" The more Liu Changhe looked, the more satisfied he became. "How is her brain wired? Using the guardian demonic wolf to trigger restrictions and clear her own path... such a method might seem like nonsense, but it goes straight to the core! It saves time and effort, and the efficiency is extremely high! It’s practically a stroke of genius!"
He felt that this use of "trash" was absolutely wonderful.
The Sect Competition was, in the end, a contest of comprehensive strength, and this strength naturally included wisdom, adaptability, and methods!
As long as one didn't violate the rules and could achieve the goal quickly and effectively, it was a good method! Who cared about dignity or propriety? Winning was the only truth!
"Qingyang, that boy, usually looks flighty and unreliable, but this time he’s stumbled into something good and followed the right person!" Liu Changhe felt a secret joy. "He’s close with this girl Li Nanzhu. Maybe some of that... hmm... cleverness will rub off on him?"
A father knows his son best.
Liu Changhe understood his son all too well. His talent was good, but his personality was jumpy, he was overly curious, and he was easily attracted to interesting things.
Li Nanzhu's style of taking the unconventional path was like a guiding light tailored specifically for Liu Qingyang!
The more Liu Changhe thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. He even began to pray silently in his heart, "Brat, you better show some backbone! Learn well from Li Nanzhu! Don't just learn how to fight, learn more about how she uses her head! The more of these devious ideas, the better! As long as you can pass the trial and win, what does it matter if the methods are a bit underhanded? That’s a skill!"
At this moment, the more he looked at Li Nanzhu, the more he liked her. He almost wished she were his own daughter, and even his perception of the Five Elements Dao Sect improved significantly.
"Feng Yi, that fellow, sure is lucky to have taken in such a precious disciple." Liu Changhe glanced slightly enviously at Sect Leader Feng Yi, who sat composed in the Five Elements Dao Sect area, and muttered to himself, "It seems I should let Qingyang visit the Five Elements Dao Sect more often in the future and get closer to their people. Maybe he can soak up some of that brilliance and sharpen his mind!"
As for the accusations of being "disgraceful" or "improper"? Liu Changhe scoffed at them. Those were just pedantic views!
The path of cultivation was originally a struggle against the heavens for one's life; where did all these rules and restrictions come from?
The result was the most important thing!
He even began to look forward to whether Liu Qingyang could give him a "surprise" when it was the Water Moon Sect's turn to enter the illusion. Even if he only mimicked Li Nanzhu's logic and used some clever tricks to pass the trials quickly, it would bring honor to his father's face!
The other powerhouses on the high platform naturally noticed Liu Changhe's unconcealed admiration and his look of "eagerness to try it out."
Bu Qingwei leaned in cheerfully. "Sect Leader Liu, looking at you... are you wishing your red-haired boy could learn a few tricks too?"
Liu Changhe coughed twice, trying to maintain a stiff face, but the smile in his eyes could not be hidden. He said vaguely, "Ahem... Sect Leader Bu is joking. My son is unruly and still needs a lot of tempering... however, this young friend Li's logic is indeed... unique, and it has quite a few merits, haha..."
Hearing this, Ling Xiao snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and remained silent, his face darkening further.
He felt that Liu Changhe had truly fallen, actually admiring such heterodox ways!
If Liu Changhe knew what Ling Xiao was thinking, he would likely only call him pedantic. However, he wouldn't be surprised by it either; after all, the man's reputation as an old stickler was famous throughout the cultivation world, so he didn't bother to say much.
Rong Lingmeng held similar thoughts. After all, her own disciples were the next to step onto the bridge, and she naturally hoped they would take a commanding lead.
However, below the high platform, a completely different scene unfolded among the hundreds of disciples from various sects waiting to ascend the bridge in the plaza.
They couldn't see the specific details within the water mirror; they could only see the glowing points on the ten Heart-Probing Bridges and the rich changes in the expressions of the powerhouses on the platform—sometimes startled, sometimes laughing, and sometimes dark-faced.
"What exactly is happening up there? Why are the sect leaders and elders making such strange faces?"
"Sect Leader Bu seems to be laughing very happily? Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao's face is totally black!"
"Why are Sect Leader Liu and Sect Leader Rong also exchanging looks and winking?"
"The light point for the Five Elements Dao Sect has been flashing for ages. It doesn't seem to have moved? Are they stuck?"
The disciples below whispered among themselves, their faces filled with curiosity and confusion.
They could only guess the progress within the illusion through the changes in the brightness of the light points and the reactions of the platform's powerhouses. This feeling was deeply frustrating, like trying to scratch an itch through a boot.
"The first trial for the Five Elements Dao Sect... seems quite difficult? They haven't made a move in a while."
"Probably because the array is too hard? After all, Feng Qingping was banned, so their array-breaking ability is greatly reduced."
"Sigh, what a pity. If Senior Sister Feng were here, they definitely would have charged through by now."
"The Sword Heart Sect's strategic ban was truly ruthless..."
The disciples of the Hehuan Sect and Water Moon Sect showed worried expressions. Meanwhile, disciples from the Sword Heart Sect, Tianyan Sect, and others were secretly gloating.
However, just as everyone was speculating—
Hum!
The Heart-Probing Bridge in the center, belonging to the Five Elements Dao Sect, suddenly let out a low hum!
Then, under everyone's startled gazes, the light point representing the first trial on the bridge suddenly erupted with a piercing radiance, and then... instantly went dark!
Almost simultaneously, the second light point, right next to the position of the first one, suddenly lit up! The light was steady and dazzling!
This sudden change caused the entire plaza to fall into a dead silence in an instant!
Everyone's eyes widened, staring fixedly at the bridge, their brains unable to process it for a moment.
The light point... went out? The first light point went out?
The second light point... is lit?
This... what did this mean?
They passed!
The first trial was cleared!
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