Chapter 57
The matter of the Primordial White Turtle left a deep imprint on Lou Yuqing's heart. She was genuinely happy for him—for being able to fulfill his promise in the final moments of his life.
The breeze rippled across the lake's surface. For an instant, she almost thought she saw his reflection in the water again.
But she knew.
From now on, the sect's back lake would never again have the figure of that white-robed elder.
"Junior Sister, let's go." Si Nidie waved at her from ahead. "Today's patrol is over."
Lou Yuqing snapped back to herself and hurried after her. The melancholy lingering in her chest gradually faded away.
Life still had to go on.
Recently, the Enforcement Hall had become busier and busier. Even the disciples from the audit office had been dragged over as unpaid labor, forced to experience the daily misery of enforcement work.
Lou Yuqing had heard from Si Nidie that something had happened at one of the sect's mines.
A large number of disciples had already been urgently dispatched there for support—not just Enforcement Hall disciples, but also many from both the inner and outer sects.
Wendao Sect had over a hundred thousand disciples. Sending out a thousand or so wouldn't affect normal operations.
But the Enforcement Hall was different.
Its disciples were elites, and their absence couldn't be filled so easily.
That was why Lou Yuqing and the others had been pulled over to serve as temporary workers. They couldn't handle true enforcement duties, but simple patrol work was manageable enough.
The next day, Lou Yuqing rushed into the Enforcement Hall right on time.
The moment she entered, she realized everyone else had already arrived. She immediately slipped into the group as quietly as possible.
"Why are you only getting here now?" Si Nidie whispered. "Captain Wei specifically asked for you today. If he catches you being late, who knows what punishment you'll get."
Although Captain Wei treated her junior sister fairly well, that didn't mean he would show mercy over serious mistakes. If anything, he was the type to be even stricter toward people he valued.
Lou Yuqing smiled awkwardly. "I'll pay more attention next time."
Before, she always came with Senior Brother Gu. He would stop by her cave dwelling to call for her every morning, so she never worried about oversleeping.
But ever since his old illness relapsed, she'd been on her own—and perpetually one step away from being late.
She had asked Master several times about Senior Brother Gu's condition. Every time, her master said it wasn't serious and that he would return once he recovered.
Yet even now, there was still no sign of him.
Zixiao Immortal Venerable: "..."
Well, whose fault was it that his avatar got destroyed?
He was still searching for materials to make a new one.
Dong—!
The hour bell rang sharply, snapping Lou Yuqing out of her thoughts.
Wei Houming strode into the hall, his sharp gaze sweeping across the crowd.
Seeing everyone present and properly dressed, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Seems you've taken my words seriously. Maintain this attitude. Even if I hadn't specifically summoned you today, you should still conduct yourselves the same way."
"Yes!"
The disciples answered in unison.
Hands clasped behind his back, Wei Houming said calmly, "You should already know why you were called here today. The Enforcement Hall is currently understaffed, so we're holding an entrance assessment to recruit fresh blood."
The position of Enforcement Disciple had always been dangerous.
Especially for disciples who frequently went on missions—their mortality rate far surpassed that of ordinary sect disciples.
Wei Houming knew very clearly that among the Enforcement Disciples dispatched to the mine this time, fewer than thirty percent would likely return alive.
And yet, countless disciples still dreamed of entering the Enforcement Hall.
Because once they became Enforcement Disciples, they gained access to privileges ordinary disciples could never touch—cultivation techniques, pills, spiritual herbs, and cultivation resources in staggering abundance.
Wei Houming's expression remained stern. "The entrance examination begins shortly. Keep your eyes open. If anyone tries to cheat or cause trouble, arrest them immediately. Understood?"
"Understood!"
Lou Yuqing and the others shouted loudly.
After giving several more instructions, Wei Houming said, "Stand aside."
Once the disciples cleared the center of the hall, Wei Houming stepped forward. With a flick of his sleeve, a formation plate appeared in his hand.
He rapidly formed seals and struck them into the plate.
Buzz—
The formation plate trembled.
A beam of pure white light shot upward, slamming into the jade-like ceiling overhead. In an instant, blinding whiteness swallowed the world.
Lou Yuqing squinted, instinctively raising a hand to shield her eyes.
When the light finally faded, she looked forward—and froze.
The Enforcement Hall had completely transformed.
The original palace structures were gone, replaced by a massive boundless plaza stretching endlessly into the distance.
And this clearly wasn't a newly created testing ground.
The stone floor was scarred everywhere—deep sword marks, spear gouges, axe clefts, and countless crater-like depressions left behind by violent collisions of spiritual arts.
Wei Houming instructed coldly, "Prepare to supervise. The first round tests flight ability. Anyone who fails to meet the speed requirement will be eliminated."
Lou Yuqing's heart jumped.
This scene felt eerily familiar.
Like entering an examination hall back in school. Except this time, she was the invigilator instead of the student.
She silently comforted herself.
Relax.
It's not you taking the exam. Even if they fail, it has nothing to do with you.
After mentally repeating that several times, she finally calmed down.
Wei Houming raised the formation plate toward the distance.
Space rippled violently.
A portal tore open in midair, slowly expanding to either side.
The next moment, the examinees entered.
Ling Yunxiao was among them.
The tall young man stood out instantly within the crowd. His gaze flickered briefly before landing on Lou Yuqing.
The two exchanged a glance before immediately looking away.
This was an official assessment. Any unnecessary interaction could easily be interpreted as favoritism.
Still, after stopping in place, Ling Yunxiao couldn't help sneaking another glance toward her.
Seeing that she didn't seem to notice him at all, he immediately felt smug again.
Lou Yuqing, meanwhile, had both hands tucked into her sleeves, lost in thought.
Originally, over five hundred disciples had applied for the assessment. All were Foundation Establishment cultivators, including veteran disciples who had failed previous years and newer disciples who had only recently advanced.
But not everyone qualified to participate.
After screening, only around four hundred remained.
Every single one had passed a background investigation—no criminal records in the Enforcement Hall, no terrible reputations.
Those who failed even the background check didn't qualify to enter the first round.
Wei Houming looked down at the gathered disciples with cold indifference.
"I'll repeat the rules one last time. You will begin from here, fly to the red line ahead, touch it, then return. You have the time of one incense stick only. Anyone who fails to return before the incense burns out is eliminated."
As he spoke, he lit an incense stick and flicked it casually.
The incense shot through the air and embedded perfectly into a stone pillar without leaving so much as a crack.
"Understood!"
The examinees' voices thundered in unison.
Wei Houming gave a slight nod and activated the formation plate again.
A white barrier spread outward, enveloping Lou Yuqing and the other proctors.
"Go supervise along the route. If anyone uses magical artifacts to cheat, eliminate them immediately with your identity tokens."
"Yes!"
The proctors tightened their grips on their tokens.
The white barrier flashed—and everyone vanished simultaneously, scattering across the examination route.
When Lou Yuqing regained her footing, she realized she had been assigned directly beside the red line.
The line stretched endlessly across space, glowing bright crimson and impossible to miss unless someone was blind.
She looked into the distance.
By now, the examinees should already be on their way.
Who would reach the line first?
Could it be... him?
That flawless face flashed through her mind again.
Lou Yuqing immediately shook herself.
No distractions.
She stood quietly beside the line and waited.
Time slowly passed.
She wasn't very good at estimating it, but she guessed about the time it took to brew a cup of tea had already gone by.
Whoosh—
Wind howled toward her.
A sky-blue figure appeared in the distance.
Because everyone wore uniform disciple robes, she couldn't identify the person yet.
But soon, the figure rapidly drew closer.
Lou Yuqing focused her gaze.
The newcomer was a young man, probably around twenty years old. Clearly aware that he had outrun everyone else, he couldn't suppress the triumphant smile tugging at his lips.
Clang!
The moment his hand touched the red line, it emitted a clear metallic ring that echoed beautifully through the air.
"Congratulations."
As expected, he was the first to pass.
Lou Yuqing recognized him.
At the Spirit Root Testing Conference, three disciples with exceptionally high talent had appeared. All possessed mutated spiritual roots.
This young man was one of them.
He possessed a wind spiritual root.
And wind... represented speed.
So it was perfectly natural for him to arrive first.
Hearing her congratulations, the young disciple laughed lightly before turning around and flying back toward the plaza.
His body transformed into a streak of wind.
One instant he was here. The next, he was already dozens of zhang away.
Was that the Wind Escape Technique?
Truly incredible.
Several flashes of blue light flickered across the horizon before he disappeared completely.
Second place.
Third place.
More examinees arrived one after another.
Clang!
Another disciple touched the red line.
As usual, Lou Yuqing offered a polite "Congratulations."
Unexpectedly, the newcomer didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stopped and smiled at her.
"Junior Sister, you look very familiar."
"..."
Lou Yuqing looked him up and down.
He was fairly handsome.
Unfortunately, he also seemed mentally unwell.
She replied flatly, "Are you sure you don't want to head back? Time's almost up."
Gu Qinghong smiled warmly. "No rush. Meeting Junior Sister is my honor. Fate brought us together, so perhaps we should get acquainted. My name is Gu Qinghong. Junior Sister may call me Senior Brother Gu."
As he spoke, his gaze quietly swept across her face.
He hadn't expected to encounter such a beauty here.
If he could become Dao companions with her, that would hardly lower his status.
Lou Yuqing frowned slightly.
Something about the way he looked at her made her uncomfortable.
Wanting to get rid of him quickly, she forced a smile. "Hehe. Sorry, but I already have a Senior Brother Gu."
Gu Qinghong's smile froze.
Instantly, irritation surged through him.
This woman actually dared reject him?
His expression immediately cooled.
"Junior Sister, isn't that a bit harsh? I merely wished to make a friend. Aren't you overreacting?"
"Overreacting?" Lou Yuqing almost laughed. "You can't even handle hearing the truth? What are you going to do later when Hall Elder Wei criticizes you?"
Gu Qinghong's face darkened. "Junior Sister, what exactly do you mean by that? I only wanted to know you better. Yet you'd bother the Hall Elder over such a trivial matter? Aren't you afraid he'll think you can't even handle something this small?"
"Why would I be afraid?" Lou Yuqing rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one doing something wrong."
Then she pointed around them. "This is the Enforcement Hall assessment site. If you want to make friends, wait until the exam is over. Nobody's stopping you."
Gu Qinghong nearly twisted his nose from anger.
With his looks, cultivation, and current ranking—probably among the top ten—winning over a naive little girl should have been effortless.
Instead, he'd been publicly humiliated.
Normally, he was the one looking down on others.
Now someone was looking down on him.
Fortunately, nobody else had arrived yet. Otherwise, he would have completely lost face.
Unable to swallow his anger, Gu Qinghong sneered coldly. "Junior Sister, you probably don't have any men pursuing you, do you? With such a terrible personality, you'll suffer sooner or later. I wonder if Junior Sister is prepared to remain alone forever."
Lou Yuqing: "???"
For a moment, she genuinely wondered whether this man's brain had been kicked by a donkey.
She laughed from sheer disbelief.
Too lazy to continue wasting time with this idiot, she decisively raised her identity token toward him.
Gu Qinghong was visibly stunned for a moment before shouting, "Wait!"
Lou Yuqing activated the token without the slightest hesitation. A beam of white light burst from it as she sneered, "Whether I stay single or not is none of your business. But your elimination? That's already decided."
The white light instantly swallowed Gu Qinghong whole. Under his resentful glare, his body vanished from the spot, forcibly teleported away.
Only after he disappeared did Lou Yuqing slowly let out the breath lodged in her chest. Her irritation eased slightly.
Hearing something that outrageous first thing in the morning really was enough to ruin anyone's mood.
Seriously—how had the Enforcement Hall failed to filter out an idiot like that?
This was an assessment site, not some matchmaking event.
Coming here to flirt while acting like he was some uniquely charming genius... was his brain broken?
Arms crossed, Lou Yuqing stood there with an icy expression. Perhaps because of the aura she was giving off, no one else dared try anything similarly disgusting afterward.
Time passed bit by bit.
More and more disciples crossed the red line.
Those with the fastest movement techniques arrived alone. Those with similar speeds arrived in groups, their abilities too evenly matched to create much distance between each other.
Then—
Boom!
A pillar of light erupted into the sky in the distance, signaling the end of the assessment.
Lou Yuqing lowered her arms, preparing to wait for Captain Wei to bring her back to the plaza. But suddenly, something felt wrong.
She froze.
Wait.
Where was Ling Yunxiao?!
Lou Yuqing's eyes widened.
She hadn't seen him at all.
Could he have been eliminated?
At that exact moment, white light enveloped her body. In the blink of an eye, she was teleported back to the plaza.
"Two hundred and thirty-three examinees have passed the first stage. All disciples not currently present on the plaza are eliminated. The remaining participants will proceed to the second stage."
As the incense stick burned out completely, Wei Houming calmly announced the results while manipulating the formation plate, simultaneously teleporting back those who were still rushing toward the finish line.
The crowd looked both relieved and tense.
Passing the first test meant nothing. There were still two more waiting ahead, and judging by the elimination rate, most of them would fall in the upcoming rounds.
Lou Yuqing sighed inwardly with regret.
So Ling Yunxiao really had been eliminated...
But how? With those ghost-like escape techniques of his, how could he possibly fail?
"Junior Sister, what's wrong?" Si Nidie asked through voice transmission.
Lou Yuqing sighed helplessly. "Ling Yunxiao got eliminated..."
"Are you sure you're not mistaken? When was he eliminated?" Si Nidie shot her a strange look before pointing somewhere nearby. "Isn't he standing right there?"
Lou Yuqing turned her head.
Sure enough, Ling Yunxiao stood there tall and straight, elegant as ever.
"..."
The expression on her face instantly became extremely complicated.
He never appeared at the red line, yet he still passed?
So what was this? Did Captain Wei make a mistake... or had Ling Yunxiao cheated?
Just as Lou Yuqing was hesitating over whether she should report him, Ling Yunxiao's voice sounded directly in her mind. "Can't figure it out? Don't worry. I passed fairly. And I was first place."
Lou Yuqing abruptly looked toward him.
The young man smiled lazily, amusement flickering in his eyes. He had obviously guessed exactly what she'd been thinking.
A faint blush crept onto Lou Yuqing's face. Curious, she transmitted back, "I was standing right beside the red line the whole time. I never saw you. How did you pass?"
Ling Yunxiao smiled mysteriously instead of answering immediately.
"Who do you think got first place?"
"Obviously that Wind Spirit Root disciple." Lou Yuqing gestured toward the youth standing beside him.
Ling Yunxiao glanced at the Wind Spirit Root disciple, coughed lightly, then finally revealed the truth.
"I used Shadow Escape Technique to hide inside his shadow. Right before he turned back toward the plaza, I slipped out and touched the red line ahead of him."
Lou Yuqing: "..."
No wonder that Wind Spirit Root disciple looked so frustrated.
In a sense, Ling Yunxiao's first-place finish had been built entirely on the other guy's effort.
And honestly? That move was nearly impossible to guard against. Everyone had a shadow.
Suddenly, Lou Yuqing recalled something. "When he touched the red line, it rang twice."
At the time, she'd thought it was just an echo.
Who would've guessed Ling Yunxiao had secretly touched it too?
The young man's smile deepened slightly.
Meanwhile, Wei Houming manipulated the formation plate again and announced the rules for the next round.
"The second test is combat against puppets. Endure three moves, and you pass. Fail to withstand three moves, and you are eliminated."
The crowd: "...Three moves?!"
The disciples' expressions changed immediately.
No one thought Wei Houming was joking. If they underestimated this test, they would probably suffer horribly.
And Wei Houming was deliberately giving them a warning.
Those smart enough would take the hint.
Those too stupid to understand...
Well, then all he could do was respectfully wish them good luck.
The formation plate shone brightly.
Space rippled across the plaza.
Ten humanoid puppets appeared simultaneously before the crowd. Their bodies were forged from dark metallic ore, their surfaces gleaming with an icy sheen beneath the light.
"The top ten, step forward and choose your opponents," Wei Houming said meaningfully as his gaze swept across the crowd. "All puppets possess equal strength. Don't waste your thoughts trying to pick an easier one."
Several disciples immediately lowered their heads guiltily.
Clearly, they had been thinking exactly that.
Ling Yunxiao stepped forward without hesitation, stopping before the first puppet.
The Wind Spirit Root disciple chose the second.
With those two taking the lead, the remaining disciples obediently lined up in order.
Wei Houming selected ten enforcement disciples and ordered, "Go supervise them. Anyone who fails to endure three moves gets eliminated immediately with your token."
"Yes!"
Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie weren't among those chosen.
Since they stood behind Captain Wei, their line of sight was blocked, forcing the two of them to peek awkwardly from the side like thieves trying to watch secretly.
Wei Houming suddenly said without even turning around, "If you want to watch, then watch openly. I never said you couldn't."
Lou Yuqing and Si Nidie instantly stiffened.
Caught red-handed.
Then Wei Houming asked casually, "Report the reasons for your eliminations. Xiao Si, you eliminated three. Xiao Lou, one. Who's first?"
Si Nidie answered immediately. "Captain Wei, all three cheated. The first used a magical artifact—his boots had acceleration effects. The second secretly took pills halfway through the test. His speed increased, but he got so dizzy afterward that I spotted him immediately."
"As for the third..." Si Nidie's lips twitched. "She actually used a seduction technique on me, trying to confuse me. Luckily the calming formation attached to my token activated automatically, otherwise she might've succeeded."
When mentioning the last examinee, Si Nidie's expression became particularly strange.
That female disciple reminded her far too much of Wu Fengshu. Bad memories resurfaced instantly.
Wei Houming nodded calmly. "Xiao Lou?"
Lou Yuqing paused briefly.
"The person I eliminated... didn't cheat."
A trace of confusion appeared in Wei Houming's eyes.
"But..." Lou Yuqing's tone shifted, "...he harassed me."
Wei Houming's expression immediately darkened.
Before he could speak, Si Nidie exploded first. "What happened? Junior Sister, are you alright? Did he touch you?"
She was utterly shocked.
Lou Yuqing shook her head and explained honestly. "I was supervising at the red line. A disciple named Gu Qinghong tried talking to me. When I ignored him, he started insulting me, saying no one would want me and criticizing my personality. So I eliminated him."
Then she looked toward Wei Houming and asked carefully, "Captain Wei... was that okay?"
Meeting the girl's cautious gaze, Wei Houming nodded without hesitation.
"Of course it was. Harassing an examiner during an assessment is a serious violation. You handled it correctly."
Lou Yuqing finally relaxed. "That's good."
Gu Qinghong...
Wei Houming silently repeated the name, a cold glint flashing through his eyes. "Xiao Lou, hand me your token. I want to see exactly what he said."
Lou Yuqing obediently passed it over.
Wei Houming placed the token onto the formation plate and activated it. Soon, the token floated into the air, rotated once, and projected a screen of light.
Everything that had happened earlier replayed clearly before everyone's eyes.
Watching Gu Qinghong arrogantly harass Lou Yuqing, Wei Houming let out a cold laugh.
He already understood the situation perfectly.
He was even considering finding an excuse later to throw Gu Qinghong into solitary confinement for a few days.
Si Nidie looked thoroughly disgusted.
"This guy really thinks too highly of himself. What, does he think he's a spirit stone everyone wants to hold onto? Junior Sister, you did the right thing. If you meet idiots like this again in the future, just deal with them the same way."
Lou Yuqing nodded earnestly.
She completely failed to notice that Ling Yunxiao, who had just finished the assessment, had seen the entire projection from beginning to end.
The frost gathering in the young man's eyes was terrifyingly cold.