Peak Competition, Begin!

"Lingxu Fairy is mistaken. This Elder is not obstructing the Saintess, but rather, the Saintess is hindering the progress of the Peak Competition."

"The Peak Competition is the utmost priority among all matters in our Yin Yang Divine Sect. No one is permitted to interfere."

"This Elder has no intention of protecting or stopping anyone, but is merely maintaining order."

Sixth Elder Yu Ji spoke in a strictly official tone.

Hearing this, Lingxu Fairy stared deeply at Sixth Elder Yu Ji. Naturally, she did not believe the Sixth Elder's explanation.

If there were no intention to protect him...

The Sixth Elder could have simply done Lingxu Fairy a favor. By standing aside and doing nothing, Lingxu Fairy's palm strike would have cleanly landed on Ning Fan.

No one would have blamed the Sixth Elder, as Lingxu Fairy was the one taking action.

Yet the Sixth Elder had stepped forward with remarkable speed. Almost the instant Lingxu Fairy struck, the Sixth Elder had intervened.

If the Sixth Elder claimed she had no connection to Ning Fan, Lingxu Fairy would never believe it.

She simply did not understand.

Why would the Sixth Elder have any ties to Ning Fan? As an Elder with genuine authority, she should be entirely out of Ning Fan's reach.

Moreover, Yu Ji's granddaughter-Yu Qingqing-still held a grudge against Ning Fan, as he had once restricted her freedom for a period of time.

How that matter was ultimately resolved remained unknown to the public.

So why would Sixth Elder Yu Ji help Ning Fan!?

Lingxu Fairy did not know, but similarly, Sixth Elder Yu Ji found the situation exceedingly strange.

Why was Lingxu Fairy targeting Ning Fan!?

From their brief clash just now...

Sixth Elder Yu Ji could sense that Lingxu Fairy intended to take Ning Fan's life. Given Ning Fan's status, what could he possibly have done to offend Lingxu Fairy to such a deadly degree!?

This kid is quite interesting.

It was not just Sixth Elder Yu Ji; everyone else present was equally astonished that Lingxu Fairy had attacked Ning Fan.

"Did the Saintess just try to kill Ning Fan!?"

"Huh??"

"What's going on? How could Ning Fan have offended Lingxu Fairy?"

"Usually, Lingxu Fairy is aloof, transcendent, and completely indifferent. But just now, she showed genuine killing intent? What exactly is the reason?"

"I don't know..."

Given Lingxu Fairy's identity, status, and strength, offending her was actually quite a difficult feat to accomplish.

Seeing the surrounding murmurs shift toward her relationship and interactions with Ning Fan, Lingxu Fairy furrowed her brows deeply.

Just as Ning Fan had guessed-

Lingxu Fairy absolutely did not want anyone to know about the loss of her Chastity Mark. Consequently, she did not want anyone discussing her and Ning Fan.

"Then please continue to fulfill your duties, Sixth Elder."

Leaving behind those cold words, Lingxu Fairy's figure flickered, vanishing from everyone's sight.

"Phew-"

Watching Lingxu Fairy leave, Ning Fan exhaled a long breath of cold air. The heavy stone weighing on his heart was temporarily lifted.

Good!

Regardless of anything else, he could safely enter the Yin Yang Tower for now and survive this period of the Peak Competition. As for what to do afterward?

He would figure it out later.

Ning Fan had no brilliant solutions either; he could only take things one step at a time.

"Junior Brother Ning, what exactly did you do?"

Li Yunqi stood beside Ning Fan, whispering in hushed tones.

Ning Fan merely shook his head. When it came to his entanglement with Lingxu Fairy, he had to swallow his broken teeth and keep his mouth shut tight.

He didn't plan on telling a single soul. Not even Yun Qingyao.

In fact, Ning Fan still didn't fully understand what exactly happened when he dual cultivated with Yun Qingyao. She kept shifting back and forth...

"Tch, keeping secrets even from your own brother?"

Li Yunqi pouted, only letting go of his curiosity after Gu Mingyue elbowed him sharply in the chest.

"Disciples."

At that moment, the Sixth Elder's voice rang out slowly, instantly drawing everyone's wandering thoughts back to her. In truth, even without her speaking, the crowd already guessed what she was about to announce.

Exactly-

"The Peak Competition, begin!!"

As the Sixth Elder's decisive words fell, the Peak Competition-the trial that would determine the ranking of the main peaks-officially commenced.

A commotion stirred among the nearly six thousand disciples gathered outside the Yin Yang Tower, yet very few actually moved.

The reason was simple.

The vast majority would not enter the Yin Yang Tower immediately. Even just outside the tower, they could gradually accumulate a thin layer of Yin Yang Qi.

For the weaker disciples, slowly gathering Yin Yang Qi outside was actually the smartest choice. They would wait until the fierce competition on the first floor settled down.

Only then would they step onto the first floor of the Yin Yang Tower.

They weren't aiming for the dual cultivation beds hidden behind the warded screens. They only wanted to soak in the denser Yin Yang Qi on the first floor. It was the epitome of remaining aloof from worldly strife and seeking peace and safety.

But while some chose peace, others thirsted for battle!!

Swish, swish, swish-

Several figures flickered from the formations of each main peak, shooting straight toward the Yin Yang Tower. The tower had a total of five small doors.

They directly faced the formations of the five main peaks.

Those who moved first...

Were entirely the elites of each main peak: Chief Disciples, Walking Disciples, personal disciples, and a handful of confident ordinary disciples.

Silhouettes filed through the entrances one after another, with Ning Fan and his group among them.

The next moment.

Buzz-

Accompanied by a deep hum and a massive surge of spiritual power, the grand stone stele standing before the Yin Yang Tower suddenly lit up.

Crimson fire patterns writhed across its surface. After a few breaths, they coalesced into names.

Following each name was a cultivation realm, and following the realm was a cluster of flames.

"What is this?"

A new disciple, entirely unaware of what the stele signified, asked aloud.

"The Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele."

"It is deeply connected to the Yin Yang Tower itself. It directly reflects the strength of every disciple who enters."

"That strength is measured by the fire patterns behind their names."

An older disciple patiently explained.

The moment a cultivator entered the Yin Yang Tower, the tower would sense their aura-including their spiritual power, physique, vital blood, and more.

Of course.

The Yin Yang Tower's perception was not flawless. The martial techniques a cultivator possessed fell outside its passive sensing range.

This meant that even if a cultivator secretly held a Heaven-grade martial technique, it would not manifest as extra fire patterns behind their name.

However, the instant that cultivator unleashed the technique, elevating their overall aura, the fire patterns beside their name would surge to match.

In short.

The strength rankings displayed on the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele were incredibly accurate. Even if slight discrepancies existed, they were too minor to matter.

"All the Chief Disciples of the main peaks are in the top fifteen."

Someone murmured.

Each main peak currently had one active Chief Disciple. Likewise, the previous generation's Chief Disciples who had left their peaks to roam the world on behalf of the Sect...

Were also considered Chiefs.

In other words, each peak essentially possessed an old and a new Chief Disciple. All ten of these exceptional figures held spots within the top fifteen of the Yin Yang Fire-Pattern Stele.

Only a select few Walking Disciples managed to squeeze their names into the ranks between those Chiefs.

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