If I stay in the Hehuan Sect, I'll live off the pampered daughters of the Heavenly Pride Sect.

The female swordsman's sword-wielding stance was deflected, and her chest area was opened.

Shen Shuangzhi's short branch stopped three inches in front of her throat.

The room fell silent for a moment.

The female swordsman looked at the short branch, her breathing became erratic for a couple of breaths, and then she sheathed her sword and clasped her hands in a fist salute.

I lost.

Shen Shuangzhi stepped back to return the greeting.

"Thank you for your concession."

Someone in the Xuan Yu Peak seat whispered.

"She can even suppress a swordsman?"

"Is she really from Waifeng?"

"When did this kind of person emerge from the outer peak?"

"If she had emerged a few years earlier, there wouldn't have been any chance for anyone else to become a candidate for Saintess."

Lin Wanqing held the booklet so tightly that she forgot to move her hands.

"Senior Brother Mo, she has won two matches in a row."

Mo Chengyue said.

"Um."

Xie Buci said.

"You just...?"

Mo Chengyue said.

"I'm afraid that if I say anything more, she'll remember me too."

Yu Jianhuan laughed.

"It's too late. She glanced at Qingquan Peak when she stepped off the stage."

Mo Chengyue raised his hand and pressed his brow.

"The location of Qingquan Peak today is really bad; it's too easy for people to see it."

Qin Wanzhuang said.

"It's not a matter of location."

Wenren Jidao.

"It's you."

Mo Chengyue looked at his junior brother.

"Junior Brother Wenren, I'll reason with your sword when we get back today."

Wenren Ji hugged the sword tightly to his chest.

"No."

In the third match, Shen Shuangzhi faced off against a female cultivator in a red dress who had a strong back.

The female cultivator was beautiful, with gold beads hanging from her hairpin. When she went on stage, people below cheered.

"Go, Senior Sister Ruan!"

"Senior Sister Ruan is a direct disciple of the elder!"

"That guy on the outer peak has won two matches, it's about time he finished."

The female cultivator in the red dress looked at Shen Shuangzhi with a very proper smile.

"Junior Sister Shen, you are very capable, but the selection of a Holy Maiden is not only based on combat skills, but also on background, lineage, and whether she can represent the sect."

Shen Shuangzhi said.

"I know."

A female Taoist nun in a red dress.

"Now that you know, why do you still want to argue?"

Shen Shuangzhi said.

"I'm already on stage."

The woman in the red dress chuckled softly.

"It hasn't been easy for an outer peak disciple to get here. I advise you to know when to stop."

Some people in the audience started making a fuss.

"Yeah, don't lose too badly."

"The position of Saintess cannot be given to someone from the outer peak."

"If everyone can compete, what's the point of having a direct disciple from an elder?"

"She doesn't even have a decent hairpin, yet she wants to compete for the title of Holy Maiden?"

Lin Wanqing blushed when she heard this.

"How can these people talk like that?"

Yu Jianhuan's smile faded somewhat.

"Because they are afraid."

Su Qingying said.

"They're afraid that an unknown female cultivator might tarnish their dignity."

Qin Wanzhuang said.

"It would be best to break through."

Jin Qiaoqiao said.

"When one's birth is used as a weapon, it means the other party has run out of better options."

Xie Buci looked at the stage.

"That junior sister in the red dress is in for some trouble."

The woman in the red dress continued.

"Junior Sister Shen, if you are willing to admit defeat, I can ask my master for a favor and let you enter the inner peak as a steward disciple."

Shen Shuangzhi looked up at her.

"Wait until you win before asking about their background."

Once this was said, the laughter from the audience subsided considerably.

The female cultivator in the red dress frowned.

"Alright, then I'll see how far you can go."

She raised her hand and produced a string of golden bells.

As soon as the bell rang, red silk threads emerged simultaneously from the four corners of the battle platform, intertwining into a net that enveloped Shen Shuangzhi.

Yu Jianhuan said.

"Soul-binding bell."

Su Qingying said.

"She wants to seal away divine sense perception."

Qin Wanzhuang said.

"She's getting anxious."

Shen Shuangzhi stood in the silk net, without raising the short branch.

The female cultivator in the red dress flicked her wrist repeatedly, the sound of bells pressing down in layers. Many disciples with lower cultivation levels could only listen from afar, and their faces turned pale.

Lin Wanqing covered her ears.

"This sound is so annoying."

Mo Chengyue raised his hand and gently waved it in front of her, creating a small barrier of air.

"And now?"

Lin Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief.

"Much better, Senior Brother Mo, you're really suited for the Scripture Pavilion."

Xie Buci smiled.

"That sounds like a compliment, but it also sounds like you're pushing him back onto the bookshelf."

Shen Shuangzhi finally moved on stage.

She did not break all the threads.

She only took three steps.

The first step is to avoid the loudest part of the bell.

The second step is to break the short branches at the intersection of the wire mesh.

The third step was that she had reached the woman in the red dress.

Before the woman in the red dress could retreat, Shen Shuangzhi's short branch stopped at the knot of the golden bell rope.

With a gentle flick.

The golden bell fell.

The ringing stopped.

The female cultivator in the red dress turned pale, and the protective jade talisman lit up.

The elder deacon announced.

"Outer Peak Shen Shuangzhi, victorious."

This time, the discussion in the room was no longer just talk.

A commotion arose from the outer peak disciples' seats, then spread to the inner peaks, and finally collided with the long wind below the cloud-covered seats on the high platform.

"She's won three straight!"

"She has suppressed Tianxiang Peak, Xuanyu Peak, and even the personal disciples of the elders!"

"Can a candidate for sainthood really emerge from the outer peaks?"

"Who just said she didn't have a hairpin?"

"Whether she has a hairpin or not doesn't matter; she can knock other people's bells off."

"That's well said!"

Lin Wanqing couldn't help but clap her hands.

"That felt so good!"

Qin Wanzhuang nodded.

"It's acceptable."

Wenren Jidao.

"We are ready to fight."

Su Qingying watched Shen Shuangzhi's retreating figure as she stepped off the stage.

"She doesn't just parry moves; she consistently ensures her opponents have no reason to complain about their defeat."

Yu Jianhuan said.

"That's the most impressive thing. She won without turning her opponent into a mortal enemy."

Jin Qiaoqiao said.

"A person who can keep their fangs down is more suited to a high position than one who can only bite."

Xie Buci looked at Mo Chengyue.

"Third brother, you've been unusually quiet since just now."

Mo Chengyue closed the file and narrowed his eyes.

"She's not a dark horse; she's a knife someone deliberately hid until today."

Upon hearing this, several eavesdropping disciples around Qingquan Peak immediately turned around.

"What?"

"Mo Chengyue said she was hidden away?"

"Who hid it?"

"How could Waifeng have that ability?"

"Could it be one of the elders?"

Lin Wanqing asked in a low voice.

"Senior Brother Mo, are you saying she has someone backing her?"

Mo Chengyue said.

"She knows how to play with perfect restraint. She knows how to win in a way that the sect leader can see, how to avoid serious injury, and how to turn the humiliation of her birth into a stepping stone for herself."

Yu Jianhuan said softly.

"This is not a method that Waifeng can develop on its own."

Su Qingying said.

"Her foundation doesn't seem to have been laid without guidance."

Qin Wanzhuang looked towards the high platform.

"Who?"

Jin Qiaoqiao shifted her phoenix eyes to Yun Xi, her tone lowering.

"Look at their hands."

Everyone on Qingquan Peak looked towards a certain spot on the high platform.

Several peak masters sat on cloud mats, their faces still showing the composure they had displayed while observing the ceremony.

But the moment Shen Shuangzhi stepped off the battle platform, several people's fingers paused for a beat.

Xie Buci gently closed his fan.

"interesting."

Lin Wanqing whispered.

"Do they all know her?"

Mo Chengyue stuffed the dossier back into Lin Wanqing's arms, his tone very sincere.

"Junior Sister Lin, please don't write my name in this booklet today."

Lin Wanqing looked down at the booklet.

"Then who should we write about?"

Mo Chengyue looked at Xie Buci.

"Senior Brother."

Xie Buci raised an eyebrow.

"Why me?"

Mo Chengyue said.

"You have a big reputation, you can handle it."

Qin Wanzhuang said.

"He can't handle it."

Wenren Jidao.

"It will collapse."

Xie Buci looked at his junior brothers and sisters, and almost couldn't keep up his smile.

"Qingquan Peak is truly a warm place."

Yu Jianhuan laughed so hard that the flower branches swayed gently.

"Junior Brother Mo, what do you plan to do if Shen Shuangzhi comes looking for you?"

Mo Chengyue looked at the lottery jade tablet that had lit up again, his voice carrying the caution of a survivor.

"I will tell her that the second floor of the library does not handle consultations for candidates for sainthood."

Jin Qiaoqiao chuckled.

"What if she doesn't believe me?"

Mo Chengyue thought for a moment.

"Then I will ask Elder Chen to come out and say that she is affecting the ventilation of the books."

Lin Wanqing couldn't help but smile, her eyes crinkling.

"Elder Chen will punish you first."

Mo Chengyue sighed.

"That's why I say attending the ceremony is dangerous."