Junior Sister must ascend this time!

Chen Zheng and the others were all at the Foundation Establishment stage. Before this, they did not think that a Qi Refining stage disciple would require them to spend time and effort to deal with.

But after witnessing Yun Qing's outrageous actions these past two days, they could no longer underestimate her. If they didn't deal with her quickly, she might very well win first place in this competition.

Several men drew their swords and lined up in front, the tips of their swords pointing directly at Yun Qing.

"Hand over those flags and spiritual plants, and we might consider not eliminating you."

As if she knew they would do this, Yun Qing tossed the fruit pit in her hand to a spot, crossed her arms, and stared intently at the group, her clothes fluttering in the wind.

"I've already refined pills for you, and you're so ungrateful to treat me like this. You've truly disappointed me..."

Chen Zheng sneered, "Enough with the nonsense! Draw your sword!"

Yun Qing shouted, "Forget it!"

Chen Zheng: …Huh? ? ?

The people outside the light screen were also shocked by what they saw.

Si Mingche's face scrunched up in disbelief. "Junior Sister Yun Qing, are you not going to fight anymore? I haven't had enough yet..."

Pei Shubai shook his head. "I don't think so. Have you ever seen anyone who admits defeat and still acts aggressively?"

Yan Li, who had appeared beside Pei Shubai at some point, crossed her arms and agreed, saying, "I also think she has a backup plan."

"Uncle-Master Yan...?" Pei Shubai was so startled that he almost lost his perfect persona. He patted his chest and asked, "When did you arrive? Why didn't you go to the elders' platform? You could have seen things more clearly from there."

Yan Li leaned against a pillar and said, "I don't want to sit with those old geezers. They'll make me sound old. I'm still young, and I want to stay with you young people."

Pei Shubai: ...A young man over a hundred years old?!

He wondered to himself, what on earth has happened? How come Uncle-Master Yan Li's skin is getting thicker and thicker every day...?

However, he dared not speak, for fear that his Uncle-Master Yan Li would throw him into the Thunder Pool. So he focused his attention back on the light screen.

After Yun Qing shouted, Chen Zheng and the others suddenly froze, unsure whether to continue their attack or...

Chen Zheng assumed she had given up struggling. "Considering you've helped us refine pills, as long as you hand over..."

Before he could say a word, a spirit sword suddenly hummed and fell into Yun Qing's hand.

Taking advantage of the moment when everyone was off guard, Yun Qing stepped forward with her sword and slashed at them.

Ancestor Yin Shuang was right. Strike first and you'll have the upper hand. In the world of martial arts, speed is the only thing that can't be broken. By the time the group reacted, they already had several wounds on their bodies.

Even Chen Zheng, with his lightning-fast reflexes, was stabbed in the arm. He clutched his wound and asked incredulously, "'Never Mind' is the name of your sword?"

Yun Qing nodded seriously, "Yes."

Chen Zheng was furious. Who could possibly give Jianqi such a name?!

Then, his swordplay became even faster; he wanted to show her what true strength was!

The opponents were ultimately five Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Under their siege, Yun Qing gradually lost ground and was forced to retreat until she had nowhere left to go.

Just when Chen Zheng thought she had run out of tricks, she suddenly stuck her sword into the ground and gave them a triumphant smile.

Chen Zheng's heart tightened; his intuition told him something was wrong, but it was too late.

An array instantly lit up, its light spreading from the ground and enveloping Chen Zheng and his group of five.

Chen Zheng felt his feet sink, as if he were being held down by something.

He looked down and saw that spiritual energy had condensed into chains that stretched out from the ground and tightly bound his feet.

"What the hell is this!" Wang Jin struggled desperately, but the more he struggled, the tighter the grip became.

The others were the same, as if they were nailed to the ground, unable to move.

Chen Zheng looked on incredulously: "When did you set up this formation?"

Yun Qing shook her head and patted his shoulder. "I ate so many spiritual fruits and threw so many fruit pits on the ground, and you didn't even notice? You were just drooling?"

Even the position of the array's core was something you forced me to retreat to step by step. With your level of vigilance, I don't know how you've even survived to the Foundation Establishment stage. Sigh..."

Chen Zheng felt like he was about to die of anger. How could someone refine pills while simultaneously setting up an array using fruit pits? She even calculated their movements.

He was certain: Yun Qing was a monster!

Yun Qing didn't say another word to them, and took the storage bags and identity jade tokens off them.

Then, she smiled innocently at them and said, "Thank you for your gifts, senior brothers! I didn't expect you to be so kind-hearted. Knowing that I am weak and powerless, you helped me collect so many flags and spiritual plants."

To repay you, I've decided to take you home to rest. Don't be too touched, bye-bye!

With that, Yun Qing crushed their jade tokens and sent them out of the Misty Forest.

Chen Zheng and the others walked out of the Trial Valley in defeat, accompanied by a barrage of ridicule.

They've made a huge fool of themselves! They've decided to stay far away from Yun Qing from now on! Ideally, they'd never see her again!

Yun Qing counted the flags she had obtained in the mist, adding the ones she had on her person, making a total of eighty.

This number isn't small, but it's not enough to guarantee first place; you need at least a hundred or more.

So Yun Qing immediately set off to find another flag.

Whether it was bad luck or all the flags had been taken, Yun Qing walked for a long time without seeing a single one.

With only half a day left until the end of the competition, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Yun Qing was waving the "Never Mind" sword in front of her, clearing a path, when suddenly she felt the tip of the sword touch something soft.

That soft thing shot out with a "whoosh," damn human, it actually ambushed my butt.

Yun Qing chased after it without thinking, because it had a flag on its body.

This thing was cunning and fast, and Yun Qing couldn't keep up with its speed. In her haste, she threw the "Never Mind" sword, the blade grazing its ear and landing in front of it, blocking its path.

Just as the thing tried to change its route, Yun Qing grabbed it by the back of the neck and pulled it up.

Yun Qing narrowed her eyes and looked at it. "A burrowing rat?"

It's not surprising to see burrowing rats in the Misty Forest, but what's strange is why it's carrying a flag?

The burrowing rat was lifted into the air, its four short legs kicking out afterimages, its eyes looking pitifully at Yun Qing, as if it had suffered a great injustice.

However, this trick was useless against Yun Qing. She knew that the Earth-Escape Rat was cunning and a master of feigning pitifulness.

"Stop pretending. Where did you get this flag? Did you steal it or find it somewhere?"

The burrowing rat squeaked twice and stretched out its little paws, pointing wildly in every direction it seemed to want to.

Looking at its darting eyes, Yun Qing knew it was up to something.

Sure enough, the burrowing rat kicked its leg hard, broke free from her grasp, flipped in the air, and headed straight for her.

Yun Qing reacted extremely quickly, wielding her spirit sword and slashing horizontally.

Unexpectedly, the burrowing rat suddenly changed direction and headed straight for her storage bag. It scurried under her armpit and its claws precisely hooked onto the storage bag's drawstring.

After obtaining the storage bag, the burrowing rat quickly disappeared underground in the next second.