I saved the entire sect by playing idly by letting things fall apart.

"Did I make him so ugly I wanted to vomit?" Ye Qiao came to this profound conclusion.

Xue Yu's lips twitched. "It's not that bad."

"Then why does he throw up whenever he sees me?"

Xue Yu shook his head, intending to ask about serious matters, "Where is your senior brother?"

"I'm cultivating." The boy, who had just turned away to vomit, had calmed down a bit. Seeing that it was them, he asked indifferently, "What are you doing here?"

"Let's go talk to him about our feelings." After saying that, Ye Qiao grabbed Xue Yu and rushed inside as if nothing had happened. The other party couldn't stop them and could only watch helplessly as the two swaggered in.

Ye Qinghan was indeed cultivating. The surrounding spiritual energy was constantly gathering and swirling wildly in the courtyard of the Sword Inquiry Sect. The purer the spiritual root, the faster the absorption of spiritual energy, forming a small vortex that continuously poured into the boy's body.

Ye Qiao touched the spiritual energy flowing from her fingertips. "He's drawn all the spiritual energy away from the area." The courtyards where the disciples live usually have the most concentrated spiritual energy, which is helpful for their cultivation. However, the rate at which spiritual energy is generated is not enough for him.

Xue Yu guessed, "He probably wants to break through to the Nascent Soul stage before the fifth match begins."

"There's no need for that," Ye Qiao said. "His cultivation level is already quite high."

Xue Yu said softly, "But if the Sword Sect wants to win first place, they can only do so by winning the individual competition."

Forget about the team competition; Ye Qiao snatched all three first places. Winning the individual sword cultivator title is no easy feat, as there are direct disciples of rogue cultivators, and many of them are highly skilled. To be on the safe side and secure first place, the only option is to risk breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

"Ye Qinghan's cultivation has been suppressed at the late Golden Core stage for a long time. It's not impossible for him to break through to the Nascent Soul stage in a little over a month."

Ye Qinghan, the number one swordsman, is someone on whom the entire cultivation world places high hopes.

Ye Qiao interrupted the other party's absorption of spiritual energy, and smiled slightly in a friendly manner: "Ye Qinghan, shall we go down the mountain together?"

Ye Qinghan opened her eyes, heard a familiar voice, turned her head and saw Ye Qiao. Thinking she had gone mad, she frowned: "I'm not going."

When did their relationship become so good that they went down the mountain together for training?

Although she saved them, Ye Qinghan was a person of principle. During the competition, everyone except the direct disciples of her own sect was considered an enemy sect.

"Oh. If you don't want to go, then don't." Ye Qiao wasn't afraid of being beaten at all, and continued to ask with a smile, "When do you plan to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?"

Ye Qinghan assumed she was mocking him for not breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage after so long, and his voice turned slightly cold: "What exactly are you trying to say this month?"

Ye Qiao's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she gave him a thumbs up: "I wish you success."

Ambitious.

Then she has a chance to break through her current realm.

Ye Qiao had never appreciated Ye Qinghan's diligence so much.

Ye Qinghan lowered his eyes, unwilling to pay her any more attention.

In the past few days, several courtyards have reported broken mirrors, proving that actual combat is always more effective than training.

His Mingxuan realm had also loosened, and by the time Ye Qiao and the other person returned, he had already stabilized his breathing.

Xue Yu raised an eyebrow, looking at Ming Xuan: "Mid-stage Golden Core. You've broken through too?"

Basically, all the disciples in the secret realm have advanced to the next level, except for Ye Qiao, who remained completely silent. The outside world attributes this to her spiritual root.

Mingxuan: "Mm."

He was about to say something when he looked up and saw Ye Qiao, who was right behind Xue Yu, oozing sourness from head to toe, looking like a lemon.

Mingxuan leaned back tactically. "You haven't broken through yet?"

Ye Qiao lay down on the ground and said, "Mmm."

"Why?" Mingxuan stroked his chin: "I've noticed that the elders and junior uncles train you quite rigorously."

The saying "multiple skills, multiple paths" is true. With Ye Qiao pursuing swordsmanship, alchemy, and talisman drawing simultaneously, there's no reason why he should be so slow.

Mu Chongxi knew the situation of her spiritual root, and stroked his chin, "She can break through, but she needs something to help her, and she has been suppressed for so long. With her multi-cultivation, she should be able to break through more than one realm."

"What kind of assistance do you need? Let's go find some." Mingxuan casually crossed his legs, acting nonchalant.

"Lightning tribulation? Do you have it?" Xue Yu glanced at him, his expression full of disdain.

Mingxuan paused in his leg-swinging motion. "I really don't have that."

"However," the boy changed the subject, clenching his fist and striking his palm, "but I don't have any, we can just mooch off others."

"I heard Ye Qinghan has been working hard lately, hasn't he?"

"Why don't you just hitch a ride with him then?"

Mingxuan remembered that she could absorb heavenly lightning, so what was wrong with having someone help her withstand the tribulation? Ye Qinghan should be grateful for the great kindness of their Changming Sect.

At this moment, the three of them were in complete agreement.

Instead of improving oneself, it's better to rely on Ye Qinghan.

The three, having reached a consensus, gave each other a high five.

Looking at his three fellow disciples who exuded an aura of giving up, Mu Chongxi puffed out his cheeks in dissatisfaction. "I want to give a high five too."

Mingxuan lazily reached out and touched his hand. "Come on, let's go visit Ye Qinghan in a few days."

Anyway, once you enter the secret realm, your cultivation level will be suppressed. At most, in the individual competition, Ye Qinghan can use his Nascent Soul cultivation to overpower all the disciples.

It doesn't matter.

They don't care.

Winning the team competition is enough; for the individual competition, it's all up to fate.

Upon hearing about the four people's plan, Zhou Xingyun fell silent for a moment and quietly covered his face.

I've heard of people hoping their sons will become dragons, but this is the first time I've heard of people hoping Ye Qinghan will become a dragon.

Ye Qinghan, on whom the Changming Sect had placed high hopes, was still cultivating. He had been absorbing spiritual energy for several days in a row. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his courtyard had been occupied by the people of the Changming Sect.

Ye Qinghan's lips twitched; she couldn't take it anymore: "Are you guys sick?"

Everyone was staring at him.

Whether he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage or not is none of the Changming Sect's business.

Could they possibly break through to the next level together with him?

"You're not sick. I just heard you're planning to break through to the Nascent Soul stage." Mu Chongxi sat cross-legged next to him. "Our Changming Sect's main focus is companionship."

"I'll be there for you through this difficult time."

Zhou Xingyun found a good spot to hang himself, nodded to him, and expressed his support.

Xue Yu fiddled with the spiritual plant. "Need any pills? They're free, no money required."

"Sigh." Mingxuan's peach blossom eyes curved into a smile as he feigned a sigh: "What can we do? We're all kind-hearted people."

Ye Qinghan: "..."

His resolve almost wavered.

Chu Xingzhi was also a bit annoyed. These people came to their courtyard every day, ostensibly to "exchange feelings."

They have absolutely no connection with the neighboring clan.

The young man, sword in hand, leaned coldly to the side and sneered, "Hey, you lot, you can't torture my senior brother just because Ye Qiao can't break through."

Chu Xingzhi felt that the Five Sects had been farsighted.

Why not accept disciples below the highest rank? Limited spiritual roots make breaking through to the next level difficult. Ye Qiao's Foundation Establishment hasn't changed in so long; isn't that enough to prove something? If you can't break through, then find a way. Why torture them all day long with questions about the Sword Sect?

Mu Chongxi didn't even look up. "You don't understand."

The problem isn't that it can't be broken, it's that an opportunity can't be found.

Ye Qinghan took a deep breath and ignored them. There was still a month before the secret realm opened. Zhou Xingyun was at the peak of the Golden Core stage after breaking through the realm. Ye Qinghan was at the same level as him. With the individual competition approaching, he wanted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

I'm determined to have Ye Qinghan, the number one swordsman.

These past few days, Ye Qinghan had vaguely touched the edge of the Nascent Soul stage and urgently needed someone to fight to break through. So he looked at Zhou Xingyun and asked, "Want to fight?"

Zhou Xingyun thought for a moment, then said, "Her." He pushed Ye Qiao forward.

Ye Qiao: "..."

Ye Qinghan narrowed her eyes and looked at Zhou Xingyun: "Are you insulting me?"

"No." Zhou Xingyun lowered his eyes, his voice cold and indifferent. "Our Changming Sect's geniuses are our junior brother and her."

Ye Qinghan: "..." Seeing that Zhou Xingyun refused no matter what, he could only turn his gaze to Ye Qiao.

Finally, he reluctantly said, "Okay."

You'll run into each other sooner or later, either in a secret realm or in an individual competition. It's good to have a fight beforehand to test each other out.

Each of them drew a Xuan sword. Ye Qinghan's sword aura was domineering, while Ye Qiao was more agile. Even within the same realm, the difference in their abilities was significant.

Ye Qinghan frowned slightly, a hint of cold mockery in his eyes. "After studying swordsmanship for so long, is this all you've got?"

He had seen her fight with Chu Xingzhi; she learned things incredibly fast, almost photographically, and could adapt them in the next second.

But that only applies to speed.

When she sparred with Ye Qinghan, her weaknesses became apparent. Her swordsmanship was not skillful enough, and she was quickly overwhelmed and forced to retreat.

Ye Qiao ignored him, lost in thought.

She discovered this when she fought Chu Xingzhi. The sword techniques of the Wenjian Sect were all of the same lineage, and their sword techniques were similar. She had memorized Chu Xingzhi's sword moves and thought about how to counter them.

After roughly figuring out Ye Qinghan's attack patterns and sequence, Ye Qiao decisively changed her sword style. Her swordsmanship was not limited to one area; although it had many flaws, it also had many variations. For a time, the two were locked in a stalemate.

After several rounds, Ye Qinghan gradually realized this.

Every time he seized an opening and struck with his sword, Ye Qiao was able to dodge it from various tricky angles. He constantly adjusted his mistakes and initially suppressed her easily, but things gradually became strange later on.

That Ye Qiao...

It didn't feel like a competition at all; it felt more like using him as a whetstone.

This terrible analogy made Ye Qinghan's expression turn slightly cold. "Are you playing me?"

"How could that be?" Ye Qiao said casually. "I respect you very much."

indeed.

She didn't do anything special; she just corrected the incorrect sword technique.

Ye Qinghan felt somewhat aggrieved, especially seeing Ye Qiao being forced into a series of defeats by him, yet still able to improve her swordsmanship and correct its flaws. This made him feel no sense of accomplishment even after winning.

Finally, he reluctantly sheathed his sword. "Come back after you've reached the Golden Core stage." He pursed his lips and said coldly, "I hope you'll fight me fair and square then."

Ye Qiao thought to herself, "Wasn't she upright and honorable just now?"

With no clear winner, Ye Qinghan calmed down and focused on his cultivation. He was so engrossed in his cultivation that he completely ignored everything else, which bored the few people guarding him.

They simply gathered together and started cracking sunflower seeds.

Mu Chongxi admired her, saying, "Ye Qinghan has remarkable composure."

"That's why he succeeded." Mingxuan nudged Zhou Xingyun: "Take note."

Zhou Xingyun, devoid of any soul, echoed, "Amazing."

For Ye Qinghan, breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage is only a matter of time, provided that the spiritual energy is abundant enough and the foundation is solid.

After guarding for seven days, the five of them, who had been waiting anxiously like thieves stealing melons, stood up in unison the moment they saw the aura of the broken mirror. "They're here! They're here!"

A golden light flashed by, and the sky gradually darkened, gathering thunderclouds. Zhou Xingyun said calmly, "We've arrived."

Finally waited.

Not easy.

The Nascent Soul stage lightning tribulation—to be honest, it hasn't happened in the cultivation world for a long time, and every time it does, it causes turmoil.

Ye Qinghan is undoubtedly the number one swordsman. Lei Yunhou is terrifyingly thick. He opened his eyes and flew on his sword without hesitation to an empty open space to avoid accidentally injuring others.

"Let's go too." Mu Chongxi tossed the melon seeds in her hand.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

The group arrived swiftly on their swords, where a large number of cultivators had already gathered, and their disciples were also watching the spectacle.

They all possessed top-grade spiritual roots, and breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage was only a matter of time. Therefore, they all wanted to see what the Nascent Soul stage lightning tribulation looked like in advance.

Before they could even get close enough, the elders stopped them on the outside: "Don't go over there."

"Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."

The tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage is no joke; at this rate, it won't be over anytime soon.

"The Nascent Soul stage is different from the Golden Core stage." He stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn: "If Ye Qinghan can overcome this, he will be the number one among the younger generation."

If they can't overcome it, then they can only wait to be strangled by heavenly lightning. The tribulation of lightning is no joke. The disciples who were originally eager to try gradually calmed down. Si Miaoyan looked up and frowned: "Judging from the thunderclouds, it may take a long time to strike."

"And she even advanced two realms in one go! That's amazing!" Miao Miao said, cupping her face in her hands. "Most of the others only advanced one realm."

He reached the Nascent Soul stage in such a short time; no wonder he's known as the number one swordsman.

Qin Huai spoke calmly, "With Ye Qinghan's talent, it might take more than a day and a night."

Everyone was chattering around Ye Qinghan, and when the Changming Sect members arrived in a hurry, the others only glanced at him and didn't pay much attention.

Ye Qiao realized that there were elders guarding the entrance and she couldn't get in. Zhou Xingyun simply grabbed her and, with a quick movement of his footsteps, slipped inside unnoticed. "Let's go."

Before the Nascent Soul stage lightning tribulation, the Sword Inquiry Sect cleared out the area in advance, leaving a large open space. The two of them took a shortcut through an empty path and sneaked in. There was no one guarding the area, and probably no one would expect that a disciple would be courting death by running in during their lightning tribulation.

As soon as Ye Qiao entered, she saw Ye Qinghan sitting in the center waiting for his tribulation. She waved and casually sat down next to him, "Hey bro, wanna share some of the lightning?"

"..."

The girl appeared out of nowhere, startling Ye Qinghan so much that he gasped for breath. When he looked up and saw her, his brows furrowed into a deep knot. "Ye Qiao."

"If you don't want to live anymore, there's no need to do it this way."

The lightning tribulation at the Nascent Soul stage is so devastating that it would be an exaggeration to say that nothing grows within a radius of a hundred miles.

Ye Qiao: "Excuse me, can you withstand the tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage?"

Ye Qinghan: "Hard to say."

The elders knew he was about to undergo a tribulation, so they provided him with several high-grade and even top-grade magical artifacts, but they could only withstand a few of them. He would have to bear the rest on his own.

"Aren't you going out?" He saw that she seemed to be planning to settle down, and his usually indifferent expression cracked.

"I'm not going out."

The elder of the Azure Water Sect, with his keen senses, rubbed his temples and said, "The red clothes look like Ye Qiao."

Ye Qiao? Isn't he also a genius who cultivates three disciplines?

An elder's expression changed drastically: "Then hurry up and let her out! Are you waiting to be struck dead if she doesn't come out?"

That's too late.

As they were speaking, the thunderbolts struck.

*

I'm asking for a gift!