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

The sounds of arguing could be heard from the back hill every now and then, making for quite a lively scene.

These kids never stop causing trouble when they get together.

The other senior brothers of Changming Sect were behind. Xue Yu was running seriously, which was rare for him. Ye Qiao caught up with the third senior brother in front by stepping on the shoulders of others. The two ran together.

"That one from the Moon Purity Sect." Xue Yu glanced at his disciple who had been left behind, his voice slightly hurried, "She's been released."

Ye Qiao didn't notice anyone at first, but after seeing them, she slowly said, "I'll probably enter the secret realm in about two days. I'll be released after serving my sentence."

She understood Yunhen and knew that the other party was only putting on an act. That was a top-grade spiritual root that Yunhen had been eagerly awaiting, so how could he bear to punish her?

The back hill wasn't very big to begin with, and it was taken over by a group of close associates, so you'd always run into them when you were running.

When Ye Qiao and Yun Que bumped into each other, she thought that Yun Que had learned her lesson and wouldn't speak first.

Unexpectedly, the other party actually spoke. Yun Que pursed her lips and, just as the two were about to pass each other, whispered, "Second Senior Sister, you've been in the cultivation world for so long, have you ever heard the saying, 'Heaven rewards diligence'?"

The disgusting title "Second Senior Sister" made Ye Qiao turn her head away. Just as Yun Que was about to run away, she clenched her fist and smashed it into Yun Que's face without warning.

Yun Que didn't expect her to attack without warning. She quickly retreated, but her earlobe was still grazed and stung.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Xue Yu stopped and his voice turned cold.

Yun Que took a deep breath and quickly finished speaking, "But in reality, Heaven does not reward diligence; Heaven only favors geniuses."

Yun Que was unwilling to admit that Ye Qiao, who was inferior to her in every way back then, had become the way she is now. "So just because you have learned a lot doesn't mean you have high talent."

"Oh." Ye Qiao sensed the sarcasm in her voice, resisting the urge to punch her again, and said in a flat tone, "I didn't expect you to think I'm so diligent?"

I'm flattered.

"Make way! Make way! Get out of my way!" Chu Xingzhi couldn't stand Yun Que, so he charged forward and forcefully shoved Yun Que aside.

It would be incredibly easy for a sword cultivator to push aside a talisman cultivator.

Yun Que staggered and was almost knocked away by Chu Xingzhi, but luckily Su Zhuo reacted quickly and pulled her back.

The girl's expression changed several times, but in the end she said nothing.

She clearly couldn't afford to offend the people from the Sword Inquiry Sect, otherwise, what would Senior Brother Qinghan think of her?

Su Zhuo pursed his lips and advised, "Don't bother with them. Sword cultivators are always so rude."

"Who are you calling rude?" Mu Chongxi turned around and glanced at him, scoffed, and gave up.

The boy rested his hand on the Morning and Evening Sword at his waist. "How about we have a fight? Let me see how politely your Moon Purity Sect fights!"

Su Zhuo's expression changed instantly.

In the past, he was certain that Changming Sect would not dare to make a move, because if they did, they would lose points.

But now, Changming Sect's first place in the team competition is already secured, so losing a few points is nothing. If they anger Mu Chongxi, getting beaten up is not something that will make them look good.

Seeing Su Zhuo remain silent and hesitant, Yun Que felt somewhat aggrieved. Sure enough, these talisman cultivators were unreliable.

If Song Hansheng had spoken up for her, she didn't believe Mu Chongxi would have dared to be so arrogant.

Yun Que lowered her watery eyes, her fingertips clenching silently as she frantically tried to comfort herself.

When the fifth match begins, she will definitely teach them a lesson.

"I think this junior sister from Yueqing Sect harbors quite a grudge against us." Xue Yu lowered his eyes thoughtfully. He grew up in a large family and his judgment of people was quite accurate.

At first, Yun Que might have simply felt a little unconvinced and resentful of being outdone by Ye Qiao.

But later on, his personality seemed to become somewhat distorted.

Ye Qiao felt that the plot had gone so far as to be unrecognizable.

Firstly, now that Ye Qinghan has lost first place, she is focused on the righteous path and has no time for romance.

Secondly, her current senior brothers are also somewhat abnormal, causing Yun Que to lose many fish in the pond.

"Has she been eating Want Want Bull Candy lately?" Ye Qiao clicked her tongue softly. "Something feels off."

Yun Que was never arrogant enough to provoke me before.

During the chat, the other senior students gradually caught up. After all, running was an everyday activity for them. With a quick run, they could easily create distance between each other. The group gathered together and started chatting about what had just happened.

"Be careful of her in the individual competition," Xue Yu instructed. "Have you noticed Yun Que? Her luck is ridiculously good."

Mu Chongxi: "I know, I know, but don't the other sects hate us too?" What's Yun Que? There are plenty of disciples who hate them.

Xue Yu composed himself. "It's different." The five sects may have fought and joked around, but nothing serious had ever happened. However, Yun Que seemed like a variable to him.

Just as Xue Yu was about to say something more, he saw Mu Chongxi turn around mischievously to go play with Chu Xingzhi, who was still running.

Xue Yu was speechless: "...Did this idiot even listen to what I said?"

"...Unbelievable." Ye Qiao raised her hand to shield her eyes and sighed, "It's unbelievable that someone as naive and innocent as Mu Chongxi was born in the palace."

If Mu Chongxi hadn't revealed it himself, she would never have guessed that he had this other identity.

"Sigh. Maybe he also had a kind of mindless joy when he was in the palace," Mingxuan chuckled slowly as he followed behind.

It's clear that Mu Chongxi, having spent his childhood in the palace, never witnessed the wickedness of human nature.

"When exactly will we reach the Golden Core stage?" Zhou Xingyun dragged his feet, walking slowly behind, feeling melancholy. "Time is running out, Junior Sister."

"If you want to break through, try to do it before the secret realm begins," Mingxuan added. Judging from Ye Qinghan's three days and three nights of lightning tribulation, Ye Qiao must be in no better shape. Breaking through in the secret realm would be a disaster.

Ye Qiao shrugged. She understood the reasoning, but she couldn't control when she would break through to a higher realm.

When the five of them reached their destination, the other disciples were still rushing to catch up. So they took the opportunity to enjoy the messy state of the others. Mu Chongxi took out a recording stone and said, "Come on, click on it to see the other four disciples running. We'll auction them off later. Starting bid: one hundred spirit stones."

"???" Are you human?

Chu Xingzhi reached out to grab it, but Mu Chongxi deftly tossed it to Ye Qiao, who grabbed it and ran. The others quickly followed, and as they left, someone slyly said, "Let's go, let's go, you guys run slowly."

"A group of close friends holding hands, running together is not lonely."

Oh shit.

-

Back in the courtyard, still feeling refreshed after a night of running, we couldn't sleep. So we gathered together and discussed the fifth secret realm and the individual competition.

Xue Yu sat on the stool, picked up a drawing, and started sketching, clearly marking the different types of individual matches and their rules.

"The individual competition is divided into four categories: weapon crafting, alchemy, talisman crafting, and swordsmanship. Which category do you plan to participate in?"

Ye Qiao is a cultivator of three paths, but that doesn't mean everyone can participate; there's no precedent for this in the cultivation world.

If possible, Xue Yu would really like her to participate in the alchemy competition with him. It's so boring for him to compete against the Biyue Sect alone.

Ye Qiao never forgot her profession: "I am a sword cultivator."

Just kidding, who hasn't dreamed of wandering the world with a sword?

Mu Chongxi clapped his hands: "Well done! In that case, our sect's top ten depends on you. If you go, I won't go into the Sword Cave, lest I provoke those spirit swords into a fight."

Zhou Xingyun and Mu Chongxi each have their own natal sword, so it doesn't matter whether they enter the Sword Cave or not.

It should be noted that the Spirit Sword prefers sword cultivators with innate sword bones. If Mu Chongxi were to enter the Sword Cave with Ye Qinghan, other sword cultivators would only be looked down upon.

Ye Qiao waved her hand, lying down and sulking: "Whether or not we can enter the Sword Cave is another matter entirely."

One must break through to the Golden Core stage before being qualified to discuss whether or not one can enter the top ten. But it should be noted that Mingxuan has always been highly accomplished in the art of talismans, and even so, he has been stuck for a long time.

"There's still one more secret realm to go," Mingxuan comforted her. "Don't worry."

Ye Qiao is just missing a breakthrough opportunity.

"Speaking of which, this fifth secret realm is actually a bit strange." Xue Yu was working on his strategy when he looked up and saw the others immediately crowding around him with curiosity. He looked somewhat helpless. "Want to hear about it?"

"Listen to it." The group nodded eagerly.

"Alright." Xue Yu spread out the blueprints. "The fifth scene is called the Ghostly Secret Realm. It's a very strange secret realm. There are many opportunities inside, but similarly, it's called that because it's strange."

"Other great dungeons open only once every hundred or several decades, but this dungeon appears very frequently."

Because this great secret realm appears so many times and often appears and disappears mysteriously, the cultivators named it that.

They hadn't entered the secret realm this early in the first place; perhaps they could have taken Ye Qiao out for some training along the way and seen if she could break through to the Golden Core stage.

As a result, this secret realm appeared. Reluctantly, we were forced to start the fifth round ahead of schedule.

Tonight, we couldn't sleep either, so we were all working on the strategy for the next game.

"The danger level is very high. Many cultivators have perished in this secret realm. Do you have anything to say?" he asked.

Ye Qiao was silent for a few seconds: "That's amazing."

A living, breathing secret realm.

Mingxuan cautiously peeked out: "Is there a ghost?"

"What's the big deal?" Mu Chongxi scoffed. "You're such a coward. It's just a secret realm. Besides, we're in first place now. Whether we're last or second to last in the fifth match, we've already secured first place in the team competition."

Ultimately, the main purpose of the secret realm is still to hunt monsters, so personal grudges must be put aside for the time being. Regardless of their final ranking in the fifth round, the Changming Sect won.

From this perspective, the outcome of the fifth game wasn't actually that important to them.

"In the fifth round, to put it bluntly," Xue Yu tapped the table, "we were just there to have fun."

"With our Changming Sect firmly in first place," Xue Yu looked up, a hint of a smile on his face, "do you believe that Ye Qiao will be the person all the disciples are trying to win over?"

Ye Qiao, who had been resting her chin on her hand and looking somewhat dejected, perked up immediately upon hearing this. "If that's what you say, then I won't hold back and indulge myself."

In the previous matches, she either played it safe and developed her strength cautiously or led her team to launch surprise attacks. She won, but Ye Qiao always kept her ranking in mind and dared not act recklessly.

And now, here comes the fifth chance, doesn't it?

Winning or losing has no impact on the Changming Sect.

……

After the run, everyone was exhausted. The next day, they needed to take a flying boat to the site where the secret realm would open. The disciples could only endure their fatigue and discuss and formulate a simple plan overnight.

The lights at the Sword Inquiry Sect remained on.

The five people sat together.

Zhu You said in a low voice, "The next event is the Ghostly Secret Realm. That secret realm is very strange. We'll discuss the details tomorrow. Now, let's briefly talk about the situation of the other sects."

"Changming Sect, we need to extend an olive branch and try our best to bring Ye Qiao to our side, understand?" she asked calmly.

"Why?" Chu Xingzhi raised his chin, his expression cold and disdainful: "We absolutely cannot let that Ye Qiao go. In the fifth match, we'll let her know who's in charge among the five sects' direct disciples."

Even while jogging, he was mocked by those two sword cultivators from Changming Sect. Chu Xingzhi simply couldn't swallow this insult.

Cooperating with Changming Sect? Are you kidding me?

"But now, Changming Sect's ranking is secure, so eliminating her won't help." They could still struggle to eliminate Ye Qiao in the fourth round, but now they don't even have a chance to struggle anymore.

"And this is the fourth time in a row, Second Senior Brother," Zhu You sighed. "Haven't you come to terms with this fact yet?"

As the saying goes, fortunes change, and Ye Qiao is no longer the Ye Qiao who was targeted by the entire sect as she was in the fourth round.

Even if she is eliminated, it will have no impact on Changming Sect. With three first-place finishes, Changming Sect has already won.

The remaining sects, however, still had to compete for rankings in the final secret realm battle.

Chu Xingzhi slightly opened his eyes: "Recognize what reality???"

"Don't you understand?" Ye Qinghan rubbed his forehead slightly, also amazed by his junior brother's stupidity.

He raised his eyes, pursed his lips, and said calmly, "The reality is that whoever wins Ye Qiao's hand gets first place in the fifth round."