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

She'd said everything she needed to say, so what else could he say?

Yun Que was at a loss for words for a few seconds after being questioned. She then backed away, looking aggrieved, and explained, "No, there are kind people among the demons too. How could you think that way?"

The girl whispered, "He meant us no harm."

No malicious intent?

Song Han chuckled, "When they catch you, I hope you'll shake your head and listen to see if it's full of water." Given Yun Que's brainless behavior, either this demon is using her, or the demon's higher-ups are all idiots; perhaps both are possible.

The opponent's strength is probably at the Nascent Soul stage. Demons are generally stronger than cultivators, so capturing them alive will be quite difficult.

The key question is, how did this demon manage to sneak in undetected?

"You provided cover for him to sneak in?" Ye Qiao's tone was strange. This demon had been secretly following Yun Que during the individual competition, hadn't he? She was puzzled. "Are you really brainless?"

After being verbally attacked by the two men, Yun Que shrank back and hid behind the man, her eyes slightly red, genuinely feeling wronged.

"Little Magpie." The young demon lord patted her head, full of heartache. "These people are all lackeys of the righteous path. You are naturally different from them."

The four righteous lackeys: "???" Meow meow meow.

Are you polite?

"Ha." Song Hansheng gave a short, cold laugh, clearly displeased. "Then who do you think you are? Daring to point fingers at the Yueqing Sect? A rat in the gutter?"

"Stop arguing with him, Song Hansheng." Ye Qiao exchanged a few glances with him, then suddenly raised her voice: "Guards! Arrest the demons!"

Her tendency to call for help at the drop of a hat caused the other person's expression to freeze abruptly. Sensing that someone was rushing towards them, the man immediately vanished from the spot.

The Nascent Soul cultivator tried to escape, and none of them could stop him; they could only watch helplessly as he vanished in a flash. Yun Que was left alone, stranded in the same spot.

"Did he remind you during the last talisman competition?" Ye Qiao leaned closer to her, smiled slightly, and asked.

Yun Que forced a reply: "No."

"In the individual competition, isn't it all about skill?" she argued. "It was just a coincidence that I was able to get Mingxuan's spot back then."

Ye Qiao immediately threw a punch, sending the other woman flying to the ground in her astonished gaze. She sneered, "Then I'll rely on my own abilities."

She would run away after hitting someone, and no one could catch her.

Mingxuan thought for a moment, threw a few spirit stones to appease Yun Que, and then quickly slipped away.

There was no other way; having attacked someone's personal disciple, I was afraid of being captured and imprisoned in the forbidden area by the Yueqing Sect if I didn't run away quickly.

Song Hansheng watched the three members of Changming Sect leave after committing the crime: "..."

Caught off guard, Yun Que fell heavily to the ground, her bottom throbbing with pain. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes: "Senior Brother..."

Song Hansheng said in a flat tone: "You should think about how to explain the matter of the demon race to your master."

Yun Que pursed her lips: "Can we not say? Even if Ye Qiao and the others tell us, Master won't believe us." After all, Ye Qiao and she had a grudge against each other, and if she told others, they would think that she was deliberately spreading dirty water.

"You're overthinking it." Song Hansheng looked at her like she was an idiot. "Ye Qiao and the others probably won't tell. But I'll report you."

Song Hansheng always prioritized the interests of his sect. The infiltration of a demon clan was no small matter, and he could not possibly protect Yun Que.

Otherwise, who will take responsibility if something goes wrong?

Yun Que: "..." She was so angry at Song Hansheng's words that her heart ached.

Fortunately, she was very open-minded.

Yunhen has always indulged her, and now that she's in the top ten of the talisman cultivators, he certainly won't punish her for it.

Yun Que barely managed to suppress her unpleasant expression and inquired, "Senior Brother, what's Senior Sister Ye Qiao's ranking on the sword cultivator list?"

Song Hansheng: "How would I know??"

They were clearly not in competition, one a sword cultivator and the other a talisman cultivator, yet Yun Que seemed to be possessed, insisting on comparing himself to Ye Qiao.

Yun Que spoke softly, showing some anticipation for the upcoming matches, "Then Senior Brother Ye should be able to easily defeat her, right?"

Song Hansheng sneered, "Even if Ye Qinghan really beats her, it has nothing to do with you. Only an idiot would think of such a self-deceptive mentality, right?"

Yun Que: "..."

*

Ye Qiao advanced to the third round after competing in more than a dozen matches.

The third round consists of the top 100 disciples, and it's quite easy to encounter a personal disciple in this round.

Mu Chongxi has already fought almost everyone. With him leading the way, Ye Qiao can also benefit from his experience and learn more about the strength of her opponents.

When Zhou Xingyun returned after surviving his tribulation, he was completely exhausted. He slowly said "Congratulations on reaching the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm" to Ye Qiao, then looked at his junior brothers and sisters and quickly whispered his thanks.

Then he ran away.

Ran? ? ?

The others were filled with questions.

What are you doing?

"You're shy, aren't you?" Mingxuan stroked his chin.

Suddenly being faced with such undisguised concern from his fellow disciples was far too much for Zhou Xingyun, who was known for his reserved nature. It's understandable that he felt embarrassed.

Zhou Xingyun needed to stabilize his cultivation level after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, so the others didn't bother with him.

Mu Chongxi earnestly analyzed for Ye Qiao: "If we were to rank the Sword Inquiry Sect members, Ye Qinghan would be the strongest, Chu Xingzhi second, and the other three, I think, would be easy for you to beat, right?"

The remaining three are all in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, the same level as Ye Qiao.

It's no exaggeration to say that Ye Qiao can easily defeat anyone at the same level.

Xue Yu leaned on the table and nodded: "And don't worry, I've inquired and found out that Ye Qinghan and Chu Xingzhi already have rivals. You can avoid them in advance."

"Actually, I have an idea," Ye Qiao said, "I want to have a match with Ye Qinghan."

Xue Yu was slightly taken aback. "It seems... it's not entirely impossible?"

Although there is a suppression due to the cultivation level, Ye Qiao has a Heavenly Spiritual Root, which allows her to absorb spiritual energy much faster than those with top-grade spiritual roots. In addition, with the help of other formations and talismans, she is not invincible.

"By the way, have you figured out how to apply that talisman?"

Ye Qiao: "We can manage to get one."

As she spoke, she flipped her hand, and a golden spell mark appeared, which she demonstrated to the others: "It feels quite powerful, but I didn't dare to try it." She was afraid of blowing up the yard again.

"Yunhen is quite generous." Xue Yu thought the other party wouldn't teach.

"Sigh, you have no idea about his attitude back then." Mingxuan stroked his chin, finding a precise word to describe it: "He was a bit like a pathetic lapdog?"

He frantically licked Ye Qiao, trying to lick her back.

But obviously, it's useless.

Recently, all the disciples have been preparing for the individual competition. After Ye Qiao advanced all the way to the third round, she finally drew the first disciple in history.

After the news was released, all the disciples of the Sword Inquiry Sect arrived.

The opponent was Zhu You. In terms of cultivation level, the two were at the same level. The main point was... to see just how capable Ye Qiao really was.

Chu Xingzhi secretly encouraged Zhu You: "Go, Junior Sister!"

Zhu You nodded.

Ye Qinghan glanced at the group from Changming Sect, "She shouldn't be a threat."

Ye Qinghan was quite confident, after all, Zhu You was the one among them who, although not of the highest cultivation level, had a very strong comprehension.

Taking Ye Qiao should be fine.

Chu Xingzhi couldn't help but taunt, "Our junior sister can only beat up Ye Qiao."

No one paid any attention to his provocation; the group of people were leisurely and carefree, like a bunch of old men living in retirement at the village entrance.

Zhu You frowned slightly, took two deep breaths, and thought, "These people from Changming Sect, at least show them some respect."

"Here they come! The Sword Inquiry Sect versus the Changming Sect!"

"Both of them are junior sisters from different sects, how exciting!"

"If the skill levels are the same, I wonder who will win." Someone stroked their chin. "Zhu You should be quite strong too."

Both of them were not directly taught by their masters. The advantage of facing a group of independent cultivators was that there was little pressure, and they could keep some of their trump cards hidden.

Standing on the competition stage, the two were quite eye-catching, one in red and the other in white traditional attire. Zhu You composed herself and stepped forward.

She had studied Ye Qiao's techniques; in the previous secret realms, Ye Qiao only knew the first three moves of the Qingfeng Technique.

There shouldn't be any problem with hitting Ye Qiao.

She couldn't beat either Mu Chongxi or Zhou Xingyun, so she could only choose to fight Ye Qiao.

With the Zhu Youxuan Sword in hand, she moved swiftly and decisively. She knew Ye Qiao's fighting style, which prioritized speed, so she needed to play it safe and not let Ye Qiao wear her down. Her moves were devoid of any fancy flourishes.

They can always accurately calculate Ye Qiao's position.

It's clear that he's very familiar with her moves.

Zhu You's fighting style was very stable, and Ye Qiao couldn't find any weaknesses. Similarly, Zhu You was also in a state of being suppressed.

One cultivator analyzed, "We need to play it safe when fighting Ye Qiao. She knows both talismans and formations, so we still need to be careful."

Ye Qiao neither dodged nor flinched, but met the attack head-on. The moment her sword strikes Zhu You, the force suddenly loosens, striking her shoulder. At the same time, she shifts the direction of her staff and strikes her waist hard.

Ye Qiao seized this opening and tried to continue her attack, but Zhu You barely managed to steady herself in mid-air, her lips pursed and freezing into ice crystals.

Among the disciples, Zhu You possessed the most precise control over transformation. The water instantly froze into ice as it flowed, then stabbed down with lightning speed. She dared not use water attributes mainly because she was afraid Ye Qiao would use electric shocks.

With her spiritual root attribute being countered by the opponent, she dared not risk betting that Ye Qiao wouldn't use lightning transformation.

"Water system transformation."

"It's not just a simple transformation. Didn't you notice? The water turned into ice, two different forms."

This level of understanding requires an extremely thorough grasp of spiritual roots.

He truly deserves to be called the prodigy of the Sword Inquiry Sect.

Without warning, the ice spikes came flying at her. Ye Qiao used her bamboo shoot to block the sharp ice spikes twice, but the next second, the Zhu You sword style struck down hard again. The sword energy was so strong that Ye Qiao almost dropped her bamboo shoot.

The onlookers were astonished.

"The Sword Inquiry Sect's swordsmanship is so domineering."

One sword can shatter all laws, one sword can determine the fate of the world. Truly worthy of being the number one sect.

"The Qingfeng Technique is not bad either; let's see how Ye Qiao uses it."

However, the current situation clearly shows that they are being suppressed.

The advantage of drawing the "Zhu You" card is that Ye Qiao can personally experience the swordsmanship of the Wenjian Sect in advance, and will have a way to deal with any troublesome opponents.

Ye Qiao looked at the icicle in her hand, then kicked her away steadily, and asked in a moment, "Water spirit root transformation?"

"I'm serious, huh?" She mimicked the transformation gestures twice, and this starting stance made Zhu You quietly tighten her grip on her sword, her expression slightly tense, ready for battle.

The next second, Ye Qiao only released a small lightning bolt, "Haha, I was just kidding."

"Let me give you a massage."

Feeling like she'd been tricked, Zhu You wanted to curse, but her expression remained unchanged, and her swordsmanship grew even more ferocious.

Ye Qiao retreated the entire time.

"Actually, I want to give you some advice: don't push Ye Qiao too far." Mingxuan couldn't help but mutter as he watched Zhu You's merciless attacks.

He then remembered the secret realm that had driven Ye Qiao to desperation.

In the end, it ended up being split in two.

Why did you provoke her?

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered; if Ye Qiao gets desperate, won't she eat people?

Zhu You, on the other hand, could no longer tolerate Ye Qiao's utter disrespect for people.

With another strike, Ye Qiao suddenly closed the distance with her, unleashing the third move of the Qingfeng Technique.

Zhu You used the magical artifact in her arms to block the attack and stood there steadily. As far as she knew, Ye Qiao only knew the first three moves.

Zhu You calmly asked, "Is that all?"

She had experienced all three forms of the Qingfeng Technique.

Looking at her calm demeanor, Ye Qiao sighed inwardly. Among a group of brainless sword cultivators, Zhu You was a rare intellectual, able to calmly analyze her fighting style even in this situation.

This approach clearly worked, and Ye Qiao and Zhu You were at a stalemate.

Zhu You couldn't defeat her, and Ye Qiao had no way to deal with Zhu You either.

Who told her to have her tricks figured out?

Ye Qiao once again painfully reflected on herself, wishing she hadn't given up. At least she could have learned a few more moves during the competition.

"Our tactics have been figured out."

"In this situation, the winner will be the one who knows more."

Seeing this, Mu Chongxi, who was standing outside the arena, suddenly shouted, "Ye Qiao, look here!"

The young man wielded his sword with fluid, graceful movements, the sword energy like a rainbow.

Ye Qiao immediately followed his example and practiced several times in a row. The impact was so great that Zhu You took a step back for a moment and was also surprised.

Is that even possible?! Are you just learning something new and applying it immediately?

In Ye Qiao's memory, no one could multitask. Besides, the other sects weren't so close that they would pass on their inheritance to others.

Putting everything else aside, this generosity is something that other religions don't have.

This is something Mu Chongxi learned from the tradition.

The swordsmanship was unpredictable, the sword flashed past the blade, and the next move was completely unpredictable. Zhu You did not have Ye Qiao's ability to multitask, nor did she have the ability to remember everything she saw. Mu Chongxi's move directly stunned even the confident Zhu You.

She hadn't studied Mu Chongxi's fighting style; her attacks were always aimed at Ye Qiao.

Zhou Xingyun also had an inspiration. He thought Ye Qiao hadn't figured out how to transform, so he started giving her a live tutorial: "Junior Sister."

Zhu You felt even more like cursing.

She couldn't guess Ye Qiao's next move at all, because she could change her mind based on the changes of the people outside the arena.

What an insane talent!

Such a person has such a long brain.

The girl raised her hand and wrapped the water around her fingertips. She hadn't used water before because she was afraid of Ye Qiao's lightning spiritual root.

But now I can't care about that.

If we don't resist, are we just waiting to be eliminated?

Ye Qiao was waiting for her water spirit root, and smiled at Zhu You: "Hey, this time I'm really serious."

The silver lightning bolt materialized and swooped upwards, flowing through Ye Qiao's purple light hand before crashing down with the force of thunder and the speed of lightning.

As the lightning struck, only one thought flashed through Zhu You's mind.

Damn. She really knows how to do that!