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

They arrived at the Ming family home laughing and joking all the way. Ming Xuan was a little nervous about returning home, and he dawdled for a long time before Ye Qiao finally dragged him inside. She wasn't guilty at all, so why was he so guilty?

"It feels like it's been ages since I've been home," Mingxuan muttered. "My dad would be happy to see me, wouldn't he?"

Mu Chongxi stretched and said, "I'm going home after the competition."

"Wrong," Mingxuan corrected him. "You meant returning to the palace."

The head of the Ming family was a very kind old man. Seeing the neatly dressed clan members approaching from afar, he cleared his throat and said in a loving tone, "You're back."

Mingxuan was standing there, and before he could even enjoy the warm greetings from his family, they all pushed him aside and started circling around Ye Qiao, led by his father, and everyone was very eager.

"Ah, you must be the legendary Ye Qiao." The other person said with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Xiao Qiao. As expected of a young hero, seeing is believing."

"This family can no longer accommodate you." Xue Yu feigned sympathy for Ming Xuan for a few seconds.

Completely ignored, Mingxuan thought, "...These people are so realistic!!"

He squatted down dejectedly and began to draw circles in a resentful manner.

Ye Qiao was momentarily stunned, but she quickly realized that these people weren't there to interrogate her, but rather out of curiosity about her skills. She said, "How about we wait for the next match?"

You definitely need to use talismans to teach someone a personal skill.

"The next match is a friendly sparring match. If you don't mind, would you like to come and watch?" she said thoughtfully.

The Ming family head smiled and said, "Of course, of course."

I'll definitely be there to support the competition, especially since it's one that can bring down several blessings from the heavens.

Besides, Ye Qiao didn't want to draw, and he couldn't force her to. "You younger generation should have a good chat. Mingxuan, come with me."

Mingxuan, who seemed oblivious to everyone else, raised his head. "Eh? I thought you couldn't see me, old man."

"I have a question for you," the Ming family head said hurriedly. "Ye Qiao, she..."

"Very strong." Mingxuan interrupted him, "You saw the blessing of Heaven, didn't you? You saw the one-stroke talisman, didn't you? If there is a definite name for the word 'genius,' it is Ye Qiao."

Ming family head: "I haven't finished speaking yet."

He knew Ye Qiao was very strong, of course; her ability to draw talismans in a single stroke was unmatched by others. "You taught her the Shield-Binding Talisman?"

Mingxuan nodded.

The Ming family head smiled slightly: "Ming Xuan, could you please ask Ye Qiao how she managed to get so many blessings from Heaven to fall?"

Mingxuan didn't even blink: "This? I don't know."

"Idiot." He tapped him on the head. "Why don't you just test the waters? You two are such good friends, do you think she wouldn't tell you?"

Mingxuan remained silent: "The blessing of Heaven depends entirely on luck or Heaven's whims."

This mysterious thing, who knows how it was done? Even Ye Qiao herself doesn't understand the situation.

"Our family has quite a few good-looking direct descendants," he frantically hinted to Mingxuan, "Why don't you introduce a couple to your junior sister?"

Mingxuan's lips twitched: "No need. We talisman cultivators, in this life we ​​enter the path of talismans, we don't love anyone, you should save your breath."

Even if you're going to try to matchmake someone, you can't go to someone from one of the Eight Great Families. Just look at Song Hansheng's direct descendants; not many of them are good people. As for the junior sister? She's the kind of person who has both good looks and high emotional intelligence.

With Ye Qiao's personality, she has offended almost all the direct disciples of the five major sects. Who would dare to become her Daoist partner?

They're not afraid of being tormented to the point of having a short life.

Meanwhile, Ye Qiao and Ming Yi started chatting. Ming Yi spoke concisely and seemed rather aloof.

The two were discussing the rankings when Mingyi casually said, "I'm seventh."

Ye Qiao was surprised. To rank seventh with so many mentors was quite impressive.

"Have you drawn lots yet?" Mu Chongxi blinked.

Mingyi hummed in agreement. "Fifth."

"I checked the rankings, Yunque."

She looked down on Yun Que, who fought against a talisman cultivator with a sword. However, the outside world praised Yun Que's actions, saying she was clever. In the end, talent still reigns supreme in the cultivation world.

However, while the cultivators could tolerate it, the eight great families could not.

Yun Que is a direct disciple of one of the five major sects, so we tolerated her earlier. After all, she does have resource-rich people, and we can't beat those who compete with resources. But she can't keep jumping around on the edge of breaking the rules.

It's one thing to squeeze into the top 100 with a single sword, but she's already in the top ten, and her opponents are all her direct disciples and protégés. If we let her disrupt the rules in the individual competition like this, it's one thing if her protégés are beaten and lose, but what if it's one of their direct disciples who gets knocked out?

"Then you're finished?" Mu Chongxi spoke without thinking. He said, "After all, you're just a weak and helpless talisman cultivator." Mu Chongxi spoke bluntly, almost as if he was saying "you weakling."

Ye Qiao, acting as a savior, punched him on the head, signaling him to speak more gently to girls.

Mu Chongxi let out a loud groan, looking aggrieved: "That's how it is! If Mingxuan hadn't found a loophole, he would have been beaten so badly that his own parents wouldn't recognize him."

Xue Yu admired Mu Chongxi's ability to attack people indiscriminately, and said, "Stop talking."

Didn't you see Mingyi's face turn cold?

"The rules have changed after the top ten this time." She pursed her lips and said calmly, "First, draw a talisman, then compete, and use the talisman to repair your own talisman."

"Ah." Ye Qiao was slow to react, then raised her eyes. "Is that so?"

So it's self-evident who this rule is aimed at.

"There's going to be a show at the talisman cultivation arena." Ye Qiao was also quite curious about the female lead's situation. The novel didn't go into much detail about Yun Que's dual cultivation level, but instead focused on describing her captivating beauty.

The rules of the talisman cultivation competition were suddenly changed, requiring the top ten talisman cultivators to participate in drawing talismans collectively. This was practically a public execution, and all the talisman cultivators have started drawing talismans overnight to hone their skills. The courtyards of the major sects have been very lively these past few days.

Mingxuan yawned, ready to work late into the night. "I feel like I'm no longer a human being ever since I became a disciple."

Even an old ox isn't as diligent as him.

"You're practicing too?" Ye Qiao slowly swung her legs. As far as she knew, Ming Xuan was one of those naturally gifted individuals, right? Why was he drawing talismans all night?

"He needs to practice his attack runes," Xue Yu replied casually.

Why did the Eight Great Families change the rules? The Ming family's talismans are mostly defensive, and they could buy other people's offensive talismans during the competition. Now they have to draw and use them on the spot, so Ming Xuan can only cram at the last minute.

Follow the talisman book stroke by stroke.

Mingxuan slammed his head against the table, utterly despondent.

"Relax, relax," Ye Qiao comforted him. After all, Mingxuan was just having a mental breakdown, unlike the neighbor in the next yard who had gone insane and was laughing hysterically.

The eerie laughter that kept coming made Ye Qiao pick at her ears and shout, "Who is it? Laughing like a duck in the middle of the night instead of sleeping!"

The laughter from the opposite courtyard abruptly stopped.

Upon hearing this, Yue Qingzong's smile froze, and he was filled with exasperation. "That Ye Qiao!!!"

Yun Que bit her wolf-hair brush, hesitating before putting pen to paper: "Why the sudden change of rules?"

It wasn't just the Changming Sect members who were drawing them. They were also trying. Song Hansheng was drawing talismans late at night, casually lifting his eyelashes, "If you didn't use your sword to refine the talismans, we wouldn't have to practice at night."

Su Zhuo couldn't help but whisper, "Junior Sister, doing this is really not a good idea."

"Even the Changming Sect members can do this." Yun Que's face turned pale at his reproachful words. Why did he suddenly change the rules because of her?

Zhai Chen spoke up fairly, "They didn't cross the line of the Eight Great Families, and they only used it once in the first few rounds."

Seeing that the atmosphere among the disciples was becoming somewhat strange, as if they were about to start arguing, the elder of Yueqing Sect hurriedly comforted them: "No rush, no rush. This is good too. It's a good opportunity to prove Xiao Que's strength to them. Why not?"

Song Hansheng smiled.

He was fine when he wasn't smiling, but when he suddenly smiled, everyone turned to look at him.

"What are you laughing at?" Su Zhuo asked, puzzled.

Song Hansheng: "I just love to laugh."

Yeah???

Zhai Chen hadn't realized Song Hansheng was such a cheerful boy before; his laughter usually carried a mocking tone. He couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, what exactly do you mean?"

Song Hansheng didn't want to dampen their morale, but to be honest, with Yun Que's level, using a sword to fight a talisman cultivator could at least cover up her ugly skills. Compared to the other top ten talisman cultivators, she would only embarrass herself on the spot.

Suddenly, Song Hansheng remembered what Changming Sect had said earlier. He leaned back and said calmly, "Those who know, know."

Song Hansheng suddenly transformed into a riddle-maker, leaving the others bewildered. Even the elders couldn't understand him; they had never seen him before and knew nothing about him.

But Yun Que is a dual cultivator, at the same level as Ye Qiao.

Ye Qiao was able to do it because of her high spiritual root, so Yun Que, whose spiritual root grade is lower than Ye Qiao's, should not be much worse off.

"Speak properly," the elder scolded in a low voice, "Don't be so harsh on your junior sister."

Song Hansheng: "Tsk."

The irony is even stronger now.

All four talisman cultivators from the Moon Purity Sect made it into the top ten, while the remaining five spots were taken by the direct descendants of the Song and Ming families. The individual competition is all about who has the most talent and who can become famous. Which teenager doesn't yearn for instant fame? Naturally, they should seize this opportunity to prove themselves.

The talisman training ground was packed with people. It was a competition between five direct disciples and five direct descendants. Everyone came, no matter who they were. It was a competition among the top ten. It would be a waste not to watch.

Looking at so many people, Mingxuan couldn't help but nudge Ye Qiao next to him, "Holy crap, my legs are weak, what should I do?"

Ye Qiao: "Be more confident, hold your head high, you're the most handsome mentor here."

She thought for a moment, then pointed to Song Hansheng not far away: "If you can't do it, just learn from him. Raise your chin and look down your nose at people. Yes, yes, that's how you keep it."

"Make your expression even colder, yes, that's it."

Ye Qiao gave him a series of instructions. If the robes hadn't been without pockets, she would have given Ming Xuan a demonstration of what it meant to grab someone's pocket with one hand back then. She didn't know what an opponent was.

"handsome."

Mu Chongxi: "Go quickly! Go quickly!"

Mingxuan was forced onto the stage, and all the top ten talisman cultivators had already arrived. They were all ignoring each other, or in other words, looking down on each other. Only when the referee gave the order did the talisman cultivators start to move.

The fastest was Song Hansheng, followed closely by the other disciples.

Drawing quickly increases the chance of failure, while others slowly maintain that speed to draw talismans. There are not only quantities but also grades. Finally, by analogy, Ye Qiao and Xie Chuxue, the only experts in the Changming Sect, observed for a long time and came to a conclusion.

"If nothing unexpected happens, Mingxuan should come in second."

"But it's a bit premature to say that," Xie Chuxue said in a low voice. "We still need to see what Yun Que draws."

The other talismans are almost finished, but Yun Que is dragging his feet on something, so the outcome is still uncertain, and he doesn't dare to make any definitive statements. Besides, there's still a competition to be held after the talismans are finished.

Several talisman cultivators next to Yun Que had already succeeded and were starting on their second talisman. Yun Que's heart skipped a beat. She hurriedly activated the wolf-hair brush in her hand, suppressing her divine sense fiercely, and the brush finally moved.

The wolf-hair brush extended along the talisman paper, and Yun Que carefully drew downwards. It was much smoother than before, and she was slightly pleased. She quickly put down her brush, and at the moment of success, a slight smile finally appeared on her lips.

"Eh."

A strange phenomenon appeared in mid-air, and someone murmured, "Is this a blessing from Heaven?"

This year's competition is really crazy, isn't it? Everyone's sending blessings?

Ye Qiao was also startled. She looked up at the sky and saw a flash of golden light on the edge of the talisman in Yun Que's hand. Just as the blessing of the Heavenly Dao was about to take shape, the talisman suddenly burst into flames and turned to ashes.

The blessing, which hadn't even had a chance to take shape, crumbled.

The expectant elder of Yueqing Sect's smile froze slightly.

The burning of the talisman was considered a failure. The scene was quiet for a few seconds. Ye Qiao casually glanced up and thought that there might be something wrong with the Heavenly Dao.

"This is the first time I've seen a top ten talisman master fail at drawing a talisman."

Those who make it into the top ten are either direct descendants or close associates; how could they possibly fail?

Hearing the murmurs among the cultivators, the elder of the Moon Purity Sect could no longer contain himself and raised his voice slightly: "Failure is normal. Who hasn't failed? Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war." He tried to find a highly skilled talisman cultivator to salvage the reputation of his disciple.

The other Fu Xiuquans went up on stage to compete, and he didn't dare to disturb them. So he immediately spotted Ye Qiao, who seemed indifferent in the audience, and asked, "Ye Qiao, you've failed before, haven't you?"

Ye Qiao was honest and nodded: "I've failed before."

"See?" He breathed a sigh of relief, immediately finding evidence: "This is normal, isn't it?"

Ye Qiao added slowly, "The calligraphy brushes I used back then were all forked."

The people outside were laughing hysterically.

"You know how to finish off someone, Ye Qiaoqiao."

Elder Yueqing's face twitched, and he forced a smile as he explained, "Then you must have spent a long time drawing it."

Ye Qiao rested her chin on her hand and smiled slightly: "If the east is dark, the west will be bright; whatever Song Hansheng is like, so am I."

"???"

What is Song Hansheng like?

The elder of Yueqing Sect subconsciously glanced at his eldest disciple, Song Hansheng, who was drawing talismans at lightning speed, leaving everyone else in awe.

*

I want to write a male lead, but I haven't decided yet! Why do so many people dislike male leads? QAQ