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

A thunderclap struck from the ground with a deafening roar, instantly raising a cloud of dust. The force of the explosion was so great that it created a small crater in the ground.

Mu Zhongxi took a step back in shock, exclaiming, "What an awesome bomb!"

He discovered that this junior sister possessed an unusually large number of strange and unusual items, such as this bomb, whose power was no less than that of a Golden Core cultivator's attack.

Such a fierce magical artifact.

"Let me try." After witnessing its power, he picked up a bomb with an air of nonchalance. "Junior Sister, watch out."

Mu Chongxi said excitedly, "I can definitely throw it farther than you."

Ye Qiao watched as he swung his arm, swung it twice with force, and then threw it forward with all his might. It was indeed quite far, about ten meters, as the bomb fell.

With a muffled thud, Qin Fanfan's deep, shrewish roar echoed from not far away.

"Who dares to ambush me?!"

Ye Qiao and Mu Chongxi exchanged a glance.

The same thought arose in their minds: things have gone awry.

"Run!"

The two were perfectly in sync when it came to escaping; they took off running without looking back, since neither of them wanted to be locked up in the restricted area again.

Qin Fanfan was currently showing Elder Sun of Chengfeng Sect around the sect. In truth, everyone knew the other party's purpose in coming here: to test the strength of their rival sect.

It has been a hundred years since the last competition. Although Changming Sect has always been at the bottom for a thousand years, Chengfeng Sect has somehow gotten wind of the fact that Changming Sect’s disciples are quite strong this year. After much consideration, Chengfeng Sect decided to send someone to investigate.

Elder Sun and Qin Fanfan exchanged a few pleasantries, and then strolled along, exchanging insincere words with each other.

"I've heard that this year's new disciples of your sect are all quite talented," Elder Sun said with a slight smile.

Qin Fanfan gave him a fake smile: "You flatter me. Our Changming Sect is just participating this year."

Elder Sun concealed his slightly mocking expression, realizing he had been overthinking things.

Everyone knows the true strength of the Changming Sect. If they had even one capable fighter this year, Qin Fanfan wouldn't have been so vague.

As the two chatted, they gradually walked to the back mountain, a path that sword cultivators had to take to practice their swords. They had just taken a step when a strange object landed at their feet.

Just as Qin Fanfan was about to say something, the thing under her feet first emitted white smoke, and then exploded.

It really exploded.

Qin Fanfan, being highly skilled, wasn't seriously injured, but the power of the attack was considerable; a small crater appeared on the flat ground.

His first thought was that someone was trying to harm him, and he immediately roared angrily, "Who dares to ambush me?"

"..."

The surroundings were quiet and no one answered. By this time, the two culprits had already disappeared.

The elder of Chengfeng Sect was also startled by the roar and gradually came to his senses. His voice trembled slightly as he pointed at the bomb on the ground, "What kind of magical artifact is this?"

Qin Fanfan was also confused.

But seeing Elder Sun's shocked expression, Qin Fanfan's anger subsided surprisingly. This was the first time he had ever gained some face in front of other sects.

Don't think he didn't know; because of his consistently poor performance, these old bastards had privately mocked him several times.

Qin Fanfan coughed lightly, stroked his beard with an air of mystery, and said casually, "Ah? Well, these are just some little trinkets that a few good-for-nothing disciples of our sect got their hands on. They're worthless."

Worthless?

A little gadget?

What kind of tiny thing is so powerful?

The elders of Chengfeng Sect gradually changed their expression from nonchalant to serious, and even a hint of awe.

Elder Sun, not wanting to pry too deeply, could only reluctantly agree with a few words.

Elder Sun was somewhat distracted throughout the day. Finally, after leaving Changming Sect, he hurriedly ran outside and took out the jade slip.

"The Changming Sect has become terrifyingly powerful this year!"

Elder Sun sent a message to his sect leader with trembling hands.

*

After Ye Qiao and Mu Chongxi left the back mountain, Ye Qiao was still thinking about whether they could get the pistol out. Of course, not the modern kind with bullets. Perhaps they could try putting something else with greater power into the pistol's magazine.

As for what to put inside, Ye Qiao hasn't decided yet, but that doesn't stop her from drawing a draft of the pistol.

As a designer, she has strong hands-on skills.

After finishing the design, Ye Qiao turned to her companion from the mountain, Mu Chongxi, and extended a sincere invitation:

"Shall we go down the mountain together?"

Ye Qiao was not a weapon crafter and knew nothing about weapon crafting. She could fill in the materials for bombs using her memory and books, but the high-tech manufacturing method of pistols still required a professional weapon crafter.

Mu Chongxi paused for a moment, then hesitated, "We have class tomorrow."

Ye Qiao remained quite calm, revealing her dimples, and said firmly, "Then I'll skip it."

Mu Chongxi's eyes lit up: "Great idea!"

He hadn't wanted to go to class for a long time. Before, he was the only sword cultivator in Duan Yu's class, and if he skipped class, he would be punished by being locked in the forbidden area.

Things are different now. Now I have a junior sister to keep me company, so I won't be alone when I get punished.

"Let's go."

Both of them were impulsive and quick-tempered, the kind who would just pack up and go. Once they made their decision, they happily ran down the mountain together. Cloud City had all sorts of shops, exceptionally well-stocked; however, being located at the foot of the Five Sects, prices could be summed up in one word: 'expensive'.

Upon arriving at the shop specializing in selling magical artifacts, Ye Qiao eagerly handed over her design drafts.

"Can this be done?"

Not many people came into the shop. After all, independent cultivators didn't have the leisure to buy magic artifacts for self-defense, and large-scale cultivators didn't care about the things in the shop. As a result, only the owner was leisurely puffing out clouds of smoke inside.

Upon seeing what Ye Qiao handed him, the shopkeeper paused, his hand holding a pipe still. He then sat up, carefully examining the draft she presented, secretly astonished: "What is this? Why is its shape so strange?"

Unlike a sword or any other weapon, he had never heard of it in all his years in the profession.

Ye Qiao said tactfully, "It's called a pistol."

"Can this shape and structure be roughly made? It would be best if the interior could store as much stuff as possible."

The boss seemed quite interested in this, and he nodded: "Sure, but the price... I estimate it will cost around three hundred high-grade spirit stones in total."

It's quite expensive.

So Ye Qiao began to use her silver tongue to bargain with him. Although the process was long, the result was satisfactory. She finally won the deal for one hundred high-grade spirit stones.

Mu Chongxi was stunned. Every time he went down the mountain, the boss would tell him how much money he wanted, and he would pay that amount.

So you can actually bargain?

Ye Qiao seemed to see through his thoughts, "Of course you can do that. If you don't lack spirit stones, you don't have to cut them."

Mu Chongxi wasn't lacking in anything, but the thought that he could have given less made him inexplicably unhappy.

"Let's go," Ye Qiao asked. "Do you need to buy anything? Let's finish shopping first before going back."

Mu Chongxi said dejectedly, "Never mind. I won't buy anything today."

Why?

Mu Chongxi clutched his chest: "It hurts to think about all the extra spirit stones I gave away."

"..."

Fine.

Ye Qiao understood his resentment. If she had given away so many spirit stones for nothing, she would have felt even worse. "Then let's go back to the sect first. I just happen to have drawn a few talismans that need someone to test them."

Ye Qiao had no prior experience, and after drawing the talisman, she even tested it on herself. It wasn't until she smashed a hole in the inn's wall that Ye Qiao became much more cautious.

After much painful reflection, she decided not to hurt herself anymore; after all, why should anyone make things difficult for themselves?

She's ready to harm other people.

Mu Chongxi scratched his head and asked innocently, "How many talismans did you draw?"

"Not many," Ye Qiao looked at him pitifully, "just a few."

She emphasized the words "a few sheets" and "that's all".

Out of love for her junior sister, Mu Chongxi believed her lies.

The two of them then stayed in the back mountain for three whole days, neither of them going to class, taking turns testing the various talismans drawn by Ye Qiao.

Mu Chongxi discovered that his junior sister's words were a lie!

A few damn pictures.

"Come on, fourth senior brother, this is the last one."

Ye Qiao enthusiastically took out the last one, "Don't worry, this time I definitely won't make you feel bad, it's called Haha Talisman."

"At most, it'll make you laugh a little; look at you, you've turned into a bitter gourd."

Mu Chongxi stayed up with her for three consecutive nights. His face was pale, and he looked pitiful and exhausted. He let out a soft sigh: "Okay."

To be honest, the junior sister's talismans are quite interesting.

It would be even better if it weren't for experimenting on oneself.

After obtaining consent, Ye Qiao immediately threw the Haha Talisman at Mu Chongxi.

Sometimes, a talisman doesn't necessarily have to be powerful; making people laugh so much that it affects their performance is also a different kind of interference.

Mu Chongxi didn't react at first, still looking utterly hopeless. However, soon the boy raised his head and let out a series of arrogant villainous laughs: "Hahahaha—"

"Ha ha ha ha."

Mu Chongxi laughed for a while, startling the sword cultivators who were passing by practicing their swords. They almost thought that Senior Brother Mu had gone mad with his cultivation.

"..."

After a brief pause, just when Ye Qiao thought it was over, Mu Chongxi's melodious laughter rang out again.

"Hahaha!"

Ye Qiao: "..."