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

Even if other people were extremely jealous, they wouldn't say it, but this girl did it with such self-righteousness.

Mingxuan, who was inexplicably labeled a "gifted dog," was somewhat amused and exasperated, urging, "Hurry up and copy, the cafeteria will be opening soon."

Upon hearing that it was time to eat, Ye Qiao immediately quickened her pace.

She had been detained by Elder Yu in the library to copy books, and now she was quite skilled at it.

The tattered scroll contained many ancient alchemical formulas. After copying them for so long, Ye Qiao could recite them fluently. Before leaving, she didn't forget to take the talisman book with her to study.

The two arrived rather late; most of the food in the cafeteria was already gone. Mingxuan sighed at the several baskets of steamed buns in the cafeteria, "When will the food in our sect get any better?"

Ye Qiao was already used to the food; she wasn't picky at all. But after being down the mountain for so long, she really couldn't stand eating these bland foods anymore.

"I don't know," she said. "If it's not possible, I can bring some back for you next time I go down the mountain?"

Mingxuan shook his head. "You probably can't get out now."

With the competition just around the corner, the frequent disappearances of the fourth junior brother and the youngest junior sister nearly gave Qin Fanfan a heart attack. This time, Master probably wouldn't allow them to sneak out again, no matter what.

"On a bright side," Mingxuan paused, "we can go to the Azure Water Sect when we participate in the Grand Competition."

"Their food is really good, there's lots of meat in it."

However, Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan exchanged a glance, feeling not comforted at all, but even hungrier.

At this moment, people's joys and sorrows are universal.

……

After shaking off the group of disciples, Elder Zhao immediately found Qin Fanfan, who was slacking off and sleeping. He snorted, "Your newly accepted little disciple and Mu Chongxi are back."

Qin Fanfan: "Find out who instigated them to come down the mountain?"

The two were properly confined in the forbidden area, yet they dared to sneak down the mountain. Elder Zhao knew without a doubt who had instigated them. He sneered three times, "Who else could it be but that little brat Ye Qiao?"

Before Ye Qiao arrived, even if Mu Chongxi was rebellious, he would never have sneaked out of the sect like he did now.

Qin Fanfan was no longer bothered by this. She waved her hand magnanimously and said, "Youth is wasted on the young. Those kids are at the age where they're always making a ruckus. Why are you getting angry with Ye Qiao?"

Elder Zhao sighed, "What I mean is, these two are always causing trouble, do you think that's reasonable?"

Qin Fanfan didn't have any objections this time, nodding thoughtfully: "You're right, those kids need to be disciplined."

Having decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with Ye Qiao, Qin Fanfan gathered her sleeves in the middle of the night and sent a message to Ye Qiao via jade slip, asking her to come to the main peak.

After receiving the message, Ye Qiao casually tossed the KFC on her head and leisurely went to the main peak.

"...Little Qiao."

Qin Fanfan cleared his throat, intending to pretend to scold his little apprentice a couple of times to make her behave, but he almost lost his composure just a second before Ye Qiao came in.

The young apprentice was dressed in plain clothes, looking rather nonchalant, and had a... turkey on his head?

Qin Fanfan hesitated, then asked, "Xiao Qiao, what's that thing on your head?"

Ye Qiao exclaimed, poked the KFC on her head, and said listlessly, "Ah. This is my contracted beast."

"Master," she asked, "do you know what kind of monster this is?"

"This..." Qin Fanfan pondered for a moment after hearing this, then got up and flipped through the Record of Mythical Beasts, but found no similar monsters or cubs.

He remained strangely silent for a moment, then his gaze unconsciously fell on the chicken above the girl's head. His tone was complex: "Little Qiao, you didn't actually contract a turkey, did you?"

Who contracts a turkey as a contracted beast?

However, catching a chicken to be a contracted beast does seem like something his little apprentice would do.

"A chicken?" After hearing that it was indeed a chicken, Ye Qiao accepted the reality. She even reached out and shook it: "Master, it's not an ordinary chicken."

Qin Fanfan looked eager to hear more: "Oh?" Could it be some kind of mythical beast?

Ye Qiao said seriously, "It's KFC."

—What kind of chicken is KFC?

Qin Fanfan was afraid of exposing her lack of knowledge in front of her little apprentice, so although she had doubts in her heart, she was too embarrassed to ask.

Under Ye Qiao's gaze, afraid that she would see through his ignorance, he quickly changed the subject, saying, "Little Qiao."

He looked at her and asked, "Tell me, are you confident you can break into the top ten in this year's Grand Sword Cultivation Ranking?"

The Sword Cultivator Ranking is not limited to direct disciples of the five sects; sword cultivators from all over the country participate, making it no less than competing with all talented sword cultivators of the same age in the cultivation world for a spot in the top ten.

Faced with this unexpected topic, Ye Qiao immediately gave up, saying, "If you don't have confidence, then let me die."

This time, it was Qin Fanfan's turn to choke.

Ye Qiao had only heard about the so-called sect competition from others, but she had never actually seen what it was like, and she didn't even know the rules. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Master, is the competition only for the direct disciples of the five sects?"

"Hmm." Qin Fanfan slowly spoke, "At that time, you will all be sent to the same great secret realm. Each of you will carry a viewing stone and be responsible for letting the elders and cultivators outside see the scene inside."

Ye Qiao's eyes widened slightly in surprise, and she repeated, "Is it broadcast live?" Wouldn't that be no different from a modern live broadcast?

"Yes." Qin Fanfan nodded, already very familiar with this process: "At that time, every move you make will be under the watchful eyes of cultivators in the cultivation world."

"Xiao Qiao..." He paused, looked at the nonchalant Ye Qiao, and inexplicably added, "Don't cause me any trouble later."

For some reason, wherever Ye Qiao was, Qin Fanfan always felt that the future days of this batch of protégés would be exceptionally lively.

He sincerely hoped that those disciples who had been harmed by Ye Qiao would be alright by then.