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

"Ye Qiao!!"

The voice of the Sword Inquiry Sect Master suddenly rang out from behind.

Ye Qiao, who was just about to slip away: "..."

"Xue Yu!!"

Xue Yu lowered his head as if nothing had happened.

"Mu Chongxi and Zhou Xingyun." He called out to them in one breath with a cold laugh.

"All four of you get over here and pay up!"

Ye Qiao said awkwardly, "Please don't be angry. It's nothing."

"Did you destroy the secret realm?" How could he not be angry? If it weren't for Ye Qiao, how could their Sword Inquiry Sect have fallen to such a state?

Last place in the second major competition!

This is something that has never happened in the past thousand years.

Qin Fanfan was forced to step in and defend them: "That secret realm will close sooner or later, and losing money like this will only hurt our relationship."

The sect leader of the Sword Inquiry Sect raised his hand and interrupted him with a cold laugh: "Stop. I have no amicable relations with your Changming Sect."

"Do you know how dangerous it is to close the secret realm early? Pay up!"

In the end, it was Qin Fanfan who cleaned up the mess. With tears in his eyes, he paid the money back to Wenjian Sect, while Ye Qiao on the other side was surrounded by a group of people.

"When did you learn formations?" Song Hansheng rushed forward and questioned.

"I learned it a few months ago." Ye Qiao looked at his anxious face and red neck, and her tone became much more cheerful. "From now on, please call me the low-key genius, thank you."

"And one more thing," she said, poking him away with a bamboo shoot in her hand, "Remember to be polite to the winner of the second competition."

Song Hansheng: "..."

Chu Xingzhi immediately began to criticize the scene: "Look, how smug they are with the Changming Sect. I already said we could join forces, but you insisted on going against us."

Mingxuan and Ye Qiao clapped in celebration and joined in pointing and whispering, "Chu Xingzhi, watch the tone you use when you talk to the winners of the second competition."

Chu Xingzhi: "..."

Each sect returned to their respective residences, and Ye Qiao also returned to her courtyard with the seemingly valuable spiritual artifact in her arms. She was studying it with Xue Yu, while the other senior brothers didn't seem very interested in it.

Ye Qiao had never seen this before, but Xue Yu knew a little about it.

"I've seen it in a book before, I think it's called 'The Map of Mountains and Rivers'." Xue Yu poked at it. "You can check the Spirit Weapon Ranking."

"If I remember correctly, it should be ranked third. The unfolding screen after opening the scroll can trap enemies in your own past memories."

It's a very useful magic tool.

Xue Yu rested his chin on his hand, "It's said that the scenes inside are so realistic that they can be mistaken for reality."

Ye Qiao perked up: "Shall I go in and give it a try?"

"If I get lost in there, just kick me."

It would be a shame not to personally experience this magical artifact.

Xue Yu gestured, "No problem."

As soon as he activated the magical artifact in his hand, Ye Qiao felt a wave of dizziness, and she quickly opened her eyes.

The first thing I saw was a white desk lamp. She was sitting in front of the computer, working late into the night revising a design draft. Her face was pale, and she had dark circles under her eyes, looking like she had been exploited by life and society for many years.

The moment Ye Qiao saw this illusion, she shuddered and woke up instantly.

too frightening.

"What did you see?"

Xue Yu raised an eyebrow in surprise. Had he actually woken up the moment he went inside?

Are the top three magical artifacts on the Spirit Artifact Ranking really that useless?

Ye Qiao said with lingering fear, "I witnessed the humble daily life of a corporate slave."

Xue Yu blinked in confusion, not understanding.

However, this wasn't the first time he hadn't understood.

"Shall we try again?" Ye Qiao asked eagerly. "Perhaps the scene wasn't well-designed."

Who wants to see themselves being exploited and forced to stay up all night drawing design drafts?

Xue Yu nodded in agreement. He activated the magical artifact again, and the next second Ye Qiao opened her eyes to find herself being scolded mercilessly by her boss.

She wiped her face expressionlessly.

I regained consciousness.

Xue Yu: "..." This magical artifact is ruined?

He shook the landscape map, puzzled. "What do you see?"

I couldn't get into the zone either time.

Ye Qiao finally came to terms with reality. She sighed heavily, placed the landscape painting on the table, and said, "Forget it, I'd better keep this thing as far away from me as possible."

This landscape painting brought back memories of a scene from the modern era.

However, Ye Qiao doesn't miss the days before she wore the dress and stayed up all night to finish the design drafts.

Xue Yu's lips twitched, and he could only put the landscape map away for now.

This is a magical artifact that can evoke memories deep within people's minds. Logically, shouldn't the first reaction be to get lost in those memories?

What's with that avoidance look on her face?

After the two tested the use of the landscape map, the courtyard became lively. Mingxuan and Mu Chongxi were busy preparing a barbecue to celebrate. By the time they came out, the bonfire was already set up.

Mingxuan lit a fire-controlling talisman and threw it inside; the flames instantly shot up high.

Hearing the commotion next door, Song Hansheng snapped out of his reverie, frowned, and asked, "What's going on in the neighbor's yard?"

They can't even stop making noise late at night.

Su Zhuo sniffed hard with his dog nose. "It sounds like they're cooking?"

Cook?

Song Hansheng was even more speechless: "Don't they have any fasting pills?"

Su Zhuo said in a low voice, "I heard it's a celebration."

...It smells so good.

I have no idea what they're up to.

Song Hansheng withdrew his gaze, intending to continue reading the talisman book, but the fragrance made it impossible for him to concentrate, so he sat up.

"Let's go check out the sect next door."

Su Zhuo: "Oh."

He didn't really want to face Ye Qiao.

Every time Su Zhuo faced his former second senior sister, his feelings were indescribably complicated. For a moment, he even wondered if things would have been different if she hadn't left...

Although he quickly dismissed the thought as soon as it arose, it is undeniable that Su Zhuo had indeed fantasized about it.

The two arrived at just the right time. Ye Qiao was sitting there grilling something. Hearing the noise, she looked up at them and uttered two words: "Pay up."

"If you want to eat," she added, worried they might not understand, "you have to pay first."

Song Hansheng was surprised that she saw through his thoughts at a glance. He thought that since he was already here, he couldn't possibly give up for a few spirit stones. He couldn't afford to lose face like that.

Upon hearing this, the young man's face darkened. He reluctantly tossed her three high-grade spirit stones, then sat down expressionlessly and waited with her.

Ye Qiao didn't chase these uninvited guests away; if they wanted to eat, they could just pay.

Ye Qiao grilled the food quite quickly, but her senior brothers were just as quick to snatch it. Song Hansheng's face darkened as he watched the plate being emptied.

The five of them took turns grilling, and before they knew it, they had grilled a little too much.

Song Hansheng's plate was already piled high with food.

Ye Qiao yawned, glanced at the sky, and seeing that Song Hansheng was still not leaving, she immediately became impatient and started to shoo him away: "You've finished eating, aren't you leaving yet?"

Song Hansheng got annoyed too, "Didn't you see there's still some on my plate?"

Ye Qiao: "..."

She paused for a moment, then said, "Oh. So you're planning to eat here?" Could he even finish that much?

Song Hansheng looked at her expressionlessly, then suddenly raised his voice: "Can't I take it with me if I can't finish it?"

He looked at Ye Qiao's stunned expression and couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

You didn't expect this, did you? You've become smarter.

From now on, the people of Changming Sect will never be able to swindle him out of a single spirit stone again.

Seeing that Song Hansheng had actually taken the whole plate of barbecue, Ye Qiao crossed her arms, her feelings becoming even more complicated.

Mingxuan was stunned for a few seconds. "What's wrong with him?" Song Hansheng used to be the chief disciple who insisted on staying in the best room at the inn.

"Song Hansheng..." Ye Qiao's tone was somewhat heavy: "I've noticed that he's really changed a lot in this time."

"Oh," Xue Yu said, indicating understanding. "You've become kinder?"

Ye Qiao: "He's become a bit brain-dead."