When the two appeared before several Qingyun Sect disciples, quite a few people with equally remarkable stamina and perseverance had already reached the summit.
But among the disciples, the Senior Brother positioned at the core kept frowning, his gaze full of dissatisfaction.
Lin Nan had a premonition. She felt that the next moment, this Senior Brother would lift a cup of tea, take a small sip, spit out the tea leaves, and then say with a disgusted expression, “You are the worst batch of students I have ever taught.”
“Hmph, is this all you’ve got? You are the worst I have ever—”
The Senior Brother stood with his hands behind his back. He really wanted to finish the sentence, but for some reason, he felt as if the throat of fate itself was being strangled, some mysterious force preventing him from saying those words.
He coughed twice, then fixed his gaze on the two women who had climbed the summit hand in hand. Rarely, his expression softened.
“You two are quite good, despite your exhaustion you supported each other to the top. Not bad, not bad.”
The Senior Brother repeated “not bad” several times. Given his just and impartial nature, it was unlikely he was praising them just for their looks.
“Take a good look, this is the kind of disciple Qingyun Sect needs—united, resolute against enemies, harmonious in heart and virtue, and…”
“Senior Brother, stop reciting. There aren’t so many ‘tongs’ here.”
The Senior Brother cleared his throat twice. A Senior Sister stepped forward in time, making space with two steps and extending her hand in invitation.
“Two Junior Sisters, congratulations on earning the chance to participate in the Qingyun Sect trial. Please proceed to accept the first test.”
The Senior Sister pointed toward the broad plaza at the summit. In front stood a lone door, and before the door was a small wooden stool with four legs.
“Sit on it, think of nothing, and the first trial will be considered complete. Senior Sister will be watching you~”
The Senior Sister smiled playfully and even winked. For some reason, this generous enthusiasm irked Shen Yuer.
She squeezed Lin Nan’s hand tightly.
Though her legs trembled from exhaustion, she pouted stubbornly and walked ahead. This time, she held Lin Nan’s hand as they moved forward.
“I’ll go first.”
Approaching the wooden stool, Shen Yuer sat down properly, facing the door.
The originally transparent door suddenly rippled endlessly, the transparency fading until it became pure white.
“Human Race!”
The Senior Sister raised her right arm high, announcing the result publicly.
Lin Nan’s gaze sharpened. She actually recognized the door—it was one of Qingyun Sect’s treasures: the Jianyao Mirror.
She bit her lip as her heartbeat quickened. Every pounding seemed to explode beside her ears. She slowly lifted her head.
Shen Yuer stood up swiftly, turning toward Lin Nan, her slender waist bending slightly. One hand was on her hip, the other flashing a “yeah” gesture.
Sunlight poured through the mountain gate, lighting her cheeks just as a breeze blew her hair loose.
So cute.
But better not be too cute, or I won’t be able to control myself.
Lin Nan pursed her lips, offering a faint smile as she slowly walked to the stool.
“Vvv—”
The Jianyao Mirror suddenly trembled violently, a deep, continuous rumble echoing. This unusual phenomenon unseen for thousands of years drew several Qingyun Sect disciples who had been watching from above the steps.
The initial roaring of the Jianyao Mirror gradually faded, transparent waves flowing layer upon layer, but the color darkened until it became a pool of thick black ink.
The Senior Brother and Senior Sister stood side by side, their faces grave.
“To my knowledge, since the previous dynasty completely eradicated the Monster Clan, the Jianyao Mirror has never shown any abnormal movement again.”
“Could it be…”
The Senior Sister’s expression remained unchanged. She raised her hand to stop the Senior Brother.
“Senior Brother, hold on. The Jianyao Mirror’s abnormality doesn’t necessarily mean it has found a Monster.”
The Senior Brother frowned tighter, already involuntarily gathering true qi. At the right moment, he could summon a flying sword to pierce the heart of the white-haired, azure-eyed girl sitting before the mirror.
“The Demon Emperor did kill all Monsters in the Central Continent back then,” the Senior Sister said indifferently as she looked at the girl quietly sitting before the Jianyao Mirror, “but there was one kind of Monster the Demon Emperor deliberately spared.”
The Senior Brother seemed to recall something, a hint of pity flashing across his face. “But…”
“Let’s just wait and see.”
Sure enough, as the Senior Sister finished speaking, the thick black ink on the Jianyao Mirror gradually lightened. Pure white spread from its four corners, merging with the black ink on the mirror.
From black it turned to gray, then from gray divided into black and white.
Eventually, black and white each took half, forming a subtle balance.
This balance lasted a moment before the white suddenly overwhelmed and covered the entire Jianyao Mirror.
Everything returned to calm, as if what just happened was an illusion.
“Half-Demon—the offspring of the union between Monsters and humans. Only this kind of Monster was spared by the Demon Emperor, turning a blind eye.”
The Senior Brother sighed, his gaze toward Lin Nan filled with both disdain and pity.
The disdain was for her half-demon bloodline; the pity was also for that same half-demon bloodline.
Strictly speaking, half-demons are human. Even if their veins run with cursed blood, they are still human.
“With this kind of bloodline, my Master won’t accept her,” the Senior Brother shook his head, his previous admiration for the determined woman disappearing instantly.
“That’s not certain,” the Senior Sister sneered twice, “maybe the Senior Uncle will be the one to snatch her.”
“Then we shall wait and see,” the Senior Brother said unhappily, flicking his sleeve as he turned away to the top of the steps, looking down at the swarm of people climbing like ants.
He sighed again for no apparent reason.
“Human Race!”
“Passed!”
The Senior Sister raised her right arm high. Even surrounded by many confused disciples, she declared the answer with absolute certainty.
She came from Xiuyuan Peak, studied under Elder Jiansong, and was knowledgeable and experienced. Her cultivation specialized in keen vision, which is why she was assigned to oversee the first trial.
Since the Senior Sister had announced it so firmly, even if many disciples had doubts, they could only swallow them for later inquiry.
Lin Nan sat dazed on the stool, watching the Jianyao Mirror shift from black to white, unable to understand what had just happened.
She was a half-demon; all black obviously made no sense, but all white was unreasonable as well. The most reasonable state had been the initial balance of black and white.
Could it be… someone had helped break the balance?
As she lowered her eyelids, pondering deeply, a cheerful cheer came from behind.
“Yay!”
Then, a soft weight pressed heavily on her back.
The enthusiastic girl hugged her tightly, her small hands happily rubbing Lin Nan’s face as she exclaimed, “Although I don’t know what happened, congratulations to both of us for passing the first test! What a joyful occasion, what a joyful occasion!”
Lin Nan smiled helplessly. Having been emotionally hurt many times, she just couldn’t muster that kind of passion. She really had no way to deal with such an exuberant girl.
She forced herself to stand, peeling off her “Miss Octopus” gear, speaking softly, “Isn’t the first test the easiest one? What’s there to celebrate?”
After all, being human is simple—no one wouldn’t be human, right?
“Eh? Xiao Lin, what kind of thinking is that?”
“What do you mean?”
Lin Nan was confused too. She blinked, looking at the girl who took a step forward, tilting her head, her little face serious.
“That’s not right,” Shen Yuer said seriously, “don’t dismiss things just because they seem small.”
“Anything you’ve done successfully is worth celebrating. Smile when you’re happy, make a fuss when you’re angry, don’t suppress your emotions!”
Shen Yuer shook her head, despite being only sixteen, deliberately putting on the mature demeanor of a private school teacher.
She suddenly pointed her index finger at Lin Nan and snorted, “Looks like Xiao Lin’s disciple puts a lot of unnecessary pressure on herself. You’ve still got a long way to go!”
Lin Nan smiled and made a playful bow, replying, “Yes, Teacher!”
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