The master and his two disciples watched in silence. On the Aoshou Platform, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zhangg Shoucheng, officially declared Li Qingxian the Aoshou of this year’s Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, and the entire crowd erupted in cheers.
Afterward, Zhangg Shoucheng announced that once the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination concluded, the Eighth-Grade Aoshou and the Seventh-Grade Champion Scholar would travel to the Capital City together for an audience with the Holy Emperor.
Amidst the crowd’s envious stares, Li Qingxian stepped down from the Aoshou Platform.
Songg Baige, Wang Buku, and the others swarmed him.
"You’ve really made it!" Songg Baige clapped a hand on Li Qingxian’s shoulder.
"I hear it was a legendary process. Tell us what happened," Wang Buku asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Let’s head back to camp. We can talk on the way." Surrounded by his friends, Li Qingxian recounted the events of the examination as they slowly walked back.
When they finally heard that Li Qingxian had killed Pei Changyun with a single spell, they were all in disbelief.
"Killing a Demon Fiend is understandable. After all, it was in a cage, and you had plenty of time to build up power. But Pei Changyun wasn’t a corpse. How could he not have dodged?"
"Pei Changyun was strong enough to rank in the top five. There was no questioning his power. I’ve heard his name before; he’s a Core Disciple of Demon Transformation Mountain."
"Is your Thunder Skill really that incredible? An expert of the same grade couldn’t even manage to dodge it?"
Songg Baige yelped, "If that’s true, doesn’t that make you invincible among your peers? Can you call yourself an Eighth-Grade Great Cultivator now?"
"My Thunder Skill is actually pretty average. It’s just a tiny bit faster than most. And as for cultivators from the Demon Sect, don’t you know what they’re like? They bully the weak and fear the strong. They’ve never been in a real life-or-death battle, so isn’t it perfectly normal for them to lose to me?" Li Qingxian said.
"And what life-or-death battles have you been in?" Songg Baige retorted.
Li Qingxian paused for a moment before saying, "The time I revised the poem in Beichen City, a feat worthy of the First Grade, single-handedly turning the tide—wasn’t that a life-or-death battle?"
"Oh, stop bragging! It must be because Fairy Qingcheng is a good teacher of the Thunder Skill!"
"Right, right..." His pack of terrible friends nodded in agreement.
Laughing and joking, the group returned to their wooden cabin. To celebrate Li Qingxian’s victory as Aoshou, they started a bonfire party.
The bonfire illuminated their beaming faces as they ate and drank deep into the night.
Even the candidates participating in the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination the next day joined in without a care.
Li Qingxian sat on the grass, constantly accepting toasts from everyone. It wasn’t convenient to relieve himself there, so every now and then, he would circulate his Magical Power to force the alcohol from his body.
As the drinking was reaching its peak, a red-clad woman with a graceful figure approached, bent down, and asked in a soft voice, "Are you the Aoshou, Li Qingxian? I am also a Fate Master. I have come on the order of my master, Gai Fengyou, to discuss an important matter with you."
Li Qingxian was pleasantly tipsy and only noticed a fragrant breeze before turning his head. He saw a woman of about twenty squatting beside him, a smile on her face.
The woman had a vixen’s face. Her eyes, set beneath shapely brows, shimmered like autumn waters, radiating a subtle, flirtatious warmth.
She wore red gauze robes in a foreign style, which revealed more than what local women usually wore, exposing her fair arms. Because she was squatting, Li Qingxian had a clear view of how her arms, held before her, squeezed her ample bosom together, causing it to swell up from her low-cut collar.
He was a hot-blooded young man; how could he stand such a sight? He immediately realized this woman was trying to seduce him!
’A member of the Demon Sect?’
’Wait, Gai Fengyou...’ Only then did Li Qingxian realize the most important detail wasn’t right in front of him, but in the woman’s words.
Gai Fengyou had come from a minor Fate Skill Sect but had managed to reach the Upper Grade, a true model for all Fate Masters. The man was widely connected and had close ties with some of Qii Country’s major powers. As a result, he was actually more famous in Qii Country than some more powerful Great Fate Masters.
Li Qingxian had indeed heard some stories about Gai Fengyou, not about his cultivation, but about him punishing evil, promoting good, defying the powerful, and playing pranks on high officials.
However, most Fate Masters didn’t think highly of him, believing him to be too much of a grandstander.
"Who’s this? Ooh, aren’t you the lucky one, Qingxian..." Songg Baige turned his head, saw the unfamiliar beauty, and immediately started hooting.
Everyone else looked over, and their eyes burned when they saw the beautiful and alluring woman in her foreign-style clothes.
Tong Ling gave a captivating smile. In the firelight, her cheeks were flushed red, and her eyes glinted like embers.
Just as the others were about to hoot and holler some more, Tong Ling smiled and said, "I am Tong Ling, a Fate Master and disciple of Master Gai Fengyou. A pleasure to meet you all."
Tong Ling’s voice was as crisp as a wind chime, but it hit the crowd like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads.
"Let’s talk over there," Li Qingxian said.
He placed his hands on the ground to push himself up, but Tong Ling smiled and said, "Let me help you." She then intimately took his arm and helped him to his feet, only releasing him after he was standing.
The crowd was shocked, envious, and resentful. It was true that women in foreign dress were more open than those of Qii Country, but this woman was a Fate Master and Gai Fengyou’s disciple. Her status was extremely high. For her to act so humbly, what kind of spell had Li Qingxian put her under?
Songg Baige kept shooting Li Qingxian meaningful looks, trying to get the scoop.
Li Qingxian shot him a glare and walked with Tong Ling to the side of the cabin, far enough away for privacy but close enough to keep the others in sight and avoid any trouble.
"May I ask what business Miss Tong has with me?" Li Qingxian asked, instinctively feeling that her cultivation was higher than his.
To his surprise, Tong Ling reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, blushed, and said, "I don’t deserve such a title. I had an accident during my cultivation, and my grade level dropped. I only have Ninth-Grade Cultivation left."
Li Qingxian had just been polite, but he never expected the woman to confess everything so openly. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to be suspicious or sympathetic. "What a shame," he said at last. "You should be able to recover, right?"
"My master says my foundation is solid. All I lost was my Cultivation, but my qi and blood are already well-integrated. I should be able to recover in half a year at most." Tong Ling looked at Li Qingxian, a smile in her eyes.
Li Qingxian nodded. He wasn’t sure if it was the alcohol, but he felt that Tong Ling’s voice was exceptionally crisp, almost sweet.
"Here’s the thing," Tong Ling said. "Ever since my master learned that you received a token of favor from the Life-Seeking Sect on the Beast Bridge, he’s been paying close attention to you. To be honest, you know my master’s reputation isn’t the best, right?"
"I haven’t heard anything of the sort. For Master Gai to reach the Upper Grade after starting from a minor sect is no small feat. A bit of idle gossip isn’t necessarily accurate." Li Qingxian had only heard that Gai Fengyou was good at currying favor with the powerful and was indeed a bit of a social climber, but he wasn’t associated with any major scandals or evil deeds.
"No wonder my master thinks so highly of you. You truly are different from other Fate Masters, completely without prejudice." Tong Ling’s voice grew even sweeter and crisper.
Li Qingxian sensed the sincerity in her voice and relaxed slightly. He smiled. "I’m just speaking the truth."
Tong Ling continued, "My master’s aptitude is average, and his background is ordinary. If he wanted to advance to the Upper Grade by cultivating like a normal Fate Master, he’d have no hope in this lifetime. So, my master has said himself that in his youth, he was indeed too much of a social climber, he did rely on the powerful, and he did do some undignified things to advance. But he never committed any great wrongs. Besides, who in this world has never made a mistake?"
"That is true," Li Qingxian said.
"After advancing to the Upper Grade, my master’s disposition gradually changed, and he began wanting to contribute to the Fate Skill Realm. But my master is just one man with limited power. He cannot help everyone, so he can only help disciples with potential who are not from Major Sects. My master already respects Mr. Gangfeng and regards him as a role model for scholars. When he learned that you were held in high regard by the Life-Seeking Sect, he began observing you from afar. He wanted to meet you long ago, but something came up that he couldn’t get away from, so he had no choice but to send me."