"Sigh... once you’ve entered the Inner City, it won’t be easy to come back. When a child travels far from home, a mother worries. I’m so worried about you..." From behind the black cloth curtain came the Deceitful Mother’s gentle yet sorrowful voice.
"Please don’t worry, Mother. I’ve always been cautious and will certainly pass the Cyan Cloud Examination."
"That’s true. My son is remarkable, of course. The Inner City is nothing like the Outer City. It’s far more chaotic, so you must be careful where you go. Don’t enter any place without checking it first."
"Yes."
"This is the Myriad Phenomena Map, after all, and it’s highly likely those stinking Ancient Demons will appear. Don’t be greedy for their Destiny Stars; just give them a wide berth. If you happen to encounter an Ancient Demon during one of the games, you must abandon the game and stay far away. Those things... they’re truly malevolent," the Deceitful Mother said.
Li Qingxian was stunned. ’Even the Deceitful Mother thinks the Ancient Life Remnants are malevolent?’
"What’s an Ancient Demon?" someone asked in a low voice.
Li Qingxian explained, "Their official name is Ancient Life Remnants. In ancient times, some powerful experts locked potent Destiny Stars within their bodies, hoping to be resurrected. However, they all failed. All that’s left is a lingering obsession controlling their physical remains, turning them into monsters—that’s why people also call them Ancient Demons. The Myriad Phenomena Map is itself an Ancient Netherworld, so it’s highly probable that Ancient Life Remnants will appear. Generally, only Upper-Grade Fate Masters can handle them. Ordinary Cultivators are powerless against them, which is why Mother told us to give them a wide berth."
The Deceitful Mother smiled faintly. "It’s not that there’s no way to deal with them. Certain treasures can inflict heavy damage on Ancient Life Remnants. However, your strength is still too meager, so don’t provoke them. Not unless you are completely sure of your success. Do you understand?"
"We understand," Li Qingxian said, nodding lightly. "Oh, and Mother, is Chen Sanwa allowed to leave?"
Silence fell from behind the black cloth curtain. After a long moment, the Deceitful Mother said, "He has to depend on us now, just like that Gourd Planter. You don’t need to concern yourself with his matters."
Li Qingxian thought of the bizarre Gourd Planter and nodded. He then asked, "Mother, have you heard anything about how to earn a high score?"
As he spoke, Li Qingxian took out his examination scroll.
The Deceitful Mother said, "I’m just a woman; what would I know about these things? How were scores calculated during the last Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination?"
Li Qingxian had never intended to participate in the Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination and was completely unprepared, so he genuinely had no idea. He glanced over at Songg Baige and Wang Buku.
Songg Baige said, "Answering your question, Madam. After the last Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination began, all the candidates were sent into a wilderness. The Imperial Court and the Celestial Fate Sect then released some members of the Demon Race and two Great Beasts into the area. Points could be earned by hunting them. Additionally, the Celestial Fate Sect gave everyone fragments of a Treasure Map. Collecting enough fragments would lead to a treasure, and each treasure was also worth points. There were about thirty or forty treasures in all."
"And what of the Champion Scholar from that year?" the Deceitful Mother asked.
"That year’s Champion Scholar was Killing King. He was exceptionally talented and incredibly powerful. He managed to see through the entire arrangement. First, he led a team to gather several treasures. Then, using the Magical Treasures they found, he led a group to surround one of the Great Beasts. Despite suffering heavy casualties, they eventually succeeded in killing a Middle-Grade Great Beast. This earned him the examiners’ approval, and he was named Champion Scholar. The last Champion Scholar was determined by the Imperial Court and the examiners, with the final appointment made by the Emperor. This time, as for the Champion Scholar... will the decision rest with the Imperial Court, or... with you?" Songg Baige asked timidly.
"Now that you are in this place, how could the Imperial Court of the Human World possibly decide the Champion Scholar?" the Deceitful Mother said in a cold voice.
"You are absolutely right, Madam! I believe Ye Han has what it takes to be the Champion Scholar."
"Don’t set me up for a fall," Li Qingxian said, glaring at Songg Baige.
"Baige isn’t wrong. Why are you glaring at him? My son truly has what it takes to be Champion Scholar," the Deceitful Mother said with a smile.
"Mother, you just haven’t seen Great Cultivators like Hao Yunsheng, Marquis Nanxiang, the Bone Filth Child, and the Grave Carver. They are the real contenders for Champion Scholar," Li Qingxian said.
"Don’t praise others at your own expense," the Deceitful Mother said.
Li Qingxian smiled and asked, "Mother, what’s your take? How do you think the examiners here will score us?"
"I’m just a simple woman, what do I know? Since you all entered the city intending to be loyal subjects, then you should focus on being good loyal subjects. If you can be a good loyal subject, does it really matter if you don’t become the Champion Scholar?" the Deceitful Mother countered.
"Oh," Li Qingxian replied casually. On the surface, he seemed unconcerned, but the gears in his head were turning furiously. ’From her question to Songg Baige about the last Cyan Cloud Examination to her final point about being a loyal subject... she’s already given clues.’ He just didn’t know enough about this place to be certain yet. However, he was confident he would uncover more as he proceeded.
They spoke for a while longer before Li Qingxian took his leave of the Deceitful Mother. He stepped out of the courtyard and made his way toward the Inner City gate.
After they had walked a short distance, Wang Buku suddenly asked, "Did you guys notice something?"
"What?" The group stopped in their tracks and glanced around nervously.
"After we went into Ye Han’s house, the children stopped singing their nursery rhymes," Wang Buku said.
Understanding dawned on the group.
"So that’s what happened!"
"I can’t believe we managed to avoid danger so many times."
"That Auntie is a really good person. I’ll definitely have to visit her again," said Songg Baige.
The rest of them rolled their eyes.
"Do you guys think the Deceitful Mother was hinting at something?" Guanzhou asked.
Songg Baige hissed, "What nonsense are you talking about? The Deceitful Mother is just a woman. What could she possibly be hinting at?"
Guanzhou’s face paled, and he looked ashamed. "You’re right, you’re right," he said hurriedly. "She wasn’t hinting at anything. I was just overthinking it."
Several people frowned at Guanzhou. It was something they all understood implicitly, but to say it aloud was tantamount to accusing Ye Han and the Deceitful Mother of cheating.
If they alerted the uncanny examiners that might be listening, what hope of survival would they have?
Seeing the looks on their faces, Guanzhou panicked. He hurried over to Li Qingxian and whispered, "Ye Han, I honestly didn’t mean anything by it. The thought just popped into my head and I said it. I’m not going to be... punished, am I?"
Li Qingxian replied calmly, "Relax. Mother isn’t that petty. But we’re just ordinary Cultivators—we’re not Great Cultivators, not a Human Son, and we certainly don’t have the kind of immense backing that Marquis Nanxiang does. We have to be exceedingly careful about what we say and do."
"Yes, yes, of course..." Guanzhou nodded vigorously.
Li Qingxian said slowly, "We already figured out this whole ’be a loyal subject’ business when we first entered the city. Now, we need to stay firmly on this path and keep moving forward."
Wang Buku nodded. "Right. The children told us to be loyal subjects from the start; we can’t stray from that course. But... don’t you all think the Outer City was a little too easy?"
"That’s only because we have Ye Han," Guanzhou quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over. "Without him, when we ran into that ’Stick the Nose’ game, what percentage of teams do you think would have made it through unscathed? Ten percent, maybe?"
"That’s true," Wang Buku said. "But the ’Stick the Nose’ game itself wasn’t life-threatening. My guess is that, apart from jump rope, beanbags, and shadows, none of the other games in the Outer City were actually fatal, regardless of their difficulty. At most, you’d lose an arm or a leg, maybe a nose—trivial matters, really."
Guanzhou finally nodded. "Buku’s right. Look at me. I’m missing a nose, but I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?"
"Yeah, we’re all a bit jealous. You traded a not-so-useful nose for a Treasure. Speaking of which, can anyone guess what that Treasure does? Ye Han, any ideas?"
Li Qingxian shook his head. "I have no idea. These Guii Youxi are endlessly strange. Guessing is all we can do."
As they spoke, the mist ahead of them parted, revealing a massive square.
At the far end of the square stood a great Brass Gate, which looked almost identical to the previous gate of the Outer City.
This time, there was no giant child at the gate. Instead, a group of children, around seven or eight years old and dressed in Official Uniforms, stood flanking the entrance.