Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Jiang Ziliu mumbled, "Impossible... That jade slip must be mine... It can't be..."

"This is impossible!" he roared.

The surrounding disciples slowly began to grasp the situation, yet none offered congratulations to Lu Shitu. Their expressions were a peculiar mix of shock, envy, and chagrin. Many recalled their earlier taunts, feeling their faces burn with acute embarrassment.

Especially the disciple who had previously scoffed, "Sitting there won’t make spirit herbs fall from the sky"—he wished he could rewind time and deliver a resounding slap to his own face. As it turned out, those spirit herbs truly *had* fallen from the sky for Lu Shitu!

Amidst this commotion, no one even noticed the second and third place winners: Jiang Ziliu and a newly initiated junior disciple from Shouzhong Peak, respectively.

Lu Shitu gazed at the gleaming golden characters on the jade slip, slowly unclenching the fist he had kept hidden within his sleeve.

He hadn’t truly expected to succeed.

Though his face remained impassive, a profound sense of relief washed over him.

He wouldn't disappoint his master—that was a wonderful feeling.

Indeed, the mere thought that his master might be pleased by this outcome filled his heart with a profound contentment, like a cloud swollen with rain. He even felt a faint urge to smile.

He could feel the astonished gazes of those around him, and sense their myriad complex emotions, including admiration and envy.

It transported him back to a distant past, when such looks were as commonplace as eating and drinking. Then, his thoughts shifted to later times, during his confinement in the water prison and his days as an outer disciple, when those very same people had subjected him to cold mockery and disdain.

Now, facing those fervent stares once more, Lu Shitu found his heart strangely unmoved.

He simply felt a sudden, deep yearning for that small, humble side room on Broken Mountain Peak.

Jiang Ziliu suddenly raised his voice, shouting, "No! Lu Shitu... Lu Shitu clearly didn’t gather any spirit herbs! We all saw him—he entered the valley and immediately began meditating. How could he possibly have obtained so many spirit herbs?!"

This time, a profound silence fell. Not a single soul spoke up in his defense.

With the sect leader present, who would dare question the fairness of the trial? Would anyone be so foolish as to suggest the centuries-old formation on the jade slip pouch was flawed, or that the sect leader had allowed such a glaring error to occur right under his nose? No one was that dim-witted.

You Weiwan subtly furrowed her brow, a fleeting expression of distaste crossing her features.

Jiang Ziliu, finding himself in an awkward silence, gritted his teeth. He had no choice but to confront Lu Shitu directly: "How exactly did you obtain these spirit herbs? Can you explain? Don’t tell us they just fell from the sky while you sat there!"

A hushed stillness enveloped the crowd as all the disciples turned to Lu Shitu. They, too, were intensely curious. Even the sect leader remained silent, his gaze fixed on Lu Shitu.

Under the collective scrutiny, Lu Shitu calmly stated, "I entered the Reflection Wall within the valley and answered all the questions there."

His voice was soft, his tone even, yet his words struck like a thunderclap, igniting a fervent buzz among the disciples.

Most of them had vaguely heard of the Reflection Wall from earlier spirit herb classes, but no one had ever conceived of using it to acquire spirit herbs. Upon closer reflection, however, no one had ever explicitly forbidden it.

But what truly astonished them was:

"He actually answered all of them correctly?! Is that even possible?!"

"Isn’t that absolutely terrifying?!"

"I heard that back when it was still in use, no one ever achieved a perfect score in all those years!"

Hearing these murmurs, Lu Shitu finally grasped just how challenging this task truly was.

Yet his master had spoken with such natural certainty that he would succeed. His master had such... profound trust in him...

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Lu Shitu’s lips.

He reined in his thoughts and glanced at Jiang Ziliu. The latter’s face cycled between ashen and crimson, isolated in the center of the chattering crowd. His expression was as if Lu Shitu had slapped him across the face from a distance, leaving him utterly mortified.

At that moment, the sect leader spoke: "To forge a new path shows remarkable insight. Jiang Ziliu, do you have anything further to say?" The first sentence was praise for Lu Shitu, while the second was directed at Jiang Ziliu.

Hearing the sect leader’s direct commendation, Lu Shitu displayed no trace of arrogance, maintaining his composed and humble demeanor. In the eyes of the onlookers, it was difficult not to be favorably impressed.

In stark contrast, Jiang Ziliu’s face was flushed crimson, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word. The difference between the two was immediately apparent.

Though he couldn't discern the specific whispers, Jiang Ziliu keenly sensed the shift in everyone's attitude. He clenched his fists, struggling for a long moment to articulate a single word, his face reddening with frustration, veins even bulging on his forehead.

All he wanted was to flee this place immediately and head to the library to retrieve his cultivation manual. He was the true destined one! Even if that worthless opportunist had temporarily gained an advantage, he would surely crush him a thousandfold later!

However, the sect leader suddenly interjected, "Wait, there's one more thing to be done."

Only then, with a jolt, did everyone remember—Jiang Ziliu still hadn't apologized to Lu Shitu!

The disciples who had been standing between Jiang Ziliu and Lu Shitu had, at some point, subtly parted, leaving all eyes fixed on Jiang Ziliu.

Jiang Ziliu was on the verge of madness. The sect leader was siding with Lu Shitu? He wanted him to apologize?!

He knew that after this incident, his prestige within the sect would be severely diminished.

He nearly ground his teeth to powder, but he forced himself to suppress his resentment and indignation. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he reluctantly lowered his head to Lu Shitu, his voice tinged with unwilling submission: "Senior Brother Lu, I was disrespectful earlier. It was entirely my fault. I hope you can forgive me."

Lu Shitu looked at him, his expression still as calm as still water, and replied softly, "There’s no need for that, Junior Brother."

The contrast between the two was almost unbearable to witness. The disciples observing couldn't help but think: *While Jiang Ziliu is indeed formidable, his character and upbringing are truly...*

The sect leader watched Jiang Ziliu from a distance, his gaze appearing somewhat cold.

When Lu Shitu returned to his cave abode, his steps were subtly different from usual—carrying an almost imperceptible urgency. As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he paused, momentarily surprised.

In the courtyard stood a lush ginkgo tree, beneath which a table and chairs were arranged. Seated in one of the chairs was a person who appeared to be asleep.

Lu Shitu quieted his steps and slowly approached.

Rong Yu was indeed asleep, his head tilted gently to one side, long eyelashes resting against his cheeks. Sunlight filtering through the ginkgo leaves cast dappled shadows on his face, making his skin appear almost translucent, possessing a strangely fragile beauty.

A stray strand of hair had fallen, brushing against the side of Rong Yu’s face. He seemed to feel a tickle, frowning slightly in his sleep.

Lu Shitu held his breath, gently leaning down to carefully tuck the errant strand of hair back into place. The black hair was cool and smooth, like satin, lingering for a fleeting moment in Lu Shitu’s palm.

At that instant, Rong Yu suddenly tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes fluttering, and murmured softly, "Senior Brother, stop bothering me..."

His voice was soft, even carrying a hint of a coquettish, childlike tone—a side of him Lu Shitu had never witnessed before. Rong Yu was always powerful, nonchalant, as if he held the entire world in the palm of his hand—an absolute powerhouse.

Yet, in his drowsy state, he could react like this...

Lu Shitu’s pupils contracted momentarily. Then, unable to help himself, he frowned slightly and spoke up: "Master, it’s me. I’ve returned."

Half-asleep, Rong Yu replied impatiently, "I already said Shitu won’t be back for a few days..."

As if roused by Lu Shitu’s voice, he slowly opened his eyes, directly meeting Lu Shitu’s gaze.

Rong Yu blinked slowly, taking a moment to fully awaken, then said with some surprise, "Shitu? How are you back so soon?"

When the trial results were announced yesterday, Rong Yu had been immersed in weapon refining on Bingzhen Peak. Upon hearing the good news of Lu Shitu’s victory, Rong Baichuan was both shocked and delighted, congratulating Rong Yu before asking, "Aren’t you going back to celebrate with your disciple?"

Rong Yu had laughed then, saying, "I allowed him to stay on Qingxu Peak for a few days to rest. He must be having a wonderful time with his peers right now and won’t return so soon."

Rong Yu had thought contentedly to himself that Lu Shitu must have thoroughly humiliated the male lead by now and had become friends with the female lead during their interactions, probably enjoying himself immensely on Qingxu Peak.

Who would've thought that after just one day, the boy would already be back?

When Lu Shitu heard Rong Yu’s question, he seemed a bit awkward, looking away, his ears turning red, and he responded vaguely.

Rong Yu quickly dismissed the matter and praised Lu Shitu with a smile, "Well done. You weren't hurt, were you?"

Lu Shitu obediently shook his head, then turned back to gaze intently at Rong Yu’s smiling face.

Rong Yu looked Lu Shitu over carefully and, seeing that he looked exactly the same as when he had left the mountain, nodded in relief. He then reached out his hand, signaling for Lu Shitu to extend his wrist, and felt for his pulse.

His pulse was normal, with no signs of cultivation deviation, and it seemed the heart demons hadn't acted up either.

Lu Shitu handed the cultivation technique he had selected from the library to Rong Yu, his tone respectful, saying, "Just as you said, Master, there was indeed such a book tucked between the shelves."

Rong Yu took it and saw that it matched the description in the book—tattered and worn, with a plain cover devoid of any words, and its contents appearing exceedingly simple.

Rong Yu thought to himself, *Of course—I'm the one holding the script.*

So he knew very well the true value of this cultivation technique, which was underestimated by everyone in the original story.

Having successfully obtained this technique, the path ahead would become much smoother. Rong Yu smiled in satisfaction and asked Lu Shitu, "What was Jiang Ziliu’s attitude toward you when you went to the library?"

Lu Shitu recalled, "He looked gloomy, shot me strange looks when he thought no one was looking, and looked downright furious when I entered the library."

Rong Yu sneered inwardly: *Just as I expected.*

Rong Yu then asked, "And what was his reaction when you came out with this technique?"

Lu Shitu described truthfully, "His face changed dramatically, his eyes lit up wildly, and he looked almost frenzied before rushing into the library in a rush."

Rong Yu couldn’t help but sneer again: *Excellent. Jiang Ziliu, you’re still following the exact path laid out in the original book. But this time, you’ll slowly come to realize that this path leads not to a bright future, but straight to hell for a despicable villain like you.*