Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

After their first duel ended, Zhu Wuyao sheathed his sword and exchanged fist salutes with the swordsman.

The swordsman never tires.

But Zhu Wuyao hesitated, wondering whether to continue, since the ranking could clearly continue to rise.

She was unaware of her own talent, nor did she know what ranking she would ultimately achieve. If she stood out too much, she would inevitably attract attention and risk exposing her true identity.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wuyao made a decisive decision and stopped the competition.

She returned to the room where she had started and saw her alias "Da Xue" appear before her eyes. Her ranking rose rapidly, from 9,300 to 903 in an instant.

Zhu Wuyao breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, no one saw it..."

Otherwise, the sudden enlightenment of a mediocre talent like "Zhu Wuji" would inevitably attract attention and discussion.

This ranking isn't actually that high.

However, Zhu Wuji's rapid rise in ranking during his second attempt at the Sword Trial Realm raises suspicions.

Compared to Zhu Wuji before, this is worlds apart.

Zhu Wuyao was unaware that Elder Liao had already prepared a reason for her.

She didn't waste any time.

He then went to the smaller leaderboard to continue improving his ranking.

But this time... Zhu Wuyao's judgment was wrong.

In the Qingyun Sect's Sword Trial Realm, all disciples, regardless of their cultivation level, will enter the main ranking to test their strength. However, this smaller ranking is different.

This ranking list is for those in the Void Exploration Realm.

Those disciples who know their own strength is weak and are unwilling to take risks will naturally not compete for rankings; seniors with high seniority and profound cultivation will naturally not enter the minor rankings to compete with juniors.

Therefore, the number of people on the small list is indeed not large.

Furthermore, those who are interested would not have waited until now to enter the small list and compete for a place.

For Elder Liao, who was keeping an eye on his disciples, the speed at which "Zhu Wuji" rose in the rankings was astonishing!

On the small list, the name "Da Xue" appeared like a dark horse breaking out of the pack.

It is rising rapidly from the bottom of the list, and no one, unless they are blind, can ignore this name.

Elder Liao blinked.

I feel like I've misread it.

But the name that kept flashing and constantly swapping places with the one above it was undeniably right before my eyes.

The ranking remained stable at 26th place before it stopped changing.

Even Elder Liao sensed something was amiss, muttering to himself:

"Could it be... that I have misled the students?"

Could it be that Zhu Wuji possesses a talent that he has not yet discovered, but his teaching methods are contrary to Zhu Wuji's direction in swordsmanship, which is why Zhu Wuji has not made any progress in swordsmanship over the years?

After traveling, he, like himself, met the cultivator who falsely claimed to be "Master Silent". He had many insights.

Is that when he finally understood?

Elder Liao glanced at the rankings with a hint of frustration.

As a simple sword cultivator, he has a simple moral outlook and is quite proud of his own style of doing things. He considers himself a responsible master, and even when faced with a hopeless case like Zhu Wuji, he has tried to carve him.

But even now, seeing Zhu Wuji suddenly become enlightened, he feels both gratified and somewhat regretful—

Why wasn't this piece of rotten wood shaped by my own hands?

On the one hand, the bad impression of Zhu Wuji from the past is hard to erase;

On the other hand, he also suspected that Zhu Wuji's lack of talent was due to his own teaching methods being incorrect.

Elder Liao felt somewhat uneasy.

A mix of complex emotions led him to remain silent when he saw Zhu Wuji step down from the sword-testing platform, and he did not call out to him.

Zhu Wuyao was unaware that she was being watched, nor did she know what Elder Liao was thinking.

Even if she knew, she could understand, after all—no one wants the stocks they gave up to rise.

This is only natural for human beings.

Moreover, Zhu Wuyao wouldn't stand up for Zhu Wuji; the prejudice he received was what he deserved.

Zhu Wuyao is in a hurry to go back to sleep!

But then, someone blocked our way at this crucial moment!

A voice came from behind; it was Han Ge.

"Could you be Da Xue?"

As luck would have it, Han Ge also prefers to be nocturnal, otherwise the two of them wouldn't have bumped into each other last time.

Upon hearing this person's voice, Zhu Wuyao knew trouble was brewing. He immediately lowered his head, pretended not to hear, and wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Time waits not for us!

If her enlightenment in her dream is delayed, the loss will be enormous!

But Han Ge was oblivious to the danger. He quickly stepped forward and even used his escape technique to instantly appear in front of Zhu Wuyao and block his way.

Zhu Wuyao wanted to sneak back into the barrier, so naturally he sought a secluded place to go.

This place is remote.

Han Ge's incessant voice rang in my ears:

“Junior brother, since you have the strength to compete for a place on the minor rankings, why cover your face? We sword practitioners should always be open and honest in our dealings…”

Han Ge taught her not only to be honest and upright.

It was because he had just made fun of the masked man, and then saw the name "Da Xue" rising in popularity, which inevitably made him feel embarrassed.

Although he had no ill intentions, he was arrogant and always liked to prove himself right.

But in Zhu Wuyao's eyes, this person was incessantly chattering and extremely annoying.

Unable to escape, and seeing that Han Ge was going to continue talking and delay her from going back to sleep, she immediately took out the sword commonly worn by Qingyun Sect disciples.

The Falling Leaf Sword Technique cannot be used in the Qingyun Sect.

The half-move I just figured out yesterday, while related to the Falling Leaf Sword Technique, is quite different, and it's perfect for this situation.

Upon seeing the man draw his sword, Han Ge immediately laughed and said:

"Junior brother, I never expected you to be such a capable person!"

“I know you cannot speak. We are both sword cultivators. If there is anything, let's settle it with swords. This is an upright and honest approach. I underestimated you.”

He was about to challenge the masked man to a duel on the Qingyun Sect's arena when he saw the masked man suddenly gather his sword energy outside the arena without saying a word.

In an instant, the surrounding area resembled a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.

The air seemed to freeze on the tip of the sword.

The masked man before him, with just the force of his sword strike, already posed a threat to Han Ge. Just as his fighting spirit was beginning to rise, he was surprised to see—

The masked man actually sheathed his sword and ran away!

Han Ge stared blankly at the masked man's back.

Zhu Wuyao ran without hesitation.

If we don't run now, are we supposed to wait until the sword's momentum completely stirs up the surrounding spiritual energy and attracts the divine senses of others?

Little did they know, while the others' senses were not drawn to this half-move sword strike, Elder Liao was keeping a close eye on the situation.

His expression was no less intense than Han Ge's.

After all, he knew the masked man's true identity!

With his keen eyesight, he could naturally tell that the sword stance was incomplete, because after the initial sword movement, there was no "sword stance" that determined the next direction of the blade.

Even so, it is still amazing enough.

Gazing at Zhu Wuji's retreating figure, he murmured:

As the ancients said, even the most insignificant person has had a chance to change their fate.

"Our predecessors were right..."