Retest—Qi Refining, Fourth Layer?!

"Insolence!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, Huang Zhen unleashed an invisible burst of force that sent Zhang Yu flying to the ground.

"A sect treasure—how dare a snot-nosed brat like you criticize it at will?" Huang Zhen's face was dark as water, his eyes full of disgust. "The Spirit-Testing Stone was formed from the core of an array passed down by the founding patriarch. It has never made a single mistake in thousands of years. To question the Spirit-Testing Stone is to question the very foundation of the sect!"

Zhang Yu landed face-first in the dirt, his topknot scattered, looking utterly wretched.

But it also jolted him awake. He knew he was finished. He had offended an elder and offended Ye Xingchen, a future genius. In the First Saint Sect, he would be unable to take a single step.

Unless... Ye Xingchen was truly a fraud!

"Senior Brother Huang, why get so worked up?"

A slightly effeminate voice suddenly came from the other side.

The crowd automatically parted, and a middle-aged man in a purplish-red robe stepped out. He was somewhat plump, and his triangular eyes glittered with shrewdness.

Huang Zhen's expression changed slightly when he saw the newcomer. He snorted. "Wang Dakui, this is the examination area under my charge. Why aren't you staying in your own area? What are you doing here?"

Wang Dakui, elder of the outer sect's West Hall, had always been at odds with Huang Zhen. They had openly and covertly fought for decades, though the main reason was still the distribution of resources.

Which outer sect elder present did not understand the sect's unspoken rules?

The aptitude and number of disciples recruited each year were directly tied to the cultivation resources they could receive.

One disciple with a Medium-Grade Spiritual Root was enough to make this year's resource allotment surpass everyone else's by a huge margin!

Wang Dakui had only managed to produce a few disciples with Lower-Grade Spiritual Roots under his command. He had thought he could finally stand above the others, yet a disciple with a Medium-Grade Spiritual Root had suddenly popped up here!

How could he possibly accept that!

"Hehe, as an outer sect elder, I naturally have to consider the sect's development."

Wang Dakui gave Ye Xingchen a smile that did not reach his eyes, his gaze looking at him like merchandise waiting to be priced.

"This boy tested as a mortal without any Spiritual Root before. Now, he has suddenly become someone with a Medium-Grade Spiritual Root—and he is even at Qi Refining, Third Layer... Tsk, tsk."

"No one would believe that. So shouldn't we confirm it again, lest the sect's interests be harmed?"

As soon as he said that, the murmurs Huang Zhen had suppressed once again surged like a rising tide.

"Yeah, it's too absurd."

"It would be one thing if he had awakened a Spiritual Root, but how could his cultivation suddenly leap to Qi Refining, Third Layer too? That is the fruit of years of bitter cultivation for others!"

"Wang Dakui, stop making insinuations here!" Huang Zhen thundered. "Are you accusing me of helping him cheat?"

"Hey, I never said that." Wang Dakui slowly waved a hand and pointed at Zhang Yu on the ground. "But since a disciple has raised doubts, then for the sake of convincing everyone—and proving this 'genius' innocent—what harm is there in testing him again?"

As he spoke, Wang Dakui curled his lips into a cold smile. "Unless... Senior Brother Huang has a guilty conscience?"

"You!" Huang Zhen choked on his anger.

This was an open scheme.

If he refused to test Ye Xingchen, it would mean he had a guilty conscience. His reputation would be ruined, and he would bear the blame of poor judgment—or even cheating in the examination.

But if they tested him... what if this brat really had something Weird going on?

Sigh... I got carried away with joy. I should have been more cautious.

Just as the two elders were locked in a stalemate, the silent Ye Xingchen suddenly spoke.

"Retesting is fine."

The youth's voice was clear, without a trace of worldly heat.

He looked at Wang Dakui, then at Zhang Yu, who had begun to perk up beside him, and said calmly, "But why should I cooperate with you?"

Wang Dakui froze, then narrowed his eyes. "Boy, this is to prove your innocence."

"Innocence?" Ye Xingchen sneered, as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "My cultivation is right here. Whether you believe it or not is your business. What does it have to do with me? If every stray cat or dog barks twice and I have to prove myself once, then shouldn't everyone else's tests be done over as well?"

"You... who are you calling a dog?!" Zhang Yu flew into a rage.

Ye Xingchen did not even glance at him. He merely stared at Wang Dakui while lightly rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. "If you want me to retest, you have to pay."

The entire crowd was dumbfounded.

Huang Zhen's mouth twitched. This brat... so arrogant! So greedy!

Wang Dakui was angered into laughter as well. "What a sharp-tongued brat. Fine, you want stakes, do you?"

He gave Zhang Yu a look.

Zhang Yu immediately understood. With Elder Wang backing him, what was there left for him to fear? He firmly believed Ye Xingchen must have used some kind of one-time illusion!

"Ye Xingchen! If you dare to retest, and you can still test as having a Medium-Grade Spiritual Root and Qi Refining cultivation, then this bottle of Qi Condensation Pills is yours!"

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Yu pulled a porcelain bottle from his robes, his heart bleeding.

This was the reward he had received upon becoming an outer sect disciple. It was a resource he had planned to use to break through to Qi Refining, Second Layer—ten pills in total!

"Ten Qi Condensation Pills?"

Ye Xingchen raised an eyebrow slightly.

The system panel instantly appeared across his retina:

[Resource detected: Low-Grade Qi Condensation Pill x10]

[Estimated convertible Source Points: 10]

Good stuff.

A delivery brought right to his doorstep—refusing it would invite heaven's wrath.

"Deal." Ye Xingchen agreed without hesitation and even held out his hand. "Hand it over."

"Hold it!" Zhang Yu abruptly pulled his hand back and grinned viciously. "If you fail to test it, or your true colors are exposed... I want you to kneel, crawl through my legs, and get the hell out of the First Saint Sect!"

"Fine."

Ye Xingchen's expression remained calm.

Seeing Ye Xingchen so composed, Zhang Yu inexplicably felt a flicker of unease. But he quickly forced it down.

It must be an illusion!

"Men!" Wang Dakui waved a hand. "Go to the storehouse and bring the spare Heaven-Appraising Mirror! It is more accurate than the Spirit-Testing Stone. No falsehood can escape it!"

Huang Zhen's expression changed slightly. "The Heaven-Appraising Mirror? That is for inner sect examinations, Wang Dakui. Don't go too far!"

"For fairness, of course." Wang Dakui smiled without warmth.

Soon, two steward disciples carried over an ancient bronze mirror.

Faint ripples like water flowed across its surface, radiating a pressure that made hearts tremble.

"Go ahead, great genius." Zhang Yu clutched the medicine bottle tightly, his eyes venomous.

Ye Xingchen walked up to the bronze mirror.

He could sense that this mirror truly had some tricks to it. A force seemed to be trying to peer into the depths of his dantian.

I wanted to get along with you as an ordinary genius, but all I received was suspicion and harassment.

Ye Xingchen sneered inwardly.

Since this Heaven-Appraising Mirror could expose falsehoods, there was no need to keep concealing the cultivation he had deliberately suppressed before.

Concealing one's strength was meant to reduce trouble.

But when trouble had already come knocking, crushing it to pieces was the most trouble-free method.

No more pretending.

Time to lay his cards on the table.

Ye Xingchen took a deep breath and stopped suppressing the spiritual power surging through him like rivers and seas. He slammed his right hand onto the mirror's surface.

BOOM—!!!

A blinding azure light instantly swallowed the entire platform. Then, a visible pillar of spiritual power shot into the sky, directly shredding the drifting clouds above!

The light was so intense that everyone involuntarily shut their eyes!

Within that blinding azure radiance, a line of words emerged upon the Heaven-Appraising Mirror.

Those few lines of text were like massive hammers, smashing fiercely into everyone's hearts once more:

[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade (Extremely Pure)]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining, Fourth Layer!]

"F-Fourth Layer?!"