Xiao Xian's efforts

"Second senior brother! Second senior brother!"

After leaving the arena, Feng Mo stumbled down the mountain path in a daze. Several students who were usually close to him hurried after him to look after him in his poor state.

Shi Lai stepped down from the arena, enjoying everyone's attention and the thrill of leveling up.

Meanwhile, Luo Ti was falling apart.

Although Feng Mo had chosen Shi Lai himself, Luo Ti believed that once Feng Shuhu heard the news, he would certainly hate him as well!

"Mm, good, very good. It seems this child really is destined to be my disciple."

Xia Yi's remark sounded unbearably grating to him. He almost failed to maintain his humble junior persona, and only with considerable effort forced out a smile. "Your insight is remarkable, senior. I'm impressed."

"I'm impressed with myself, too."

For fuck's sake! Luo Ti turned away, stone-faced.

The matches continued, and the Four Little Talented Scholars and Four Little Talented Women gradually took shape!

The male students were Song Ziyu, Shi Lai, Third Senior Brother, and the slightly chubby boy named Guo Da Neng, who had been exceptionally lucky throughout.

The female students were Sun Xin, Zhou Xiaoxian, Lü Ying, and a girl named Zi Yao.

"What splendid matches. This old man has truly enjoyed a feast for the eyes. May I also attend tomorrow's Divine Bestowal Ceremony at noon, Deputy Dean?"

"Teacher, it isn't over yet," Zhou Xiaoxian said softly. "We still have to decide who comes first."

"Hm? Weren't you choosing four..."

"It works like this, senior." Luo Ti finally managed to more or less recover his composure and turned back. "Anyone who takes first place in all three selections—the Beginner Class's Four Little Talented Scholars, the intermediate class's Four Great Talented Scholars, and the advanced class's Eight Steeds—will receive an additional five-star Heaven-Bestowed Saint Soul, Number One Talented Scholar, when they obtain the Heaven-Bestowed Eight Steeds. For the female students, it's Number One Talented Woman, so they must compete for first place."

"I see." Xia Yi nodded. Seeing Zhou Xiaoxian's tense little face, he recalled what Xiao Xian had said the previous evening, then glanced at the girl wearing gold bell earrings and smiled faintly.

"Give it your best, lass."

"Yes, Teacher!"

And so, after the students congratulated the eight victors, some sourly and some sincerely, the matches continued!

There was no need to redraw the groups this time. The winner of the first bracket would face the winner of the second, and the third would face the fourth!

Zhou Xiaoxian versus Lü Ying!

Shi Lai versus Song Ziyu!

The two girls entered the arena, but Shi Lai eagerly trotted over to Xia Yi. "Grandpa, Grandpa, if I take first place, will you..."

"I'll teach you a five-star Saint Soul!"

The moment he stuck his backside out, Xia Yi knew...

Forget it. Best not use that comparison.

[Ding! Xia Yi has issued a quest...]

Shi Lai's eyes lit up. Thoroughly satisfied, he ran back into the arena to face Song Ziyu.

Two reloads left, three lives. Taking down this miniboss should get me a few more levels, enough to beat the last guy.

His calculations were all very nice, but Xia Yi knew he had merely made an empty promise.

Reloading a Save did not make him invincible. Even with a hundred reloads, Shi Lai as he was now could not beat Song Ziyu. The gap in strength was absolute!

Sure enough, as soon as they exchanged blows, Song Ziyu casually swept Shi Lai's sword aside and laid his blade across his neck.

Shi Lai chose to reload, hoping to counter with Foresee the Enemy as he had against Feng Mo, but Song Ziyu casually changed his move and instantly defeated him again!

Shi Lai's final reload ended the same way. He could only admit defeat miserably, realizing this was a "scripted loss" he could do nothing about.

Meanwhile, Zhou Xiaoxian, who held the advantage in both strength and speed, met Lü Ying's greatsword with her slender blade without yielding an inch. Using her blade's agility, she nearly cut Lü Ying several times before finally flipping gracefully and kicking her in the chest!

Lü Ying staggered backward and fell onto her backside, clutching her chest in some pain, unable to get up for the moment.

Below the arena, Guo Da Neng immediately shouted gleefully, "Come down if you can't keep going, Third Senior Sister! Keep fighting and you'll end up even flatter!"

"Shut up, you stinking bear!"

Lü Ying frowned, pressing her chest. Across from her, Zhou Xiaoxian felt rather embarrassed. She had meant to kick her in the stomach, but... "Give up, third junior sister."

Lü Ying blinked, then suddenly flushed and gave a soft huff. "Senior Sister Xiao Xian, this little pain is nothing compared with losing your virginity. I won't give up that easily!"

L-losing your virginity? Zhou Xiaoxian's head buzzed, and her face instantly turned crimson.

The students below gaped in shock, then looked at Guo Da Neng with →_→ expressions.

An opening! Lü Ying's eyes flashed. Her greatsword struck the ground with a bang, propelling her toward the distracted Zhou Xiaoxian, the blade whistling through the air!

[You have discovered the one-star Saint Soul: Deception Scripture. Current exploration: 100%. You have mastered Deception Scripture. Automatically sacrificed for 1 Saint Soul experience point.]

Xia Yi chuckled. "This little girl is rather good. The Holy Academy really does produce talent in abundance."

Luo Ti took it only as sarcasm.

The unexpected three-move assault nearly drove Zhou Xiaoxian out of the arena, and it took her quite a while to steady herself. Lü Ying pursed her lips in disappointment and jumped down of her own accord.

"I'm out of tricks. I give up, I give up. Ugh, I even threw away my dignity and still couldn't win."

Zhou Xiaoxian was still blushing. Hearing this, she consoled her, "If I hadn't already condensed my Tianxuan Star, you would have won, junior sister."

Lü Ying waved breezily, then roared at the other students, "Why were you all looking at Bear just now?! Give your senior sister an explanation!"

Amid the uproar, the matches continued.

In fact, only one uncertainty remained. Song Ziyu would undoubtedly take first place among the male students, but among the female students, no one knew whether Zhou Xiaoxian or Sun Xin would win!

A dozen or so minutes later, Zhou Xiaoxian and Sun Xin stood facing each other with swords in hand in the female students' arena.

Sun Xin's smile bloomed like a flower. "Junior Sister Xiao Xian, do go easy on your senior sister."

Zhou Xiaoxian, however, looked unusually solemn, more serious than ever before. She slowly asked, "Eldest senior sister, you know about the Inferior Rat Saint Soul, don't you?"

Sun Xin paused, then said unnaturally, "Yes. Didn't you tell me about it yesterday, junior sister?"

Zhou Xiaoxian pressed her lips together and nodded, holding her sword before her in both hands. "Eldest senior sister, forgive me."

Sun Xin stiffened, then returned the sword salute.

In their classmates' eyes, Zhou Xiaoxian and Sun Xin were extremely close, yet once their duel began, its intensity far exceeded anything they had imagined!

Both had recently condensed their Celestial Pivot. Zhou Xiaoxian, who had done so slightly earlier, was level 103, while Sun Xin, who had done so slightly later, was level 102. The difference was essentially negligible!

The Saint Souls they had imprinted at one star were also identical: Sword Scripture and Not Inferior to Men!

Moreover, from the very beginning of the fight, both had activated Not Inferior to Men to its fullest!

Female cultivators were naturally weaker than male cultivators in strength, and the two-star Saint Soul Not Inferior to Men could make up for this difference. Any female cultivator with a relatively large number of Soul Apertures would imprint it!

Of course, this did not mean female cultivators were inherently disadvantaged. Compared with male cultivators, women also enjoyed tremendous advantages in certain other areas.

Charm-type Saint Souls, for instance.

As the two girls traded blows, Zhou Xiaoxian gradually eked out a slight advantage. Imprinting Chisel the Wall to Steal Light had greatly improved her comprehension and learning ability. Originally, both her Sword Scripture and Sun Xin's had been stuck at level 20, the peak of one star. Now, however, Zhou Xiaoxian's Sword Scripture was already level 24, while Sun Xin's was only level 21!

Seizing that slight advantage and steadily expanding it, she gradually made the situation in the arena clear. But Xia Yi, watching with his hands behind his back, knew the outcome was still far from decided.

Sun Xin had yet to use the Saint Soul with which she had condensed her Two-Star!

Sure enough, after struggling to create an opportunity to catch her breath, Sun Xin made an unusual move.

She covered her ears with both hands.

Her little fingers flicked the two gold bells.

Jingle~

Amid the crisp ringing, Zhou Xiaoxian suddenly frowned, sensing something wrong. Her gaze shifted, and she saw the surrounding students discussing their duel. Yet she could only see them; she could not hear a single sound!

Her hearing was gone!

[You have discovered the three-star Saint Soul: Plugging One's Ears While Stealing a Bell. Current exploration: 25%.]

"As expected, it's this one," Xia Yi murmured.

Any cultivator, regardless of level, would struggle to adjust to suddenly losing their hearing. If they panicked, they would instantly expose countless openings!

That was exactly what happened to Zhou Xiaoxian. Without the clash of swords, unable even to hear the wind, her parries immediately became extremely disordered.

She was soon in grave danger.

She could not hear any of the encouragement from below the arena, either. Shi Lai had no idea what had happened to her and was so anxious he wanted to go up and help.

This made Song Ziyu, who was secretly anxious himself, give Shi Lai a couple of extra looks.

Xia Yi, however, showed no anxiety whatsoever. It was not that he did not care about Zhou Xiaoxian, but that he believed in what she had shouted yesterday after crying in his arms!

"I know I really am stupid, but please believe me, Teacher. I'll work hard, I'll grow, and I definitely won't stay stupid forever!"

"I won't stay stupid forever. I want to win, to beat eldest senior sister, then ask her why she did that!"

Her sword hummed. Zhou Xiaoxian could not hear it, but she could feel it. At that moment, had she possessed a status panel, she would have discovered that her Sword Scripture had risen from level 24 to level 25! This was no sudden burst of power leading to a breakthrough. Rather, the Chisel the Wall to Steal Light Saint Soul had been helping her adapt to the soundless environment all along, helping her comprehend soundless swordsmanship!

Clang!

Her sword swept Sun Xin's aside.

It stopped before Sun Xin's chest.

The scene froze there!