Recognizing the Gap
Although Ten Thousand Daos Born was always reasonable and principled, he was not the type to be bullied.
Elder Xiao, who was able to become the successor sect leader, was not someone who would be afraid of trouble.
After being lectured by several juniors, even Elder Xiao, who was known for his good temper, couldn't help but feel displeased.
He coldly glanced at the few who were making the most noise below, and then called out their names: "Chen Gu, Zhao He, Fang Ande... I remember you all seem to have failed this year's entrance test, haven't you?"
The people whose names were called instantly attracted countless eyes, and those who were more easily embarrassed blushed in the blink of an eye.
Fortunately, not all of them cared about saving face. Some, eager to curry favor with the Jing Household, stubbornly raised their voices and said, "Elder Xiao, what do you mean by this? We are indeed not destined to be with Ten Thousand Daos Born, but your sect's handling of matters is unfair. Can't we even say a few words?"
"If you truly wish to speak out for justice, I naturally welcome it. But if you're simply trying to defend someone, then there's no need for that!" Elder Xiao lowered his eyes. "Although my Ten Thousand Daos Born is predominantly male cultivators, it also has no shortage of outstanding and powerful female cultivators. To my Ten Thousand Daos Born sect, there is no difference between male and female cultivators; if there can be a male chief cultivator, then naturally there can be a female chief cultivator."
"If none of you wish for this female cultivator to be your chief disciple, then you may leave now. I, Ten Thousand Daos Born, have no need for a disciple like this..."
After Elder Xiao spoke, he remained silent for a long time, his gaze constantly sweeping across the crowd. He looked at each of the hundreds of cultivators who had passed the test, and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that there were no expressions of dissatisfaction on their faces.
A moment later, none of the new disciples stepped forward, which felt like a slap in the face to those who had spoken earlier.
"Very good, it seems none of you are dissatisfied. The next step is to decide on the top choice."
Finally, the important point was mentioned, and everyone immediately perked up, silently straining their ears.
Jing He was no exception; the only difference was that he came to hear Elder Xiao's sophistry.
"As everyone knows, I, Ten Thousand Daos Born, select disciples based on their performance within the formation. But what you may not know is that the true selection of disciples Non-Self elders, but from the formation itself!"
He raised his hand, and his long sleeve drew an arc in the air.
The next second, two water curtains appeared out of thin air in front of everyone.
Their eyes were fixed on the water screen, and they quickly realized that the one on the left belonged to Jing He, while the pretty female cultivator in the one on the right was clearly Sang Ying!
"Heh, Elder Xiao, instead of answering my question directly, why did you set up the Water Mirror? Do you want everyone to see how ridiculous that female cultivator's performance in the formation is?" If Elder Xiao had presented some other evidence, Jing He might have been worried.
However, if we compare their performance within the formation, Jing He is confident that he will definitely win!
Elder Xiao smiled instead of getting angry upon hearing this, "Judging from your performance, it's not that bad. I just wanted to show Jing Household the difference between you and my new chief disciple Ten Thousand Daos Born."
The sardonic sarcasm was still etched on his face, but Jing He had no time to look at it.
His eyes were fixed only on the two water curtains, or rather, on the two people within them.
Elder Xiao was not lying; after all, the formation was a secret and shouldn't be seen by outsiders. Therefore, he only captured the scene of the two passing through the formation.
From the reflection in the water mirror, everyone could see that the male cultivator on the left was originally full of momentum and was the first to pass the first test, while the female cultivator on the right was much slower in comparison.
Seeing this, Jing He secretly gave Sang Ying a cold smile, and the murmurs of the other onlookers grew a little louder.
In the second trial, Jing He still gave it his all, and this time he was once again the fastest, while the female cultivator was much slower than him.
If anyone had any expectations for Sang Ying before, after seeing this, they would have concluded that Sang Ying's first place was not earned fairly.
Jing Yang, who had been in despair, was no longer filled with anxiety, while Elder Fu was secretly observing the situation from afar, became even more excited.
He never expected Ten Thousand Daos Born to pull this stunt, pushing him to the brink of despair!
Thinking this, Elder Fu secretly took out the Image-Retaining Stone, wanting to record the scene in the water mirror.
But soon, the situation in the water mirror changed.
The third layer of the formation is always the most difficult, and many cultivators get trapped in the third level for a long time. This time is no exception.
As everyone expected, Jing He was trapped in the third layer of the formation and could not escape.
But at the same time, the female cultivator in the water mirror on the right was like a sharp sword, breaking through the third, fourth, and even fifth layers of the formation one after another!
People don't know how she got through the formation, but they can see the wounds that appeared on her body each time she entered a new formation.
The water mirror on the left still showed the gray color from when the formation was broken, but the constantly flashing new images on the right reminded everyone just how fast this seemingly weak female cultivator had broken through these more than ten formations!
Finally, the water mirror on the left lit up, meaning that Jing He had passed the third test and escaped the Thousandfold Formation. Meanwhile, Sang Ying on the right was still trapped in the new array, struggling desperately.
The water mirror slowly dissipated, Elder Xiao's dignified face once again captured everyone's attention.
He looked at Jing He, who was utterly defeated, and asked softly, "Jing Household, do you now understand why Sang Ying was able to defeat you?"
Regardless of the number of formations they've overcome, Sang Ying is undoubtedly the first to pass the third level.
But how could Jing He, a prodigy since childhood, so easily admit defeat?
He gritted his teeth, as if making a final struggle. "I refuse to accept this! Our third-level formation is so difficult, while hers is so simple, naturally she can be faster than me! Besides, the others only have three levels, so why can she keep entering new formations?!"
Elder Xiao frowned. At this moment, not only he, but even those who had come to watch the commotion felt that Jing He was being unreasonable.
However, Sang Ying also wanted to know why this was happening. She had originally planned to rest after passing the third level, but unexpectedly, she was constantly being pulled into new formations, preventing her from pausing for even a moment.
Hearing these questions, Elder Xiao first answered the previous one, "The Thousandfold Formation was created by our sect's founder. It only uses an individual's cultivation level to teleport them to the corresponding array. Sang Ying's third trial wasn't difficult because her second trial already exceeded the difficulty of the third. In other words, her second trial was the third trial!"
"As for why she was allowed to stay and continue challenging the formation... cough!" Elder Xiao coughed lightly. He naturally wouldn't tell everyone that it was his fellow disciples who had done it. "It's because she passed the test too quickly. In order to save face for the others and to get to know this disciple better, our sect extended her time in the Thousandfold Formation."
Elder Xiao's explanation caused an uproar among those around him.
They never expected that Ten Thousand Daos Born's elders would go to such lengths to save face for them!
That makes sense. If Sang Ying really did leave the formation immediately, wouldn't she be several times faster than them?! In that case, they would suffer an unimaginable blow.
Alas, they never expected the elders to be so considerate of them, yet they misunderstood Ten Thousand Daos Born, betrayed his good intentions, and forcibly tore away the fig leaf the elders had laid for them!
Now look what's happened! Not only have I offended my future chief executive, but I've also lost face.
The new disciples were filled with remorse, and the onlookers were ashamed of their previous misunderstanding.
Only Jing He's complexion, which had been relatively normal, gradually turned ashen, and he became listless.
"I lost." This was a fact that Jing He had to admit.