Heaven, Earth, Me-Chapter 1248. Second Test! Feixue’s Overconfidence.

The dragoness was not foreign to powerful Transcendence Realm cultivators. This woman, who named herself Star Forge Lady, was someone stronger than herself. ’Level... four? No, perhaps Level 5 of the Transcendence Realm?’

Even when that was quite high, the dragoness was not that impressed. ’Isn’t this a higher heaven? Why is someone like her the number two of an entire sect? Hm...’ As she pondered, she realized that Star Forge Lady was looking at Feixue, making the girl squirm with nervousness and shyness. Yasenia squinted. ’She shouldn’t be able to see me, no? Or is she interested in Feixue?’

After a few seconds, Star Forge Lady stopped looking their way. Shen Miao spoke with a hushed voice. "Almost scared me to death! Why was she looking at you, Fei—Ahem, Xuefei?"

Xing Luo leaned over a bit as well with curiosity. However, Luan Feixue was utterly unaware as well. It’s not like she spoke the words about the Star Forge Lady aloud when telling Yasenia. So, unless the other party was listening to everyone’s thoughts actively, that should not be possible.

Remember that, for an immortal cultivator, reading a weak mortal’s soul was rather easy. So, peeking into their thoughts didn’t really take that much effort. This ability became increasingly easier to execute as the cultivator advanced in rank.

"Now that I’ve explained things, follow me to the test area. We’ll wait there until the rest of the levels have finished."

The woman floated up and waved her hand, grabbing all the participants with her monstrous spiritual energy. Then, they flashed through the terrain at high speeds, reaching the test location a few seconds later.

Luan Feixue sighed in awe and looked at Shen Miao. "Shen Miao, which level do you think you’ll reach in this test?"

The rich lady touched her chin and pondered. "I am unsure." Looking at Xing Luo, she tried to put on a brave front. "P-Probably Level 7! There are nine levels, right? Reaching the seventh shouldn’t be a big problem!"

Xing Luo laughed. "Little Sister Shen Miao is truly talented. I am also aiming for the seventh level. Anything more than that, I feel it will be too difficult."

The man’s words made Feixue realize something. "Oh? Does Brother Xing know something? You seem quite confident about being unable to reach the eighth level." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Xing Luo scratched his head. "I won’t lie to Little Sister Xuefei. This is not my first time trying the test to enter this sect. I came around ten years ago. However, I had an unpleasant encounter with a rather influential person. At that time, I was headstrong and completely provoked them. Eventually, I was expelled from the tests because they trapped me. They told me that if one fought the eighth level, the rewards of the sect would be higher."

Xing Luo whispered to them. "Star Forge Lady has not spoken about it. However, there is an extra confidence. If you are defeated instead of knowing your limits and stopping, you’ll fail the test."

The dragoness was baffled. ’Why would they punish courage to face an enemy in a controlled environment? I understand the thought if this were a tournament or something. However, this is a place to test the disciple’s limits, not to select the cowardly ones.’

Feixue had a similar thought to Yasenia. So, she ended up asking a similar question. "Why would they do that? Doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of an entry test?"

A lazy but elegant voice reached Feixue from behind. "Ho~? You also have this Immortal’s perspective. I wonder, could you develop your thought process for me to listen?"

Luan Feixue froze and stiffly turned around to look at whoever spoke behind her. Seeing the powerful woman who was instructing them looking down with an amused smile, Feixue became so nervous that her legs almost gave out. "S-S-Star Forge Lady!"

"That’s my name, yes." The woman squinted at Feixue. "You are somewhat peculiar. Do you mind answering my question?"

The dragoness was startled when she saw the woman’s gaze. ’There is no way. Have I been discovered? I hid my presence perfectly, so that shouldn’t be the case...’

Luan Feixue’s face was perspiring as she tried to keep a steady voice when speaking to the big shot. "T-This little one thinks that, when testing others, you are searching for a few very specific qualities. The most important ones are strength, talent, character, and determination. One then thought that, if you are fighting in an area where you can’t truly die, a battle to the death will test all these qualities." After blurting the answer, Feixue’s nerves relaxed somewhat, and she became clear-headed enough to speak. "Of course, the Immortals in the sect have gone through a thousand winters more than this little one. I wouldn’t dare to question their methods and call them wrong. There must be a reason for everything that this little one is not seeing."

"Ho~." The woman smirked and nodded. "If you pass the entrance examinations, I’ll take you as a personal disciple. What’s your name, girl?"

Feixue answered with a stiff face. "This one was registered as Xuefei."

"Xuefei..." The white-clothed woman smiled lazily. "I see. I’ll be waiting then, Xuefei."

"Attention!" The loud voice of an old man startled everyone. "Now, it is time for the second entrance exam. [Self Illusion Nine Revolution Array]! Remember, you must overcome five revolutions to be able to continue to the third test! The higher you achieve, the more points you will have. In case of a tie, the one with more points will be chosen! Now, begin!"

Luan Feixue’s eyes blurred, and her body was transported to a barren land. The place was perfectly flat, with an earthy color and texture. Looking up at the dark red sky, a sense of ominous foreboding crawled down Luan Feixue’s spine. ’Y-Yasenia?’

She couldn’t help but call the gorgeous dragoness. Yasenia smiled at the woman’s nervousness and answered. "Yes. I am here."

Feixue sighed in relief. Even if she had told her time and time again that she wouldn’t save her from danger, her presence made it quite reassuring. Moreover, since she is a master, she should be able to guide her on how to beat the opponents that will appear shortly after.

Whoosh!

A breeze fluttered her robes before they converged in the distance into a shape very similar to her own. Only this shape seemed to be weaker and younger than her own.

Feixue took out her weapon, a beautiful and elegant long sword, and charged forward. "Come at me! [Seven Star Illusion]."

The opponent moved, but the steps were clunky, and the speed was not as good. After a few exorcisms, the dirt golem crumbled and returned to the earth around her.

"That was quite easy."

Yasenia commented. "If you couldn’t one-shot such a weak opponent, you should forget about going over the fifth level. This type of formation usually has the bad habit of increasing things not linearly, but exponentially." She sneered. "Perhaps they take Heavenly Tribulations as their mantra on how to build test sites."

Feixue hummed, and the second one appeared. This dirt figure was slightly more lifelike, and it also matured more. From looking like a ten-year-old to now closer to a twelve-year-old.

Both sides rushed at each other, and the victor was easily decided in just a few moves. After Yasenia talked down to her, she tried to one-shot the enemy. Sadly, she couldn’t, and the blunder of using a broad attack at first crumbled her stance. This developed into a somewhat dragged-out fight for a few seconds until Feixue recovered her stance and quickly finished off the dirt golem.

Feixue coughed, somewhat embarrassed. "Don’t say anything. I was playing around."

Yasenia giggled. "Sure, sure~. I won’t say anything." She blinked and commented. "Here it comes again. Pay attention."

Feixue nodded and felt the energy inside her body. ’This feeling is quite nice.’ Lately, she had felt a slight change in the way her energy circulated. Before, when she unfurled her skills, there was a certain grinding against her meridians, as if, instead of just water, water with particles of sand were flowing through them. Now, though, that grinding had strangely disappeared, and she could move energy smoothly.

This was a small extra effect of the "dual cultivation" she did with Yasenia to feed her own weak body. During those times, Yasenia didn’t just give her energy. She needed to guide it closely because, if left to run rampant, Luan Feixue might’ve gone through a few troubles. Her energy was too powerful, after all.

Regardless, as the third, fourth, and fifth enemies appeared, Feixue fought valiantly and managed to beat all of them. Her eyes were shining when she fought. ’Wow! Yasenia, did you do something? Everything is so smooth and easy. Ah~, I didn’t know that moving energy could be so pleasant.’

Yasenia didn’t answer, but Feixue didn’t stop speaking. "Either way, thank you! I will go and fight the sixth one!"

"Are you sure?"

Feixue paused and asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Since losing here is equal to not being able to pass the examination, shouldn’t you avoid risks? We don’t know how quickly the strength of the opponent will escalate."

Feixue frowned and hesitated. Yasenia’s words were true. Still, even she had some pride. How could she admit defeat without at least giving the sixth level a try? The fifth level was quite easy, needing only a few minutes to defeat the other side without injury. Now, the sixth would be the same!

Yasenia didn’t say anything, but her lips were arched. ’It is better this way. A bit reckless, but without this kind of attitude, one would not reach far in the cultivation role.’

When she entered the sixth level, Feixue saw a woman identical to her. She was holding a longsword valiantly and glancing at Feixue with a solemn expression. "Welcome to the Sixth Level."

"Huh?" Feixue’s eyes opened wide. "You can talk?"

The woman didn’t answer. Instead, she continued speaking. "You reaching the Sixth Level means that you’ve managed to improve greatly during the last year. However, from now on, you’ll be fighting not relative to your own standard but to the one set by the creator of the formation. Tread carefully, for I will not be merciful."

Feixue frowned, somewhat confused. Then, she saw the woman facing her lunge forward by using her toes to jump ahead. The acceleration was enough to make Feixue almost fail to react!

CLANG!

The swords created sparks as Feixue slid backwards. Her face was full of shock. "How can the strength gap between the fifth and sixth level be this high?"

Then, she remembered Yasenia’s words, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips. ’I should’ve listened.’

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