Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official-Chapter 87: Pill Bottle Trial

Over a million candidates stood in uneasy silence as their robes fluttered in the hot wind, eyes fixed on the central dais where the noble Gu Bingyue stood.

"My only task today... is to reduce those numbers."

Those words made them very uncomfortable.

"What did she mean by ’reduce the numbers’ huh?"

"Does she plan to slaughter us outright?!"

"No way... the Immortal Official Exams have never been this brutal in the first phase!"

"Maybe it’s a test of will—those who can’t handle pressure get eliminated?"

"Or perhaps a... a... I don’t know!"

Panic spread quickly as their faces paled.

Many of them were too scared to think or speak.

Some clutched their storage pouches tighter.

Others glanced around for escape routes that didn’t exist.

Li Qingmu stood calmly among the crowd, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he gazed up at the green-haired beauty on the dais. Her phoenix eyes were distant while her smile was faint and unreadable.

『She doesn’t look like a good person...』

He nodded to himself.

『That smile... it’s the smile of someone who enjoys watching ants scramble.』

As if sensing his gaze, Gu Bingyue’s alluring golden eyes flicked downward and straight to him. Her lips curved into an amused smile that made his scalp tingle.

Li Qingmu blinked, startled.

He quickly looked away and pretended to study the sand at his feet.

『What was that? Did she just... single me out?』

A soft voice spoke up right beside him.

"At least five hundred thousand people will be eliminated in this phase."

Li Qingmu nearly jumped.

Su Liyue had appeared out of nowhere.

Or maybe she’d been standing there the whole time?

He wasn’t sure.

He recovered quickly and forced a small laugh.

"Hopefully it’s not that bad."

Su Liyue’s expression remained calm, but her amber eyes were sharp.

Gu Bingyue cleared her throat once.

Instantly, the million-plus crowd fell deathly silent.

She smiled gently with a benevolent expression.

But nothing ever felt genuine about her.

"The Immortal Official Exams are difficult, yes. But they are also a chance for you to reform yourselves and pave the first true path toward becoming significant figures in this vast cultivation world."

She raised a slender hand.

Spiritual light gathered and a small, exquisite pill bottle appeared in her palm.

Even from afar one could smell the dense medicinal fragrance radiating from the fancy bottle.

"This vial contains ten Age-Prolonging Pills. Each one adds fifteen years to your lifespan with no side effects. In the Lower Heaven Realm, such pills are priceless treasures."

Murmurs of awe rippled through the crowd.

Gu Bingyue continued casually.

"I will create one hundred thousand more of these vials and scatter them across this secret realm. So in order for you to pass this phase, you must return one of these bottles to me. The pills are just a bonus. Is that clear?"

Li Qingmu nodded slowly to himself.

『So we can keep the pills inside...』

A small smile tugged at his lips.

『I can give them to the kids as a gift later.』

But before he could dwell on it, Su Liyue stepped forward a few paces and raised her hand.

"Excuse me, Elder Gu?"

Gu Bingyue lifted an uninterested brow.

"What is the matter?"

Su Liyue’s voice was steady.

"You said you would create only one hundred thousand of these pill bottles. But there are over a million candidates here. Does that mean... you plan to have over nine hundred thousand candidates eliminated?"

Gu Bingyue’s smile turned cold and sharp.

"Yes."

The plaza exploded.

There were screams, curses, panicked shouts.

Everything suddenly became chaotic.

"This has never happened before!"

"The first phase was never this cruel!"

"It’s not fair! How can they do this?!"

"I can’t go back empty-handed—they’ll kill me!"

"My sect will disown me if I fail!"

"My family sacrificed everything for me to come here!"

Despair hung thick in the air.

Gu Lao swished his sleeves dramatically and laughed.

"Hah! This is child’s play."

He grinned ear-to-ear like a hungry beast.

"The strong will naturally claim the bottles. The weak were never meant to pass anyway."

Xu Lingxi stood with arms folded under her delicate breasts and elegant eyes closed.

"Hmph."

The sudden utterance made her soft chest bounce.

Auntie Chuyan glanced at her gently.

『The young miss has grown in more ways than one and yet she’s still so arrogant to men...』

She looked tired but quickly hid it behind a smile when Xu Lingxi fired the stink eye at her.

"Still mad at me, little miss?"

Xu Lingxi pouted harder and pushed her chin up.

"I’m not talking to you."

The candidates were still panicking.

Only Li Qingmu remained still and quiet with his eyes locked on Gu Bingyue.

『This level of difficulty...』

He tilted his head from side to side.

『It’s possible that cold beauty, Ye Zirou, wants me gone as soon as possible. And maybe the Gu family pushed for my participation just to embarrass me.』

Gu Bingyue noticed his stare again.

"Any complaints?"

Her voice rang out over the crowd, clear enough that it sounded like she was speaking to everyone. But the smug smile on her face made it obvious that her words were really meant just for him.

"..."

Li Qingmu met her gaze calmly.

"No."

She nodded once, satisfied.

With a casual wave of her hand, a hundred thousand identical pill bottles materialized in the air as they glowed green like jade shooting stars.

"This desert is one of the nine secret realms of the Shifting Pagoda: the Thousand Empty Sea Domain. Only those at Core Formation or higher can survive its depths. So you must work your hardest to pass."

She snapped her fingers.

The bottles streaked outward in every direction and vanished into the horizon.

"Begin."

In an instant.

BWOOOOOM!

The million candidates exploded into motion.

Bursts of light, sword qi, movement techniques.

Everyone surged toward the scattered treasures!

Only a handful of terrified stragglers and the entire Golden Sun Pavilion group remained in place.

Li Qingmu turned to his companions.

"Su Liyue and I think the best way to pass this round is to work as a team... at least for now. There’s no rule against killing. Many of these people will go for blood."

Su Liyue stepped forward, voice confident.

"I have a plan to calculate the safest landing zones for the bottles. I studied the directions the main waves of candidates rushed toward. The ruthless killers and top experts clustered in the eastern and northern sectors... those zones will turn into bloodbaths within minutes. The southern and western edges drew fewer people, especially the southwest quadrant where the terrain is harsher and spiritual energy thinner."

Fewer competitors means lower risk of immediate conflict and possible failure.

"I also factored in wind patterns and the slight curve of the bottles’ trajectories... most veered slightly westward due to residual formation winds. Assign 60% weight to observed crowd density, 25% to trajectory deviation, 15% to terrain difficulty. The optimal zones should have under 5% of total candidates competing for roughly 18-22% of the bottles. If we move southwest in a tight formation, we maximize our chances of securing one without heavy fighting."

There wasn’t much to challenge in her explanation.

But before anyone could respond, Bi Haitao stepped forward with a stern face.

"While you were busy spending time with Li Qingmu I already formed a strategy with the others."

Su Liyue blinked.

"What?"

Bi Haitao shrugged.

"You can stay with him. I’ll lead the rest."

Su Liyue’s face flushed with fury.

"Are you mad!? I’m the one with the highest position in this group and the strongest cultivation! I should be the only one calling the shots here!"

Bi Haitao sighed.

"Ask them yourself then."

Su Liyue whirled around.

"You’re all listening to me, right!?"

The group avoided her eyes.

A few muttered awkwardly.

"We respect you, Senior Sister Su... we do..."

"You’re beautiful and talented..."

"But you only seem to care about Brother Li."

"Bi Haitao actually advised and looked out for all of us even before this trial started."

"We’re not sure we want a leader who is partial..."

Su Liyue stood frozen, mouth open like a fish as she stuttered in confusion.

"N-, No... that’s not..."

Bi Haitao shook his head.

"Save your breath."

He turned to the others.

"Follow me."

With one last glance at Li Qingmu.

『I will outshine you in this trial and prove my worth to the entire sect!』

Bi Haitao flew into the air with the group behind him.

A clueless Li Qingmu tilted his head.

"Hm?"

Su Liyue punched his arm hard.

"Won’t you say something!?"

He rubbed the spot and winced slightly.

"There’s nothing much to say. They already made up their minds before you even spoke. No point bothering about them now."

He placed both hands on her shoulders and stared deeply into her pretty eyes.

They looked so vulnerable at the moment.

For Li Qingmu, comforting and reassuring a beauty was the thing he loved the most.

"We’ll be fine anyway."

Su Liyue took a deep breath, then nodded.

"Okay then."

Up on the central dais.

Song Yan watched all this and sighed inwardly.

『Their plan is obvious... bring down Li Qingmu and cost the Zhen family a talent. But what they don’t know is that he’s also under Song immortal family protection. I have to know when to step in.』

She gave Head Proctor Ye Zirou a sideways glance.

"Isn’t this excessive for the opening exam?"

Ye Zirou didn’t turn and her expression was blank.

It was almost like someone didn’t just ask her a question.

Nothing ever startled those cold-looking eyes.

"It’s because I want him gone as soon as possible."

Even saying his name irritated her.

She rested her hands on her thick, milky thighs.

"No matter his talent, he won’t pass this."

Song Yan managed to painfully suppress her rising irritation and spoke coolly.

"Wow. You didn’t even try to hide your hatred. So you really do want him to fail?"

Ye Zirou nodded once.

"I’m not the type to act fake. When I hate someone, I make it clear. When I want them to suffer, I do everything in my power to make it happen."

It didn’t matter to her if anyone knew this was revenge.

Li Qingmu was the one who maimed her brother and brought shame to the Ye family and her father.

She would not let him live another happy day.

Song Yan stared at the cold beauty with tired eyes.

"Well... it’s all pointless in the end. There are one hundred thousand pill bottles. And I assure you there’s just no way Li Qingmu won’t get at least one."

"Hmm~"

Gu Bingyue interrupted with her tender voice.

She settled gracefully on her ornate chair.

"I don’t remember a rule prohibiting a candidate from taking more than one bottle."

Song Yan’s eyes shot open.

『Oh no!』

But on the outside, she kept her cool and smiled like she welcomed such a challenge.

"I don’t see a problem."

Gu Bingyue kept that teasing tone of hers heavy.

"For now... maybe."

The first phase of the exams begins!