"Who knows if it was luck, or someone deliberately going easy on her?"
A sarcastic voice rang out with a mocking tone.
A male cultivator immediately responded,
"Yo, if you're going to murmur behind people's backs, what's the point? If you think Wei Zhēnrén doesn't deserve her ranking, then during the challenge round, why don't you go up there and challenge her? Knock her off the stage and you're third place. That way, you can prove your claim and make a name for yourself."
A female cultivator chimed in as well,
"Exactly. The top ten in the Golden Core stage all get rewards. You can gain fame and practical benefits."
The man who had just mocked Yun Xi turned pale and left without another word. It wasn't that he didn't want to argue back—he simply couldn't. He was only at the late Foundation Establishment stage and didn't even qualify to challenge on the stage.
At that moment, the female cultivator who spoke earlier snorted coldly.
"What a clueless idiot. Who knows how someone like him made it into the inner sect."
"The sect is so big, it's not strange if a few like that slip in. No need to waste our breath. He's just jealous."
"Senior Brother is right. That jealous face was honestly disgusting."
The female cultivator echoed with disdain.
Hearing these words, the disciples of the Wei family who had been watching nearby finally felt a sense of satisfaction. They had been itching to speak up against that sour-tongued man, but someone else had beaten them to it. It seemed others could see clearly too.
The male cultivator who had been shut down left Doufa Peak entirely. After making a big detour, he finally arrived at Dan Peak, where he met a charming female cultivator at a prearranged spot.
"Junior Sister Yun Qing, the thing you asked me to do didn't work out."
Wei Yunqing's eyes flashed, and she asked with a puzzled expression,
"Senior Brother Ji, what are you talking about?"
Ji Cheng hesitated a moment before saying,
"Didn't you suspect your younger sister's placement in the competition was fishy?"
Wei Yunqing admitted readily,
"I did say that. And my suspicion is reasonable. She's not even sixteen, and how long has it been since she formed her Golden Core? How could she compete with seasoned Jīndān Zhēnrén? Not even talking about cultivation level—just the battle experience alone is a huge gap. You agreed with me at the time too. But I also said, I have no proof."
Ji Cheng frowned.
"But you hinted that I should voice this suspicion publicly."
"Senior Brother Ji, I only said it would be best to let everyone judge for themselves. Not everyone is blind, after all. I never hinted at anything. Besides, we were just casually chatting."
Wei Yunqing denied it cleanly. She thought to herself, now that the plan failed, she wasn't about to let herself be dragged down with him.
Ji Cheng let out a cold snort and turned to leave. Clearly, he had been overthinking things. It was better to stay far away from Wei Yunqing in the future.
He could now see through it. This woman was clearly jealous that her younger sister had a higher cultivation level, so she wanted to use his mouth to discredit her. But since he had been too blunt, others refuted him directly, and the rumor couldn't even gain traction. Now Wei Yunqing was denying everything.
Wei Yunqing stared after Ji Cheng's departing figure, her expression clouded. It was all that idiot's fault. Useless and troublesome. She never told him to confront people directly. A few "reasonable speculations" spread discreetly would have been enough. He couldn't even handle that. Now he was throwing a tantrum at her? She had no intention of keeping ties with him anymore. What a waste of her time.
When Yun Xi later learned of Wei Yunqing's little schemes through Flying Mist Butterfly, she was thoroughly unimpressed. Only the incompetent needed to resort to such underhanded methods. If someone truly had the ability, they could challenge her openly.
At that moment, on the inner sect's Doufa Peak, the final round of the Golden Core challenge competition was about to begin.
In this final stage, the top eight Golden Core cultivators each defended a stage. Each could receive up to three challenges. If a challenger won, they would take over the defender's ranking. If the defender won, they would stay in place. Once they fended off three challenges, they no longer needed to accept more and would be officially considered to have successfully defended their rank.
Of course, defenders could also challenge each other. The same three-attempt limit applied. If they lost, they returned to their original place. If they won, they claimed the defeated defender's rank. However, each cultivator could only issue one challenge toward the top eight. If unlimited challenges were allowed, this tournament would last half a month longer.
After Yu Lian Zhēnjūn finished explaining the rules, he waved his sleeve and officially announced the start of the challenge round.
Yun Xi had taken a top-grade healing pill. Her injuries were eighty percent healed. She now stood on the stage representing third place, silently praying no one would challenge her.
The first place Golden Core cultivator was a male with peak late-stage Golden Core cultivation. He looked as if he was just about to condense his Nascent Soul. The second place was a woman, also at the peak of the Golden Core stage. The two exchanged a glance, their eyes turning toward Yun Xi, as if gauging whether she would challenge them.
Yun Xi smiled, a pair of dimples appearing with genuine sweetness.
"Standing on the third-place stage is already a stroke of luck for me. My injuries haven't fully healed, so I won't make a fool of myself."
Hearing that, the two turned their eyes away. Whether they truly believed her words or simply didn't fear her challenge was unclear.
Yun Xi then pulled out a meditation cushion and prepared to sit down to continue healing. Based on her own estimation, if anyone intended to challenge her, they would likely start from lower-ranked stages. That would give them better odds.
But just as her rear touched the cushion, someone leapt onto her stage.
Yun Xi looked up. To her surprise, it was the man ranked eighth. A step behind him, Cao Yi could only retreat to the fourth-place stage.
Yun Xi's mouth twitched. She had no choice but to put her cushion away and face her challenger.
The man cupped his fists.
"I am Wang Ye. I challenge Junior Sister Wei."
Yun Xi returned the greeting politely. Wang Ye was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. He had probably been eyeing her for some time. She was the "lucky" dark horse sitting in third place. Defeating her would earn him that spot, and it was well worth the risk.
Yun Xi stretched out her hand and grasped the Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff.
"Please guide me, Senior Brother Wang."
Wang Ye chuckled and raised a pair of meteor hammers.
"Guide you? Let's just spar."
Before he even finished his sentence, one meteor hammer had already been flung through the air, wrapped in intense fire spiritual power, and shot straight toward Yun Xi.
Yun Xi instantly recognized that this man had a fire spiritual root. She chose to counter with ice spiritual power, infusing it into her weapon. As her staff came down, a phantom of ice and snow collided with the meteor hammer.
The clash between fire and ice split the arena in two: one half blazing, the other frozen. Visually, it looked spectacular. But the two combatants had no time to enjoy the spectacle.
Wang Ye was stunned by Yun Xi's spiritual power reserve, which was on par with his own, despite him being late-stage Golden Core. Yun Xi, on the other hand, was startled by the purity of his fire spiritual power. What surprised her even more was that the Mystic Thunder Violet Flame in her dantian suddenly twitched, as if eager to devour this sea of fire. She immediately suppressed it.
"Master, he has an alien flame. I want to eat it," came Zi Yan's straightforward thought.
Yun Xi's face darkened slightly.
"If you want Lei Hongxuan to find us faster, then by all means, jump out right now. But if you don't, then stay quiet. You think it's not enough trouble already, and you want to pop out in front of everyone?"
Zi Yan could only sulk and stay curled up in Yun Xi's dantian, but it still refused to give up. It continued its voice transmission.
"Master, if not in front of everyone, then let's do it later tonight when it's nice and quiet."
===
Do you love the "misunderstood MC" trope?
You know, those protagonists who are accidentally seen as legendary figures while remaining completely oblivious? Think Momonga from Overlord, Tanya Degurechaff from Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil), or Lin Jie from I'm Really Not The Demon God's Lackey.
Just like them, our MC is seen as a terrifyingly brilliant and powerful figure—except she has no idea why everyone fears her so much. If you enjoy watching side characters overanalyze every little thing the MC does—while the MC is just vibing—then you'll love this story!
"The Invincible Money-Grubbing Fairy"
Yao Ranran was just playing a cultivation game when she got isekai'd as a minor side character. Worse, the male protagonist ruined her cultivation, leaving her a cripple! But no worries—she's got a blacksmith shop, a laid-back attitude, and one goal: Get rich or die trying.
While others see her as an unfathomable, terrifying genius, the truth is… she's just winging it. Her disciples and allies? They're convinced every move she makes is 5D chess. Enemies? They tremble at her "ruthless schemes." Meanwhile, Yao Ranran is just sipping tea under her unbreakable 99,000-layer shield, wondering why everyone keeps calling her a peerless fairy.
Will the world ever realize the truth? Or will Yao Ranran accidentally ascend to legend while just trying to run her shop?