Mouth slightly agape, Ye Ziyun watched in surprise as the school grounds erupted into a large commotion the moment Xiao Ning'er's score was revealed to everyone.
It got so chaotic that Vice Principal Ye Sheng had to step in to calm the crowd of students, and somehow successfully did so. The students were then guided back to their respective testing areas to continue their exams.
Once everything settled back to normal, Vice Principal Ye Sheng approached Xue Hui's group and immediately stopped Xiao Ning'er from taking the soul force test. He also exempted Chen Linlin and Xue Hui from taking the test before inviting their group to his office to talk.
Looking around, Ye Ziyun realized that the entire school grounds were now quieter than earlier. Everyone was still reeling from the results of Xiao Ning'er's strength test.
Who wouldn't after witnessing such a display of power?
What surprised Ye Ziyun the most was the speed of Xiao Ning'er's growth. Three months ago, Xiao Ning'er still hadn't stepped into the Bronze rank, but now she was already at the Gold rank.
Pondering this, Ye Ziyun remembered the cultivation technique Xue Hui had given her, and suddenly everything made sense. Xiao Ning'er, Jing Ya, Mei Lin, and Yue Ling all had a good relationship with Xue Hui.
'Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon,' Ye Ziyun murmured under her breath. As always, merely reciting its name was enough to cause a reaction within her soul realm.
Ye Ziyun imagined what would actually happen if she cultivated the 'Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon.' Ever since she received that cultivation technique, her heart had been in turmoil. She was torn between using Nie Li's Nine Revolving Ice Phoenix and Xue Hui's 'Celestial Frost Phoenix Nirvana Canon.' She couldn't understand why.
Watching Xue Hui's departing figure, Ye Ziyun felt an indescribable feeling creeping through her heart, especially when she saw Xiao Ning'er's beaming face beside him.
Xue Hui had publicly affirmed his relationship with Xiao Ning'er. While Ye Ziyun felt happy for the two of them, she also felt strangely conflicted about it.
She and Xiao Ning'er used to be good friends when they were little. Then Xiao Ning'er's family began to decline, and the rift between them became wider. As for Xue Hui, he was someone Ye Ziyun knew, admired, and had wanted to become friends with for quite a while.
Ye Ziyun was snapped out of her contemplation when she felt a hand pulling her. Looking to see who it belonged to, she saw Nie Li smiling at her as he pulled her toward the testing area.
Hours later.
The overall results of the Fighter Apprentice class tests were exceptionally good.
Thanks to the new elixirs circulating in the market, almost all the students in the Fighter Apprentice class were able to step into the Bronze rank as Demon Spiritualists.
This news greatly overjoyed Ye Sheng and the observing teachers. Back then, if one or two students from the Fighter Apprentice class managed to become Demon Spiritualists, the results were already considered good.
And yet, this year's examination exceeded everything they had expected.
One thing worth noting was that most of the children who passed the test were commoner students.
At first, Ye Sheng and the observing teachers found it strange that all the commoner students had performed exceptionally well on their tests.
Then they realized that all of this had something to do with the merit system implemented by the Divine Medicine Pavilion.
Many of those students spent weeks doing jobs to earn merit points and acquire cultivation resources.
While it was true that those elixirs could be purchased with Demon Spirit Coins, the Divine Medicine Pavilion gave priority to its merit system to the point that almost no one could purchase the new elixirs directly.
At first, the Divine Medicine Pavilion's actions confused Ye Sheng, but now that he was looking at the results, he couldn't help but admire Chen Wenrou's deeper intentions.
If Ye Sheng were to put it in simpler terms, those children who passed were the youngsters most willing to put in the effort to achieve their goals.
Those who failed the test, not only in the Fighter Apprentice class but also in the other classes, were mostly students from noble backgrounds.
Children who only knew how to laze around while waiting for their families to spoon-feed them resources.
Ye Sheng had already noticed the difference in attitude even before the day of the test arrived.
While the commoner children frantically went around earning merit points, the noble children spent their time doing nothing and even mocked those working hard to complete jobs.
It made Ye Sheng laugh inwardly. Today's test results were the best outcome he could have asked for.
Not only had Glory City welcomed a new batch of Demon Spiritualists, but those youngsters who passed undoubtedly possessed the best attitudes.
"Vice Principal Ye Sheng, Shen Xiu wishes to speak with you."
Hearing his assistant's words, Ye Sheng let out a tired sigh. He already knew why that woman wanted to speak with him. She had lost the bet against Nie Li and probably wanted to withdraw from teaching.
Truth be told, Ye Sheng would be more than happy to kick that woman out of his school. At first, he had been excited to learn that a member of a major family had volunteered to teach the younger generation and share her knowledge.
But once Ye Sheng learned how terrible a teacher Shen Xiu was, he wished for nothing more than to remove her from the academy. Unfortunately, he was bound by the rules and couldn't do so without the Principal's approval.
"Let her in," Ye Sheng ordered while adjusting himself in his seat. He looked up when the sound of the door sliding open entered his ears.
Holy Orchid Institute Street.
"School break, here we come!"
Throwing her arms into the air, Mei Lin yelled at the top of her lungs, her excitement palpable.
"Yehey!" Following her lead, Chen Linlin also raised both her arms, a beaming smile blossoming across her face.
"Y-yehey!" Yue Ling tried her best to join in.
"Woohoo!" Jing Ya joined them with her usual stoic passion.
Watching them from behind were Xiao Ning'er and Xue Hui. Xiao Ning'er smiled fondly at them.
Xiao Ning'er still couldn't believe that it had only taken one shopping trip for Chen Linlin and the trio of girls to warm up to her.
Surprisingly, Xiao Ning'er found the experience wonderful. It had been a long time since she had friends, so being part of a friend group was quite a breath of fresh air for her.
"So, what's the plan, Boss? Any great adventures you have planned? Something as exciting as your recent adventure? I still can't believe you ditched us when you explored Heavenly Luster Mountain, yet you brought Ning'er with you. I'm so hurt by that, Boss. I thought we were your friends too," Mei Lin complained while clutching Jing Ya's shoulder and pretending to cry.
"Hmm, favoritism," Jing Ya added.
"Look! Even Yue Ling is crying because of it," Mei Lin exclaimed dramatically.
"I-I am not!" Yue Ling squeaked in embarrassment, caught off guard by the sudden inclusion.
But unfortunately for Yue Ling, Chen Linlin also joined in on the fun and skipped toward her to hug her from behind.
"Look what you did, Hui-Hui. You made our little Yue Ling cry. Going on a trip without bringing us? How are you going to make up for it, huh?"
At this point, Yue Ling's face was starting to resemble an apple from how red it had become from all the teasing.
The sight made Xiao Ning'er feel a little guilty. At the same time, she couldn't help but find their antics amusing and wanted to laugh.
Standing beside her, Xue Hui watched the girls with a deadpan stare.
While he did feel guilty for leaving them behind, they were the ones who had decided to join Chen Li Jiang's trip without consulting him first. But alas, Xue Hui was fully aware that Chen Linlin and the trio of girls wouldn't let the matter go until they got what they wanted.
Sighing in defeat, Xue Hui raised both arms in surrender and offered an apology.
"Fine. As an apology, I'll bring all of you on my next trip. I already have a place in mind that we can visit, but let's wait until after the martial arts tournament is over. After that, we're good to go."
The girls all jumped in joy upon hearing Xue Hui's words. As much as they had enjoyed their trip to the Ancient Orchid City Ruins, what they had experienced there paled in comparison to what Xiao Ning'er and Xue Hui had gone through.
Once the excitement died down, the group continued walking. While walking, Mei Lin tilted her head, seemingly remembering something.
"But Boss, that still doesn't answer my question. What are we going to do while we wait? The younger generation tournament is still weeks away, so we have plenty of free time on our hands before the trip."
In response to Mei Lin's question, Xue Hui only shrugged. He himself had no idea what to do during their break.
That was when an idea struck Mei Lin, causing her eyes to light up in excitement.
"How about we visit Yue Ling's home? It's near the farthest northern wall where the military camp is. I heard that place is pretty rural. We can spend time sightseeing there while we wait for the tournament. What do you all think?"
Aside from Yue Ling, everyone perked up with interest.
Chen Linlin had stars in her eyes, clearly loving the idea. She had always wondered what it felt like to visit a friend's home and maybe even have a sleepover, so Mei Lin's suggestion was right up her alley.
"Okay, let's do that! That's gonna be fun. Oh! Oh! We need to buy snacks and pajamas. Oh! We also need to bring gifts for Yue Ling's family as thanks for letting us stay at their home."
To Yue Ling's horror, Chen Linlin began listing everything they needed to bring without even hearing her opinion on the matter.
"You're coming with us too, right, Ning'er?"
In response to Chen Linlin's question, Xiao Ning'er readily agreed. She really wanted to spend more time with everyone, especially Xue Hui.
As the girls planned for the trip, Xue Hui sensed someone watching them. Looking behind him, he saw Ye Ziyun standing not far away. For some reason, she had an awkward expression on her face.
Excusing himself, Xue Hui walked toward her, wanting to talk a bit since they had never gotten the chance during the test.
Watching Xue Hui jog toward her, Ye Ziyun's heart began to race. She hadn't expected to run into him after leaving her conversation with Nie Li, so she found herself at a loss for what to do.
"Ziyun, how was your test? Vice Principal Ye Sheng asked us to speak in his office, so I never got the chance to see your results. How did it go?"
Ye Ziyun's gaze lingered on Xue Hui's face before she caught herself staring and quickly shook her head to snap out of her daze.
"I-I did okay, I guess. Vice Principal Ye Sheng commended me for passing the test, so yeah, I did okay. How about you, Xue Hui? You didn't take the test at all."
Ye Ziyun fidgeted where she stood, her gaze drifting past Xue Hui's shoulder, only to see Xiao Ning'er, Chen Linlin, and the girls looking in their direction, which made her even more nervous.
"Nah, Vice Principal Ye Sheng told us there was no need to take the test and just welcomed us into the Demon Spiritualist Genius Class. That's all."
Ye Ziyun's eyes shifted back to Xue Hui's face. She felt her cheeks heating up when she saw him smiling at her.
"Anyway, we're planning to head out into the outside world after the younger generation tournament. I was hoping you'd like to come with us."
Ye Ziyun's eyes widened in surprise, and she didn't answer immediately.
"So, would you like to come along with us or not?" Xue Hui asked.
Ye Ziyun bit her lower lip. She wasn't hesitating because she was afraid to head into the outside world.
What concerned her more was whether Xiao Ning'er and the other girls would accept her inclusion in their group.
"Eh, ah, is that okay? Am I allowed to join?" Ye Ziyun asked uncertainly.
In response, Xue Hui gave her a reassuring smile before nodding.
"Of course you are. It'll be much more fun if you come along. I did promise you an adventure, right?"
Ye Ziyun's eyes lit up. He really had promised her an adventure. Making up her mind, she gave Xue Hui a firm nod, agreeing to come along.
Xue Hui told her that they would leave after the tournament and asked her not to worry about her father and Lord Ye Mo since he would personally visit her home to ask for their permission.
After they finished talking, Xue Hui and Ye Ziyun said goodbye to each other and headed in different directions.
Imagining the journey ahead with Xue Hui, Ye Ziyun's steps became lighter, her lips curling into a charming smile while her cheeks glowed pink.
She couldn't wait for the days to pass.
End of Chapter 62
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