The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Lu Yi got up, had breakfast with Lu Gaoyang and Wang Siqi, and then Lu Gaoyang said, "Let's go to the martial arts platform!"

Seeing Lu Gaoyang reaching out his hand, Lu Yi's expression changed, and he quickly said, "Wait a minute, Old Lu! Today, I plan to go by myself!"

Lu Gaoyang's hand stopped. He looked at Lu Yi in confusion, "Why? Isn't it more convenient if I take you there?"

Lu Yi coughed dryly and said, "You know I'm quite famous now. It's still early, and if I arrive too early and get surrounded by people, it would be embarrassing. I'd rather take my time and go later."

Hearing Lu Yi's words, Lu Gaoyang thought for a moment and felt it made some sense. Wang Siqi also smiled and said, "Since that's the case, let Yi'er go by himself. He's grown up now and has his own ideas."

The two of them flew away on their swords, and Lu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, today he wouldn’t be carried there, so his reputation might still be salvageable.

Lu Yi happily jogged out the door.

When Lu Yi arrived at the martial arts platform, a large crowd had already gathered. Since the preliminary and qualifier rounds were completed yesterday, there were fewer people inside the square, but more people gathered outside the platform.

When the outer disciples saw Lu Yi approaching, their eyes lit up.

"It's Junior Brother Lu Yi!"

"Yesterday, I was hoping to see Junior Brother Lu Yi's swordsmanship. Whether at Baiyang Peak or on the martial arts platform before, I wasn't there. But yesterday, Junior Brother Lu Yi didn’t even draw his sword, so I still missed it."

"Yeah, but today they'll select the top ten rankings, so we’ll definitely see Junior Brother Lu Yi’s swordsmanship!"

"..."

Many disciples were faintly excited.

Lu Yi entered the inner area of the martial arts platform, near the central arena.

Around the central arena, there were ten slightly larger platforms. These were the ranking competition platforms.

In previous competitions, 320 disciples competed on these ten platforms to determine the top ten.

At this moment, many disciples had already gathered in the arena. These disciples were all among the top 320.

Seeing Lu Yi approaching, many disciples looked over with curious eyes. Some seemed cautious, and Lu Yi even noticed a few hostile gazes.

He glanced at those hostile disciples—they were all at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

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Lu Yi thought about it and felt that he hadn’t provoked them. Why did they seem so displeased with him?

Unable to figure it out, Lu Yi decided to ignore it.

At this moment, Lu Yi heard Wang Wulian’s voice, "Junior Brother Lu, over here!"

Lu Yi turned and saw Wang Wulian waving at him with a smile.

Lu Yi walked over and said, "Senior Brother Wang!"

Looking around, he asked curiously, "Where’s Senior Brother Lu?"

Lu Ling’s strength wasn’t weak, yet Lu Yi didn’t see him here.

Wang Wulian smiled bitterly and said, "Lu Ling was unlucky. His platform had Senior Brother Jiang Fan, so he didn’t qualify."

"Senior Brother Jiang Fan?" Lu Yi thought for a moment and then recalled, "The one at the tenth level of Qi Refining?"

"Who else could it be?" Wang Wulian said.

Lu Yi: "..."

He realized that it wasn’t just Senior Brother Li Qi who was unlucky—Senior Brother Lu Ling was too.

Despite having the strength to be in the top 100, he didn’t even pass the qualifiers.

However, the outer sect wouldn’t care about fairness in such matters. For cultivators, luck might seem intangible, but it was still an important part of strength.

Lu Yi didn’t see a problem with it. After all, in the novels he read in his previous life, those with great fortune didn’t always have outstanding talent. Yet, they survived against all odds and kept obtaining treasures—who could argue with that?

"By the way, Senior Brother Wang, who’s that disciple in the green robe? Why does he look at me like I took something important from him?" Lu Yi asked, puzzled.

That person’s gaze was so unfriendly that Lu Yi even wondered if he had stolen his wife.

Wang Wulian glanced in the indicated direction and quickly looked away. Grinning, he said, "It’s because you broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining."

"What does my breakthrough have to do with this?" Lu Yi was confused.

"Heh… It’s because your talent is amazing. You had the strength of the ninth level of Qi Refining even at the sixth level. Now that you’ve reached the seventh level, some people are scared," Wang Wulian said with a smirk.

"Junior Brother Lu, you know that the top ten in the annual competition can enter the inner sect without an exam, right?"

Lu Yi nodded. "I know."

Honestly, this was his goal.

Wang Wulian explained, "Among this year’s outer disciples, there are only six at the tenth level of Qi Refining. The other four spots will be filled by disciples at the ninth level. That guy you mentioned is Mo Lingxi. He’s considered to have the strength to be in the top ten—or just barely holding the tenth spot. Do you get it now?"

Lu Yi suddenly understood. He finally realized why those ninth-level disciples looked at him with hostility.

They were probably also contenders for the top ten, and now Lu Yi was a new competitor. Worse, based on Lu Yi’s performance, they might feel unsure about beating him.

As for the particularly unfriendly Mo Lingxi, Lu Yi understood—this guy was ranked tenth. If Lu Yi made it into the top ten, Mo Lingxi would be pushed out and miss entering the inner sect. That would be devastating.

No wonder he was so unfriendly. Lu Yi almost felt sorry for him.

Lu Yi sighed and said, "I hope Senior Brother Mo has better luck next year."

Wang Wulian: "???"

He looked at Lu Yi, speechless. "Junior Brother, do you think you’re guaranteed to make the top ten?"

Lu Yi smiled and said, "Of course."

In fact, Lu Yi’s goal was first place. He hadn’t forgotten that the sect rewarded rankings based on placement—the higher the ranking, the better the rewards.

Wang Wulian grinned and gave Lu Yi a thumbs-up. "Junior Brother Lu, you’ve got guts! But don’t underestimate the others competing for the top ten. Unlike me and Senior Brother Lu, they all have unique skills—at least one spell cultivated to mastery. Some even have magical artifacts."

Magical artifacts? Lu Yi felt amused. He had two—a lower-grade sword and a pair of mid-grade shoes.

As for mastered spells, Lu Yi wasn’t bragging, but he was confident in his superiority.

While they were talking, Du Gufang appeared at the central platform again.

Looking at Lu Yi and the others, Du Gufang’s expression was gentler than yesterday. He said, "Those of you who made it to the ranking competition are the elite disciples of our White Cloud Sect’s outer sect. I’m sure you’ll all enter the inner sect in the future. Show your best performance today. The ranking competition starts now!"

As he spoke, Du Gufang waved his hand, and 320 jade tokens flew towards Lu Yi and the others.