Qiu Hong gave Ming Li a thumbs up, then focused on descending the mountain. By the time he reached the endpoint, he was drenched in sweat. Exiting the passage and free from the star force pressure, he felt a wave of relief and once again untied the gourd from his waist to drink.

Ming Li was watching Qian Li and Fang Hui. Though they were walking with difficulty, given enough time, they would eventually reach the endpoint.

After drinking, Qiu Hong asked Ming Li, “Want some?”

Ming Li smelled the strong liquor, which was spicy—something she would normally like—but she shook her head and said: “Thanks, but no.”

After being refused, Qiu Hong scratched his head, unable to think of a way to start a conversation, so he asked directly: “How did you manage to pass through so easily with only Single Meridian Full Boundary?”

Ming Li smiled: “Isn’t it a bit too direct to ask like that?”

Qiu Hong: “I’m very curious.”

Ming Li sighed: “I’d rather not say.”

Qiu Hong: “All right.”

He understood this to mean it was someone’s unique spirit technique that couldn’t be shared.

“My name is Qiu Hong,” he quickly adjusted his attitude and became curious about other things.

Ming Li was becoming increasingly comfortable with saying her name: “Zhou Li.”

Qiu Hong praised her again: “Impressive.”

Ming Li shook her head: “It’s nothing.”

Qiu Hong: “…”

As the dignified Bei Dou pilgrim, how could she appear struggling in Nan Que’s mountain challenge? That would be too embarrassing. Besides, this kind of mountain formation was truly nothing in her eyes. Qiu Hong’s praise made Ming Li feel absurd.

Ming Li couldn’t help but think of her former self, and looking at her present situation, it was truly a case of “no comparison, no pain.”

In the past, she would have forcibly broken into Nan Que and turned the place upside down to find someone.

But look at her now.

Ming Li had to remind herself to be patient and calm.

First, enter Nan Que, then act.

Lost in thought, she hoped Nan Que’s pilgrim wasn’t present.

Ming Li waited at the endpoint for Qian Li and Fang Hui. Fang Hui was walking with the most difficulty, being dragged forward by Qian Li.

A similar situation was happening with Cheng Jingbai and Dou Lanmin. For the sake of those four fifty, Dou Lanmin held onto Cheng Jingbai relentlessly, almost crawling on top of him. Cheng Jingbai cursed as he walked: “Isn’t this cheating? Let go of me right now!”

Dou Lanmin cursed back: “Bullshit! This is reasonable debt collection! The rules don’t say I can’t grab you! Look at all those people grabbing others over there!”

Cheng Jingbai panted: “That’s called mutual support! Don’t be shameless and compare yourself to them!”

The two pushed and pulled, fighting and rolling on the ground, cursing each other all the way to the endpoint.

Qian Li and Fang Hui had just reached the endpoint when they collapsed from exhaustion, but their eyes turned to Ming Li, silently questioning how she could run so fast.

Ming Li said: “It’s hard to explain. Are you two all right?”

“Just depleted physical energy, need a moment to recover,” Qian Li turned his head to look at Fang Hui. “He’s probably worse off.”

Fang Hui was too exhausted to even speak.

The second level—descending the mountain—further reduced the number of participants. Many were still halfway through, and even though they were kneeling on the ground with sweat dripping non-stop, they persisted in moving forward. Fortunately, the time for the mountain challenge was long; if they didn’t reach the endpoint by Chen hour (7-9 am) the next day, they would be considered to have failed.

People like Qiu Hong who arrived early had already continued forward to challenge the final two levels of the mountain formation.

Ming Li was waiting for Qian Li and Fang Hui to recover.

She had proceeded too smoothly and spent most of her time waiting. By now, time had passed from Chen hour to noon. The sunlight was somewhat harsh, and whether due to being inside the mountain formation or not, the light seemed to grow increasingly intense.

Qian Li sat up from the ground, wiping his sweat and said: “Isn’t this spring?”

Ming Li answered without thinking: “The weather in the mountain formation changes with the trials. Walking is already difficult, and with the addition of harsh weather conditions, it also tests the abilities of the Pulse of the Heart and Yin Meridian.”

Qian Li responded in confusion: “Oh… OH!”

It took him a moment to understand Ming Li’s meaning.

He scratched his head, looking at Ming Li hesitantly.

Ming Li raised an eyebrow: “Speak.”

Qian Li stood up and gave her a thumbs up: “Genius! You seem to understand everything with just a glance.”

Ming Li: “Not with just a glance.”

Qian Li waited for the rest, and after Ming Li paused, she reluctantly said: “With several glances.”

This shouldn’t seem too ostentatious, she thought.

Qian Li couldn’t help but cover his eyes and turn his head away.

*

Only after Fang Hui had rested did the three continue forward.

Ming Li followed the guidance and walked ahead, seeing from a distance the people who had set out earlier standing in a row. As she approached, she discovered that there was a cliff ahead, surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, with no visible bottom.

Third Level: Crossing the Cliff.

Between the two cliff sides, there was no connecting bridge, only three floating scarecrows swaying left and right. They had white papers with exaggerated laughing expressions stuck to their heads, making them appear quite terrifying at first glance.

At the mountain gate entrance, Li Yansi asked: “Who drew those ugly things?”

The head of Ghost Dwelling Academy stroked his beard and exchanged a glance with the stunned head of Zhen Dwelling Academy beside her.

The head of Zhen Dwelling asked his disciple Lin Xiao sadly: “Are they ugly?”

Lin Xiao smiled: “Not at all.”

Li Yansi cleared her throat to change the subject, her gaze falling on Ming Li thoughtfully: “She only has Single Meridian Full Boundary. How will she cross this cliff with three spirit substitutes blocking the way?”

The head of Ghost Dwelling said appreciatively: “I’m quite looking forward to it.”

Currently, Qiu Hong was attempting to cross the cliff. The positions of the three spirit substitutes were cleverly arranged, allowing challengers to land and use them as leverage to successfully reach the other side, if they used the right method.

This level tested young challengers’ mastery of the Eight Meridian spirit techniques and abilities.

Qiu Hong was unlucky. When he used the Body Technique spirit technique to leap to the first spirit substitute, he encountered the Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils. The scarecrow looked at him, its empty black circles behind the paper slits serving as eyes, sealing his currently used star meridian power and causing Qiu Hong to fall from his floating state.

A giant red-winged Vermilion Bird appeared out of thin air, catching those who had failed the challenge and fell from the cliff, bringing them back to shore.

Cheng Jingbai sat cross-legged at the edge of the cliff, stroking his chin and said: “These three bizarrely ugly spirit substitutes even have Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils. That’s quite difficult to overcome.”

Dou Lanmin stood on tiptoe to look ahead and exclaimed in surprise: “I’ve learned something new today. I didn’t know Nan Que had such ugly spirit substitutes. When I first arrived, I thought this level was meant to scare us away with those ghost faces!”

On the mountain, Lin Xiao looked at his wounded-expression master and shook his head slightly. It seemed these two had no affinity with their Zhen Dwelling Academy.

Qiu Hong steadied himself on the ground, stretched his neck, and focused his gaze, growing more determined with each challenge.

Qian Li said: “Let me try!”

First, one had to figure out how to leap from the cliff edge to the first spirit substitute. Everyone chose to enhance their limbs with the Body Technique meridian.

For instance, Qian Li now used the high-level Body Technique spirit technique: Celestial Spirit Possession, gaining the abilities of different birds and beasts for a short time, strengthening his bones and physical abilities, becoming light as a swallow. With a toe point, he leaped up, combining it with the Swift Wind spirit technique to dash forward, sufficient to land on the first spirit substitute before the spirit technique ended.

Success!

Before Qian Li could celebrate, the first spirit substitute suddenly split into countless shadows, making it impossible for him to distinguish which was the real body to land on. Unfortunately, he stepped on an illusion and fell, being carried back to shore by the red-winged Vermilion Bird.

Cheng Jingbai turned to Qian Li and said: “Here’s a tip for you latecomers: those three spirit substitutes all use high-level spirit techniques from all Eight Meridians.”

Qian Li interlaced his fingers and pressed them together, full of energy: “This level also depends on luck.”

Cheng Jingbai pointed at Qiu Hong and said to Qian Li: “If your luck is bad, you’ll end up like him and you, coming back at the first one.”

Qiu Hong lightly kicked him: “Stop the useless talk. Why don’t you go try it yourself?”

“I haven’t recovered yet!” Cheng Jingbai replied, then turned to look at Ming Li in the corner, calling out, “Hey, genius over there! Why don’t you give it a try?”

Then he asked Qiu Hong: “What’s the genius’s name again?”

Qiu Hong said: “Zhou Li.”

Cheng Jingbai called out: “Zhou Li!”

Ming Li, who had been enjoying the scenery at the cliff edge, finally turned around, a big question mark on her small head.

Cheng Jingbai pointed at the cliff’s opposite side and said: “Will you try? We all want to see how you’ll handle this level.”

Ming Li asked: “Now?”

Cheng Jingbai nodded.

Ming Li shook her head: “It doesn’t seem appropriate right now.”

Cheng Jingbai asked in confusion: “Why not?”

Ming Li said: “If I cross now, I’ll be very bored alone on the other side.”

Cheng Jingbai: “…”

He widened his eyes as he looked at Ming Li, silently questioning whether this person was shamelessly pretending or truly that impressive.

Dou Lanmin beside him was also stunned by what he heard.

In contrast, Qian Li and Fang Hui appeared quite calm—having experienced this multiple times, they were no longer surprised.

Cheng Jingbai opened and closed his mouth, then said: “I now want to see you standing bored on the other side, looking at us. This kind of humiliation that can stimulate me to strive harder is something I haven’t experienced in a long time. Don’t be afraid, go boldly, and humiliate me to your heart’s content!”

Ming Li: “…”

Perhaps, having been dead for five years, she could no longer understand today’s young people.

Ming Li turned to look at the opposite cliff. In her mind, there were hundreds of ways to cross the cliff. Even though she currently only had the Circulating Qi meridian at full boundary, she wasn’t completely ignorant of other star meridian spirit techniques and abilities.

She bent down to pick up a few small stones by the cliff edge. While others looked on in confusion, she flung them toward the opposite cliff. The small stones split into countless solid entities, connected like a thin rope.

Yang Meridian spirit technique: Object Virtualization.

This was an ability that could turn real into virtual and virtual into real through borrowed objects.

—

Although it was a mid-level spirit technique, it was extremely difficult to master. Well-learned, it rivaled high-level techniques; poorly learned, it was garbage.

The small stones Ming Li threw out transformed into numerous identical solid entities, forming a stone path connecting the two sides, with the three spirit substitutes conveniently positioned in the middle.

“Object Virtualization,” Qiu Hong said.

Dou Lanmin was somewhat excited: “I wonder if it will be illusory or real when she steps on it.”

Ming Li didn’t immediately set out. Instead, she raised her hand to point out star lines, with black rune characters flowing around her wrist. After she selected them to form a simple protective star formation, she added several killing word spells into it.

“Oh!” Dou Lanmin patted Cheng Jingbai’s shoulder. “This is interesting. Object Virtualization to pave the way without worrying about landing points, Eight Meridian formation for protection with killing spells to counter the spirit substitutes. Looks like she’s preparing to use Swift Wind to dash through, relying on speed to win.”

“You’ve analyzed everything, what’s left for me to say?” Cheng Jingbai brushed away his hand on his shoulder with distaste. “I can see that without you explaining! The key is whether her Object Virtualization is virtual or real. If she’s unlucky enough to encounter Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils midway, that would…”

Before he could finish, Ming Li moved.

She stepped onto the stone path and flashed quickly to the first spirit substitute.

The Object Virtualization was real!

Just as this thought crossed Cheng Jingbai’s mind, he saw the first spirit substitute turn its eyes to look at Ming Li.

Bad luck! It was the Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils!

Cheng Jingbai expected Ming Li to have her star meridian sealed and fall, but he was surprised to see her speed surpass that of the spirit substitute’s Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils sealing, dashing to the second spirit substitute.

Dou Lanmin patted Cheng Jingbai’s shoulder even harder: “Wow!”

Ming Li’s Eight Meridian formation protected and accelerated her, stacked with the Body Technique spirit technique Swift Wind as she stepped on the stone path and flashed forward. People only saw a series of afterimages. At this speed, as she passed the two spirit substitutes, the killing spells in her formation erupted, and the spirit substitutes couldn’t stop her.

By the time people reacted, Ming Li had already reached the other side. She looked back, and with a wave of her hand, she withdrew the Object Virtualization. The few small stones fell into her palm.

People on the opposite side exclaimed in unison: “Wow!”

“Amazing!” Cheng Jingbai said in shock. “She pulled it off!”

Some still didn’t understand what had just happened and asked in confusion: “Wasn’t the first one using Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils? How did she avoid having her star meridian sealed?”

Qian Li explained: “You didn’t look carefully. Her speed surpassed the sealing speed of the Eight-Eyed Demon Pupils.”

After speaking, he waved to Ming Li on the opposite cliff, feeling inexplicably excited.

On the mountain, the head of Ghost Dwelling couldn’t help but exclaim: “This little girl not only has talent but is also very smart.”

Li Yansi looked up and said, “Don’t you two try to compete with me for her.”

The head of Zhen Dwelling shook his head: “That’s impossible.”

Li Yansi mocked: “Especially with your drawing skills.”

The head of Zhen Dwelling was greatly alarmed: “What’s wrong with my drawing skills! Lin Xiao, how are your master’s drawing skills?”

Lin Xiao replied with an unchanged expression: “Master’s drawing skills are excellent.”

*

Ming Li was bored waiting at the cliff edge, watching Qian Li and others on the opposite side trying to cross, but they kept encountering various problems and falling midway. After waiting boredly, she gave Qian Li a hand signal, indicating she would go ahead to scout.

Only she entered the quiet mountain forest path.

After walking along a rugged mountain path, she finally saw human figures.

Ahead was a wide river channel with shallow flowing water, only ankle-deep. Dozens of wooden stakes stood in the river, with eight Nan Que mountain-guarding disciples standing or sitting on them.

One female disciple stood up from a wooden stake and said, “Hey, someone’s here.”

“So fast?” someone exclaimed in surprise.

“Just one person?”

“Someone’s reached this point so early today?”

The eight mountain-guarding disciples murmured among themselves, curiously looking at Ming Li on the shore.

“This is the final level,” the female disciple Shui Pei announced. “You only need to knock us off the wooden stakes to pass. There’s no limit to the number of challenge attempts, but you don’t have to challenge everyone. The number of people you challenge corresponds to the number of meridians you’ve reached full boundary in.”

Ming Li was surprised: “The number of challengers corresponds to the number of star meridians at full boundary?”

Shui Pei nodded: “That’s right. If you have five meridians at full boundary, then you challenge five people.”

Ming Li blinked and raised her hand: “I have Single Meridian Full Boundary.”

Shui Pei: “…”

“Say-say-say that again?” The mountain-guarding disciples looked at Ming Li in shock.

Ming Li repeated: “I have Single Meridian Full Boundary.”

“That’s impossible!” a disciple exclaimed. “With Single Meridian Full Boundary, you couldn’t have made it this far!”

Ming Li said regretfully: “I truly do.”

Having just a Single Meridian Full Boundary wasn’t what she wanted either.

“Wait, wait, wait, let me ask the academy head.” Shui Pei was about to summon the red-winged Vermilion Bird when she saw it had already flown out of thin air and landed on her shoulder, bringing a response from the head of Ghost Dwelling.

Shui Pei stared in disbelief, and at her companions’ urging, she hesitantly said: “The academy head says… she does have Single Meridian Full Boundary.”

After a moment of silence in the river channel, a disciple asked Ming Li tremulously: “Which-which star meridian do you want to challenge?”

Ming Li said, “Circulating Qi meridian.”

The others looked at Shui Pei, who rubbed her nose and said: “Then your challenger is me.”

The other disciples looked at Ming Li with even more disbelief. Single Meridian Full Boundary, and in the relatively weaker Circulating Qi meridian, yet able to pass the first three levels and be the earliest to reach the fourth level.

Perhaps it was just luck?

This thought was completely shattered when Ming Li leaped onto a wooden stake and used only Circulating Qi Word Binding with Sound to blast Shui Pei into the water.

Shui Pei looked up at Ming Li standing on the wooden stake, her expression dazed.

Everyone unanimously felt: This year’s newcomers included a monster.

*

Ming Li felt as if she were bullying a child, and looking at Shui Pei, who had fallen into the water, she felt somewhat embarrassed. Just as she opened her mouth to ask if the other was all right, she was transported out of the mountain formation. The scenery before her eyes reversed; the river and wooden stakes disappeared, replaced by the entrance to Ghost Dwelling Mountain, surrounded by green pines.

She stood at the foot of the platform stairs, turning to see the head of Ghost Dwelling and others behind her.

Lin Xiao stepped forward with a smile: “Congratulations.”

Ming Li was momentarily stunned, unsure of what to say.

The head of Ghost Dwelling had just stood up and was about to say something to this talented individual when a gentle, pleasant voice said: “Master.”

From within the mountain gate behind them, a tall woman emerged. She wasn’t wearing sect attire, but a water-blue long dress that made her appear dignified and elegant. A long sword was fastened at her waist, and she walked toward Li Yansi, who was seated at the table, holding a black leather envelope.

Ming Li slightly raised her head, her eyes reflecting the woman’s gentle appearance.

This face was identical to her junior sister from her memories.

However, this person had a tiny tear mole at the corner of her right eye, telling Ming Li that this was not Qing Ying.