“Nine Heaven Summit” was a standard male-oriented Mary Sue power-leveling wish-fulfillment novel. The entire book, from beginning to end, was filled with formulaic face-slapping, to the point where, after reading the whole novel, readers might remember the male protagonist’s name most clearly. As for other supporting characters, whether male or female, they were all just tools.
“Miss Yang” was also just a tool.
From the moment she pushed Liu Yunxin into the water and obtained the Xiaoyuan Pearl, the opportunity that belonged to the male protagonist was seized by Zanxing. Although the main plot line hadn’t changed, Zanxing herself was like an error in a program, capable of causing changes to the entire storyline at any moment.
At first, she only had vague suspicions, but now, at this moment, when the “thirty” on the wooden lot indicated that she and Duan Xiangrao would become assessment opponents, Zanxing suddenly understood the original story’s intention.
If the original story was viewed as a written program, she was the error in this program. To make the program run normally, the original story would continuously self-correct this error. So, Duan Xiangrao appeared.
The so-called broken engagement with Wang Shao, the sudden appearance of Duan Xiangrao, and all this inexplicable hostility were nothing more than the original story’s self-repair mechanism targeting her as an “error.”
All the coincidences pointed to the same purpose: to make this female cannon fodder, who originally appeared for less than two thousand words, exit the stage quickly so as not to interfere with the main plot.
Zanxing took a deep breath. This book was desperately trying to erase her existence—it sounded like a horror story.
Seeing her remain silent, Tian Fangfang came over with concern: “Junior Sister, what number did you draw?” He saw the number on Zanxing’s wooden lot and exclaimed in surprise: “Thirty, isn’t that the same group as Junior Sister Duan?”
His voice was a bit loud, and Duan Xiangrao heard him. She was stunned for a moment, then walked over, looking at Zanxing with skepticism: “You and I are in the same group?”
Zanxing frowned.
Seeing her reaction, Duan Xiangrao was instead confirmed in her suspicion. She covered her mouth and laughed, her tone full of mockery: “How unfortunate. I didn’t expect you and I would be opponents. Although we’ve lived in the same room these past days and have some fellow disciple friendship, still… There can only be one inner disciple position between you and me, and I won’t yield it to you.”
“Who’s yielding to whom is still uncertain,” Zanxing replied.
“Then we’ll wait and see.” Duan Xiangrao chuckled softly and turned back to Hua Yue’s side.
On the surface, Zanxing appeared confident, but internally, she was panicking. If Duan Xiangrao’s appearance was a character specifically created by the original story to correct her as cannon fodder, then this assessment would not be easy.
Moreover…
She looked toward the competition platform. So far, Mu Cengxiao hadn’t clashed with Hua Yue. Whether the original plot line had changed or not, no one knew.
The second round of assessment began amid Zanxing’s worries.
In this round, the first familiar face to take the stage was Hua Yue.
Among the newly admitted disciples, Hua Yue was the only one at the Golden Core stage. In the previous Lianshan Flower selection competition, he had also placed first. This person was vindictive, used ruthless methods, and loved showing off. The disciples who entered the second round of assessment all had decent cultivation levels. Hua Yue’s opponent was a young cultivator who also looked quite skilled, but Hua Yue split his clothes with one sword strike, sending both man and weapon tumbling off the competition platform in a particularly embarrassing manner.
Though it was also a one-move victory, Hua Yue was much more flamboyant than the previous Mu Cengxiao and Zanxing. He waved his gem-encrusted long sword with casual ease. If his face were covered, he would have some protagonist charisma.
However, he ultimately wasn’t the chosen one.
Not long after Hua Yue’s match, Mu Cengxiao also took the stage.
This time, he didn’t fight as brilliantly as before. Whether his skills weren’t sufficient or he was deliberately conserving strength, in any case, he won with great difficulty. This was different from what Zanxing remembered. If Mu Cengxiao’s performance wasn’t eye-catching enough, then the narrow-minded Hua Yue wouldn’t possibly harbor jealousy toward Mu Cengxiao.
Zanxing looked in Hua Yue’s direction. Sure enough, Mu Cengxiao’s victory didn’t arouse the slightest interest from Hua Yue. The man was currently surrounded by people in the center, smugly accepting fellow disciples’ flattery.
The plot line… had undergone major changes.
For Zanxing at this moment, this was not good news.
The more severely the plot line collapsed, the more severe the “corrections” targeting her by the original story would become.
Next, Tian Fangfang also took the stage. Though he usually seemed unreliable, his cultivation was quite high, and his performance was stable. He defeated his opponent without suspense and directly entered the ranks of inner disciples.
Finally, before they knew it, the first twenty-nine groups of disciples had all completed their assessments, and it was time for the last group.
The disciple reading the lots announced: “Group thirty, Yang Zanxing, Duan Xiangrao.”
The crowd below immediately erupted.
On the Duzhou continent, the cultivation trend was prevalent. However, the path of cultivation was certainly filled with countless difficulties and obstacles. Unless one was a genius from a major sect, ordinary women from the mortal world, unless they had extraordinary spiritual roots, rarely actively chose this arduous path.
Therefore, among the newly admitted disciples this time, there were very few female disciples. Zanxing happened to become opponents with Duan Xiangrao—both women, one charming and captivating, the other plain and unremarkable, creating too stark a contrast.
In the pavilion above, Yueguang Daoren sighed: “What a pity.”
Xuan Lingzi asked: “What’s pitiful?”
“This little girl found the ‘Qing E Nian Hua Gun,’ which shows she has fortunate opportunities. It’s just a pity she can only stop here and become an outer disciple. Of course, it’s pitiful.”
Xuan Lingzi disagreed: “Senior Brother, saying someone will lose before they even fight isn’t quite appropriate, is it?”
“Her cultivation is only at early Foundation Establishment, while her opponent is approaching Golden Core formation. You also know that early Foundation Establishment and mid Foundation Establishment are worlds apart, let alone approaching Golden Core formation. But rules cannot be abandoned. Even if it’s regrettable, it can only be this way.”
“I don’t think so.” Xuan Lingzi was quite optimistic. “Didn’t she already execute half a move of ‘Jing Hua Shui Yue’? Maybe she can win.”
“Half a move cannot defeat a single strike from late Foundation Establishment.”
Zanxing walked onto the platform.
The two women, just looking at their figures from afar, were both graceful and alluring. But looking carefully, one had a beautiful face like the moon and flowers, fragrant and charming, while the other had several stark black marks on her right cheek that were frightening to behold.
Everyone has a love of beauty, and since Duan Xiangrao was skilled at winning people over among men, the male disciples below cheered for her: “Junior Sister Duan will win! Junior Sister Duan will triumph!”
Zanxing glanced sideways at Tian Fangfang, who understood and shouted: “Junior Sister Zanxing is the best!”
Unfortunately, his voice was quickly drowned out among Duan Xiangrao’s followers.
“I didn’t expect we would draw the same group.” Duan Xiangrao looked at her and smiled.
Zanxing replied: “Neither did I.”
“Your luck is quite good.” Duan Xiangrao spread her hand, and a black long whip appeared in her palm. The long whip undulated like a snake, with an eerie blue light flashing along its length—mysterious yet beautiful.
“Perfect,” she said. “Let you witness my Serpent Bone Whip.”