“She definitely deserves to have that plants and vegetation spirit meridian. Her options for the future are endless!”
“Elder Sister Zhou, we’ll be waiting for you to set another record. When you get first place in all ten, the Great Spirit Stream Bell will toll to notify the whole sect!” All of the surrounding Outer Sect disciples were cheering. Although there were a few disgruntled faces to be seen, and a few sharply spoken words, they were drowned out by the overwhelming applause. Zhou Xinqi’s position among the disciples here was like the sun within the sky. In fact, she was well regarded by virtually everyone on Fragrant Cloud Peak.
Although she was normally quite cold, the applause of the surrounding disciples couldn’t help but make her feel a bit pleased with herself, and she smiled slightly. That smile caused the cheering to grow even louder.
Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, feeling quite envious of her. Muttering to himself, he looked back at the first stone stele and suddenly, his eyes went wide. Then he looked back down at the jade slip with the first volume of plants and vegetation, and after closer scrutiny, he realized that in addition to the original 10,000 types of plants and vegetation, another 10,000 had been added. His heart suddenly swelled with joy.
He then turned his head to look at the first stone stele, and saw that right above the magic bottle insignia was the image of a turtle. Suddenly, he felt wonderful.
He had originally planned to leave immediately. But now, filled with excitement, he waited to hear the audience begin to applaud his accomplishment. However, it quickly became apparent that everyone was only paying attention to Zhou Xinqi, and hadn’t even noticed what had just occurred. In fact, even Zhou Xinqi was preparing to depart.
Bai Xiaochun immediately started getting nervous. Blinking, he suddenly called out in his most astonished voice: “Look! Elder Sister Zhou isn’t in first place on the first stone stele anymore! Somebody else took her place! Weird! Now there’s a really cool-looking turtle there. I wonder who drew that?”
His voice pierced through the cheering, and as people heard the shocking nature of his words, they started to turn around to look at the stone stele. Soon, faces fell, and cries of alarm rang out.
That in turn caused more people to spin around in shock. Expressions of disbelief could be seen as more and more people began to stare at the text on the first stone stele.
“Th-th… somebody actually passed up Elder Sister Zhou on the first stone stele!”
“That’s impossible! Heavens! Somebody surpassed Elder Sister Zhou, and with that ugly-looking turtle. Who could it be?!”
“There’s actually somebody who can pose a challenge to Elder Sister Zhou in terms of skill with plants and vegetation? This is ground-breaking!! Elder Sister Zhou just took first place on the ninth stone stele, but she still only has a total of eight first place positions!”
Everyone was in an uproar, and the sounds of discussion filled the air. Moments ago, everyone had been cheering Zhou Xinqi, and could not possibly have been prepared for something unexpected like this to happen.
Bai Xiaochun stood there in the crowd, so pleased with himself that he almost started laughing. However, he knew that doing so wouldn’t be very appropriate, so he held himself back. Instead, he cried out in shock like everyone else around him.
Actually, he had never had even the slightest clue that he could actually take first place.
It was at this point that Zhou Xinqi, who had just been on the verge of leaving, suddenly trembled where she stood. After hearing the cries echoing out around her, her phoenix-like eyes turned to look at the first stone stele, and she saw the turtle in the first place spot.
At first she frowned, but then her expression calmed. In fact, she wasn’t even shocked at all. As far as she was concerned, when she had taken first place in the test of the first volume of plants and vegetation, it had been just after she was promoted into the Outer Sect. Back then, she hadn’t tried as hard as she could have when she took the test, and that was not to mention the advancement she had made since then.
“Not bad,” she said coolly. “It looks like there might be a new rising star in the sect.” With that, her body flickered as she shot toward the first stone stele.
In her mind, this was a simple matter. The moment someone exceeded her, she would take back what was hers.
Her movement immediately caused a ripple of excitement to run through the crowd of disciples. All of them stared in anticipation as Zhou Xinqi walked into the log cabin to take the test for the first volume of plants and vegetation.
“Elder Sister Zhou is going to take back the first place spot which rightfully belongs to her! Whichever Junior Brother drew that turtle seems pretty good. What a pity that he’ll only be able to stay in first place for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.”
“Well, that’s how it should be. He’s definitely Chosen when it comes to plants and vegetation. He’s just unlucky to have encountered Elder Sister Zhou.”
After hearing what everyone was saying, Bai Xiaochun started feeling nervous. Not only had he run out of time, but Zhou Xinqi was simply too famous.
Even he himself was starting to think that maybe he belonged in second place.
“Ah, that’s fine too,” he consoled himself. “If I get in second place, then second place it is. Men shouldn’t be fighting women anyway!” He wanted to leave, but couldn’t quite make himself do so. He couldn’t stop wondering about whether or not he would lose out on what he had just won.
Soon, enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and the name list hadn’t changed. Bai Xiaochun was still in first place, and Zhou Xinqi was now walking out from inside the log cabin. Her expression was calm, and she was completely confident, having used eighty percent of her skill to piece together 4,000 of the total of 10,000 medicinal plants.
From her perspective, she had already outclassed all the other naturally gifted disciples.
However, as soon as she walked out, she realized that not a sound could be heard. In fact, all eyes were staring at her with strange expressions. There were even looks of shock.
She looked around blankly, then turned to inspect the stone stele. It was at this point that she realized that the magic bottle which represented her name was still beneath the ugly turtle.
Everything was dead quiet, and all the surrounding disciples, even Bai Xiaochun, were staring with gaping jaws. Bai Xiaochun then looked over at Zhou Xinqi and realized that, other than being quite good-looking… maybe she wasn’t that special after all.
Zhou Xinqi’s eyes narrowed briefly, and then her expression returned to normal.
“This person really has some talent with plants and vegetation. Now I’m a bit curious to find out who he is.” Her body flickered and she once again entered the log cabin.
This time, Bai Xiaochun didn’t even think about leaving. He stood there in the crowd, holding his breath in anticipation. The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were no longer discussing the matter in loud voices. Instead, they were whispering in hushed tones, watching the unprecedented scene playing out in front of them.
Furthermore, many of them were glancing up at the turtle mark, which now seemed utterly mysterious to them. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Zhou Xinqi emerged once again, and that enigmatic sensation increased.
The turtle… was still on top!
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes went wide, and then he cried out in a loud voice to incite the other disciples: “Heavens, who is this person!?!?”
Finally, the crowd, which had been silent up until now, exploded with conversation.
“Elder Sister Zhou tried twice and yet didn’t surpass the turtle! How could this be happening? How many medicinal plants did that person complete!?”