Yan Jiao's brows twitched.
She vaguely sensed something and looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Noticing Yan Jiao had suddenly spaced out, Sheng Mo Bai asked, "Jiao Jiao? What's wrong? Is something amiss?"
Yan Jiao narrowed her eyes and said with a hint of curiosity, "Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I feel something strange."
"It's like a familiar power is by my side."
"Ah?"
"Is it friend or foe?"
Upon hearing Yan Jiao's words, everyone tensed up instantly.
Yan Jiao's acquaintances all seemed difficult to deal with. They still had things to do, and couldn't afford any mishaps at this moment.
Yan Jiao looked at their anxious faces and found it amusing.
"Why are you all so worried?"
Jiang Yi Ling directly retorted, "If it were any of our enemies, we wouldn't be so afraid. But when you say it, we're definitely scared."
Yan Jiao: "..." Are you being polite?
"Why do you act like I'm someone who causes trouble?"
Jiang Yi Ling said with utmost seriousness, "It's not that you intentionally cause trouble. We've all seen it. You're just too individualistic, so others tend to clash with you. It's fine if you encounter someone weaker; you might be able to assimilate them. But if you meet someone incredibly powerful, like Master Xuan Chen, you might not be so successful."
"Therefore, anyone you provoke will either be easily defeated by you, or they'll easily defeat us. To be safe, we should assume they can crush us."
Yan Jiao: "..."
Do you even hear yourself when you speak!
While she might be a bit defiant and enjoy going against others, she wasn't as outrageous as he described!
Why did she seem like such a troublemaker in Jiang Yi Ling's eyes?
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore!"
Wen Jin Shu, who was completely on Yan Jiao's side, quickly intervened to ease the tension when she saw Yan Jiao speechless from Jiang Yi Ling's words.
"Jiao Jiao, is there really something wrong? If you feel in danger, we can abandon this plan and just find a way to slip away."
Yan Jiao felt carefully for a moment, then shook her head. "It must have been my mistake just now. It's nothing, let's proceed with the original plan."
"Understood."
The others exchanged glances and split up.
While the scoring was in full swing over there, Jiang Yi Ling walked over and said to the staff, "Excuse me, could you please calculate our score first?"
The people who had been ignoring them moments ago now broke into smiles.
"Of course, of course, we'll calculate it for you right away."
Yan Jiao then stepped forward and said, "Why bother wasting time? The scores can be calculated simultaneously."
Everyone immediately looked at Yan Jiao with a questioning gaze, asking, "Do you have a way?"
Yan Jiao nodded and directly shared her post-era quick calculation formulas with them.
Everyone was astonished, as if they had discovered a new world.
"You can do it this way?"
"I've learned something new!"
Yan Jiao calculated the time and knew that the demon beasts would soon break through the restrictive formation. She urged them on.
The others didn't have time to study the calculation formulas anymore and quickly projected the calculated score rankings into the sky with their spiritual power.
The first place was, unmistakably, Ge Nan Academy.
Looking at the familiar name, everyone was not surprised.
In fact, they had all had a vague feeling about it earlier, but they still held onto some hope.
They didn't believe Ge Nan Academy could be that powerful, especially since they were on the verge of disbandment, yet they could still assemble such a formidable group to win first place.
If the disciples of Ge Nan Academy truly took first place, it would make them all look like a joke.
But to their surprise, they had indeed become a joke.
Those who had already felt they weren't capable of winning first place now congratulated Ge Nan Academy with smiles.
"First Academy truly deserves its name. Even with the unexpected events for Ge Nan Academy, they remain the most powerful."
"It's a pity I wasn't talented enough back then to join Ge Nan Academy. Otherwise, I would have a share in this honor now."
Everyone jokingly flattered Yan Jiao and her companions.
Previously, everyone had been waiting to see them fail, but Yan Jiao had single-handedly turned a situation of widespread ridicule into a triumphant victory.
Jiang Yi Ling's eyes welled up with tears.
If it weren't happening right in front of him, Jiang Yi Ling would find it unbelievable.
He thought Ge Nan Academy was finished after Master Xuan Chen left, but he never imagined that with Yan Jiao's efforts, they would achieve such a result.
Ge Nan Academy was truly fortunate to have Yan Jiao.
"Actually, everyone is very capable. We just took a shortcut. As you all know, Ge Nan Academy suffered a severe blow before. I came up with some ideas to prevent the academy from disbanding. If we were to talk purely about raw strength, then everyone is equally powerful. However, we specifically devised a strategy for this competition, which gave us a slight edge."
Yan Jiao's words made everyone smile happily.
Her statement showed great magnanimity. Although everyone knew that winning first place was definitely due to Yan Jiao and her companions' true abilities, Yan Jiao's humility meant they didn't need to admit they were inferior to Ge Nan Academy.
Everyone got along harmoniously.
The people from Saint Cup Academy, however, felt out of place.
What was even more infuriating for Saint Cup Academy was that they couldn't even secure second place this time.
The relatively unknown Phoenix Academy had struck it rich this time, obtaining an extremely rare spiritual medicine, instantly widening the gap in their scores with others.
Saint Cup Academy had been so focused on causing trouble that they didn't realize they had lost both their initial objective and their standing. Not only did they fail to eliminate the people from Ge Nan Academy, but they also fell behind in scores, losing their perennial second-place ranking.
As everyone sequentially submitted their scores for item exchange and retrieved their wooden tokens, Xu Chang Zong said with a grim expression, "I've received a communication talisman."
The disciples of Ge Nan Academy were now receiving widespread attention.
When Xu Chang Zong spoke, everyone turned their heads to look at him.
"What is it?"
Yan Jiao asked, feigning ignorance.
Xu Chang Zong was surprised by Yan Jiao's excellent acting. Seeing that he almost burst into laughter, he quickly lowered his gaze, putting on a flustered appearance. "It's from the Sect Master and the others. They're saying they're trapped somewhere and hope we can go rescue them quickly."
The disciples of Ge Nan Academy immediately showed anxious expressions. "The Sect Master is in trouble? Since the competition is over, let's go and see what's happening!"
"Yes, yes, let's go."
Yan Jiao also frowned, looking serious as she bid everyone farewell.
Naturally, there was no reason for them to stay.
After Yan Jiao and her group left, someone finally sighed, "Who would have thought that Ge Nan Academy, which everyone assumed would be crushed this time, would actually stabilize its position again? In the future, Ge Nan Academy will probably—"
Before the person could finish speaking, a massive roar suddenly came from behind them.
Everyone turned to look and almost swore aloud.
The entrance to the Ghostly Realm had been breached!