"Weiwei, who can I trust now?" An Tao held Chu Lingwei's hand, realizing for the first time that even the person she trusted most seemed less trustworthy.
"Follow your heart. Your heart will not deceive you."
Chu Lingwei didn't know how to comfort An Tao, finding the situation difficult to accept.
An Tao gently hugged Chu Lingwei, her eyes red. "Weiwei, thank you. You saved my life."
"An Tao, we are both cultivators. The road ahead is long. If such a small setback makes you uneasy, how will you ever achieve the Great Dao?"
Chu Lingwei's voice was stern. If she was afraid to move forward and couldn't let go just because she almost died, her path of cultivation would be very difficult.
An Tao's heart felt as if it had been struck by something heavy, and her gaze slowly cleared.
"Weiwei, thank you. I know what I need to do now."
Chu Lingwei smiled. An Tao must have been stuck in a rut. "Good. Rest here well, and I'll go participate in the competition."
With that, Chu Lingwei, along with her two little beasts, left the courtyard and went to Elder Si, joining them for the competition.
Upon entering the courtyard, she saw her second senior brother standing unharmed beside Elder Si. Chu Lingwei's worried heart finally settled. Yesterday, she had been concerned that her second senior brother might be implicated due to An Tao's affairs.
Nangong Luo felt his junior sister's gaze and winked at her.
"Each of you holds a competition token. This is the only proof of your victory or defeat, so do not lose it." Elder Si looked at the disciples of their academy and instructed them, "Remember, do not linger in battle. Preserving your life is the most important thing."
Chu Lingwei stood behind all the disciples, listening to Elder Si's instructions, which reminded her of teachers in modern society constantly reminding their students about exam matters.
"Alright, you can now proceed to the competition grounds. Where to compete is clearly indicated on your competition tokens," Elder Si said, waving his hand to let them proceed to the competition on their own.
Hearing that they were to find their own competition grounds, the disciples quickly dispersed in various directions.
"Junior sister, let's go. Senior brother will escort you." Nangong Luo walked to Chu Lingwei's side, fanning himself with a folding fan, exuding a dashing aura.
"Second senior brother, your attire is quite attention-grabbing." Chu Lingwei walked beside Nangong Luo, complaining slightly as female cultivators kept glancing their way.
The identity of a disciple from the Cultivation Academy already garnered significant attention, and now with her second senior brother wearing the formal attire of a direct disciple of the Cultivation Academy, coupled with his cultivation level, it was easy for people to guess his identity.
"Isn't this good? They haven't come forward, have they?" Nangong Luo chuckled, a playful glint in his eyes. "If senior brother were here, he would be the center of attention, wouldn't he?"
"Where has senior brother gone?" Chu Lingwei looked around, indeed not seeing their senior brother's figure. "Senior brother truly appears and disappears without a trace."
Chu Lingwei couldn't help but pout slightly.
"Don't worry, senior brother will surely make a fuss about junior sister's match later." Nangong Luo led Chu Lingwei to her competition stage. It was already surrounded by cultivators from various sects, all discussing the upcoming competition. "Junior sister, this is your competition arena. Are you worried?"
"No."
If she couldn't even enter the top one thousand, she would truly be letting down her master and the others.
"That's good."
An hour later, the competition bell rang. Chu Lingwei felt a faint warm glow from the competition token on her body, indicating the start of the competition.
"Second senior brother, I'm going up."
Chu Lingwei nodded slightly to Nangong Luo beside her and leaped directly onto the stage.
This was a stage under a restrictive formation. From below, it looked like a small platform, but upon jumping onto it, one could truly feel its vastness, capable of accommodating two thousand people without issue.
The first round was a free-for-all battle involving one thousand cultivators simultaneously, with only one hundred advancing.
Chu Lingwei found a corner and stood firm, having decided to stay there until the competition ended.
"Junior sister, may I team up with you?" At this moment, a disciple from the Cultivation Academy stepped forward, a hint of nervousness in their eyes.
"Yes." Chu Lingwei returned a smile. This disciple was from their academy, and she had seen them before. Perhaps because she spent more time with her second senior brother, she wasn't very familiar with the disciples of the academy.
Seeing that Chu Lingwei hadn't refused him, Ye Xuan quickly stood beside Chu Lingwei, his magical artifact already in hand, assuming a defensive posture.
"Senior sister, they are all teaming up." In a free-for-all battle of a thousand people, the best strategy was to form alliances to gain an advantage in numbers.
"It's alright. More people aren't necessarily a good thing." As soon as these people stepped onto the stage, they quickly began forming teams. This was everyone's initial strategy.
Ye Xuan's heart faltered slightly. What Chu Lingwei said was true, but if everyone succeeded in forming teams, they would be the first targets, and facing hundreds of cultivators would be a strenuous task.
"Senior sister, should we team up with them?" Ye Xuan inquired.
Chu Lingwei looked at the cultivators who were constantly casting glances at them. After thinking for a moment, she nodded. "Alright, you can form the team."
Ye Xuan's face lit up. Before he could even search, the team standing beside them moved towards them. After all, the reputation and strength of the Cultivation Academy were well-established.
In less than a few breaths, Chu Lingwei's team had already reached nearly a hundred people, all standing together, making them an exceptionally conspicuous group.
Chu Lingwei watched as more people wanted to join them, her expression slightly darkening.
She had been surrounded and pushed to the back of the team. Judging by the situation, her chances to act might be limited.
Fortunately, those people hadn't arrived yet. The competition began, and their magical artifacts all vibrated, indicating that they had started using them for attacks.
Chu Lingwei summoned her Ice Jade Frost Sword. The spiritual energy from the opposite side was heading directly towards her head.
It was aimed at her.
Chu Lingwei casually swung her sword, deflecting the spiritual energy. She looked towards the other side, and everyone was diligently dealing with their adjacent opponents, with no one seeming to notice her.
This was strange.
"Senior sister, be careful! They are planning to repel us." Ye Xuan felt powerful spiritual energies rushing towards them, quickly scattering their temporarily formed small team.
"Then we fight."
Chu Lingwei leaped forward, charging towards the team attacking them. Gathering immense spiritual energy with her Nine Styles of Nine Heavens, she forced the cultivators opposite her off the stage.