Something is wrong!
Ninety-five?
She got a ninety-five?!
Gao Jiannan's expression froze instantly. He looked at the Old Man who announced the score with sheer disbelief. "Elder, did you read that wrong?"
The Old Man looked displeased. "This old man is not so old that he can no longer recognize characters!"
"No! I don't believe it!" Panicking, Gao Jiannan stepped forward, snatched the answer sheet, and stared at the bright red ninety-five. Cold sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.
How is this possible? Does she have that kind of strength?
"Young Master Gao, a bet is a bet!" Yan Xiaoyi crossed her arms and looked at him with a smile. "When does the streaking show start? I should call more people to come and cheer you on!"
"No! This isn't true!"
Sweating profusely, Gao Jiannan's mind suddenly flashed with a thought. "Right! You cheated! You must have cheated!"
"Insolent!" Elder Hu slammed his hand heavily onto the table. "Are you questioning our proctoring abilities?"
Seeing several Old Men responsible for proctoring staring at him with gloomy faces, Gao Jiannan hurriedly explained,
"No, I didn't mean that! She... she... she must have used some kind of underhanded method! Believe me, how could a good-for-nothing parasite like her possibly score such a high mark?"
"Nonsense!" Elder Hu glared and shouted, "She is merely a Qi Refining Realm cultivator—what trick could possibly escape the divine sense detection of five Nascent Soul Cultivators? Do you take her for the Daughter of Destiny?"
Another Old Man nodded in agreement. "My divine sense covered the entire arena; every move of even a fly was within my control! Even if she had the heart to do it, she wouldn't have the guts!"
"B-but..."
Seeing that not a single Old Man was willing to help him, Gao Jiannan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looked at Yan Xiaoyi with a ferocious expression, and shouted, "Do you dare retake the exam in front of everyone right now?"
Yan Xiaoyi raised her chin and said with utter contempt, "Why should I?"
This attitude instantly made Gao Jiannan excited. "Elder! Look! She doesn't dare! She has a guilty conscience! She's panicking!"
"Panicking? I think your kidneys are failing!"
Yan Xiaoyi ruthlessly mocked him before cupping her hands toward the elders. "Elder, please discern the truth: it's not that I'm unwilling. But if we were to retake an examination simply because of one person's suspicion, wouldn't that be too much of a joke?"
At this, she casually pointed a finger into the crowd. "...Then if I now suspect him, him, and him, should they have to retake the exam too? What would be the point of this examination then?"
As soon as she said this, it immediately drew a response from many examinees: "Exactly! He says retake it, so we retake it? Who does he think he is?"
"To me, he just can't afford to lose! Tsk... What an absolute disgrace to us men!"
"Bah! Trash, good-for-nothing! I have never seen such a shameless person!"
In an instant, Gao Jiannan became the target of public criticism, nearly drowning in spittle. He shook like a leaf. "Y-you! How can you all be fooled by her? She really..."
"Enough!" Elder Hu slammed the table hard and said coldly, "Yan Xiaoyi's score is beyond doubt! If you question her, you are questioning my fairness and impartiality! As for the bet..."
Seeing Elder Hu look at her, Yan Xiaoyi naturally understood his meaning and smiled slightly. "Of course... it must be fulfilled!"
"You..."
"Shut up!" Yan Xiaoyi didn't give the toad any chance to speak, walking straight up to a higher spot.
She cleared her throat. "Everyone! It's not that I am being aggressive, but let's put ourselves in his shoes—if he had won, would he have let me off?"
Would he? Everyone understood the answer: absolutely not. Instead, he would have doubled down and kicked her while she was down!
"So, why should I let him off?" Yan Xiaoyi's voice suddenly rose a notch. "I'm not his mother, why should I pamper him?"
"A real man must keep his word and honor his promises! If you can't even do this much, what kind of immortality are you cultivating? What kind of demons are you subduing? What kind of devils are you eliminating?"
"A loss is a loss! What's the big deal? If I had lost, I'd go streaking right now! If I frowned, blinked, or swallowed even once, I... am... not... surnamed... Yan!"
"Good!" As her voice fell, warm applause immediately erupted from below. "Well said!"
"The young lady is truly a person of genuine character!"
"Look at her, and then look at that fellow... Tsk, truly a difference between heaven and earth!"
Yan Xiaoyi waved her hand with a chuckle. "Of course, I'm not an unreasonable person. To preserve the sect's dignity, we'll allow him to wear a sack over his head so he isn't recognized as someone from the Cold Moon Sect.
As for the location... how about changing it to the market below the sect? Elder, what do you think?"
"Very well!" Elder Hu was quite satisfied with this outcome.
He turned to glare at Gao Jiannan. "Disgraceful wretch, get lost! Let me tell you, don't even think about trying to back out; I'll personally send someone to watch you finish running!"
"D-disciple obeys!" Gao Jiannan bit his pale lips, glared with bitter hatred at Yan Xiaoyi, and dejectedly left the place of his heartache.
"Alright, the first round of examinations is over. Those who scored sixty points or higher, gather here tomorrow at the hour of Chen for the second round of examinations! Dismissed!"
...
Back at her quarters.
Yan Xiaoyi personally cooked a few of her signature dishes to reward herself for her hard work.
"...The moon smiles in my palm, the clouds sleep early before my eyes... Hmm-hmm, the taste is just right."
Watching her smug appearance, the Trash System began to complain: "Today, when you spoke with such absolute conviction, even I almost believed you actually had that kind of skill!"
"Eh~ You've got it all wrong! Cheats are also a part of one's strength!"
Having finished bustling about, Yan Xiaoyi had just poured herself a small cup of wine when a strange gust of wind swept past her eyes. Before she could react, the cup in her hand had vanished.
"What's going on? Have I seen a ghost?"
Her hair standing on end, Yan Xiaoyi jumped up on the spot.
Suddenly, she noticed that across the table, an Old Man in tattered clothes had appeared out of nowhere and was frantically shoveling food into his mouth with chopsticks.
He chewed while evaluating, "Fragile, truly fragrant!"
"Hey, who are you? Why are you snatching my food? Stop right now!" Furious, Yan Xiaoyi wanted to step forward and grab the wine cup from his hand, only to discover to her astonishment that this Old Man was slipperier than an eel.
Not only did she fail to grab anything, but she tripped over herself several times.
She could only watch helplessly as the fruits of her labor were completely devoured by him, to the point that even the plate was licked as smooth as a mirror by the Old Man's outstretched tongue.
"Old geezer, just who are you?" Yan Xiaoyi demanded, putting her hands on her hips with an angry expression.
"That's right! Who am I?" The Old Man's turbid eyes were filled with confusion as he looked Yan Xiaoyi up and down. "And who are you?"
"I'm the one asking you!"
"Right, you're asking me? Why are you asking me?" The Old Man rambled incoherently, then grabbed his head with both hands, putting on a mask of agony. "Hisss—I don't know, I don't know anything! My head is going to explode! Ah!!"
Immediately afterwards, with a 'whoosh,' he performed a vanishing act right on the spot.
Coming without a shadow, leaving without a trace.
If not for the completely empty plates and wine pot, Yan Xiaoyi would have suspected she had just experienced a hallucination.
"Where did this old madman come from? How utterly inexplicable!"
Ruined by this interruption, Yan Xiaoyi's mood instantly soured. She angrily sat back down on the bed. "Tidbits, what cultivation level did that Old Man have?"
"Higher than yours."
"How much higher?"
"A whole lot higher!"
"How much is 'a whole lot'?" Yan Xiaoyi pursued relentlessly, unwilling to give up.
"A whole lot is a whole lot! Alright, this system is shutting down to rest, see you tomorrow! Goodnight."
Yan Xiaoyi: "..." A system needs rest? Truly trashy indeed!
Fine, goodnight then.
*
Early the next morning, Yan Xiaoyi arrived on time at the central plaza.
Once everyone had gathered, Elder Hu, the proctoring elder, led the group to a mountain peak and pointed across the way. "Do you see those spirit fruit trees on the mountain opposite us?"
Yan Xiaoyi stood on tiptoe, shielding her forehead with her right hand, and looked in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, she spotted a bizarre fruit tree growing bright red fruits.
"Your task is to pluck a fruit from the opposite side within one hour and bring it back to me. That will count as passing. Naturally, the more fruits you have, the higher your score and ranking will be."
"It's that simple?" A flash of surprise crossed Yan Xiaoyi's eyes.
"Simple?" Elder Hu looked at her with a half-smile. "Don't say I didn't warn you—reaching the opposite peak is fraught with danger along the way! If you aren't careful, you might even lose your life!"
"Is that so..." Yan Xiaoyi rubbed her chin, her expression suddenly turning solemn. "Then I have a question."
"Ask."
Yan Xiaoyi: "If I accidentally kick the bucket, is there a bereavement payout?"