After being jilted by the saintess at the beginning, why is she crying?

Zhao Yun'er was stunned.

Become...become an apprentice?

She looked up, staring blankly at the languid figure on the jade couch, her mind a complete blank.

Seeing her reaction, Shangguan Mili raised an eyebrow, a playful smile curving her red lips:

"What? You don't want to?"

"No, no!"

Zhao Yun'er quickly shook her head and stammered:

"But... but... this junior's cultivation is low and my aptitude is dull, I'm afraid... I'm afraid I'm not worthy of you, senior..."

"Not good enough?"

Shangguan Mili chuckled softly, looked her up and down, his eyes full of satisfaction:

"You little rascal, although your cultivation level is a bit low, your innate talent is excellent, and your aptitude is superb. Moreover..."

She paused, then her smile deepened.

"She's quite good-looking too. It'll be a good impression for me to have a beautiful disciple, won't it?"

Zhao Yun'er blushed slightly at her words and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Shangguan Mili didn't urge her, but leaned back on the jade couch, gently tapping the armrest with her fingers, patiently waiting.

After a moment, Zhao Yun'er finally took a deep breath, stepped forward, knelt down respectfully, and kowtowed three times:

"Disciple Zhao Yun'er greets Master!"

The voice was soft, but it carried a certain firmness.

Looking at her serious expression, Shangguan Mili's smile deepened.

She reached out and gently ruffled Zhao Yun'er's hair, her tone unusually tender:

"Good boy/girl. Get up."

at the same time.

Hehuan Sect, Outer Gate Square.

At this moment, the square was packed with people.

Today marks the end of the Secret Realm trial and the announcement of the final rankings.

Not only were all the outer disciples present, but many inner disciples also came to join in the fun.

There were even some elders who rarely left their homes.

They also appeared on the high platforms on both sides of the square, looking at the huge list with different expressions.

The list was ten zhang tall and five zhang wide, carved entirely from a single piece of white jade.

Its surface shimmered with a subtle light, emanating a faint spatial fluctuation.

This is the "Top Prodigies Ranking" of the Hehuan Sect.

After each trial in the secret realm ends, the names on the leaderboard will be rearranged according to the points the disciples earned in the secret realm.

The higher your score, the higher your ranking.

The person ranked first will not only receive a generous reward, but will also be directly promoted to an inner disciple!

more importantly--

They have priority in choosing a spouse!

This means that the first-place female cultivator within the sect who is rated as Grade C, or the Grade C Daoist partner carefully cultivated by the sect, can be selected first!

This is a dream come true for the single male cultivators within the sect!

"Who do you think will come in first place this time?"

Discussions rose and fell, with various speculations, sarcasm, and expectations intertwined.

And at that very moment—

"boom--"

The portal suddenly lit up!

A blinding white light shot out from the door, illuminating the entire square!

"Someone's coming out!"

A gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.

A figure slowly emerged from the portal of light.

He was a young man with a cold and stern face, wearing a blue Taoist robe, and his aura was powerful, clearly indicating that he had reached the twelfth level of Qi Refining!

His appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention.

And his name lit up on the list of prodigies—

Zhou Yuan, 130 points

"One hundred and thirty points! Not bad!"

"Senior Brother Zhou Yuan is indeed amazing!"

"This is just the first one; there are definitely more amazing ones to come!"

Zhou Yuan glanced at his ranking, walked to the side expressionlessly, and stood with his hands behind his back.

Then, the second, the third, the fourth...

The cultivators emerged from the portal one after another, and the names on the list of prodigies kept changing.

One hundred points, two hundred points, three hundred points...

Each jump elicited a gasp or a sigh.

As more and more cultivators emerged, the crowd's gazes grew increasingly eager.

"Why haven't we seen those powerful figures yet?"

"Don't rush, the best is yet to come!"

The words had barely left his mouth—

Three figures walked out side by side from the portal of light!

The leader was a burly man with a rugged face and a powerful aura like a tiger!

Behind him were two equally tall men. The three men looked somewhat alike and were clearly brothers.

"It's the three Xiong brothers!"

"Good heavens! The three of them came out together!"

Amid exclamations of surprise, the rankings on the Prodigy Ranking suddenly jumped!

[Bear, 1200 points]

[Xiong Ershan, 1100 points]

[Bear Three, 1050 points]

These three individuals directly occupied the top three spots on the list!

"hiss--!"

Everyone gasped.

More than a thousand points!

That's incredible!

And at that very moment—

A figure in a green robe slowly walked out from the portal.

The figure moved with ease and composure, as if he had not come from a perilous secret realm, but was returning from a stroll in his own backyard.

His appearance did not attract much attention.

After all, hundreds of people had already come out ahead of them, and everyone was already somewhat numb to it.

however

When that name lit up on the list of prodigies, the entire venue fell into a sudden, deathly silence!

Lin Fengmian, 8,000 points

Eight thousand points!

This number exploded like a bombshell in the crowd!

"What?!"

"Eight thousand?! How is that possible!"

"Am I seeing things?! Pinch me!"

"Are you seeing things?! It's eight thousand! Eight thousand!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the number on the list in disbelief.

Someone rubbed their eyes hard and looked again—

Still eight thousand!

Someone pinched their thigh hard, wincing in pain.

Not a dream!

"This Lin Fengmian... why does that name sound so familiar?"

"I remember now! Isn't he that useless furnace cauldron with five spiritual roots?!"

"What?! That good-for-nothing? How could he possibly get first place?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! He must have cheated!"

Questions, exclamations, and curses rose and fell, and the entire square instantly erupted into chaos.

"How could a piece of trash with only five spiritual roots possibly get eight thousand points in the secret realm?!"

"Exactly! Even if you killed monsters and gathered herbs non-stop from beginning to end, you couldn't possibly get this many!"

"They must have used some underhanded methods!"

Many of the male cultivators had ashen faces, their eyes filled with jealousy and resentment.

They fought tooth and nail in the secret realm, only to earn a few hundred points.

And this good-for-nothing actually took eight thousand?!

How can they possibly accept this?

however--

There are those who criticize, and there are also those who support.

The female cultivators' eyes lit up when they saw that name on the list.

"Lin Fengmian? Is that the exceptionally handsome senior brother?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That's him! I've seen him once before, his looks and his aura are absolutely stunning!"