C35

"Lee Yu!" As Qing Anqi emerged from the teleportation portal, her eyes instantly found Lee Yu standing just outside the altar, prompting her to call out in delighted surprise.

But her excitement waned when she heard the virtual woman's words and caught sight of the long robe bulging behind Lee Yu, filled to the brim. A wave of defeat washed over Qing Anqi.

She couldn't help feeling downcast. Despite acing the trial and earning bonus points for her youth, she had thought she performed exceptionally well. Yet, in comparison to Lee Yu, she felt utterly outclassed.

"Wait a second, what if he just chose larger ones?" Qing Anqi pondered, a thought striking her. She had taken considerable time to perfectly complete the trial, whereas Lee Yu had not only finished before her but had already made his selections.

It dawned on her that perhaps Lee Yu had merely passed the trial.

With this in mind, Qing Anqi hastened toward Lee Yu. As she stepped beyond the altar's boundary, the virtual woman's voice announced, "The timer starts now."

Lee Yu, spotting Qing Anqi dashing his way, gestured for her to hurry and choose her spiritual plants.

"Then you wait for me here!" Qing Anqi called out. Although the Qing's had an abundance of spiritual plants, they weren't freely available. The opportunity to take twenty without cost was a significant boon for her.

What's more, these were spiritual plants of a particular kind, which, with the right pill formula, could prove far more precious than ordinary ones. And with skillful extraction, they might even be cultivated.

Qing Anqi sprinted toward the open area.

The altar seemed to respond to the presence of trial participants, revealing an array of new information. Having just exited the reward space with a hefty bag in tow, Lee Yu opted to stay and peruse the updates.

"Oh, right," Lee Yu suddenly called out, "Anqi, don't go that way—I came from there."

"Understood!" Her voice trailed off into the distance.

"Green God... Does a god truly exist in this world?"

Lee Yu turned to scrutinize the ancient text materializing near the altar.

Was it merely a designation, or could it signify an actual deity?

Lee Yu studied the characters, reminiscent of the ancient script he had learned from Mu Yinhua back in Stone Village. Since arriving in the Otherworld, and throughout his time in Qing's territory, he had read many books written in this familiar language.

Lee Yu recognized the script floating above the trial space; he had seen it before in illustrations accompanying historical records. It was the language used by the Qing's Kingdom, the precursor to the Ming Kingdom, during the early days of the Qin Empire.

"Constructed during the Qin Empire's reign?" Lee Yu mused, noting the script's resemblance to both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. With his knowledge of contemporary script, he could make educated guesses about the text's meaning.

With the system's assistance, Lee Yu managed to decipher the text, extracting numerous valuable pieces of information.

Qing Shen was an ancestor of the Qing's lineage. His bloodline, which he passed down after reaching Third Grade, became a significant branch within the Qing's. Upon advancing to First Grade, he was invited by the emperor to depart.

"The emperor," Lee Yu exclaimed, realizing this must refer to the Qin Empire's ruler.

A First Grade expert? That represented the pinnacle of Supreme Dao cultivation. Lee Yu hadn't expected the Qing's to boast such an illustrious elder.

Before his departure, Qing Shen created a trial space underground, tailoring it to his specifications to foster the growth of spiritual plants. Any descendant of the Qing's could challenge the puppet trials, with successful participants gaining access to the space and its rewards.

This revelation brought clarity to Lee Yu. The underground trial space likely had multiple entrances; it made sense that Qing Anqi could have accidentally triggered one in the underground river, causing both of them to be drawn inside.

The key difference was that Lee Yu had been whisked directly to the reward phase, whereas Qing Anqi had earnestly navigated through the three trials before being teleported.

"How unfortunate," Lee Yu muttered to himself, reflecting on how the same ordeal yielded such different outcomes. Initially, he had assumed Qing Anqi might have been scavenging for treasures elsewhere.

Still, Lee Yu felt fortunate. He wasn't a Qing's descendant, and had he been the one to stumble upon the trial stage, who knows if he would have been deemed an interloper?

"First Grade, creating a space? Truly, to call such a feat divine is no overstatement!" Lee Yu patiently absorbed every word that materialized after the activation.

The Qin Empire had extended an invitation to two individuals... but the other First Grade cultivator, tasked with overseeing the Qing's, respectfully declined the offer.

Wow, there's actually a First Grade cultivator among them.

Lee Yu now understood how the Qing's could wield control over an entire county—it was through sheer martial might. It was common knowledge that Qing's only boasted a Second Grade cultivator in their ranks; Lee Yu had never even heard a whisper of a First Grade in their midst.

Yet, with just a single Second Grade cultivator, Qing's managed to hold sway over a county!

And from what he knew, there were no more than ten Second Grade cultivators throughout the entire Ming Empire.

"I wonder if this First Grade cultivator is still around?" Lee Yu mused, his curiosity piqued. If the cultivator were alive, surely the Qing's would be aware of this space. It was baffling that such a valuable space had been left unused.

"Lee Yu, I'm back!" Qing Anqi announced her return, her arms laden with spiritual plants. "Give me a hand with these, will you?"

"No," Lee Yu said, quickly brushing Qing Anqi's hand aside. "You keep hold of them for now."

With Qing Anqi's arrival, the ethereal woman finally shifted her gaze, turning to look at them both.

Lee Yu felt a twinge of guilt. If Qing Anqi were to untie the knot and reveal the spiritual plants, would the virtual woman lash out in violence?

The altar's inscriptions indicated that guiding participants through the trial was just one aspect of the virtual woman's duties; she also protected and upheld the rules.

While Lee Yu explained nervously, the virtual woman appeared not to notice him, her attention fixed on Qing Anqi. "Trial participant, do you wish to conclude your trial?" she inquired.

"Yes," Qing Anqi confirmed with a nod.

At her response, the virtual woman gestured, and a radiant portal materialized within the arch of the gossip pattern.

"Come on, let's make a break for it!" Lee Yu urged, gripping Qing Anqi's hand and bolting towards the portal.

"Oh no, my treasure!" Qing Anqi cried out as a plant, aglow with green luminescence, slipped from her grasp. She lamented its loss; it was a spiritual plant she had chosen with great care. The Qing's had only two such plants, both withered, as they had been eradicated from the outside world.

"Don't worry, I'll replace it for you!" Lee Yu reassured her with a glance. He had one in his pack, and since stepping onto the altar, the virtual woman's gaze had been fixed on him. Not daring to pause, he dashed through the portal of light.

"Phew, we're out," Lee Yu exhaled with relief.

Across from him, Qing Anqi's eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to spill over any moment.

This was her very first solo trial, a stark contrast to past events where everyone had coddled her. During the Green Mountain Hunt, no one mentioned it, but the disproportionate number of Green Mountain Army soldiers at her side and the specially designated hunting grounds were all measures to shield her from harm.

Yet for Qing Anqi, such safeguards only deprived her of opportunities to prove her worth.

This time was different. Facing the unfeeling automatons in the trial, the perfect score and its accompanying reward lifted her spirits immensely—proof that she didn't need anyone's concessions to excel.

"Don't cry, please don't cry!" Lee Yu massaged his temples. He had always seen her as a sister, not just because she had once saved his life, but because she seemed more genuine, devoid of the hidden agendas that others harbored.

He unfurled the robe that doubled as a parcel, "Let me check. I'm sure I brought along a handful of identical spiritual plants."

Qing Anqi blinked in disbelief. Were her eyes deceiving her? The pile before her looked to contain well over a hundred spiritual plants.

"Here we go, found them!" Lee Yu produced several spiritual plants identical to the ones Qing Anqi had dropped and extended them towards her. "These are for you."

Qing Anqi gazed at the nineteen spiritual plants cradled in her arms. Overwhelmed by an inexplicable wave of sorrow, she finally let the tears flow freely.