An hour and a half later, Shangguan Ting emerged from her cultivation. Sensing the inexhaustible power within her, she sent a water ball towards a nearby tree.
Elemental manifestation, a feat achievable only after reaching the Spirit Scholar realm. Those in the Innate and Acquired realms could only project spiritual energy externally. It was only upon reaching the Spirit Scholar realm that one could transform elements into tangible forms.
The water ball struck the tree, creating a large hole in the trunk, which was as thick as two people hugging. Though it didn't break the tree in half, it was significantly damaged.
Shangguan Ting was thrilled and, without forgetting to thank Ling Luoyi, bowed and said, "Thank you, Eldest Miss Ling."
Ling Luoyi yawned and replied, "Why thank me? Wasn't it your own decision?"
"Eldest Miss Ling might not know, but with my points, I wouldn't have made it into the top ten. Tomorrow's test is my only hope. I have now advanced to the first stage of Spirit Apprentice, so I can pass tomorrow's test smoothly." Shangguan Ting couldn't conceal her excitement, her voice trembling slightly.
"Congratulations."
Ling Luoyi's emotionless voice did not dampen Shangguan Ting's joy.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, upon seeing Shangguan Ting's breakthrough, the onlookers could no longer contain themselves.
"You, pinch me." Someone couldn't believe it and asked the person next to them to pinch them.
The person next to them numbly obliged.
The one who was pinched felt the pain and finally realized that everything before them was real, exclaiming, "She, she really broke through!"
This statement was like a drop of water falling into a pot of oil, creating a colossal wave.
"County Princess Rong Ting has truly broken through!"
"County Princess Rong Ting has been at the seventh star of the Acquired realm for two years, and now she has broken through to the first stage of Spirit Scholar with just one second-grade pill!"
"Are Ling Luoyi's pills that potent?!"
"That's a top-grade pill! Of course, it's potent?!"
…
Long Qinghuang watched the water mirror, also shocked. He had always been aware of Shangguan Ting's cultivation. To break through three stages with just one pill was astonishing! Ling Luoyi's pills were indeed incredibly powerful!
Fortunately, she was a subject of his subordinate kingdom, or rather, his subject, as long as the Tianwu Kingdom did not rebel.
As long as the Tianwu Kingdom did not rebel.
With this thought, a sharp glint flashed in Long Qinghuang's eyes.
Elder Qu noticed the sharp glint and frowned. What was Miss Ling doing? If this went wrong, it could bring about the destruction of the Tianwu Kingdom!
Amidst the crowd's murmurs, the image in the water mirror flickered, and then the contestants began to appear in the arena one after another.
The crowd finally realized that the competition had ended and immediately looked at the rankings. Ling Luoyi's name was in first place, with a lead of thirty thousand points over the second place.
The Grand Elder of the Long Qing Imperial family was already waiting at the exit with his men to collect the beast cores and spirit herbs.
The order in which the contestants emerged was also according to their entry order. Ling Luoyi and her group had entered together, so they also exited together.
Due to the low points awarded for spirit herbs and their difficulty to find, few participants collected them. The vast majority of contestants hunted demonic beasts, and the beast cores also needed to be submitted, resulting in long queues. Since everything was done within the sight of the spectators, dedicated personnel recorded everything, so the Grand Elder and his men only needed to verify the submitted items against the records.
Even so, by the time it was Ling Luoyi's turn, half an hour had passed.
Ling Luoyi placed her storage bag on the inspection table and waited for them to check.
This type of storage bag was bought by Ling Huayu, who felt it was too wasteful for her to hand out storage rings one by one. He couldn't stand it and bought her this, instructing her to give storage bags if she intended to give something to others.
Ling Luoyi had no objections; to her, whether it was a storage ring or a storage bag, they were just containers for holding things.
Over the past three days, everyone present had become familiar with Ling Luoyi, and the inspectors were no exception. They had received instructions from the Grand Elder and, looking at Ling Luoyi's storage bag, hesitated, unsure how to proceed.
Seeing their inaction, Ling Luoyi asked, confused, "The items are all here, aren't you going to check them?"
The Grand Elder was nearby. Seeing that Ling Luoyi was the one being checked, he didn't make things difficult for the two inspectors and said with a smile, "Eldest Miss Ling, it's like this. His Majesty said that these spirit herbs would have their greatest effect when given to Eldest Miss Ling. However, due to the rules, Eldest Miss Ling cannot avoid submitting them. Therefore, we wish to have Eldest Miss Ling exchange them for pills."
Ling Luoyi was not surprised by the Grand Elder's words. These spirit herbs were indeed precious, but if they couldn't be utilized, they were no different from weeds.
However, she had no intention of exchanging them for pills.
"Esteemed Elder, these spirit herbs are indeed very precious, but I am not lacking. I collected them simply to pass the time, so I will not exchange them for pills."
Before the Grand Elder could say anything, Ling Luoyi continued, "If any of you desire pills, I guarantee that as long as the Tianwu Kingdom exists, you can purchase pills from the Ling family in Tianwu Kingdom, with no quantity limit."
Ling Luoyi's words carried spiritual energy, and everyone heard them.
Long Qinghuang frowned. He had been worried about the Tianwu Kingdom rebelling one day and had considered directly conquering it. But with Ling Luoyi's statement, if the Tianwu Kingdom ceased to exist, then the top-grade pills would also disappear.
Considering the consequences, Long Qinghuang clenched his fist in anger. What a clever scheme!
Since Ling Luoyi had said so, the Grand Elder had nothing more to say. He looked at Long Qinghuang, and seeing him nod, he instructed the inspectors to complete the check and then asked Ling Luoyi to wait nearby.
Ling Luoyi looked at the rankings and understood. She said, "Elder, you all know how I obtained my points. Therefore, I feel my position is not rightfully earned, and I would like to yield it to the eleventh-ranked participant."
The Grand Elder knew Ling Luoyi was giving them face and didn't want to make things too unpleasant, so he agreed.
Only then was Ling Luoyi allowed to return to the inn.
Ling Luoyi went directly back to the inn. As soon as she reached the entrance of the Tianwu Kingdom's courtyard, she saw Qiu Yuanxi and the other three waiting for her expectantly.
"Little Luo'er!" As soon as Qiu Yuanxi saw Ling Luoyi, she jumped up.
Ling Luoyi pushed her aside and said to Ling Li, "Auntie, have you also completed the competition?"
Ling Li nodded and smiled, "Luoyi, Auntie finished the competition on the first day. Guess what rank Auntie got?"
The various professional competitions also selected the top ten, and the top ten could choose which sect or academy to enter.
Seeing Ling Li's happiness, Ling Luoyi didn't want to dampen her spirits and smiled, "Judging by how happy Auntie looks, you must be first place."
Ling Li laughed heartily and said, "Luoyi, you think too highly of Auntie. Auntie isn't first."
"Oh, then second?"
"Let Auntie tell you," Ling Li said. "Auntie isn't first or second; Auntie is third. Luoyi, Auntie refined a second-grade pill during the competition, but its quality wasn't high. There were several second-grade alchemists among the participants, and Auntie's refining time was shorter, so I lost."
"Auntie, third place is still very impressive."
"Auntie knows, Auntie isn't disappointed."
As they spoke, they all entered Ling Luoyi's room.
Ling Luoyi sat down and asked, "Auntie, third place also allows you to choose a sect. Which sect did you choose?"
"Luoyi," Ling Li said cautiously, as if worried Ling Luoyi would be angry, "Elder Mo from the Alchemy Academy of the Ancient Spirit Academy told me I could study there, so I chose the Ancient Spirit Academy."