Xu Yi could now be sure her earlier guess was not wrong; not everyone in Kunlun Academy was normal.
"Senior Brother Qi, look here."
Xu Yi pointed a finger at her eyes.
Qi Feibai instinctively followed Xu Yi's gaze and met her eyes.
Within Xu Yi's clear black and white eyes, he could vaguely see his blurred reflection.
He paused for a moment, displeased, "What do you want me to look at?"
"Can't you see your own reflection?"
"I'm not blind, of course I can see it."
"Since you can see it, why did you say I was arrogant, unless... heh."
Xu Yi's lips curled, forcing a playful smile.
"Pfft!" Hua Wuchang chuckled, looking at Xu Yi with admiration for a kindred spirit.
He liked interesting people.
"You..."
It was only after Hua Wuchang laughed that Qi Feibai understood. Enraged, he was about to launch into a verbal tirade with Xu Yi when Liu Jingtian pulled him back.
"Why are you stopping me? Do you also..."
Qi Feibai turned his head to see Liu Jingtian's eyes almost popping out of his head. His heart trembled, and with a foreboding premonition, he turned his gaze to the stone tablet.
First place still belonged to the detestable Hua Wuchang, second place was Wang Chen, and third place had changed from Liu Jingtian to Yu Xiaoyu.
Third place, Yu Xiaoyu, with sixty-three merit points.
Qi Feibai: !!!
Were these newcomers?
He had been in Kunlun Academy for three hundred years, and this was the first time he had encountered such a formidable newcomer.
Xu Yi also noticed the change on the stone tablet, her smile becoming more genuine.
She had anticipated this outcome.
When she was with Yu Xiaoyu, they had often discussed matters of artifact refining. It was then that she knew Yu Xiaoyu's talent in artifact refining far surpassed hers.
After all, Yu Xiaoyu was the designated young sect leader by the Grand Artifact Sect's Sect Master.
Liu Jingtian, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, "Young Sect Master is indeed formidable. I am truly convinced."
"Young Sect Master?" Qi Feibai exclaimed, "That Yu Xiaoyu is the young sect leader of your Grand Artifact Sect?"
Although Qi Feibai primarily cultivated artifact refining, he was not a disciple of the Grand Artifact Sect. Among those present, only Liu Jingtian hailed from the Grand Artifact Sect.
"Yes."
Qi Feibai breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder this newcomer was so powerful; it made sense now.
As if thinking of something, he suddenly pointed at Xu Yi and asked, "Is she also from your Grand Artifact Sect?"
Liu Jingtian shook his head.
Qi Feibai's face immediately fell. He had just been thinking that if Xu Yi was also from the Grand Artifact Sect, then being surpassed by her wouldn't be too embarrassing.
Wang Chen was no longer in the mood to pay attention to their conversation. His focus was entirely on the stone tablet.
He had long wanted to change his status as the eternal second place, but not by being surpassed; rather, by climbing higher. If he couldn't even maintain his second position, he would likely be greatly disheartened.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaoyu's final score settled at sixty-three points.
However, this did not completely put him at ease, as the gap between him and Yu Xiaoyu was already very small. Perhaps in a few more years, after Yu Xiaoyu received guidance from Teacher Li and gained some insights, she could immediately surpass him.
At this moment, Wang Chen felt a strong sense of crisis. His brow furrowed, and he decided to dedicate more effort to artifact refining in the future.
"Xu Yi."
"Xiaoyu, come quickly, you're ranked third."
Seeing Yu Xiaoyu appear, Xu Yi quickly pulled her towards the stone tablet.
Upon seeing her name, Yu Xiaoyu's face first blushed, and she gave a shy smile, her eyes bright and captivating.
She had never thought about her performance while undergoing the trial. It was only after emerging from the long corridor that she felt nervous.
Artifact refining was arguably the most important thing in her life, and the matter she was most proud of.
Her current results were a form of praise for her.
"Young Sect Master."
Liu Jingtian stepped forward to salute Yu Xiaoyu upon her appearance, which made Yu Xiaoyu feel quite embarrassed.
"Senior Brother Liu, we are in Kunlun Academy. You can call me Junior Sister Yu or Xiaoyu."
"You know me?"
Liu Jingtian was somewhat surprised, as this was clearly their first meeting.
"Yes, I heard about Senior Brother Liu's exploits in the sect. Master even praised you in front of me."
Yu Xiaoyu was meticulous and had already recorded the situations of the senior brothers currently in Kunlun Academy when she decided to join.
It was now proving useful.
Hearing Yu Xiaoyu's words, Liu Jingtian couldn't help but beam. Who didn't like hearing praise?
Especially when it came from someone they acknowledged, it felt even more special.
Just as Liu Jingtian was about to reciprocate and praise his junior sister, who had surpassed him, a majestic voice simultaneously rang in their ears.
"Yu Xiaoyu, Xu Yi, come to the rooftop quickly."
As the voice faded, a grand gate of the same design as the one in the long corridor suddenly appeared before them.
Seeing Yu Xiaoyu's confused expression, Liu Jingtian explained, "The person who just spoke is Teacher Li. He is in charge of the Artifact Building, an eighth-level artifact refiner. As for his temper..."
"Ahem!"
Before Liu Jingtian could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a heavy cough.
Liu Jingtian meekly shut his mouth, a sense of doubt arising within him.
After Xu Yi and Yu Xiaoyu entered the gate, he suddenly let out a long sigh, his expression somewhat dejected.
Wang Chen thought Liu Jingtian was still disheartened by what had just happened and stepped forward to comfort him, advising him not to be discouraged.
Unexpectedly, Liu Jingtian looked at Wang Chen with a pitying expression, leaving Wang Chen bewildered.
"Wang Hammer, your little aspirations are likely to be in vain."
Hua Wuchang chuckled softly, his eyes flitting about, possessing a truly captivating charm.
"Overlord Flower, what do you mean! What little aspirations do I have!"
Wang Chen's heart skipped a beat, but he outwardly refused to back down.
"I don't mean anything, but the newcomers this time are no small figures. Especially that Yu Xiaoyu, she's a natural for artifact refining. Teacher Li might be moved this time."
Hua Wuchang said as he walked towards the exit.
It had to be said that the newcomers this time had also put him under great pressure, so he had to hurry to earn more merit points.
Wang Chen watched Hua Wuchang's enchanting retreating figure, his expression grim.
He had already understood Hua Wuchang's underlying meaning.
In fact, he had always harbored the idea of becoming Teacher Li's disciple.
The rules of Kunlun Academy differed from the outside world. Here, as long as one gained a teacher's approval, they could become a disciple and learn their teachings.
In other words, with a teacher's consent, one could become a disciple of multiple teachers and learn different doctrines.
However, the path of cultivation valued precision over breadth, so very few people did this.
In the past decade, Wang Chen had felt a noticeable bottleneck. Although he often consulted Teacher Li, he felt that since he was not Teacher Li's disciple, Teacher Li had not imparted all his insights to him.
He had been actively performing well recently, hoping Teacher Li would relent and accept him.
Wang Chen's performance was very obvious, so Liu Jingtian, Hua Wuchang, and the others were all aware of his intentions.
But with the appearance of Yu Xiaoyu and Xu Yi today, his hope of becoming Teacher Li's disciple had become incredibly slim.
With such outstanding talents appearing before him, would Teacher Li still favor him?
He stared blankly at the rooftop, his heart feeling empty.