Xue Renkui also kept winking, as if to say, hurry up, it was me who told her to do this.
Mo Qi didn't move for a long time. He shouted to Shui Ling, "Shui Ling, get up quickly, don't let Miss Shi get hurt!"
Shui Ling stood up, pouted, and said, "It's someone I know again! He's truly a philanderer."
Shi Siyao, inexplicably pinned down, found her magical arts unable to resist. Suddenly, she felt the clouds disperse and the pressure vanish.
She stood up, looked at Shui Ling, and realized this girl was playing tricks. She wasn't angry, but turned to Mo Qi and smiled, "Why didn't you attack me just now? It was a great opportunity!"
Mo Qi also smiled, "A gentleman cherishes a lady!"
Shi Siyao covered her mouth and chuckled, saying, "You win!"
Then, to everyone's shocked gaze, Shi Siyao turned and jumped off the stage!
Suddenly, she turned back and smiled, "I'll wait for you in the Qionglu Realm!" Then she turned and left.
Mo Qi was stunned!
Xue Ying, standing beside him, frowned repeatedly, "How many beautiful female cultivators does this Shopkeeper Mo know?"
A cheer erupted from the surroundings! The applause thundered!
"Mo Qi! Mo Qi!"
Mo Qi was momentarily lost in the cheers, feeling a bit elated. He looked at Xue Ying's stunningly beautiful face and almost rushed to kiss her, but he held back. The last time he couldn't resist kissing Bai Cheng, he was still… savoring the memory.
In the evening, Mo Qi went to find Xue Renkui. His competition was over, and he wanted to inform Xue Renkui before heading to Lexi City.
As he walked, a pretty voice approached.
It was Lu Xiaoyue!
Mo Qi was startled and stopped, "You, where are you going?"
"To find you!" Lu Xiaoyue stopped in front of him and said.
Mo Qi was a little surprised, "Looking for me?"
Lu Xiaoyue's face flushed slightly, "Walk with me, we can talk as we go."
Mo Qi smiled and nodded, "It's my honor."
The two walked slowly along the shaded path.
Disciples from various sects passing by occasionally glanced at Mo Qi, sometimes showing a hint of envy. There was also a hint of unspeakable regret, as if "all the good cabbage had been gobbled up by pigs."
After a long silence, Mo Qi said, "What exactly are you looking for me for?"
Lu Xiaoyue glared at him, "Didn't you ask me to inquire about Xiao Cong'er for you? I've inquired, and I haven't found any news about Xiao Cong'er yet. Perhaps there is no such person in the Taihe Sect."
Mo Qi felt a pang of melancholy, then his eyes lit up, "You, you actually inquired for me?"
Lu Xiaoyue snorted, "We outer disciples don't have much to do all day, so we're just idle."
"Regardless, thank you," Mo Qi said.
Another silence. Lu Xiaoyue felt awkward. She suddenly realized that trying to get along with Mo Qi now was a wrong decision.
The air was almost solidifying. Lu Xiaoyue mustered her courage and said, "You said before that I looked down on you, but I never did, it's just…"
Seeing her hesitate, Mo Qi asked anxiously, "Just what?"
"It's just that I found you a bit annoying," Lu Xiaoyue said, looking away as she spoke.
"Isn't that the same thing?" Mo Qi said, looking disappointed and pouting.
"It's different. Looking down on someone is without reason, while finding someone annoying has a reason. Think about what it is about you that is annoying," Lu Xiaoyue said.
As Mo Qi looked on in confusion, Lu Xiaoyue was about to turn and leave. Mo Qi called out to her again and took out a bracelet from his body, "Your father asked me to give this to you." He thought this was the only way she would accept it.
Lu Xiaoyue merely glanced at it, "That was my father giving it to you."
"Hmm?" Mo Qi felt strange, "How do you know?"
"I guessed," Lu Xiaoyue blushed slightly, "I went back once. If he wanted to give it to me, he would have done so then. Why would he have you pass it on?"
"This… that's true," Mo Qi paused slightly and said, "It's just that your father might have a misunderstanding. He thought we might be… very close, but in reality, we… So if I accept this, it might not be appropriate."
Lu Xiaoyue was slightly angry, "If it's not appropriate, why did you accept it then?"
Mo Qi was speechless, "This…"
Lu Xiaoyue continued, "Just take it if I give it to you."
"Alright," Mo Qi immediately put the bracelet away again.
Lu Xiaoyue thought for a moment, then took out a communication spirit stone and handed it to Mo Qi, "Connect your communication spirit stone with mine. If I find Xiao Cong'er, I'll send you a message."
"Okay," Mo Qi agreed, took Lu Xiaoyue's communication spirit stone without hesitation, and then took out his own, establishing the connection.
After receiving Mo Qi's communication spirit stone back, Lu Xiaoyue turned and left.
Mo Qi went to find Xue Renkui and told him that he had completed his task and was ready to return to the shop, reminding him to fulfill his promise later.
Xue Renkui immediately announced that Mo Qi was accepted as an outer disciple of the Zhenghe Sect.
Mo Qi frowned, "Outer disciples also have to go back to selling pills!" Then, to Xue Renkui's astonishment, he turned and left.
The next day, after a series of duels, the top ten participants were determined. They were Mo Qi, who had already secured first place, Shi Siyao, Jing Xin, Qiu Baichuan, and Feng Shen with nineteen points, and Zhong Fa, Ke Shutong, Lu Di, Lu Xiaoyue, and Shu Fu with eighteen points.
On the third day, after more duels, the final rankings of the top ten were determined. Shi Siyao took second place, and Lu Xiaoyue took sixth place.
Mo Qi returned to his shop and resumed his days of alchemy and closed-door cultivation.
Xue Ying followed him again, much to Xue Renkui's exasperation.
Several months passed in this manner when Jin Yan delivered another mission. Although it was called a trial mission, only Mo Qi was required to participate among the two people designated for the trial, himself and Wu Siqi.
The trial involved undertaking a special mission in the Southern Sea of the Hongmeng Realm.
According to Jin Yan, this mission would be led by Wan Beifeng, a hall master of the second tier under the Nantian Gate of the Qionglu Realm. The four major sects of the Northern Region would each send two disciples and one elder to participate.
Jin Yan also mentioned that missions of this caliber were usually undertaken by inner disciples, and outer disciples would not normally be involved. He suspected that Sect Leader Xue was allowing Mo Qi to participate in this way to keep him away from Xue Ying.
The participants from the Zhenghe Sect were disciple Lei Bo, Mo Qi, and elder Qian Zhineng. Lei Bo had been selected for the mission list after winning first place in a rigorous competition, while the remaining spot was directly given to Mo Qi by Xue Renkui. Elder Qian Zhineng, a highly respected figure, was appointed by Xue Renkui.
Upon hearing this, Xue Ying first wanted to argue with Xue Renkui, but Mo Qi stopped her. Then she said she wanted to go with Mo Qi, but Mo Qi refused.
The notification from the Qionglu Realm required everyone to gather at the Taihe Sect plaza at the hour of Si on the following day. Mo Qi went early with the intention of inquiring further about Xiao Cong'er's whereabouts from the Taihe Sect disciples. He asked everyone he saw in the Taihe Sect, but after asking more than ten people, no one knew who Xiao Cong'er was.
Mo Qi thought that it was normal for tens of thousands of people in the Taihe Sect to not recognize someone, so he asked a few more people, but still, no one recognized her.
As the appointed time approached, Mo Qi arrived at the plaza. People from other sects also began to arrive. Seeing that Wan Beifeng had not yet arrived, they gathered in small groups and chatted. Mo Qi stood there looking around, appearing lost.
A moment later, Wan Beifeng arrived. He first scanned the crowd, then made a gesture, and four streams of light flew out, landing in the east, south, west, and north directions before disappearing. Subtle ripples flowed around them. Everyone calmed their minds, assuming Wan Beifeng had set up a barrier and was about to brief them on a secret mission.
As expected, Wan Beifeng's calm voice echoed in everyone's ears, transmitted via sound projection: "Hello everyone, I am Wan Beifeng. I know you are all the cream of the crop from the major sects of the Northern Region." At this point, Lei Bo glanced at Mo Qi intentionally or unintentionally, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"This mission can be described as fraught with peril and danger. The place we will be going to is Pengqu Island. On the surface, it is still within the scope of the Southern Continent, but in reality, it is no different from executing a mission in another continent. Just as we cannot accept them, the people on the islands of the Southern Sea of the Hongmeng Realm cannot accept us. Perhaps as soon as we set foot on that land, we will be surrounded."
"Our mission is to go to the Shenlong Gate on Pengqu Island to pick up three people. They are spies planted in the Shenlong Gate by the Northern Region, but their identities were discovered by the Shenlong Gate. The Shenlong Gate is considered a relatively small sect throughout the Southern Sea of the Hongmeng Realm, even on Pengqu Island. They cannot tolerate the existence of moles, but they do not want to fall out with the Southern Continent. They even wish to establish a more friendly relationship with the Southern Continent through this matter. Therefore, they have put out word that they hope we will go and negotiate. If we can reach an agreement, they may very well release these three people. Within the Southern Continent, those three undercover agents are insignificant among the vast populace of the Southern Continent, but outside the Southern Continent, they represent the Southern Continent. Our attitude towards them represents the attitude of the entire Southern Continent. Therefore, the Qionglu Realm attaches great importance to this matter and has sent me to personally oversee it. Our identity can be said to be that of envoys, so we should avoid any fighting if possible."
"Could this be a trap, intended to lure us there and then capture us all?" someone suddenly asked. Everyone turned to look. It was Elder Jiang from the Zhonghe Sect.
"To set up such a grand scheme just to kill us few people? What benefit would killing us few people bring them?" Elder Qian Zhineng of the Zhenghe Sect said.
"That's true, but I don't think the possibility of us bringing people back from this trip is very high," Elder Jiang said.
Wan Beifeng cast a sharp glance at him and said coldly, "An envoy is also equivalent to a campaign. Before I declare the discipline, consider your words as jokes. But from now on, anyone who dares to speak nonsense and disrupt morale will be dealt with according to military law."
Elder Jiang fell silent, as if frozen.
Wan Beifeng continued, "We will travel through a secret teleportation array, but the teleportation array is not here. We must go to the Qionglu Realm and then use the teleportation array to transport ourselves to Pengqu Island."
Thus, the group, led by Wan Beifeng, headed towards the Qionglu Realm.
"Who is this Wan Beifeng?" Mo Qi asked Qian Zhineng cautiously on the way.
"There are seven tiers under the Nantian Gate. He is a hall master of the second tier. Not very powerful, but not insignificant either," Elder Qian said.
"Are you Mo Qi, the one who healed Xue Ying, defeated Cui Xin, and won first place in the ranking competition?" Elder Qian asked again.
"It's true that I healed Xue Ying, but how did the story of defeating Elder Cui spread? I didn't defeat him. I used Shui Ling's peculiar magical arts to prevent him from harming me. It was a clever stratagem," Mo Qi said sheepishly.
"A clever stratagem is still a victory," Elder Qian sighed and said, "We old guys are getting old. The future will surely belong to you young people. Your future is limitless."
Mo Qi said sheepishly, "Elder Qian praises me too much."
Another plump cultivator, dressed in the disciple's robes of the Zhonghe Sect, walked up and whispered to Mo Qi, "Brother, I've been looking around, and you're the youngest. How old are you, brother?"