Chapter 955: "Dangerous Situation"
Ji Hanfeng's words were not yet spoken when the assessment formation suddenly flashed with profound light. A mass of white light separated from the formation and slowly descended. Upon touching the ground, the white light disappeared, revealing Yun Che's figure.
Other profound practitioners who left the assessment formation were either ejected or thrown out heavily, landing in various states of disarray. Yun Che, however, was gently sent out by the profound light and landed in a stable standing position.
This was because the others were expelled from the Ice Xuan Realm after "death," while Yun Che had voluntarily given up while still alive.
Immediately, Yun Che sensed his own body. There was no pain, no feeling of injury, and he couldn't even detect any consumption of profound energy. But then, he suddenly noticed that the atmosphere around him seemed off. He quickly opened his eyes and looked around.
Ahead, Mu Xiaolan was still standing in the distance, but her mouth was wide open. Beside her was Mu Sushan, whose gaze held a deep strangeness. On his side, a group of profound practitioners stood neatly in line. Ji Hanfeng stood in front of these practitioners, and as soon as he saw Ji Hanfeng, he also caught sight of Li Mingcheng standing at the very front of the line.
And every single one of these people stared with wide eyes, looking as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Yun Che had not been "killed out" of the Ice Xuan Realm, so his mind was not confused. After a moment of shock, the formation, the atmosphere, and the expressions of the crowd immediately made him realize what had happened.
What's going on... Could something be wrong with the assessment?
Impossible! Then it could only be...
Am I the last one to come out!?
Zheng!!
The profound energy fluctuation, accompanied by a loud sound, came from behind. The profound light of the assessment formation retracted in an instant. After a brief rotation, the entire formation disappeared completely, leaving the area empty without a single figure.
The final assessment of Cold Snow Hall had truly ended at this moment.
And the first place in the final assessment—the person who left the Ice Xuan Realm last—was unexpectedly Yun Che!!
Looking at Yun Che appearing in the white light and the subsequent disappearance of the assessment formation, everyone's minds went blank. Their eyes were wide open for a long time, utterly unable to believe what they saw.
Li Mingcheng's performance was extremely impressive. If he had taken first place, no one would have been surprised. But Yun Che—his profound strength was clearly only at the Lord Xuan Realm, Level 5. Not only had he not stepped into the Divine Way, but he was also only at the mid-stage of the Lord Xuan Realm. Moreover, he was a profound practitioner from a lower realm, far weaker than profound practitioners of the same level in the God Realm. With his profound strength and background, entering even Falling Snow Hall would have been extremely difficult, let alone Cold Snow Hall.
His participation in this Cold Snow Hall assessment was merely a "special case" granted by the Head Hall Master in a disdainful, almost humiliating manner. He had accepted it, and to everyone, it was nothing but a joke. Yet this very "joke" had surpassed Li Mingcheng and all of them in the final trial!!
"Yun Che, you... you you you you you..." The immense sense of disparity made Mu Xiaolan's mind momentarily unable to process it: "You... actually... first... ah..."
Yun Che looked at Mu Sushan. By now, he understood clearly that he had been set up by this Cold Snow Hall steward! The latter's meaningful gaze was a blatant admission.
He had briefly wondered during his time in the Ice Xuan Realm whether "one quarter of an hour" might be too short.
He never expected that it was... too long!!
It seemed that Mu Sushan had sensed something from his various words and actions, as well as his performance in the Blizzard Realm assessment, and had thus "set him up"—without leaving any trace. With Yun Che's own cunning, he hadn't noticed anything amiss.
One who held a high position even in the God Realm could hardly be an ordinary person.
On the other hand, this result also told Yun Che that he had greatly underestimated his own strength. When he first entered the Lord Xuan Realm, he could already kill Xuanyuan Wentian, whose profound strength had entered the Divine Way. Now that his profound strength had reached the mid-stage of the Lord Xuan Realm, perhaps the level of Divine Way practitioners he could match at full strength was far higher than he had always expected!
But this meant that staying low-key was completely impossible from now on.
"Alas," Yun Che sighed and silently muttered to himself: "People like me are like the sun in the night. No matter how hard I try or how deliberately I act, I can never conceal my overly bright radiance."
Yun Che turned around, facing the stunned crowd, and said to Ji Hanfeng: "This way, I should be qualified to become a disciple of Cold Snow Hall, right?"
"Not only that," Mu Sushan chuckled before Ji Hanfeng could respond: "You are the last to leave the Ice Xuan Realm, and you are undoubtedly the most outstanding among the new disciples in this group. Not only are you qualified to become an official disciple of Cold Snow Hall, but you will also receive a 'Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill' as a reward. With your current cultivation, if you can fully refine this Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill with someone's assistance, you will undoubtedly be reborn and progress a thousand miles from now on. Hehehe."
"Wait!!"
An urgent voice suddenly rang out. Li Mingcheng stepped out from the line, his face dark, and shouted loudly: "The Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill cannot be given to him! Anyone can see that this assessment result is abnormal! This boy named Yun Che is clearly cheating!"
He had delayed entering Cold Snow Hall for so many years just to win the specially awarded "Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill" in this year's assessment, as instructed by Mu Fengshu. For today, he had endured for years and prepared for years. The "Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill" was within reach—how could he allow it to fall into someone else's hands, especially a worthless piece of trash in his eyes?
"Cheating? Do you have proof?" Yun Che asked helplessly. Since things had come to this, staying low-key was impossible. He could only be forced to go along with this outcome.
"Proof? Hah!" Li Mingcheng sneered, walking step by step toward Yun Che: "Does this need proof? Anyone who isn't blind can see that you must have cheated! In the Ice Xuan Realm, every Ice Howling Wolf is a first-level Divine Origin Realm profound beast, and extremely aggressive. Even I have to be very careful when dealing with them. Yet you, a useless piece of trash with only mid-stage Lord Xuan Realm profound strength, would be instantly killed in front of an Ice Howling Wolf. How could you possibly have stayed in the Ice Xuan Realm for so long!"
"Junior Brother Mingcheng is right," Ji Hanfeng said, staring straight at Yun Che: "I believe that not only Junior Brother Mingcheng, but everyone present cannot believe this result. Yun Che, you have quite the nerve. The trial of our Cold Snow Hall is established to select the best disciples for the Ice Phoenix God Sect. It is sacred and dignified, yet you dare to cheat! You, a mere lower realm commoner, what do you take our Ice Phoenix God Sect for!"
"Ji Hanfeng!"
The words "lower realm commoner" slightly angered Yun Che. He addressed Ji Hanfeng directly by name without courtesy: "Before the assessment, you said that the Blizzard Realm assessment might have ways to cheat, but the trial in the Ice Xuan Realm was something no one could cheat at. Those were your own words! What right do you have now to accuse me of cheating?"
"That's right! What right! If you say Yun Che cheated, at least produce proof!" Mu Xiaolan rushed over and stood beside Yun Che, speaking with considerable force. But in truth... her heart was weak, very weak. Because even she was certain... Yun Che must have cheated!
Otherwise, with his profound strength, how could he have lasted so long in the Ice Xuan Realm!
However, Yun Che was brought here by Mu Bingyun, so she could only grit her teeth and side with him. And absolutely, absolutely must not admit to this matter! Although she didn't know what method Yun Che had used, cheating in the Cold Snow Hall assessment was a huge scandal. If it were confirmed, she didn't care about the consequences for Yun Che, but it might affect Mu Bingyun. She could not let that happen under any circumstances.
"Confirming whether Yun Che cheated is very simple," Li Mingcheng said confidently: "In the assessment just now, Yun Che stayed in the Ice Xuan Realm for a full quarter of an hour! Such a result, I, Li Mingcheng, admit I could not achieve, yet Yun Che did. So, if he didn't cheat, then his strength must far exceed mine."
At these words, the surrounding profound practitioners burst into laughter. Li Mingcheng was at the third level of Divine Origin Realm, and at the late stage at that. Given his talent, he could definitely match an opponent at the fourth level of Divine Origin Realm. As for Yun Che, he was a lower realm person who hadn't even stepped into the Divine Way, the joke of this assessment, not even qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as Li Mingcheng. How could he possibly surpass him?
"So," Li Mingcheng raised his arm toward Yun Che, his gaze playful and contemptuous: "Whether you cheated or not, we'll know once we spar. Yun Che, since you say you didn't cheat, then let's have a match. Oh, you don't need to beat me. If you can survive five moves under my hands without losing, I, Li Mingcheng, will acknowledge that you didn't cheat. But if you can't even last five moves against someone whose result is inferior to yours... hmph hmph hmph..."
"Hahaha, Junior Brother Mingcheng's suggestion is excellent!" Ji Hanfeng laughed. The surrounding profound practitioners also cast pitying or gloating looks at Yun Che, all unanimously thinking that Li Mingcheng's mention of "five moves" was already too generous... or perhaps it was to toy with him.
"Yun Che, did you hear that?" Ji Hanfeng said coldly in a commanding tone: "If you want to prove you didn't cheat, then spar with Li Mingcheng to clear your name! If you truly have the ability to last that long in the Ice Xuan Realm, then handling a mere five moves from Li Mingcheng should be a piece of cake."
"No!" Mu Xiaolan tugged Yun Che's sleeve and said seriously: "Yun Che's exemption from the first assessment was a 'special permission' personally granted by the Head Hall Master. For the 'Blizzard Realm' and 'Ice Xuan Realm' assessments, Yun Che followed the same procedures and entered the same assessment formations as all other participants. You have no evidence, only speculation—what right do you have to say he cheated! Yun Che was personally brought from the lower realm by my master. He simply has this kind of strength. Why should he suffer your unfounded accusations!"
"Moreover, Ji Hanfeng, don't forget," Mu Xiaolan raised her voice further: "The Cold Snow Hall assessment is conducted entirely by the formation. You are merely a supervisor and recorder, with no right to interfere with the assessment process or results. The result was already decided the moment the formation disappeared. You have no authority to demand that Yun Che prove he didn't cheat."
"..." Ji Hanfeng was momentarily speechless. Because Mu Xiaolan was right. He was just a supervisor and recorder. The process and results of the assessment were determined and executed by the formation. As a mere disciple of Cold Snow Hall, he had no right to interfere.
Li Mingcheng quickly stepped forward and said with righteous indignation: "Yun Che's cheating is no longer just a matter of the assessment result. It concerns the fairness, integrity, and reputation of Cold Snow Hall and even the entire Ice Phoenix God Sect! If..."
"Hmph! All that high-sounding talk, and it's actually just for the Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill!" Mu Xiaolan pierced through Li Mingcheng's intentions with a single remark, then urged: "Ji Hanfeng, the assessment has been over for so long. Why don't you announce the result immediately and give the Jade Falling Ice Soul Pill to Yun Che! That's what you should be doing!"
Mu Xiaolan felt as if her pants were on fire. She just wanted to wrap up the matter here and now, then drag Yun Che to find Mu Bingyun and think of a countermeasure later. She absolutely could not let the cheating be confirmed on the spot.
"What Little Blue said is correct. Ji Hanfeng indeed has no right to interfere with the assessment process and results, and naturally, he has no authority to demand that Yun Che spar with Li Mingcheng to clear his name."
A calm voice came from behind. The speaker was Mu Sushan. Hearing Mu Sushan defending her, Mu Xiaolan breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was about to shoot him a grateful look when his next words nearly made her jump:
"But I do."
——————————————
(End of chapter)