Seeing Jun Li fly past, the figure she had seen at the edge of the forest was stunned for a moment.

  Standing on the precipice of the cliff was the Disciple who had overtaken Jun Li at the start of the Test, saber slung over his back, now halted at the intimidating cliff that separated the Forest of Magical Beasts from the plains.

  Cursing under his breath, he thought of how fearlessly, or perhaps thoughtlessly, he had seen Ren Liwei leap from the cliff.

  Gathering his courage, he braced and jumped down the cliff, intent on landing on rocky protrusions one by one, rather than plunging all the way down. ‘I need to get better at Qinggong…’

  …

  Atop the overlook far above, Elder Shao stood against the wall of the mountain, lost in her book and doing her best not to be distracted by the Disciples crawling back up the mountain from the Forest of Magical Beasts.

  Slowly closing her book, Elder Shao let out a groan. “I suppose I should go set the flags up…”

  Elder Shao’s Formation, surrounding the Forest of Magical Beasts, had detected three disciples leaving the forest from the lower, cliff-facing side.

  Unable to put it off any longer, she turned to make her way back to the Sect to get the goal flags and rewards before the Disciples entered the plains.

  Stepping off the ground, Elder Shao disappeared from the overlook, leaving naught but a spark of flame and a smoldering shoeprint.

  Striding over the mountain at a speed imperceptible to mundane creatures, Elder Shao reached the Sect grounds faster than a spark off a struck piece of flint.

  Reaching the Repository, she slowed to a leisurely pace and walked into the building. At the desk where she usually sat, her personal Disciple had taken over her duties of managing the Repository.

  “Ah, Elder Shao. The flags and rewards you prepared for today’s Trial are right here.” The Disciple stood up, gesturing to a few small boxes that were tied together and a trio of flags, leaning against the desk.

  Grabbing what she came for, Elder Shao wordlessly turned around to leave, not sparing her Disciple so much as a glance.

  Leaving the building with the boxes and flags slung over her shoulder, Elder Shao again disappeared from sight, this time, streaking further up the mountain, each footstep leaving a flash of flames, some manifestation of an esoteric Movement Technique..

  Reaching an adequate height, she leapt from the mountainside into the sky.

  Before her ascent ended, she raised her hand and closed her eyes.

  As the space in front of her was filled with a visibly dense Qi, a wooden frame began to take shape, thin slats of wood held together by a pin at their base.

  The moment this frame had taken shape, now double Elder Shao’s size, she swung the massive object beneath her body as it burst into flames.

  When the chaos of the blaze died down, only thin, parchment-like stretches of fire remained, each fastened to the wooden slats as a sort of connective tissue, roiling circles of flame branding the center of each fiery sheet.

  The burning fan Elder Shao had manifested was not the product of some kind of Martial Technique, nor was it a Treasure; it was something far more particular and profound. A construction unique to herself.

  The proof of Elder Shao’s stature as a Cultivator who has far surpassed the Crimson Palace stage.

  Elder Shao turned her attention down towards the earth, looking towards the three Disciples, still yet to reach the base of the cliff. “Still plenty of time...”

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  Elder Shao sighed. “I should have kept reading.” She angled her fan down, the rack of wooden slats clattering as the flames intensified, pushing her towards the plains at meteoric speed.

  …

  Below all this, Jun Li had only just gained her bearings. Recovering from the shock of suddenly falling, she began her Qinggong breathing and spread her arms and legs to try and increase her wind resistance as much as possible.

  Her Qinggong was impressive for her level of Cultivation, but it wasn’t nearly impressive enough to make falling from such a height safe.

  Further ahead, Jun Li spotted Ren Liwei, who had just landed from his descent, seemingly unharmed and darting further from the mountain, zipping forward two body lengths with each step, seemingly unharmed from the fall.

  Seeing this, Jun Li couldn’t help but bring her limbs in closer to her body, now hoping to fall faster and catch up.

  Rapidly approaching the ground, Jun Li activated her Movement Technique, hoping to cushion her fall with the semi-soft clouds of Qi it produced.

  Just before she landed, however, as all of her senses heightened to an extreme in response to the threat of the fall, a strange sense of ambition overtook her, and she pressed only one foot down to the ground, bracing her body with Qi.

  The moment she touched the ground, her Movement Technique ruptured, signaling the success of her Cloudburst Technique.

  Sailing forward through the air, Jun Li felt pain lance through her body, though she was able to maintain her posture and not flip over by reinforcing her body with Qi; it didn’t mean her new Technique was without strain.

  Indeed, each execution damaged the muscles of her neck, back, and legs, painfully emphasizing the weakness of her body and Cultivation.

  Though surprised by her own recklessness, Jun Li raised her head towards the end of the sparse grove she had fallen into, intent on making her dangerous stunt worth it.

  Ren Liwei was ahead; to Jun Li, this meant she was in second place, as whether it was due to fear or some form of respect, she believed without a doubt that Ren Liwei wouldn’t be overtaken by anyone; he was surely in first place.

  Refusing to look back, for fear of seeing another Disciple, ready to pass her by, Jun Li pressed forward and within mere seconds, reached the edge of the grove.

  Ahead were the plains, vast beyond Jun Li’s perception, completely clear if not for the four figures on its surface.

  Three flags, spread distantly, and Ren Liwei, mere seconds from grabbing his own flag, the number ‘one’ appearing on its surface the moment it was lifted from the ground.

  Seeing this, Jun Li felt a pang of regret that she wasn’t able to reach first place, a regret that was quickly extinguished as Jun Li felt it was an arrogant sentiment.

  Unwilling, or perhaps now unable to hesitate, Jun Li once again used her Cloudburst technique, jolting across the plains with a loud burst.

  Though the pain in her body only intensified, Jun Li reached a flag, and taking it in her hands, she felt the tension in her body evaporate, and nearly collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, relief and pain.

  After breathing a sigh of relief, Jun Li looked up, only to be frightened near to death by the sight of Ren Liwei, rushing her way with a look of death in his tired, baggy eyes.

  Panicked, Jun Li executed her Cloudburst technique as quickly as possible. The moment the cloud formed, she crushed it into the floor with all of her remaining strength, sending her flying across the plains just in time to avoid the skull-shattering punch Ren Liwei swung her way.

  When Jun Li moved this time, the pain of her improvised technique was exponentially worse, the strain of the technique having been worsened by both having no time to adequately brace and carrying a large metal flag during it.

  Collapsing to the grass in agony, Jun Li struggled to stand up, before she could even rise to her knees, Ren Liwei had already caught up with her. Unable to even step away in time, Jun Li raised her arms to block.

  A distance away, the Disciple with the saber slung over his shoulder reached the third flag. The instant he picked it up, an arm extended between Jun Li and Ren Liwei.

  As his fist impacted Elder Shao’s arm, Ren Liwei slowly closed his eyes, let out a breath, and turned away from Jun Li.

  Elder Shao, whose arm hadn’t budged a millimeter from Ren Liwei’s punch, glanced over the two Disciples before speaking. “The Trial has now concluded, and as such, the distribution of flags may no longer be altered.” As she spoke the last part, she glanced at Ren Liwei.

  Hearing the manner in which Elder Shao had spoken, Jun Li realized what Ren Liwei was trying to do. He had attempted to steal Jun Li’s ‘two’ flag, and in doing so would have received both the first-place and second-place rewards.

  This moment of understanding, however, was cut short as Jun Li finally gave in to the shock, fear, pain, and exhaustion and lost consciousness.

  Looking down at Jun Li’s unconscious body, Elder Shao furrowed her brow before looking towards Ren Liwei. ‘I guess I can’t trust that kid to carry her back to the Outer Sect with her reward… such a pain…’