Ye Qingchen failed to make it into the top eighteen!
This result left Ye Changyun and the Supreme Elder stunned. Others might not have known, but they were certain that Ye Qingchen, whether in terms of Realm or combat power, was far superior to Ye Ying and Ye Xiao.
Now, even Ye Ying and Ye Xiao had broken into the top eighteen, yet Ye Qingchen had missed the mark. Ye Changyun and the Supreme Elder were utterly baffled.
As the results were announced, the youths who made it into the top eighteen and their families jumped for joy. Meanwhile, the far greater number of youths and their families were crestfallen, sighing heavily. Many of them gazed at Huang Xiaoshuai and the others with eyes full of envy. After all, entering one of the six major Sects was the dream of nearly every youth in Qingyun Town.
At the same time, among the trial competitors, Ye Ying and Ye Xiao turned to Ye Qingchen, their faces masks of shock and confusion.
"Ye Qingchen, what on earth happened?"
They had always believed that Ye Qingchen’s combat power was not only far beyond their own but that even Huang Xiaoshuai of the Huang Family was no match for him. The first place in this trial was supposed to go to Ye Qingchen, without a doubt!
Hearing their questions, Ye Qingchen just smiled and shook his head. "I didn’t have enough time to hunt Monster Beasts. It couldn’t be helped. But you two performed brilliantly!"
In just three days, despite his frenzied slaughter and constant search for second-order Monster Beasts, he had only managed to score 5,130 points, leaving him a considerable distance from eighteenth place.
Failing to make it into the top eighteen naturally meant he couldn’t join the six major Sects, and he had failed to achieve his original goal.
However, Ye Qingchen’s disappointment was fleeting. He quickly came to terms with it. There was more than one path for a Martial Artist. Missing this chance just meant he had to find another. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
Ye Ying and Ye Xiao seemed to understand. They sighed, feeling an immense sense of regret on his behalf. With Ye Qingchen’s talent and ability, making it into the top eighteen should have been easy.
However, Huang Xiaoshuai, who had overheard them nearby, let out a cold laugh, his face filled with mockery.
"Not enough time? Ha, what a pathetic excuse. You talk as if you didn’t have the same month to participate in the trial as the rest of us.
"Just admit it if you don’t have the skill. It’s no great shame. After all, Qingyun Town’s so-called once-in-a-century genius-turned-waste can only ever look up to me, Huang Xiaoshuai!"
Having said that, Huang Xiaoshuai’s face was a mask of pride and arrogance.
"You’re full of it!" Before Ye Qingchen could even speak, Ye Ying and Ye Xiao exploded in anger. "How could Ye Qingchen possibly be weaker than you?"
They admitted they were no match for Huang Xiaoshuai, but Ye Qingchen’s combat power could absolutely annihilate him.
Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head, holding them back to stop them from arguing with Huang Xiaoshuai. It wasn’t that he was timid or afraid of trouble. He simply couldn’t be bothered to explain himself to someone like Huang Xiaoshuai—a twenty-four-year-old who was only at the fourth level of the Martial Artist Realm. After all, even an expert like Li Zhe had died at his hands. Huang Xiaoshuai’s abilities were nothing in his eyes now.
"Coward!"
In Huang Xiaoshuai’s eyes, however, Ye Qingchen’s action only drew greater mockery and disdain.
From the VIP seating area, a proud Huang Danian swept his gaze over Ye Changyun and the Supreme Elder. "I told you there was no need to waste everyone’s precious final three minutes, but you refused to believe me! See? The Ye Qingchen you waited for still didn’t make it into the top eighteen. It didn’t change the rankings one bit!"
After announcing the results, Du Pengcheng paused for several minutes. Once the crowd had quieted down, he turned to confer with Cui Wei and the other four sect leaders. When all six had nodded in agreement, Du Pengcheng’s gaze once again swept across the venue.
"Now, I will announce the list of those entering the six major Sects!
"First place, Huang Xiaoshuai, recruited into the Qingyun Sect!
"Second place, Ye Ying, recruited into the Qingyun Sect!
"Third place, Cheng Zhibin, recruited into the Heavenly Profound Sect!
"Fourth place, Ye Xiao, recruited into the Heavenly Profound Sect!
"...
"Eighteenth place, Li Teng, recruited into the Qingyun Sect!"
Soon, the results were fully announced, with the top eighteen youths divided among the six major Sects.
"You eighteen, return home and prepare. Tomorrow, you will follow us back to your Sects!" Du Pengcheng declared in a resonant voice.
As the announcement concluded, the crowd of youths looked on at Huang Xiaoshuai and the others with immense envy.
After a pause, Du Pengcheng’s gaze fell upon Ye Qingchen, who was in the crowd preparing to turn and leave. He announced loudly, "I have one more thing to declare. I intend to specially recruit Ye Qingchen from this trial into our Qingyun Sect!"
Hearing this, Cui Wei, standing behind him, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Truthfully, he also wanted to specially recruit Ye Qingchen into the Heavenly Profound Sect. Aside from Xiao Xiao and her Holy Soul, Ye Qingchen’s talent was unquestionably the best in this trial. If he could join the Heavenly Profound Sect, his relationship with Xiao Xiao would be a massive benefit to them! But after how he had treated Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao, he knew that even if he made the offer, Ye Qingchen would never choose the Heavenly Profound Sect. He even suspected Ye Qingchen would reject Du Pengcheng’s offer as well, since they had conspired together to bully him and Xiao Xiao before.
Du Pengcheng’s words sent a massive shockwave through the crowd.
"What! Special recruitment!"
"Ye Qingchen actually caught Steward Du’s eye? His luck is incredible!"
"Why him? My score is definitely higher than his! Why not me?"
The crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion.
In the VIP seating area, Ye Changyun and the Supreme Elder exchanged a look, seeing both surprise and a hint of delight in each other’s eyes. Special recruitment into the Qingyun Sect... this was the first time such a thing had ever happened in the long history of the Qingyun Mountain Range trials. It seemed that many things they were unaware of had occurred in the mountains during their month-long absence.
Huang Xiaoshuai glanced at Ye Qingchen and sneered, "Special recruitment? This kid sure has some dumb luck!" He still didn’t believe Ye Qingchen’s strength was anything special.
Ye Qingchen was stunned for a moment before his expression shifted to one of sudden realization. For the past three days, his mind had been so consumed by frantically slaughtering Monster Beasts to break into the top eighteen that he completely forgot Du Pengcheng’s parting words: the gates of the Qingyun Sect would always be open to him.
Only now did he remember.
Du Pengcheng’s gaze cut across the crowd and landed directly on him. "Ye Qingchen, I am offering you special admission into my Qingyun Sect. Do you accept?"
Ye Qingchen slowly nodded. "Of course. I accept."
Joining the Qingyun Sect was, without a doubt, the best option for him right now.
Hearing Ye Qingchen’s reply, Du Pengcheng was overjoyed, while Cui Wei, standing behind him, was completely floored.
He actually agreed? What is going on? If I had known this would happen, I would have beaten Du Pengcheng to the punch and invited Ye Qingchen to the Heavenly Profound Sect myself!
At this moment, Cui Wei was filled with overwhelming regret.
Just then, a displeased voice suddenly cut through the air. "Allowing an unqualified person to join the Qingyun Sect is unfair! Absolutely unfair!"