Chapter 49: Taking Back the Qualification

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Taking Back the Qualification

Seven Kills Star Hall, Assessment Area.

The disciples who had taken the third assessment had all returned from the Earth Star Forest and were gathered together.

At this moment, Elder Linjie looked displeased, as Yi Xiaoyao had yet to return.

"Elder Linjie, we’re Xiaoyao’s companions. We lost contact with him five days ago."

Jin Sanbao and Xuan Mo stood before Elder Linjie and briefly explained Yi Xiaoyao’s situation.

The third assessment was about to end, and Yi Xiaoyao had been missing for days. The outlook for both his safety and his qualification for the next stage was grim.

After listening, Elder Linjie frowned in silence. ’If something has really happened to Yi Xiaoyao, how am I supposed to explain this to my master, Flame Medicine Hidden?’ He began to regret letting Yi Xiaoyao take the assessment.

Meanwhile, Qi Yue was speaking worriedly to Cultivator Duan.

"Uncle, to save my own skin, I gave all my Demon Cores to my companion, Lin Mu. But he’s not back yet. What am I going to do?" Qi Yue asked Cultivator Duan, his face etched with anxiety.

Cultivator Duan’s expression remained unchanged. "Don’t worry about it," he said calmly. "I’ll take care of it for you."

Just then, several elders walked out of the Seven Kills Star Hall.

"Time is up! The third assessment is now over. Disciples, present the Demon Cores you have acquired to be ranked. Only the top one hundred will qualify for the final assessment. All others will be eliminated."

After the elders made their announcement, the disciples began to come forward to have their Demon Cores tallied.

An hour later, the rankings were released.

Thanks to Yi Xiaoyao’s earlier help, Jin Sanbao and Xuan Mo not only made it into the top one hundred, but were even ranked near the top. This surprised many who had written them off as worthless.

However, one person’s result displeased almost every disciple: Qi Yue. Despite ranking dead last, he was not eliminated and was even granted qualification to enter the final assessment.

Everyone knew that Qi Yue had only received this privilege because his uncle, Elder Duan, had bribed the other Assessment Elders. It was a blatant case of corruption, clear for all to see.

"It’s not fair! Qi Yue was ranked dead last! Why were we eliminated when we ranked higher than him, but he wasn’t?!"

Instantly, the several hundred eliminated disciples erupted in furious protest.

Cultivator Duan stepped forward and roared, "Qi Yue’s Demon Cores are with his companion! When his companion returns, his total number of cores will undoubtedly place him at the top of the rankings!"

Hearing such a biased explanation, the eliminated disciples didn’t buy it at all, and the scene remained chaotic.

Seeing this, Qi Yue walked to Cultivator Duan’s side and sneered at the crowd. "If any of you aren’t convinced, then come and challenge me! I’ll give my spot to whoever can defeat me!"

His words made the eliminated disciples absolutely furious. They all knew Qi Yue’s strength; if they had been strong enough to defeat him, they wouldn’t have been eliminated in the first place.

Qi Yue stood there, and seeing that no one dared to step forward, he shot them a contemptuous glance.

Then, he declared smugly, "Since you don’t have what it takes, you’d better all just shut up!"

A satisfied smile spread across Cultivator Duan’s face. He said to the Assessment Elders beside him, "Qi Yue’s strength is plain to see. Those eliminated disciples can’t stir up any trouble. Thank you all for making an exception for this nephew of mine."

"Indeed. Qi Yue’s strength is absolutely in the top three of this batch of disciples. We think very highly of him, which is why we agreed to make this one-time exception," the Assessment Elders replied with faint nods.

Only Elder Linjie, watching the arrogant Qi Yue, snorted in displeasure.

But he also understood that it was quite normal for the Seven Kills Star Hall to make an exception for a disciple with such outstanding talent and strength as Qi Yue.

"I can’t stand the sight of that Qi Yue. It’s his fault Xiaoyao has been missing for so many days!"

Jin Sanbao glared at Qi Yue from within the crowd, then sighed, "And I don’t even know if Xiaoyao is dead or alive."

Xuan Mo remained impassive and silent, but in the next moment, his eyes lit up and he said, "He’s back!"

Just then, a tall, straight-backed figure emerged from the crowd.

"I finally made it back, but it looks like I’m still too late."

Yi Xiaoyao sighed helplessly, looking at the assessment that had already concluded.

"Xiaoyao! I knew you’d make it back safely!"

Jin Sanbao and Xuan Mo, overjoyed to see Yi Xiaoyao had returned alive, cried out in delight.

Elder Linjie’s expression also softened, and he breathed an inward sigh of relief. When he heard the surrounding disciples murmuring about Yi Xiaoyao, a peculiar look appeared on his face, and he muttered to himself:

"It seems this kid really made a name for himself during this assessment."

Meanwhile, Qi Yue’s face turned cold. He had spent days lying in wait on the required return path to ambush and kill Yi Xiaoyao. Having failed to encounter him, he had assumed Yi Xiaoyao was already dead.

"Yi Xiaoyao! You’re not dead?"

"If you’re not dead, how could I be?"

Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze shot toward Qi Yue like daggers of ice. He could never forget that this bastard had hunted him for so many days.

Seeing this gaze filled with killing intent, Qi Yue was instantly reminded of his own desperate escape, and of how Yi Xiaoyao had chased after Lin Mu.

"Where’s Lin Mu?"

Qi Yue demanded through gritted teeth.

Yi Xiaoyao patted the Storage Pouch at his waist and sneered, "Recognize this?"

Qi Yue’s gaze swept over, and his face instantly paled. Those were his and Lin Mu’s Storage Pouches!

He thought to himself, ’Lin Mu is most likely dead. That means my last-place ranking for Demon Cores is set in stone. I absolutely cannot let anyone find out about this.’

Although Qi Yue knew Lin Mu was dead, he assumed that Lin Mu had simply failed to escape the pursuit of the Sleeping Tiger Elephant; it never occurred to him that Lin Mu had died at Yi Xiaoyao’s hands.

After a moment’s thought, Qi Yue gave Cultivator Duan a meaningful look.

Cultivator Duan understood the signal and suddenly roared, "Insolence! Who do you think you are, barging in here? Get out!"

He stared at Yi Xiaoyao as if he had never seen him before.

"Oh? Don’t you remember me, Elder Duan? I’m Yi Xiaoyao, the one who killed your nephew, Qi Stone. I’m also a disciple in the assessment. Surely you remember now, don’t you?"

Since they were already irreconcilable enemies, Yi Xiaoyao didn’t mind bringing the matter out into the open.

Cultivator Duan’s face twitched. "The assessment is over," he said coldly. "You’re back too late. You have been disqualified!"

"Cultivator Duan, don’t be so absolute. If an exception could be made to keep Qi Yue from being eliminated, then I can make an exception to restore Yi Xiaoyao’s qualification!"

Elder Linjie stepped forward, confronting Cultivator Duan head-on.

But just then, Yi Xiaoyao spoke up with a smile, "Elder Lin Jie, how could we possibly stoop to the level of Cultivator Duan and Qi Yue and engage in such favoritism? They may be shameless, but we have our dignity!"

These words immediately earned a round of cheers from the surrounding disciples, who were already incensed by Cultivator Duan and Qi Yue’s actions.

Elder Linjie looked at Yi Xiaoyao in surprise and asked, "That may be true, but then what do you plan to...?"

"I returned late and was disqualified. I accept that," Yi Xiaoyao said calmly.

Of everyone present, no one was more surprised by this than Cultivator Duan and Qi Yue.

’Hmph! If Elder Linjie had insisted on protecting Yi Xiaoyao, I really would have been powerless. I never thought the kid would give up so easily. Utterly foolish! As long as Yi Xiaoyao doesn’t get into the Seven Kills Star Hall, I’ll have a thousand ways to kill him and get my revenge!’

Just as Cultivator Duan and Qi Yue were sneering to themselves, they heard Yi Xiaoyao say something that stunned them even more.

Yi Xiaoyao walked right up to Qi Yue, staring at him with a chilling gaze, a hint of Killing Intent playing at the corners of his lips.

"When I first got here, I heard someone say that you would give your qualification for the assessment to whoever could defeat you. Was that right?"

Qi Yue froze for a second, then snorted and sneered, "That’s right, I said it. Don’t tell me you’re thinking of biting off more than you can chew and challenging me?"

"In that case, I’ll just take that qualification back from you," Yi Xiaoyao said coldly.

At the same time, Yi Xiaoyao narrowed his eyes and thought, ’And while I’m at it, I’ll take your life!’

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