“Oh, you two are here,” Zu An said with an awkward laugh. “That Yun Jianyue really is devious and actually tied her up to let her disciple win.”

Pei Mianman jumped in fright and left Zu An’s arms. For some reason, she always felt a bit flustered whenever she saw Chu Chuyan. However, she quickly stopped that train of thought. She had clearly spent more time with Zu An, so why did she feel guilty?

Still, even though that made logical sense, the feeling was an entirely separate matter.

Yan Xuehen smiled and said, “If that witch knew that you were talking behind her back like that, she would definitely make sure you pay the price for that later.”

“With big sis Yan covering me, I don’t need to be scared of her,” Zu An said. Inwardly, he thought, I haven’t gotten even with Yun Jianyue yet. We were tossing and turning right in this room the previous night, in all kinds of high-difficulty positions, but she didn’t tell me that Manman was hidden right here.

There was a bit of surprise in Chu Chuyan’s eyes. Even though she had heard that they’d spent some time together in the Fiend races’ territory, wasn’t their tone with each other a bit too familiar? However, she didn’t think too much about it either, and instead walked over to support Pei Mianman, asking her if she was unwell at all. After all, Manman was one of her few friends over the years.

When she heard the concern in Chu Chuyan’s voice, Pei Mianman sighed. Chuyan, if you were just a bit worse of a person, I wouldn’t have to feel so conflicted.

The others from the daoist sects also followed. Elder Huo Ling received the news as well and rushed over. When she saw that Pei Mianman was safe, she immediately took her disciple firmly into her arms. She was so moved she couldn't even utter any words.

When he saw the faint glimmers of tears at the corners of her eyes, even though Zu An was still a bit unhappy about this elder, he acknowledged that she really did treat Manman well.

After all, Manman’s history was special. Even though she had been born under the Pei clan, she basically hadn’t experienced any real familial warmth.

“Now that the Devil Sect witches’ plot has been thwarted, Miss Pei’s discovery really is delightful news,” Guan Chouhai said with a smile. However, he quickly thought of another issue and asked, “But how should we decide the victor of this competition?”

Elder Huo Ling gave him a glare and said, “Our Manman has already reached the finals and her opponent was the Devil Sect witch. She ran away herself, so the victor is obviously Manman.”

Feng Wuchang said, “It’s a bit inappropriate to just decide things like that, right? Perhaps we should hold another battle to compensate for the witch’s disappearance. Whether it is in terms of character or cultivation, Wu Xiaofan has earned people’s approval. I feel that it is quite suitable for him to take Qiu Honglei’s place.”

Cave Master Mu said, “Our Supreme Mystery Cave was also defeated by that witch. Why is only Wu Xiaofan allowed to enter the finals, while our Shi Dingtian cannot?”

Wang Wuxie finally spoke up and said, “We can let Wu Xiaofan and Shi Dingtian fight a round. The one who wins will enter the finals.”

Wan Tongtian sneered and said, “What a joke. All of you have your own excuses. Can I say that the reason why Wan Guiyi lost to Wu Xiaofan was because he was seriously injured, and that if they had fought a fair battle, he might not have lost? Since we’re doing it all over again, why not let Wan Guiyi fight another round too?”

The other sects’ representatives also began to argue noisily when they heard that. The room suddenly became as noisy as a food market.

Xie Daoyun, who was hiding in a corner, wrinkled her nose. Before she came to Violet Mountain, she had thought that these daoist sect seniors were all mighty and lofty individuals, and yet once she got to know them, they seemed no different from the peddlers and carriers of the markets.

Li Changsheng coughed lightly and said, “From my perspective, perhaps we should Chu Chuyan take the place of the witch to fight a round against Lady Pei?”

His disciple had previously lost to Shi Dingtian in a fair battle, so that was why he didn’t suggest a rematch. However, Chu Chuyan was also from the White Jade Sect. As long as they won, the Wordless Edict would still belong to their sect, so it would still be a huge win.

The entire place fell silent then. They quickly concluded that Chu Chuyan was the most suitable candidate. Firstly, she had great prestige among the daoist sects. Secondly, they had all witnessed her great battle against Qiu Honglei. There was definitely nothing wrong with her strength.

Just then, Chu Chuyan said, “I do not wish to join the competition. My mission was merely to face the Devil Sect’s Saintess, and I have already completed that task.” Whether it was because of Zu An or Pei Mianman, she didn’t want to fight and ruin their relationship.

Pei Mianman was stunned when she heard that. She looked at Chuyan with a conflicted expression.

The others panicked when they heard that Chu Chuyan didn’t want to fight. They all advised her to change her mind. However, she was like a block of ice. No matter what they said, she didn’t react in the slightest.

“Since Chuyan is unwilling, you should not trouble her further,” Yan Xuehen said. She naturally understood her disciple’s intentions. 

That brat Zu An really is blessed. The girls might look as if they’re fighting against each other, but they’re all quite kind inside.

The others all gave in when they heard her speak up. They didn’t try to advise Chuyan any further.

Only Guan Chouhai grumbled, “But if Miss Chu doesn’t participate, it’ll be quite hard to convince the masses of this result…”

Zu An replied with a smile, “What’s so difficult about that? We can just make Miss Pei the victor.”

Pei Mianman’s face heated up. If not for the fact that so many people were watching right now, she would have tugged on his sleeves. She had never even had any thoughts of taking first place before.

Guan Chouhai said in dissatisfaction, “Even though Miss Pei’s cultivation isn’t weak, she got byes all the way here. What she relied on was luck. That won’t convince everyone.”

Elder Huo Ling said unhappily, “Hmph, the fact that she defeated your disciple is at least a genuine victory. Are you going to say that your disciple is that much weaker than the other representative disciples?”

Guan Chouhai choked. Zhi Yin was also full of resentment. He had finally managed to get over that loss, and yet he was getting kicked in the gut again.

Zu An remarked, “So what if it was through luck? Cultivation relies firstly on effort, and secondly on luck. Miss Pei already displayed her true strength in her fight against Zhi Yin. Furthermore, the byes she acquired indicate that her luck is superior to that of ordinary people. That means her future potential is clearly limitless. She is definitely as good of a candidate for first place as anyone else here.” When he saw that they were still hesitating a bit, he added, “If we really let Wu Xiaofan, Shi Dingtian, and the others who lost to Qiu Honglei take first place, wouldn’t the Devil Sect die from laughter?”

The daoist sects suddenly woke up to that realization when they heard him say those words. They no longer argued any further.

…

Just like that, Pei Mianman somehow ended up winning the entire competition. Perhaps because she hadn’t obtained victory through a battle, the congratulatory banquet seemed a bit cheerless. The others’ reactions weren’t as enthusiastic as expected. Many disciples weren’t convinced that Pei Mianman deserved to be in first place. While she had only defeated Zhi Yin alone as a formidable opponent, hadn’t the other representative disciples all gone through a lot more?

Zhi Yin felt even more unhappy when he sensed resentment everywhere. However, after thinking about it, the only one he lost to had ended up becoming the champion, which didn’t seem as hard to accept anymore.

During the awards ceremony, Wang Wuxie presented all sorts of treasures to the top ten. Even though the items were really precious, they weren’t anything special for Zu An at his current level.

Only when the Wordless Edict was handed to Jadefall Palace did Zu An give it a second look, as his divine sense could reach Pei Mianman.

The book looked completely ordinary and was made of an unknown material. From the looks of it, it was like a stone carving. As expected, it only had a single character. However, there was a profound and mysterious air to it.

Zu An thought to himself, I have to look for a chance to examine it.

…

In contrast, the daoist sects’ reactions were much calmer. After all, the Wordless Edict had already been passed along the daoist sects for over a thousand years, and yet countless brilliant geniuses hadn’t been able to see through its secrets. Many people even wondered if the book even contained any secrets at all.

The little monk Jie Se asked the old monk next to him, “Master, do you know the secret of this Wordless Edict?”

“If I knew that, I would be the leader of the daoist sects right now,” Master Jian Huang snapped impatiently, as if he were looking down on his disciple for asking such a stupid question.

“Does our Buddhist sect have anything on the same level as the Wordless Edict?” Jie Se asked, feeling a bit envious of that Wordless Edict.

“Of course. The Pattra Sutra is on the same level as the Wordless Edict,” Master Jian Huang said, but his expression suddenly grew dim. “Still, it is something that even I have unfortunately only heard of, but never seen. There may not even be many disciples left in this world who have truly seen it.”