Chapter 208: The Third Examination Hall

Private Messaging Group of the Mystical Sect Academy

“Fellow cultivators, did you hear? The end-of-term exams have been replaced with the Grand Mystical Sect Competition!”

“Sect Master Yan already announced it in class yesterday! Not only the academy disciples—anyone can register! It’s tied to the enrollment assessment, and there’ll be official rankings too!”

“Wait, if it’s a competition, does that mean no written exams? Praise the heavens! As long as there are no papers, I can fight ten rounds straight!”

“Wake up, friend! Have you forgotten the Mystical Sect’s traditions? Exorcisms, demon-subjugation, and written tests—none of them are ever left out!”

“That’s right! The competition has three sections in total. The first is written exams, the second is specialized mastery, and only after that do we move to dueling! The written exams are said to be personally designed by Hall Master Xu!”

“…Mercy! Xu’s exams are legendary! I’ve never passed one! How does he even come up with those questions?”

“You think that’s bad? Try Elder Jiao’s formation test. One glance and you’ll question your entire existence! I heard back in the day, when Master Yun herself was teaching, Elder Jiao was her class monitor. How any of the formation disciples survived that class, I’ll never know.”

“Speaking as one of those formation disciples—please, don’t remind me! I’ve got one of his tests right here, been working on it since last night, and I’m still not done!”

“But I heard the prizes this time are incredible! The top ten in each field will get a Heart-Nourishing Pill! It’s said to be a healing elixir that can save your life even from mortal wounds—if you’ve got a single breath left, it’ll sustain you for three whole hours!”

“What?! That’s insane! Then what about the top three duelists?”

“Naturally, their rewards are even better! Rumor says the third place prize alone is three Golden Thunder Talismans! Not purple, not yellow—gold! I’ve cultivated for years and never even seen one!”

“You’re joking! Golden Talismans are supposed to be a sect’s core treasures! Once used, they’re gone!”

“That’s how it used to be! Ever since Master Yun taught her lecture at Qingyang, the number of talisman masters capable of drawing golden-grade seals has skyrocketed. They’re not even rare anymore!”

“If third place gets that, what about second and first?”

“Not entirely sure, but rumor says—second place gets an artifact made by White Master of Qingyang, at least Heaven-grade. And first place… a personal treasure crafted by Master Yun herself! Both of them will personally oversee the judging!”

“White Master and Master Yun?!”

The chat exploded.

These two had become near-mythic figures since the academy’s founding. Though neither had directly taught classes, their names were known throughout the entire Mystical Sect. The current golden age of cultivation? Entirely their doing.

They had only taught four sessions in total—briefly, each time—but every disciple who’d attended rose to prominence almost overnight. Even the academy’s current students, when stumped by an impossible problem, only needed to ask one of those “former disciples of Master Yun,” who could solve or at least guess the answers in minutes.

The two masters were legends—living miracles. And now, the prizes of the competition came from their hands.

Even if just to see what the top two rewards were, everyone had to fight for it!

The whole academy was ablaze with excitement.

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The First Grand Mystical Sect Competition — also serving as the Academy’s First Term Finals

Compared to the earlier enrollment assessment, the scale of this event was staggering. The sect masters were well-prepared, and with modern teleportation arrays, the competition ran across several large sects at once. Multiple examination halls were set up simultaneously, and everything went smoothly.

Within two days, the results of the first written exam were released. The second round—specialized discipline testing—took longer, with each sect master personally supervising. The pass rate dropped drastically.

And now, in the third examination hall…

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The old man stood in the middle of an abandoned mountain village, surrounded by a line of eerie, ghostly figures—the air thick with yin energy.

There were all kinds of spirits present: fierce ghosts, specters, and phantoms of every type—魃 (ba), 魈 (xiao), 魁 (kui), 鬾 (yi), 魑魅魍魉 (chimei wangliang)—not a single one missing. There was even a kneeling Ghost King, politely waiting for orders.

White Yu (the old man) cleared his throat, scanning the crowd with grave authority.

“Everyone clear on today’s mission? Remember what the little girl—ahem, what Yun Jiao—just told you. This exercise is for promoting friendly relations between the human and underworld realms. Keep in mind: friendship first, competition second! You may scare them, but no harming, no injuring, no provoking interrealm conflict! No gang fights, no sneak attacks—one-on-one duels only, stop at first blood!”

“Yes, Lord Yama!” the ghosts chorused solemnly.

“You needn’t worry,” White Yu continued. “Though the disciples are from the Mystical Sect, they know their limits. Even if something goes wrong, there are ghost judges and envoys hidden nearby to ensure your safety. If any emergency arises, use this talisman.”

He handed out a stack of black charms. “Just crush it, and you’ll instantly return to the Ghost Gate. Understood?”

“Understood!”

“Good.” White Yu nodded, pleased. “And one more thing—whoever performs best at scaring people will receive a reward. The results will count toward your next underworld envoy promotion!”

The ghosts’ eyes gleamed with excitement. A cold surge of yin energy rippled through the air as they responded, “Thank you, Lord Yama!”

White Yu smiled, satisfied. “Good. Go!”

With a series of soft whooshes, the ghosts scattered, vanishing into the mist—eager to terrify their mortal “opponents.”

Moments later, the sect masters overseeing the test through the water mirrors witnessed a sight they would never forget.

As soon as the disciples entered the third testing ground—within five minutes—every single one ran into a ghost. And not just ordinary ones, but elite-level spirits: wrathful wraiths, high-class specters, even ghost generals.

The sect masters turned pale.

Yun Jiao had said the ghosts were “handled,” yes—but this level?! They nearly leapt into the arena themselves. These students had improved, sure, but fighting ghost generals? That was absurd!

They were about to intervene—

Until they noticed something strange.

(⊙_⊙)

The ghosts… were helping them?

Each time a disciple was about to be struck down, the ghost would inexplicably slow down—miss its attack, misfire its spell, or trip over a rock.

Somehow, every struggling disciple managed to activate their teleport charm just in time to retreat safely.

At first, the elders thought it was coincidence—until it kept happening.

One poor student even dropped his emergency charm mid-battle and couldn’t escape. The ghost chasing him waited two full minutes before giving up and pretending not to see him, drifting away like, “Oops, didn’t notice anything!”

Even funnier, no two ghosts ever appeared before the same disciple. If one student accidentally ran into another ghost mid-fight, the second ghost would instantly “not see” anything—pretending to be blind and floating away faster than the panicking disciple could run.

The sect masters watching: “…”

What in all realms… were these ghosts doing?

(￣△￣；)