Chapter 229: Objection

“And now,” the Head Elder called out, his eyes landing on the solitary figure in white, “the Nine Hall Palace Lord, Lord Bai.”

A hush fell over the crowd. Bai Yunxian’s reputation was legendary, but he had entered the forest alone, or so they thought.

Many expected him to have a respectable score, but how could one person, no matter how talented, compete with the collective resources of a Great Family?

Wei Kang leaned over to his companion. “Watch this. The ’Ice Beauty’ probably spent the whole time hiding in a cave to keep his skin pale. He’ll be lucky to have ten cores.”

Bai Yunxian stepped up to the Tally Stone. He didn’t look at the noble heirs. He didn’t look at the crowd. He simply reached into his spatial ring.

Usually, candidates would pour out their beast cores. Bai Yunxian, however, turned his ring downward.

A sound like falling hail filled the plaza.

Clatter-clatter-clatter-clink!

Cores poured out in a seemingly endless stream. But they weren’t the dull, murky cores of common beasts. These were vibrant, pulsing with elemental energy.

The crowd went silent. The Head Elder’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Wait… are those… Tier 4 Cloud Serpent cores?” someone gasped.

“Is that a Steelback Boar King core? That’s a Tier 5 beast!”

The pile of stones grew. It wasn’t just a pile; it was a small mountain. But the most shocking part wasn’t the quantity; it was the quality. Every single core was “Perfectly Harvested.”

In the cultivation world, harvesting a core requires precision.

If the beast is killed with excessive blunt force or if the core is extracted poorly, its energy leaks, lowering its value. These cores were pristine, as if they had been removed by the hand of a god.

In reality, they had been removed by Yun Shu’s “cooking experiments” and her invisible Qi-threads, which she had used to ’help’ Bai Yunxian during the battles.

The Tally Stone began to hum. The blue light turned to gold, then to a blinding, searing white.

“Bai Yunxian…” the Head Elder stammered, his voice trembling as he read the numbers. “Three hundred Tier 3 cores… one hundred Tier 4 cores… and… twelve Tier 5 cores.”

The plaza was so quiet you could hear the wind whistling through the banners.

“Total points…” the Elder swallowed hard. “Thirty-eight thousand, six hundred.”

The gap was so large it wasn’t even a competition. It was a total massacre!

“I OBJECT!”

Wei Kang’s voice broke the silence, screeching with indignant rage. He stepped forward, his face flushed a sickly purple. “This is impossible! No one can hunt twelve Tier 5 beasts in four days! Not even a Peak Gold Core cultivator! He’s cheating! He must have brought these from his own sect’s treasury!”

The other heirs joined in, sensing their prestige slipping away. “Yes! Look at the harvests! They’re too perfect! No student has that kind of knife work. He must have had an Elder helping him secretly!”

The Head Elder looked conflicted. “Palace Lord Bai, these accusations are serious. The Tally Stone measures the freshness of the cores, and these are indeed fresh… but the quantity is… unprecedented.”

Bai Yunxian stood amidst the chaos, his expression unchanged. He felt a flicker of that same annoyance he had felt in the forest.

He knew why the cores were so perfect and why there were so many of them.

He remembered Li tossing gallbladders and hearts into her “cooking pot,” and how she had insisted on “cleaning” the battlefield while he meditated. She had been stacking the deck for him the entire time.

“If you doubt the source,” Bai Yunxian said, his voice cutting through the noise like a guillotine, “examine the residue. Tier 5 beasts leave a soul-stain on the one who slays them for forty-eight hours.”

He stepped toward Wei Kang, his aura suddenly flaring. The cold was so intense that the moisture in the air turned to frost.

“Would you like to check my soul-stain, Young Master Wei? Or would you prefer to explain how your cores all have the mark of the Wei Clan’s ’Hidden Guard’ techniques on them?”

Wei Kang blanched, taking a step back.

Just then, a voice drifted from the Elder’s balcony, a high-seated area where only the most powerful guests were allowed.

“The Palace Lord is correct.”

Everyone looked up. There, sitting lazily with a cup of tea, was a figure draped in heavy, ornate robes of deep crimson and gold.

A veil obscured their face, but the sheer weight of their presence made the air feel heavy.

It was Lord Yun, or rather, Yun Shu in her true “husband” persona, who had hurried to change and take her seat among the elites.

“I observed the Palace Lord’s progress from afar,” Yun Shu (as Lord Yun) said, her voice deep, resonant, and masculine. “He fought with honor. As for the ’perfect harvests’… let’s just say my Palace Lord has a very talented ’assistant’ who is quite meticulous with her work.”

She looked down at Bai Yunxian, her eyes twinkling behind the veil.

Bai Yunxian stiffened.

He’s here.

Lord Yun is here.

He looked up at the balcony, his heart doing that strange, fluttering dance again. He felt a wave of relief, but also a sharp, stinging curiosity.

The Head Elder bowed deeply to the balcony. “If Lord Yun vouches for him, then there is no doubt! The rankings are final! First Place: Bai Yunxian!”

The noble heirs slunk away, their reputations in tatters. The Azure Sect disciples were cheering, throwing their hats into the air.

Bai Yunxian, however, didn’t stay for the celebration. As soon as the ceremony was over, he made a move for the Elder’s balcony.

He needed to see Lord Yun. He needed to ask about the girl called “Li.” Who was that girl? Was there any relation between her and Yun Shu?

But by the time he reached the seating area, the crimson-robed figure was gone. Only a faint scent of mountain herbs and sandalwood lingered in the air.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep