Chapter 114: All Rolled Up

Yuan Yao and her senior brothers and sisters boarded one of the spirit boats.

The other disciples, under the guidance of several instructors, boarded the spirit boats one after another.

For this trip to the Heaven and Earth Domain, aside from the sect leader and Second Elder Zong Rao, the Carefree Sect dispatched a total of seven instructors and two hundred seventy disciples.

Among these two hundred seventy disciples, thirty will represent the Carefree Sect in the Ninth Province Sect Grand Competition, while the rest are going to watch and broaden their horizons.

After Yuan Yao boarded the spirit boat and greeted her fellow sect members around her, she quickly approached a young woman with a delicate appearance.

"Senior Sister of the Sect, are your injuries healed?"

Zong Yu'er had originally been instructing some junior disciples of the Medical Pavilion when she suddenly heard Yuan Yao's voice; she turned her head to look at Yuan Yao, her fair face breaking into a smile as she said, "All good."

"Then that's good." Yuan Yao also felt relieved.

"What are you chatting about?" Suddenly, a laughing female voice came from nearby.

Yuan Yao followed the sound and saw that the newcomers were Yao Linglong and Ao Su.

Ao Su remained as thin as a bamboo pole, his skin seeming to cling tightly to his bones; when he smiled, it was startling.

Whenever Yuan Yao saw Ao Su, she feared he might be knocked apart by a single punch.

"Junior Sister, why are you looking at me like that?" Ao Su, noticing Yuan Yao's gaze, asked with a smile.

Yuan Yao had mixed feelings; she took out a roasted bird egg that her Third Senior Brother had baked for her a couple days ago from her storage space, gave him a large one, and said, "Senior Brother Ao, would you like this bird egg?"

Ao Su froze for a moment, then reacted.

He smiled and accepted it.

"Junior Sister, don't worry about my health; my body is fine." Saying this, he rolled up his sleeve and showed her his "strong" bamboo-pole arm.

Yuan Yao, Zong Yu'er, and Yao Linglong: "……"

At that moment, a tall, burly figure like a small mountain walked over; with each step, the spirit boat's deck trembled slightly.

Ao Su seemed to sense something; as he turned his head, a large shadow fell upon him, enveloping him.

"Junior Brother Ao," the muscular, burly man laughed, honest and simple, yet appearing somewhat foolish.

He bore a medical kit on his back, stood extremely tall at 2.1 meters, his muscles straining the white sect uniform to the point of being tightly packed.

Ao Su standing before him looked like a frail little chick.

"Senior Brother Wei," several people called out.

Wei Ziping, a genius medical cultivator from Heaven Learning Peak, had been taken as a personal disciple by Zong Rao.

He was also one of those thirty spots.

Ao Su gave a bitter smile: "Senior Brother Wei, have you grown taller again?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ziping extended his large hand to touch his own head, then seriously replied, "Probably not."

Afterwards, Wei Ziping's gaze fell upon Yuan Yao, and he smiled: "Junior Sister, long time no see."

"It's been about half a year, right?" Yuan Yao thought carefully and laughed.

As a genius medical cultivator of the Carefree Sect, Wei Ziping had an excellent temperament, treating others kindly, and could silently bear any heavy or tedious task without complaint.

Therefore, whenever disciples from the other three peaks needed to go out for training or undertake important missions, they would look to this person of both virtue and talent, trying every means to join him.

Over the past half year, Wei Ziping has almost always been on missions.

Moreover, Yuan Yao had been focusing on her cultivation during this period, unlike before when she frequently visited the other peaks, so she and Wei Ziping had not seen each other for half a year.

Ao Su asked with a smile: "Junior Sister, this is your first time participating in the Ninth Province Sect Grand Competition; are you nervous?"

"Not nervous." Yuan Yao's eyes curved, and she even felt a bit excited.

"It's good if you're not nervous," Yao Linglong laughed, "If we truly encounter danger, admitting defeat is also acceptable."

They chatted idly for a while.

Soon, the spirit boat began to rise, heading toward the Heaven and Earth Domain.

She looked at the senior brothers and sisters around her; some were excitedly discussing the upcoming Ninth Province Sect Grand Competition, while others sat alone on the deck meditating and cultivating.

As she walked to Second Senior Sister's side, she lowered her head to gaze at the fleeting scenery beneath the spirit boat; the breeze brushed her cheeks, bringing a hint of coolness.

Upon raising her head, she saw another spirit boat flying alongside at a steady pace, neither hurried nor slow.

Clearly, the senior brothers and sisters on the opposing spirit boat also spotted Yuan Yao and waved at her.

Yuan Yao also waved to greet them.

At this moment, her heart felt as if something were stuffed inside, making it swell.

She finally realized something.

This was her first time going out together with her fellow sect brothers and sisters.

"Are you very happy?" Xiao Lingwei beside her turned her head to look at her.

"Mm." Yuan Yao nodded with a smile.

Xiao Lingwei's gaze fell upon the small dimple on Yuan Yao's cheek; she couldn't resist pinching it with her finger, finding it indeed soft and puffy.

Her hand moved upward, she rubbed Yuan Yao's head, and the corner of her mouth unconsciously curved into an indulgent smile.

Xiao Lingwei said: "If there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."

Yuan Yao curiously asked: "Second Senior Sister, is the sect's ranking in each grand competition determined solely by the total points accumulated by each sect's disciples?"

Xiao Lingwei: "Yes."

"But is that really fair? After all, the number of disciples each sect sends to the competition varies; if victory were judged solely by total points, wouldn't that be terribly unfair?"

Xiao Lingwei smiled slightly and patiently explained: "Because each sect will dispatch at least ten disciples to compete. Thus, each sect's final ranking will be determined by the sum of points earned by its top ten disciples. In other words, each sect may only count the scores of its ten highest-scoring disciples."

Yuan Yao suddenly understood.

Immediately, she wondered: "If my ranking is low, wouldn't that mean I couldn't count toward the sect's total score?"

At that moment, Cang Li's voice came faintly from behind: "What place do you think you can achieve?"

Yuan Yao was startled by his sudden voice.

She turned her head and glared at Cang Li.

"Coward." Cang Li said.

"I don't know." Yuan Yao said, she was afraid of embarrassing her master.

She let out a long sigh.

"What are you worried about? You're not weak either." Cang Li comforted sincerely.

Upon hearing that, Yuan Yao felt even more that she was too weak.

"No, I must continue cultivating!" Yuan Yao said with a serious expression.

Having said that, she sat down cross-legged right there.

Xiao Lingwei froze, just about to say something, but saw Cang Li lift his robe with a solemn expression, quickly sit cross-legged beside Yuan Yao, close his eyes, and enter a cultivation state.

Xiao Lingwei: "?"

Thus, Yuan Yao didn't even look at the scenery along the way, she forced herself to cultivate on the spirit boat for three whole days and nights, her speed of absorbing spiritual energy was extremely fast, causing the people on the deck to show looks of disbelief.

Seeing the junior sister so diligent, everyone felt embarrassed to remain lazy, and they also sat down cross-legged one after another, entering a cultivation state.