I woke up to find myself as the villain's older sister.

Chapter 31 Qi Refining Stage 5th Floor

A few days later,

After these days of competition, the highly anticipated third round of the competition, the final competition, has finally arrived.

Only ten people made it to the final round of the competition. Apart from the three disciples of the sect leader, the remaining seven were also outstanding talents from their respective peaks, most of whom were new disciples recruited in the last ten years or so.

Yun Qingyi carefully observed the seven people; there was only one girl among them.

The girl was thin and wore a long, somewhat tattered gray robe, revealing only her bright, large eyes.

She sat at the farthest point, her body hunched over, as if trying to minimize her presence.

The Xuanmiao Sect doesn't have strict requirements regarding whether or not disciples wear their sect uniforms, but most people don't wear them simply to change their style and look better.

This was the first time Yun Qingyi had ever seen a girl like this, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances.

The moment their eyes met in mid-air, the girl froze, her body trembled slightly, and then she lowered her head somewhat timidly.

Yun Qingrou's gaze had been fixed on Yun Qingyi. When she saw Yun Qingyi looking in another direction, she followed her gaze and saw a girl in tattered clothes.

Strange, someone who made it to the third round of the competition should be a highly promising talent, no matter which peak they're on. How come they look so...

Ok……

After thinking for a while, Yun Qingrou couldn't think of a suitable adjective, because this person not only looked shabby, but also a bit timid.

This is a reaction only people who are frequently bullied would have.

Yun Qingyi shared the same thought as Yun Qingrou. Looking at the girl who was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible, she raised her eyebrows slightly, lost in thought.

Despite the girl's best efforts to minimize her presence, the fact that there were only a few of them in the waiting area in front of the arena still immediately exposed to those with a keen eye.

"Look, isn't that Ruan Qi?"

After the disciples finished excitedly discussing the top contenders among the ten people on stage, they finally turned their attention to the unremarkable girl.

"Ruan Qi? Are you kidding me? That good-for-nothing from Guangyu Peak actually made it into the top ten?"

"It's obvious you guys didn't watch the competition much. I watched every single one! Let me tell you, Ruan Qi isn't a useless person anymore, she's incredibly capable now!"

"Pshaw! She just won by luck using some unorthodox methods. It's been more than ten years. If she were really that powerful, how come she's still only at the fifth level of Qi Refining? Peak Master Bai Li shouldn't have taken her in back then."

As soon as he said this, the surroundings quieted down. Most of the people present were at least at the Foundation Establishment stage, and their cultivation levels were higher than Ruan Qi's. They could all tell Ruan Qi's true cultivation level at a glance.

In the Xuanmiao Sect, where geniuses gather, even a Qi Refining Level 5 disciple wouldn't be considered a decent menial servant.

Although that's what the disciples said, the ten people in front of the competition platform did not look down on Ruan Qi because of that person's words. After all, there are some things that only those who stand in that position can understand.

Although he was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, he had truly stood out from many geniuses. As for any unorthodox methods, this huge arena not only had the peak masters of each peak sitting there, but also the three sect masters. Could these unorthodox methods escape their discerning eyes?

Obviously not, so Ruan Qi really did fight his way up with his own true strength. In this light, his cultivation level of the fifth level of Qi Refining is actually something to be wary of.

After all, the more outlandish something is, the more dangerous it often is.

The ten contestants who advanced to the finals in front of the competition stage understood that those who could enter the Xuanmiao Sect were not all incompetent. They had also participated in the sect competition before and knew that it was not possible to enter the top ten by using low-level methods.

So after the disciple spoke, no one responded for a moment, and they all looked at Ruan Qi.

But there are always exceptions. After a moment of silence, a sudden female voice rang out: "You, Ruan Qi, I was wondering why you'd been missing these past few days. Turns out you've come here to scam people."

The woman was dressed as a handyman, with her hands on her hips and beads of sweat on her face, clearly having just finished her work and rushed over.

When Ruan Qi, who was standing in front of the stage, saw the person who came, she was obviously flustered. She wanted to explain but was too nervous and stammered, "I, I didn't lie. I came after I finished my work."

The woman who had just arrived immediately opened her mouth wide, about to say something, when the elder standing on the platform, holding several jade tokens, announced loudly: "The competition is about to begin. Disciples who are advancing, please draw your jade tokens."

After saying that, the old man threw the jade tablet in his hand into the air. Under the influence of spiritual power, the jade tablet was randomly and methodically shuffled.

A moment later, the shuffled jade tablets were placed in front of the ten people.

Yun Qingyi took the jade pendant from her hand, and a clear name appeared on it.

The ten people who received the jade tokens had different expressions; some were delighted, while others looked ashen.

One of the men looked at the jade pendant in his hand and then at Yun Qingyi, feeling like a thousand grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.

But soon he calmed himself down. He was sure he would gain a lot from sparring with someone as skilled as his martial uncle. Winning or losing was no longer important.

"Ah, it's a bit of a pity I didn't draw either of my junior sisters." Gu Moumou looked at the jade token in his hand and said with a face full of regret.

Yun Qingyi: "..." Big brother, stop messing around.

Yun Qingrou: "What, you haven't had enough of sparring every day these past few days? If you're not satisfied, let's do it again tonight."

Gu Qiqing immediately smiled and said, "Okay! It's a deal."

Seeing that all ten people understood their respective opponents, the old man spoke again, preparing to announce the first match.

"The first match is between Ruan Qi and..."

"Elder, wait!"

It was that female disciple who had just done odd jobs.

The old man looked toward the source of the sound, his kind face revealing neither joy nor anger, and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

The woman vaguely sensed that the elder in charge seemed quite displeased, but she still gritted her teeth and completed the task assigned by her young mistress.

She pointed to Ruan Qi beside her and said loudly, "Ruan Qi left the medicinal garden she was supposed to guard without permission. The medicinal garden she was in charge of was planted with Snow-containing Grass, which was in short supply for medicine cultivators and alchemists. However, she ignored the medicinal herbs and ran away to participate in the sect competition. This is dereliction of duty."

"Even if someone like that has some skill, she has disgraced her family and is not worthy of participating in the competition!"

The woman spoke each word with force and conviction, and the crowd below began to whisper among themselves, but did not say much, except for some novice medicine and alchemy practitioners who were preparing for exams and angrily criticized her.

But he was quickly pulled back by his senior brothers and sisters. The worst thing a person can do is to believe everything they hear. Even mortals understand this, so there's no reason why cultivators shouldn't.

It is not credible to rely solely on the woman's account. It is not too late to condemn her after the investigation is completed and it is indeed as she said.

They will not wrong any innocent person, but they will also not let go of anyone who has harmed their own interests.

"No! I didn't. I switched shifts with Xiaoya. My job today wasn't to guard the herb garden. I finished my work early last night and didn't neglect the work in the herb garden."

Ruan Qi, who was about to go on stage to compete, heard the woman's words and quickly explained to everyone.

The clothes she was wearing didn't fit properly. Yun Qingyi stared at Ruan Qi; the gray-brown robe, pieced together from several tattered pieces of cloth, was a bit too big.

The large robe made the figure beside him appear even thinner.