As Fen Yulei strolled lost through the bamboo forest, Su Jing's attention was immediately drawn to her striking red hair, adorned in a twin-looped hairstyle.

Her dress stood out too, despite its grey colour, thanks to some unique quality that made her look even more beautiful.

The embodiment of the dragon lady* trope!

Even though Su Jing never got the chance to talk to her, simply looking over made it obvious she was not someone of an easy character.

Su Jing unconsciously checked up on her clothes. She didn't have the chance to change or bathe for a week, but the thought of Fen Yulei noticing her in such a state made Su Jing cringe.

Thankfully, she did not have a bad impurity release, like what usually happens in the female lead case. If Su Jing had smelled in this moment, when Fen Yulei was so close, she would have preferred to kill herself instead.

Because Fen Yulei was known for one, special thing in the cultivation realm - her fashion sense!

Seeing Su Jing in an ugly state would mean bringing up this matter with everyone she could encounter. Su Jing was already pitiful enough!

Yawen wasn't calm either as he carefully hid himself and Su Jing.

He took action and beat his cane on the ground three times, making the ground tremble as yellow dots started appearing.

Su Jing immediately got that this was Earth Qi, and as those Energies uniformised she noticed that they formed a formation.

Yawen again recreated the array!

Su Jing was surprised by this, never seeing an array being put in action.

"Fen Yulei won't be able to find us now.” Yawen assured Su Jing, himself exhaling in relief,” She'll probably give up and go back."

Su Jing looked through the window after the lady in question, seeing how what Yawen said was happening accordingly.

Fen Yulei looked angry at how the bamboo seemed to stop her from passing over, regenerating back when slashed up by her sword.

”What the heck are those plants?” she angrily shouted, trying to burn them up this time with Fire Qi.

Unfortunately, the bamboo was untouched, only changing its colour slightly to a darker shade.

Su Jing watched through the barrier this spectacle, happy that Fen Yulei's power wasn't that strong because she concentrated on medicine.

In the end, Fen Yulei seemed to anger herself so much, that she got on her sword and flew away in the sky, towards her own peak.

Su Jing's tense mood eased down seeing her do that.

”Did the contestants already arrive?”

Especially a beautiful and mysterious black-headed doctor?

Su Jing was madly curious if the female lead already made an appearance!

Yawen shook his head, "Not yet. But after noon, they should show up - except for Fen Yulei, who's been here since morning."

By noon, there was still about an hour left, so Su Jing decided to switch her clothes. Taking a bath seemed like too much hassle at the moment, so she requested a cleaning talisman from Yawen, who promptly handed it to her.

"Here you go," he said as Su Jing was instantly cleaned up. "I'll wait for you to change, and then we can head to the avenue."

After Yawen left, Su Jing swiftly went towards her closet.

She chose a simple and refined green dress, one that was easy to move in if something happened. She secured her chest tightly, not wishing to tie it unproperly. The bracelet remained on her hand, as Su Jing felt that it was her only piece of jewellery that looked good with her whole attire.

Looking in the mirror, Su Jing felt satisfied with her appearance. Since she was quite tall, she gave a vibe of a quiet and elegant lady. Her face looked a bit brighter since cultivating, though not a major change was made.

Su Jing got out to see Yawen, but not before carefully attaching her sect permit and storage bag. If someone were to ask her, she needed to be ready.

Yawen was looking at her practice notes, correcting them. Su Jing went beside him and waited for him to finish, feeling that he was busying himself too much with work.

”Do you still not know how to braid properly?” Yawen asked putting down the notebook.

Su Jing unconsciously touched her hair, feeling that this time, her hair was done rather decently.

”It is that bad?” It was difficult for her to arrange it since she had no hairpins, so Su Jing tried to do a basic low braid - which apparently was not up to Yawen's standards.

Yawen went behind her and quickly redone her hair, a loose braid putting her hair in place.

”That should be alright. We can now leave.”

He knocked twice on the ground, making again the array disappear. The two of them got out through the back door, making Su Jing anxious that maybe a sudden Fen Yulei would appear.

"We never flew together on my flying cane before, so we'll take it easy and stay lower. Just hold onto me tight."

Yawen laid the cane flat, and it began to hover.

Su Jing stared in shock at how thin it was, unsure if it could support two adults without snapping! It was just a stick, after all!

"I'll try my best," Su Jing said uncertainly as she positioned herself behind Yawen, trying to steady herself by holding onto his back. They were only a few hairs off the ground, and Su Jing already hated it!

Flying was for sure a big no on her part!

”Let's not be late,” Yawen immediately accelerated once he saw her on, making Su Jing almost fall down from the start!

Who in the world maximises his speed like this!

Like a koala, Su Jing locked her fingers onto his back, her legs feeling shakier than ever.

Yawen laughed as he tried to support her, the bamboo forest quickly passing beneath them.

Su Jing could not see that as her eyes were shut tightly, aware that she might vomit if her eyes opened.

In the end, Yawen landed, making Su Jing almost fall to her knees. He supported her by an arm, finding her a bench where she could sit down.

”Are you alright? I can give you some recovery pills if you need them.”

Su Jing waved her hand, declining. "Just give me a moment," she said, needing a short break to steady herself.

She realized that flying wasn't for her; it was a surefire way to end up in the hospital! So, with no other choice, Su Jing reluctantly got up from the bench. She didn't want to keep Yawen waiting any longer because of her.

With her hand on her forehead, Su Jing entered the building behind Yawen, her senses getting alert as she heard lots of people's voices. She adopted a polite pose and her heart quickened as she never encountered such a bustling atmosphere since the root selection.

”Uncle has finally come back!”

Su Jing looked around the big hall, not knowing where to first lay down her sight. The majority had the Tianhui Sect uniform, making Su Jing feel intimidated by how their eyes immediately locked onto her. The rest of the people looked like being loose cultivators or simple city residents who wanted to join in the fun and see who succeded in being the best pharmacologist!

In the centre, tables were arranged neatly in rows, each with a set of boxes. Some participants had already taken their seats, but as Su Jing scanned the room, she couldn't spot anyone who looked like Feng Zhihao.

Feeling disheartened, Su Jing let out a sigh. She consoled herself with the thought that Feng Zhihao would surely attract enough attention to be easily recognizable.

”Young Master Wen, I believe the preliminary test can start shortly.”

Yawen nodded at the middle-aged man, making Su Jing stare curiously at him. The gentleman noticing her, quickly greeted her.

”Saluting the young lady. I am Wang Fu, one of the responsible for the botanical garden.”

Su Jing froze for a second but quickly recovered, smiling politely.

”Greetings, Mr. Wang Fu. I am called Su Jing and I serve Master Wen.”

Yawen quickly hit behind her neck when she said that, making Wang Fu gasp surprised.

”Old Fu, Su Jing is my guest in the Zhulin Peak. She is just too shy to say that.”

Wang Fu quickly leaned his head towards Su Jing, making her feel weird since she was no disciple at all! Why was Yawen not sticking to the plan!

”Young Miss Su does not need to feel pressured. As I said, I am working in the Botanical Garden and came here at Young Master Wen's invitation.”

”You are one of the judges?” Su Jing looked at the gentle-looking man, trying to remember if his character was mentioned in the book. However, as much as she wanted, Feng Zhihao did not seem interested in the judges too much so the information was lacking.

The man smiled politely, ”Yes, though my skills do not go beyond recognising spiritual healing plants and poisonous ones.”

That was enough to be considered a genius!

”Mister Wang Fu is the one who helped me the most since Yazhu was away. His skills are unmatched.” Yawen intervened and complimented Wang Fu, making the man laugh.

”Young Master always knows how to sing someone's praises! This old man just wanted to see if some young talents were gonna appear this year.”

Su Jing listened to him, being sure that after this contest, someone indeed was taken under his wing, though it was too small of a character to be worth mentioning.

”Then Old Fu, you can wait till the first preliminary test is initiated. This will begin soon.”

Wang Fu nodded, leaving and going towards his seat. His seat was put together with many others in a high chamber, from which it was easy to oversee the whole hall.

Su Jing glanced over, observing the various cultivators gathered there. Among them stood a man who seemed to exude a certain power, though Su Jing couldn't shake the feeling that he might be a significant figure - with a not-so-great personality!

”That's Third Elder Ming. Let's get out of here before he will start talking bullshit with us.”

Yawen led Su Jing to the back, where the stairs brought them one floor up. Su Jing noticed that this room was the same as the one the Elders were residing in, though this one was not as massive and did not have the same good view.

No one was in there, only a table with a lot of papers. Su Jing took a glimpse and got that those were the very tests that were going to be given!

These papers were enhanced, being impossible to get leaked as their questions changed on the participant's luck.

Su Jing remembered that Yawen worked days and days to engrave them, together with some of his master's materials. It seemed that Master He Ning had long ago prepared the content, and Yawen only had to make sure it was engraved on those papers.

”Who is gonna take Elder He Ning's place?”

There were three judges, Wang Fu, Elder Ming and Elder He - the one who was the overseer. Since Elder He was away, it was no surprise why Elder Ming wanted to replace Yawen and put his disciple, Fen Yulei, as the main responsible. He had the voice of the judge.

However, that was not enough, as Yawen did not back down so easily.

”What do you think?” Yawen asked, having a frightening smile.

Su Jing took a glance again at the Elders' seats, where she saw, to her dismay, no one else but Fen Yulei! Su Jing was left without words, not getting how such a thing was possible!

”How does she have any authority? Didn't you need to have equal status to the other judges?”

She was in the book a contestant! Just a few changes and she slipped straight to a judge position?

Now that was a lucky opportunity! She aimed to replace Yawen but ended up in an even better spot without lifting a finger!

Yawen let out a big sigh, seeming really stressed. "Originally, I wanted to bring in another Elder or a teacher from the Alchemy Association. But Elder Ming insisted on having his favourite disciple take the master's place. I wanted to refuse, but then the Sect Master officially requested Fen Yulei to step in, as a gesture to show that Tianhui Sect values input from its disciples."

Out of all the people, Su Jing did not expect the Sect Master to intervene. It was known he had no say in Elder He's contest, but since he was away and there was a conflict between Yawen and Elder Ming, he was the only one who could mend the two sides. And he did it in the most horrible way possible!

It was obvious Fen Yulei would make the same decisions as Elder Ming, and since he was annoyed by Feng Zhihao, it was not so sure if the female lead would be able to win!

”Now it does not matter.”

Yawen seemed to want to console himself. Su Jing could not do much, as she was not a medical expert. Now she was really curious how this Medicinal Contest would go along. Things seemed to slightly change, one way or another.