Sorry, I'm Slightly Better Below

Chapter 23: Scroll

As noon approached, Chen Ze arrived at the stronghold's entrance fifteen minutes early.

This was his first time returning here in three days.

When others couldn't see him when they came back to rest, they naturally thought he was diligent, which could be considered as a preparation for entering the top two later.

Looking at the gate in front of him, Chen Ze repeated the prepared words in his mind once again. After confirming that there were no problems, he stepped into the gate.

Just as he was about to exchange greetings with his fellow senior brothers, he discovered that there was only Xu Weiran sitting alone in the courtyard pavilion inside the stronghold.

"Um... Xu Junior Sister, where are the others? They didn't all come?" Chen Ze was somewhat surprised at this scene.

You should know that there was less than a quarter of an hour left until noon.

Could it be that not a single senior brother kept their word?

"Senior Brother Chen..." Xu Weiran regained her senses upon hearing this and quickly stood up, saying, "I haven't seen them since I arrived."

"How long have you been here?" Chen Ze asked again.

"Half... I just arrived too," Xu Weiran replied, her cheeks turning red as she instinctively lowered her head.

"Half an hour early? What an honest person," Chen Ze was somewhat speechless, but he didn't expose her. Instead, he walked straight into the pavilion and chose a seat.

The two sat facing each other in silence.

Time passed minute by minute, and before they knew it, a quarter of an hour had passed. Both of them couldn't help but fall into self-doubt.

They doubted whether they had misunderstood the meaning of "three days later" or "noon."

Just as they were in this state, two people rushed into the courtyard from the gate. They were none other than Liu Ming and Jin He, the senior brothers from Fallen Cloud Peak.

"Sorry, we're a bit late... um..." These two apologized as soon as they entered the courtyard. However, when they saw Chen Ze and Xu Weiran in the pavilion, they both froze.

Clearly, they didn't expect that only the two of them would arrive at noon.

"How long have you been here?" the two asked instinctively.

"We just arrived too," Chen Ze preemptively answered before Xu Weiran could speak.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Zhen and Wei Jie, the brothers from Heaven Connecting Peak, also arrived.

Then came Yang Guanglu and Tao Zhiquan from Pill and Weapon Peak, and finally Yan Qing and Xiao Qing.

In just a short moment, everyone had arrived.

Seeing that everyone's eye circles were faintly dark, even Xiao Qing couldn't hide her exhaustion, Chen Ze had a faint sense of foreboding.

"What kind of time management masters are these?" He thought that not resting at the stronghold once was already quite diligent, but now looking at these people, it seemed like they hadn't rested much even outside.

Especially the two senior brothers from Fallen Cloud Peak, their dark eye circles were the most obvious, and it was certain that they hadn't slept for three days and nights.

How did it come to this?

...

As everyone in the courtyard observed each other, although they hadn't formally compared yet, their expressions became much more serious.

Obviously, everyone was shocked by each other's diligence.

After observing each other for a while, Xiao Qing was the first to break the silence.

"Now that everyone is here, let's take a look at each other's progress."

"Okay."

"Sure."

...

Everyone agreed, but after a long while, no one took out the Demon Exploration Disk.

Another eerie silence ensued.

Unable to bear it any longer, Liu Ming from Fallen Cloud Peak took the lead and said, "Let's start with Fallen Cloud Peak."

Compared to the other peaks, Fallen Cloud Peak had a benefit, which was having more missions. It was precisely because of this that Fallen Cloud Peak recruited disciples who were willing to take on more missions.

Liu Ming and Jin He are both from ordinary families. If they want to obtain resources, they have to rely on their own efforts.

In this trial, they arrived in Ruifeng City a month in advance and investigated several cases of missing people, identifying seven low-level Demonic Cultivators.

Despite this, they are not confident in breaking into the top three because they are well aware of the advantages of the other disciples.

Xiao Qing is the strongest in terms of personal strength, and may even possess information that they are unaware of.

Yan Qing has the support of his family.

Wei Zhen and Wei Jie from Heaven Connecting Peak are both at the fifth level of Qi Refining, stronger than them. Moreover, Heaven Connecting Peak is the strongest peak among the seven peaks, so these two brothers may also have some hidden cards that they are unaware of.

These three factions have almost secured the top three positions, making it difficult for them to surpass any of them.

As for Pill and Weapon Peak, Mysterious Serene Peak, and Rising Cloud Peak, they are not worth mentioning.

Upon hearing Liu Ming's words, everyone looked at him.

Liu Ming didn't hesitate and directly took out the Demon Scrying Disk.

Inside the Demon Scrying Disk, the gem faintly emitted a black light, indicating that it had absorbed the demonic energy of about sixteen or seventeen low-level Demonic Cultivators.

When Xiao Qing, Yan Qing, and Wei Zhen and Wei Jie saw their Demon Scrying Disk, their expressions remained calm. Liu Ming and Jin He exchanged a glance and saw the bitterness in each other's eyes.

Sure enough...

Their efforts were completely insignificant in the eyes of the disciples from these three peaks.

"Since Senior Liu has shown it, I won't be polite either," said Yang Guanglu from Pill and Weapon Peak eagerly.

Although the others didn't pay much attention to Yang Guanglu and Chen Ze noticed that their eyes were full of excitement, as if they couldn't wait to show off.

Before he could continue thinking, Yang Guanglu had already taken out his Demon Scrying Disk.

Compared to Liu Ming and Jin He from Fallen Cloud Peak, they were indeed slightly stronger, as it seemed they had absorbed the demonic energy of about twenty low-level Demonic Cultivators.

"This..." Liu Ming and Jin He were greatly shocked when they saw this!

They never expected that even after working hard for a month in advance, they couldn't even compare to Pill and Weapon Peak!

"Hehe... Senior Liu, Senior Jin, it's all just luck. I yield," Yang Guanglu said with a smug smile as he put away his Demon Scrying Disk.

Seeing only a hint of surprise in the eyes of Xiao Qing, Yan Qing, Wei Zhen, and Wei Jie, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

He knew very well that the disciples from these three peaks were definitely stronger than them in the first three days.

But the advantage of these three peaks was in the early stages, and with their Demon Scrying Disk, they would have the advantage throughout the entire ten days.

By the sixth and ninth days, these people's expressions probably wouldn't be as simple as surprise.

"We have nothing to hide either," said Wei Zhen from Heaven Connecting Peak calmly, and then took out his Demon Scrying Disk.

The black energy in his Demon Scrying Disk was obviously much denser than the previous two, indicating that he had killed at least thirty low-level Demonic Cultivators!

This lead was quite significant.

Seeing this, Xiao Qing and Yan Qing's expressions became somewhat unsightly.

Although they were slightly stronger than Wei Zhen and Wei Jie from Heaven Connecting Peak, the difference between them was very small, far from their previous expectations.

Yan Qing let out a sigh and then took out his Demon Scrying Disk.

It seemed that he had killed thirty-two low-level Demonic Cultivators.

Then he looked at Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing didn't hesitate and immediately took out his Demon Scrying Disk. It was slightly denser than Yan Qing's, indicating that he had probably killed one or two more low-level Demonic Cultivators.

Seeing this, a trace of unwillingness flashed in Yan Qing's eyes.

He didn't expect that even when he had the greatest advantage in the first three days, he still couldn't surpass Xiao Qing.

It seems that the hope of being first is truly slim.

Not only that, even the second position is under threat.

"I... I only killed two Demonic Cultivators," a weak voice came from the corner.

Everyone chose to ignore it.

Given Xu Weiran's personality, it was already quite remarkable that she could sit here alive in their eyes.

After Xu Weiran finished showing her Demon Scrying Disk, everyone turned their attention to Chen Ze.

Although whether Chen Ze from Rising Cloud Peak looked or not wouldn't affect the result, the process still had to be completed.

After completing it, they could quickly think about their strategy for the next three days.

(End of this chapter)