Chapter 37 Taking First Place

Murong Wan's words nearly choked Ye Fan, who hastily coughed twice to cover his awkwardness.

"What do you mean?" Ye Fan feigned ignorance.

"Still trying to fool me?" Murong Wan asked with a frown.

Ye Fan had no choice but to recount the entire incident of saving Yun Li from start to finish, stating bluntly that he couldn't very well stand by and watch someone die in that situation.

Of course, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Ye Fan naturally omitted certain parts of the story.

"That's what happened. If you don't believe me, you can ask Yun Li."

Murong Wan stared intently at Ye Fan, trying to catch any telltale signs on his face, but she failed against his superb acting skills.

"I will naturally ask her. You'd better pray your stories match."

Outside the cave at that moment, Yun Li peeked her little head in, trying to sneak a look.

Although she couldn't see what was happening inside the cave, she could vaguely hear the gist of the conversation.

"Did Sister Murong find out?"

Yun Li felt her heart pounding wildly, her pretty face flushing as red as fire, so ashamed she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Just as her thoughts were running wild, Murong Wan's voice came from behind her.

"Lier, I need to ask you something."

"Ah, Sister Murong... wh-what is it..."

Yun Li wore a look of utter panic. Her expression was practically a confession in itself, making questions seem almost unnecessary.

"You secretly participated in the trial behind Master's back. Do you want another beating?"

"If you hadn't been lucky enough to run into Ye Fan, you'd be dead even with ten lives." Murong Wan said with a frown.

"Sister Murong, I know I was wrong. Please, please don't tell Master I almost got into trouble, or I'll probably never be allowed off Pill Cauldron Peak for the rest of my life."

Yun Li secretly stuck out her tongue, quickly knelt and admitted her fault. Her teary-eyed look was truly endearing.

"You've always been like this since you were little, getting away with it every time. No more next time, understand?" Murong Wan scolded.

As if granted a great pardon, Yun Li jumped up, hugging Murong Wan's arm and acting spoiled. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were biological sisters.

"You two seem quite close."

Ye Fan's voice came from the side, his half-smiling expression making Yun Li blush with embarrassment.

As for Murong Wan, aside from glaring at him fiercely, there was nothing she could do.

Since things had come to this, dwelling on other matters was useless. Any further issues could be discussed after leaving the trial's Secret Realm.

The three of them decided to keep the deaths of Yan Jingyun and his many clansmen buried deep within themselves.

After all, the world isn't always a place of reason. It's better to avoid trouble. Even if the Sect ruled they weren't at fault, the Yan Family would not let it rest.

Fortunately, they had done a thorough job; not a single survivor was left from Yan Jingyun's group.

As long as they firmly denied everything, even if the Yan Family came knocking, there would be nothing they could do.

Seeing that less than half a day remained until the assembly's end, staying held no further meaning. The three prepared to leave the Secret Realm.

"By the way, how many demon cores did you hunt?"

Although Murong Wan was mentally prepared, when she saw Ye Fan pour out over two hundred demon cores like beans, she still couldn't quite hold her composure.

"Sister Murong, I have some too."

Then, watching Yun Li also pour out over a hundred demon cores, Murong Wan's eighty-plus cores in her Storage Pouch seemed insignificant in comparison.

"Senior Brother gave all of these to me. You should have them, Sister Murong."

Yun Li obediently offered the demon cores. Murong Wan naturally wouldn't accept them. In the end, Ye Fan gave her a portion.

"I'll take two hundred, Wan'er one hundred fifty, and Yun Li one hundred. Barring any surprises, the top three spots should be ours."

Since Ye Fan had spoken, Murong Wan couldn't very well say anything more.

The three stepped onto the mountaintop's Teleportation Array. After a familiar flash of white light, they returned to the Tongtian Peak venue.

At this moment, almost all the upper echelons of the Joyous Union Sect, including the Sect Head, were present, along with countless watching Disciples. Clearly, everyone was awaiting the final trial results.

Seeing Ye Fan and the other two appear safe and sound, those who knew them breathed sighs of relief.

The Sect Head glanced at Ye Fan with some surprise, evidently not expecting him to last until the end.

Only upon noticing Murong Wan beside him did understanding dawn, thinking to himself with a chuckle how lucky the kid was to muddle through like this.

Starting roughly seven days prior, scattered Disciples had begun ending their trials, though their results were mostly pitiful, clearly having fled the Secret Realm early to save their lives.

It was only the Disciples from the last three days who submitted more satisfactory answers.

The competition on the final day was even fiercer. For ordinary Disciples, not only was contending for first place out of reach, even making it into the top hundred to have their names listed on the board was difficult.

Before Ye Fan could get a clear look at the rankings, Lin Lei's laughing scold came from the side.

"You're something else, kid, managing to turtle until the last day. I thought you'd died in there."

Seeing both Lin Lei and Xu Xin safe and sound, Ye Fan also breathed a sigh of relief. His greatest worry had not come to pass.

"Oh, shut up. How about you guys? How many demon cores did you get?" Ye Fan asked curiously.

"Only about thirty-something combined. No chance of making the board, but exchanging them for some cultivation rewards shouldn't be a problem."

"You ran into Senior Sister Murong; you must have gotten quite a few demon cores, right?" Lin Lei asked curiously.

"Not many. Just about ten times yours." Ye Fan said with a slight curl of his lip.

"Ten times? Aren't you afraid of blowing the bull to death!"

Lin Lei shot Ye Fan a look of disbelief, clearly not buying his words.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the group chatted casually on the stage, making Elder Tie on the side somewhat restless.

"No time-wasting during the Trial Assembly. Hand over your demon cores quickly." Tie Wuqing said with a stern face.

"So it's Elder Tie. Forgive this Disciple for being so busy with the Trial Assembly lately, I haven't had time to visit you at the Punishment Hall."

You don't hit a smiling face. Tie Wuqing couldn't find any fault with Ye Fan, so he could only urge him to hand over the demon cores quickly.

"I'll go first."

Yun Li wore an excited expression, thinking to herself that with such good results, her Master probably wouldn't blame her too much for secretly participating in the Trial Assembly.

When she submitted one hundred demon cores, the previously noisy venue instantly fell silent.

"First place, Pill Cauldron Peak's Yun Li... submitted one hundred demon cores?!"

Looking at the name that suddenly appeared, the venue was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Clearly, no one had anticipated this outcome.

Yun Li was somewhat famous within the Sect. Many knew she was the treasured pearl of Pill Cauldron Peak, possessing exceptional talent in the Dao of alchemy.

But alchemy and trial performance seemed unrelated. Her achieving this result took everyone by surprise.

Before the crowd could recover, Murong Wan also submitted her demon cores.

The tally of one hundred fifty instantlyrefreshed the first-place record, far surpassing the champions of previous Trial Assemblies.

Although the crowd was surprised by this result, it was at least somewhat understandable.

After all, Murong Wan's cultivation base was evident, and she was a favorite to win the Trial Assembly. Such a result seemed quite normal.

"Our Joyous Union Sect has worthy successors."

Many of the Sect's upper echelons showed gratified expressions,Feelinging that the Sect had produced a rare cultivation Genius. Within a century, they would have another Core Formation Realm Cultivator to rely on.

But when Ye Fan took out two hundred demon cores, the smiles that had just begun to spread on everyone's faces instantly froze.