The White Moonlight Subdues Everyone with a Suona - Chapter 39
(T/N: the sect leader name is actually changqing but before this i put it as chang qing… sorrrryyy..huhu)
Chapter 39: Na Na Na
Ji Bingyu was likewise kneeling on the ground. Though her complexion appeared normal and she had conversed fluently with Master Qianming in the hall earlier, her heart was equally fraught with apprehension.
No matter how bold she usually was, she had never expected to cause such a grand scene this time. Aside from a few disciples who were already on bad terms with everyone—such as Yu Qianxue and her cohort—almost every notable disciple in Changqing Sect was kneeling here.
In their daily lives, they might have differed in opinion, walked different paths of Dao, or held conflicting views on many matters.
Yet at this precise moment, they were all willing to kneel here, pleading on behalf of several sect disciples who were practically strangers to them.
A gentle breeze lingered, fanning the ardent flames within their hearts.
Never before had Ji Bingyu felt so clearly the unwavering, eternal backbone of Changqing Sect—a spirit that endured beneath all the illusory and vague legends.
She wondered how the Sect Master would handle those people…
“Qianming.”
Changqingzi suddenly let out a smile.
Looking at Master Qianming beside him, he asked, “According to the sect rules, how should these people be punished?”
Master Qianming glanced at Changqingzi, turned around, and stepped forward, bowing respectfully: “Reporting to the Sect Master. According to Article 11 of the sect rules, anyone who uses their status to oppress others or intends to humiliate fellow disciples shall receive thirty lashes of the discipline whip as a warning to others. Using one’s status as a cultivator to humiliate the weak in the mortal realm increases the severity of the crime by one degree. If they prove incorrigible despite repeated teaching, their cultivation shall be abolished, and they shall be expelled from the sect.”
Changqingzi looked at Master Qianming.
This old fellow, who had been stubborn and conservative in the past, actually chose to stand alongside these disciples today.
Coming from an aristocratic cultivator family, how could Master Qianming not know the consequences of offending these elite families? To say nothing of other things, within a few days, rumors would surely spread like wildfire through the mortal realm, stirring up gossip about Changqing Sect—seven parts truth and three parts falsehood—causing those mortal disciples to no longer dare try for entry into Changqing Sect.
Did Master Qianming not know this?
He knew better than anyone.
Yet now, he was still willing to stand beside these disciples. Perhaps he did not fully understand; perhaps, having braved countless storms, he too felt these disciples were mere mayflies trying to shake a giant tree, overestimating their capabilities.
Nevertheless, Master Qianming made no further move to stop them.
Simply because he, too, had once possessed this youthful fervor.
After more than a century, Master Qianming had thought that after enduring the vicissitudes of life, the fiery passion in his bones had long since vanished.
Now, however, he realized that these faint sparks were merely hidden deep within his heart, never truly extinguished.
“Then we shall handle it according to the sect rules.”
Changqingzi looked around at the crowd. The calm expression on his face finally dissolved into a smile at this moment: “Now that the truth has been brought to light, lock up Xie Wenrui and the others in the Hall of Discipline effective immediately. Once their cultivation is abolished, expel them all from Changqing Sect!”
The disciples below had originally prepared themselves for, at most, the expulsion of those perpetrators.
Listening now, their eyes grew brighter and brighter.
By the end, the youths’ joy was beyond words, and cheers erupted: “Thank you, Sect Master! Thank you, Elders!”
A youth’s sincerity was the most moving. Perfected Yunxiao shook her head with a smile and said gently, “Don’t thank us; you should thank yourselves.”
In an instant, the white jade steps, which had been dead silent just moments ago, were filled with the youths’ cheers.
Feng Feishuang was suddenly hugged by Hu Jiaojiao beside her, who was overcome with excitement.
Meeting Hu Jiaojiao’s bright, shining eyes, the tips of Feng Feishuang’s ears instantly flushed red.
She still tried to speak fiercely: “I—this young lady isn’t shy at all!”
Ji Bingyu’s lips twitched, unable to resist deadpanning: “Senior Sister doesn’t need to confess before even being accused.”
Meanwhile, Pei Leye was busy grinning foolishly, behaving like a massive, silly dog.
Whoever cheered with him, he insisted on cheering even louder than them.
Damn this competitive drive.jpg
Zhong Ziqi rubbed his head, laughing as he punched Xie Yu’an playfully, giving him a big thumbs-up: “Not bad, brother! You were real tough this time!”
Caught off guard by the punch, Xie Yu’an’s face changed, and his eyes instantly filled with resentment: “Has Junior Brother Zhong been holding a grudge against me for a long time? Otherwise, why hit me so hard? Since Junior Brother Zhong doesn’t wish to see me, this Senior Brother will take his leave.”
Zhong Ziqi had always been training under Master Leshui on Shouren Peak. Straightforward as he was, when had he ever encountered such a melodramatic scene? He instantly panicked: “I didn’t mean it like that! Senior Brother Xie, let me explain! I don’t dislike seeing you at all!”
Watching this group of laughing and joking junior brothers and sisters, Shaoyang Yu couldn’t help showing a look of envy.
In the next second, someone pulled at her sleeve.
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister!”
Ji Bingyu looked at Shaoyang Yu with sparkling eyes.
“You were so cool just now! I was almost dazed watching you!”
“And Third Senior Brother!” Ji Bingyu tugged on Shen Hege.
“Heavens, Senior Brother, when you walked in from outside the hall doors, you looked like a heavenly deity descended to earth—striking, elegant, charming, and handsome…”
With Ji Bingyu taking the lead, the disciples who hadn’t dared to approach earlier instantly swarmed around them.
“Isn’t that right? If it weren’t for Senior Brother Shen and Junior Brother Zhong this time, we wouldn’t even know such despicable people existed in our sect!”
“Yes, exactly! Calling it a joint petition makes it sound simple, but it was all thanks to Senior Brother Shen drafting it and investigating day and night. Senior Brother really worked hard.”
“And Senior Sister Shaoyang! Senior Sister Shaoyang’s speech when she stood up just now was so cool! I never imagined a woman’s voice could be so powerful and resolute! Looking back now, that was truly my own narrow-minded view.”
The disciple bowed deeply to Shaoyang Yu: “Thank you, Senior Sister Shaoyang! I have learned a valuable lesson!”
For a moment, words of praise were thrown out without hesitation.
Shen Hege had never experienced such a scene before; the usually calm and gentle gentleman now had red ears from the praise, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
Shaoyang Yu was the same.
She was naturally a woman of few words around unfamiliar people. Right now, she simply listened quietly, her face showing little expression.
Whenever disciples asked questions—whether regarding cultivation or music theory—Shaoyang Yu answered almost every one of them in detail, rejecting none.
Whether it was Shen Hege or Shaoyang Yu, the light in their eyes was brighter than ever before.
Li Fuqing, who had squeezed over to their side, said discontentedly, “What about me? Little Junior Sister, did you forget something?”
Ji Bingyu tilted her head and blinked: “Ah, and Eldest Senior Brother!” She hooked her arm into Li Fuqing’s and pushed into the crowd, hawking him like a street vendor.
“Step right up, don’t miss out! Come take a look at my Eldest Senior Brother! Handsomer than Pan An, wealthier than Fan Li! And even more impressive—when he starts scolding Xie Wenrui, whoa, with that tongue of his, Xie Wenrui almost dug out a tunnel with his toes to escape overnight!”
(T/N: Pan An, born Pan Yue in the Jin Dynasty (247–300 AD), is widely celebrated in Chinese history as the gold standard of male beauty. Historical records say he was so strikingly handsome that whenever he rode his carriage through the streets, women of all ages would swoon and throw fresh fruits into his cart to express their admiration—a famous historical event known as “throwing fruit to fill the carriage”. Fan Li was a famous strategist during the Spring and Autumn Period (5th century BC). After helping King Goujian defeat the state of Wu, he retired from politics and became an extraordinarily successful merchant under the pseudonym Tao Zhugong. He accumulated vast fortunes multiple times and repeatedly gave his wealth away to the needy, only to earn it back again with ease. In Chinese folklore, he is revered as a God of Wealth and the ideal archetype of an ethical, legendary magnate.)
Master Qianming and the others who were present at the scene: “…”
Even so, can that really be counted as a merit?!
It was one thing for Ji Bingyu to boast so outrageously, but Li Fuqing didn’t feel embarrassed in the slightest. Standing proudly in the crowd, he flashed a wickedly charming smile at the admiring disciples and began recounting the story of how he scolded Xie Wenrui earlier.
Master Qianming: “…”
These disciples were truly stepping out of line more and more!
“Alright, they are all sensible, well-behaved children. Let them indulge themselves for once today,” Perfected Yunxiao smiled at Master Qianming.
“They’ve been restrained for too long usually. It’s rare for them to relax, so don’t manage them too strictly.”
Master Qianming huffed through his mustache, but he didn’t actually move to stop them.
These disciples indeed knew right from wrong and would never act recklessly on normal days. That was why none of the elders had stepped in to discipline them today.
Even so…
Had it been in the past, such a grand commotion would never have broken out.
Master Qianming was slightly moved. He looked in Ji Bingyu’s direction, and after a long silence, a trace of a smile couldn’t help creeping onto his face.
“Forget it,” he said. “I’m just an old set of bones anyway. It’s not bad to cause a racket with them for a few more years.”
“There’s no need to be so pessimistic.”
Rong Qingyuan stood beside Master Qianming at an unknown point, speaking casually: “Didn’t A-Yu say it? Scoundrels live for a thousand years. Who knows, you might end up living longer than all of us.”
Master Qianming: “…”
Master Qianming said in annoyance, “Rong Qingyuan! Don’t you think—”
Before he could finish his sentence, something gleaming with a cold silver light flew toward him. Master Qianming quickly caught it and looked closely.
It turned out to be Xie Yu’an’s command token.
Normally, Xie Wenrui relied on this object to control Xie Yu’an.
Although there was still a special spirit-bug causing trouble inside Xie Yu’an’s body, losing this unique command token would make things much easier in the future.
“No need to thank me,” Rong Qingyuan raised his hand casually, his green robes fluttering like willow branches, creating ripples in the air.
“I didn’t think of this myself; A-Yu entrusted it to me. If you want to thank someone, thank her.”
…
This was indeed something Ji Bingyu had asked of Rong Qingyuan.
Ever since she discovered that the small white jade pendant around her neck allowed long-distance communication with Rong Qingyuan, Ji Bingyu had instantly fallen in love with this voice-transmission artifact.
This incident with Hu Jiaojiao had reminded Ji Bingyu that the world she inhabited was a cliché, web-novel melodrama. In such stories, without suffering through three or four hundred chapters, the villains would definitely not die.
Even if they died, they would do “sit-ups”—repeatedly jumping back and forth across the boundary of life and death.
Therefore, Ji Bingyu had sent a voice transmission to Rong Qingyuan early on, asking if she could personally witness those people having their cultivation abolished.
[Not at ease?]
[Yeah, I always feel like such sinister and cunning people might have a backup plan.]
Ji Bingyu didn’t say much more. She didn’t actually want to watch the scene of their cultivation being destroyed; after all, she was a normal person, not a sadist, just a bit worried.
The law of “villains are like cockroaches that never die” was truly terrifying.
After that conversation ended, Ji Bingyu didn’t receive a reply from Rong Qingyuan for a long time. It wasn’t until Rong Qingyuan brought her back to Xueyu Peak and Ji Bingyu asked about it that Rong Qingyuan said, “I have already personally abolished the cultivation of those few people.”
“I have retrieved Xie Yu’an’s token and handed it to Qianming. You don’t need to worry.”
How thoughtful! Ji Bingyu was so moved that warm tears filled her eyes—he was far more filial than that unfilial son, the Heaven’s Will.
With genuine emotion in her heart, Ji Bingyu lost control of her mouth for a moment and blurted out directly, “That’s amazing! How about you come be my son!”
Rong Qingyuan: “…”
A few seconds later, Ji Bingyu’s brain finally restarted, realizing what absurd words she had just uttered.
She immediately apologized: “Sorry! Uh, Master, I didn’t mean it that way!”
Although Rong Qingyuan always told her she didn’t need to call him Master, and Ji Bingyu would casually address him with “you” and “I” when joking—even once calling him by his real name in jest—at this very moment, to save her life and prevent him from getting angry, Ji Bingyu decisively chose “Master” as the safer title.
“It matters not.”
Rong Qingyuan floated down from the high seat at some point, landing right in front of Ji Bingyu.
Leaning forward slightly, his wide sleeves brushed past Ji Bingyu’s cheek, and he tapped her forehead gently.
“Just remember, do not speak such nonsense to others.”
Seeing that he wasn’t angry at all, Ji Bingyu immediately grew bolder. She rubbed her forehead and flashed a bright smile at Rong Qingyuan: “It’s fine, you’re not ‘others’.”
Rong Qingyuan let out a soft laugh. He straightened up, leaned back casually, and smiled at Ji Bingyu: “Then what kind of person am I to you?”
He leaned against the pillar, looking completely unreserved. Yet when he assumed this posture, it carried a unique, wild unconstraint—like an ink-wash painting in the rain, light yet carrying a bleak coldness that demanded respect.
Ji Bingyu blurted out, “You are my closest person.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Ji Bingyu felt it sounded a bit intimate.
But thinking carefully, it wasn’t wrong.
Rong Qingyuan was the only person in this world who knew she didn’t belong to this dimension. Besides herself, he was also the only one who could see the Heaven’s Will, was acknowledged by the Heaven’s Will in person, and had likewise broken free from “destiny.”
Moreover, being around him was exceptionally comfortable. Ji Bingyu didn’t even need to speak about many things—take Xie Yu’an’s matter, for instance: she hadn’t said a word, yet Rong Qingyuan had already quietly acted.
It was as if he knew what she was thinking and had always stood in the same camp as her.
To put it in a cliché way, it was as if they naturally belonged to the same country.
Looking at Rong Qingyuan in front of her—face like refined jade, looking every bit like a fallen immortal—Ji Bingyu suddenly asked, “Were you like this in the past too?”
“Like what?”
Like what?
Choking people with sharp retorts? Practicing cultivation with a laid-back attitude? Teaching without discrimination, completely unconcerned about whether a disciple’s cultivation was high or low or whether their birth was noble?
Or…
Ji Bingyu thought for a moment and made an analogy: “Like me?”
Rong Qingyuan let out a light laugh and tapped Ji Bingyu’s forehead with his fan: “Me? I wasn’t as amazing as you.”
“Mm… though I was quite good at causing trouble too.”
Rong Qingyuan sat down casually beside Ji Bingyu, across a small tea table, propping his head up as he reminisced.
“Except, unlike you, I didn’t have so many friends. I was mostly a loner.”
After saying this, Rong Qingyuan suddenly asked, “Since I helped A-Yu today, shouldn’t there be some reward?”
Reward?
Ji Bingyu blinked and asked distressfully, “What do you want?”
Most of her treasures had been gifted by elders like Rong Qingyuan, while her personal stash—aside from a few spirit stones issued under standard sect allowance—was completely empty.
Ji Bingyu pinched her earlobe.
No matter! Worst case scenario, I’ll perform on the streets to earn some money!
Seeing her expression, Rong Qingyuan knew her mind had flown off to who-knows-where.
He let out a soft laugh: “It isn’t anything difficult.”
He lowered his gaze, his tone gentle yet laced with a tinge of sorrow: “I merely heard that you once made spider lily cakes for Fuqing.”
Rong Qingyuan sighed softly, his face appearing all the paler.
Looking sickly and frail, he said, “I have always been fond of pastries. Back then, seeing him with them filled my heart with envy. But Fuqing was guarded; thinking back, it was likely because he treasured them as something you made with your own hands, to the point he wouldn’t even let me steal a glance…”
Hearing this made Ji Bingyu feel immensely sympathetic.
She hurriedly said, “Let’s ignore him! Tomorrow—no, today, I’ll go make a batch of spider lily cakes for you!”
Speaking of which, it was quite pitiful.
Ji Bingyu had previously attempted alchemy, only to sorrowfully discover that she possessed zero talent in it.
Surprisingly, she had an exceptionally high talent for cooking—strictly limited to pastries, that is.
Since it wasn’t a difficult task anyway, Ji Bingyu—completely dazzled and swayed by the peerlessly beautiful and sickly appearance of Rong Qingyuan—patted her chest and guaranteed on the spot: “Don’t worry! Since you love eating them, from now on, whenever I make anything, I’ll reserve a portion for you! Today, we shall have spider lily cakes!”
Li Fuqing, who had just stepped through the door: “???”
Facing Ji Bingyu’s condemnatory glare alongside Rong Qingyuan’s subtly boastful gaze, Li Fuqing, who was forced to listen to the latter half of the conversation, crumpled his face in dismay.
Old Man Looking at Phone.jpg
Faintly, Li Fuqing caught an unusual scent floating in the air.
Ah, the fragrance of a green tea.
Waiting until Ji Bingyu finally departed, Li Fuqing’s very first words were: “Rong—Master, don’t you dislike eating spider lily cakes?”
Rong Qingyuan raised his eyes, casting him a light, fleeting glance, revealing a proud smile belonging solely to the victor: “I eat them starting now.”
……
Ji Bingyu had originally thought that after settling Xie Wenrui’s affairs, she would at least get to enjoy a period of peace and quiet.
However, she was wrong.
Gravely wrong, outrageously wrong.
Ever since that day, for reasons unknown, Master Qianming had begun paying extraordinary attention to Ji Bingyu.
He was even willing to endure her terrifying, noisy suona playing just to keep her after class for extra 1-on-1 coaching.
Master Qianming’s one-on-one sessions: everyone who took them said they were great… except they were a bit taxing on life expectancy.
For several consecutive days, Ji Bingyu had been living a life worse than death.
The suona tunes she blew out grew increasingly doleful and piercing, causing the surrounding listeners to weep incessantly and wave their hands in panic, wishing they could enter the underworld early to escape this torture.
If nothing else, one could gauge its destructive power just by looking at the Wutong tree branches in Rong Qingyuan’s courtyard, which were growing increasingly bare and smooth.
Ji Bingyu was put through this extra training for several days, only being let off by Master Qianming when the sect’s tournament was about to commence.
Even so, he still transmitted his voice daily, keeping a close eye on Ji Bingyu’s cultivation for fear that she would start slacking off again.
It would have been fine if Master Qianming remained as rigid, strict, and unfeeling as before. But now, when facing Ji Bingyu, although he was equally strict, he didn’t lack gentleness—combining rigor with warmth, offering earnest advice and patient guidance.
Whenever Ji Bingyu wanted to slack off, he would cast a desolate look full of disappointment at her—like an old mother whose heart had been broken by an unfilial child—sighing and staring at Ji Bingyu without uttering a word.
This was ten thousand times more effective than speaking a thousand words!
Ji Bingyu was one to yield to soft tactics rather than hard ones. She found herself acting as if she had been spellbound, involuntarily starting to cultivate.
She even felt a surge of guilt whenever she tried to slack off and fish for compliments?!
The salted fish Ji, forced to be ambitious, wore an agonizing mask: Someone save me!
Master Qianming’s actions were no different from whipping a salted fish that was already nearly air-dried, even washing off the salt granules on its body and replacing it with a pot of chicken soup for the soul.
Ji Bingyu, who used to mock others for hovering between life and death, finally experienced the agony of being trapped between striving for progress and slacking off.
“He is Master Qianming, after all,” Zhong Ziqi and Pei Leye offered dry words of comfort.
“As one of the five peak masters, he is still very formidable.”
Hu Jiaojiao nodded and added, “Though he can be a bit strict at times, strict masters produce fine disciples!”
Feng Feishuang cast a glance at her and said tsundere-ly, “This is an elder’s high regard for you!”
Shaoyang Yu summarized the closing statement: “Disciples who wish to receive guidance from Master are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Junior Sister Ji, being favored by him is a rare stroke of good fortune.”
Ji Bingyu looked at them, her face as grey as ashes: “Would you want this ‘good fortune’ if it were given to you?”
Zhong Ziqi: “Farewell.”
Pei Leye: “Farewell.”
Hu Jiaojiao: “Farewell.”
Feng Feishuang: “Farewell.”
Shaoyang Yu: “Farewell.”
“Eh? Are you all leaving already?”
Jiang Nianbo, who had just arrived, was completely baffled. He hastily stepped forward to stop them: “Where are you going? The Qingyue Tournament is about to begin; hurry and go prepare!”
Indeed, although Ji Bingyu usually referred to it casually as the “sect tournament,” it actually possessed a poetic name—the Qingyue Tournament.
Clear as the sun and moon, radiant with ten thousand rays.
Jiang Nianbo belonged to Taiyue Peak, so aside from competing, he had to help maintain order and coordinate personnel during his spare time.
He was busy like a low-level corporate slave civil servant.
Seeing him, Ji Bingyu instantly recalled her past life as a corporate slave.
Reverence immediately welled up within her as she said to him, “Senior Brother Jiang, you’ve worked hard.”
Jiang Nianbo waved his hand: “Not hard at all, not hard at all.”
On this point, he truly didn’t mind. The only thing was…
Jiang Nianbo stared straight at Ji Bingyu and said earnestly, “As long as Junior Sister promises me that you won’t cause any more trouble, alright?”
Ji Bingyu immediately nodded: “Don’t worry, Senior Brother! This Qingyue Tournament is a rare grand event in our sect, with elders guarding every level. What kind of trouble could I possibly cause?!”
On second thought, Jiang Nianbo felt that made sense and nodded with relief.
If the Heaven’s Will were here, it would surely tell him: when it comes to Ji Bingyu, never raise a flag.
It. Will. Definitely. Backfire.
……
Fighting across realms was extremely difficult, so Changqing Sect adopted a voluntary registration method. If low-tier disciples were confident enough, they could apply to fight on high-tier rings, whereas high-tier disciples were forbidden from fishing in troubled waters on low-tier rings.
The arena Ji Bingyu was heading to was meant for Foundation Establishment tier disciples.
Before stepping up, she passed through a glowing gate that seemed sprinkled with the radiance of the sun and moon.
After that, her appearance would be concealed, and she only had to wait for the disciple to call her code name before stepping forward.
Regarding this, Ji Bingyu was not panicked in the slightest.
Ever since Master Qianming restored the Xuanguang Disciple Register that day, he had bought a standing-room ticket to Xueyu Peak overnight just to warn her never to act recklessly according to her whims again.
Ji Bingyu had agreed wholeheartedly. She didn’t want to be exposed on stage with an embarrassing name like “XXX vs. Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack” either.
Thus, after that day, Ji Bingyu had a stroke of inspiration drawn from the previous mistake. Combining it with her suona dharma treasure, she gave herself a humorous yet witty name that stood out with unique clarity—
Five Hundred Geese All Laughed.
This name was filled with one-of-a-kind humor. Ji Bingyu was brimming with confidence until she heard a disciple beside her shout out a name:
“Foundation Establishment Tier, First Match! Hua Nianyue versus Liu Rushui!”
Ji Bingyu: “???”
Relying on the fact that her face was already hidden, she quietly asked a blue-robed disciple beside her, “Aren’t aliases supposed to be used for this tournament?”
The blue-robed disciple said in confusion, “Those are aliases.” He even unguardedly used himself as an example: “For instance, my real name is Yuan Shantai, and the alias I used this time is Taishan. Isn’t that perfectly normal?”
Big brother, isn’t your alias way too perfunctory?!
You might as well just call yourself Tarzan!
However, before Ji Bingyu could complain about his self-doxxing behavior, she argued in an urgent tone: “How is that an alias?! That’s clearly—”
Before she could finish her sentence, her voice came to an abrupt halt. Ji Bingyu widened her eyes and stared blankly at Yuan Shantai.
Grass (a type of plant Eldest Senior Brother hadn’t tasted in a long time).
Ji Bingyu suddenly realized: although this was a xianxia world, the background setting was still ancient times. The aliases used by ancient people were by no means like modern ones with wildly imaginative, unrestrained ideas.
Sure enough, the subsequent match announcements confirmed Ji Bingyu’s suspicion.
“Foundation Establishment Tier, Second Match! Fusangzi versus Ximen Jiuxing!”
“Foundation Establishment Tier, Third Match! Yuchun-jun versus Xiyue-gongzi!”
……
The more Ji Bingyu listened, the more desperate she felt, because she discovered that not only were everyone’s code names completely normal, but not a single person had a code name exceeding four characters!
“Ah, isn’t that a rule set by Elder Xuanyuan?”
Yuan Shantai heard Ji Bingyu muttering under her breath and turned his head, somewhat bewildered: “It seems something happened previously where the register encountered an issue. To prevent such a situation from happening again, Elder Qianming ruled that a disciple’s alias cannot exceed four characters.”
After saying that, he rubbed his head and gave a silly smile: “Well, everyone’s aliases are within four characters anyway. I heard that this time, to prevent any accidents, Elder Qianming specifically selected a disciple to read the list aloud on the spot!”
“I actually feel Elder Qianming is being overly cautious. After all, in all these years, no one has ever heard of a disciple taking an alias over four characters, so there was no need to—”
Ji Bingyu silently raised her hand, her face expressionless: “Me.”
Yuan Shantai: “?”
Ji Bingyu nodded silently: “It’s just as you think.”
“My alias exceeds the word count.”
Yuan Shantai froze.
He sized Ji Bingyu up with a peculiar look, fell silent for a moment, and comforted: “It’s fine. Elder Qianming said that if an alias exceeds four characters, it will be processed based on the first four characters.”
Oh.
Thank goodness.
That wasn’t bad either.
Ji Bingyu let out a long sigh of relief. At the very least, she didn’t have to worry about being turned away from the tournament due to a long name, or causing the Xuanguang Register to lag again.
After all, Master Qianming—who had worked overnight to rush out the project proposal… oh no, who worked overnight to repair the register—was too pitiful, and Ji Bingyu didn’t want to add to anyone else’s burden.
Right, taking the first four characters of the alias.
Then her alias would be…
“Foundation Establishment Tier, Fifth Match!”
Under Ji Bingyu’s terrified gaze, the disciple reading the register shouted loudly: “Taishan versus… versus…”
The disciple, who had been reading fluently until now, suddenly stuttered. His lips twitched as if holding something back, and his entire facial expression distorted for a moment.
Ji Bingyu wished time could freeze at this exact second. However, after merely a brief pause, the reader immediately adjusted his composure and announced in a voice even louder than before—
“Foundation Establishment Tier, Fifth Match!”
“Taishan versus Five Hundred Geese!”
