Chapter 959: "Perilous Situation"

Before Ji Hanfeng could speak, the profound array for the assessment suddenly flashed with profound light. A sphere of white light detached from the array, slowly descended, and vanished upon touching the ground, revealing Yun Che's figure.

Other profound practitioners were either ejected or violently thrown from the assessment array, landing in disarray. Yun Che, however, was gently sent out by the profound light, landing steadily on his feet. This was because others were expelled from the Ice Profound Realm after "dying," while Yun Che had voluntarily surrendered while still alive.

Yun Che immediately checked his body; he felt no pain, no injuries, and no depletion of his profound energy. However, he quickly sensed that the atmosphere around him was off. He rapidly opened his eyes and looked around.

Ahead, Mu Xiaolan stood in the distance, her mouth agape, next to Mu Sushan, whose eyes held a profound, unusual glint. To his side, a group of profound practitioners stood in neat formation, with Ji Hanfeng at their front. As Yun Che saw Ji Hanfeng, his gaze also fell upon Li Mingcheng, who was at the very front of the line. Every single person present was dumbfounded, looking as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Since Yun Che had not "died out" of the Ice Profound Realm, his mind was clear. After a momentary surprise, the arrangement of people, the atmosphere, and everyone's expressions immediately made him realize what had happened. "What's going on... Did something go wrong with the assessment? That can't be! Then it can only mean... I was the last one out?!"

*Clang!* Profound energy fluctuations, accompanied by a considerable sound, emanated from behind. The profound light of the assessment array instantly retracted. After a brief rotation, the entire array vanished, leaving the area where it once stood completely empty, without a single soul. The final assessment of the Snowfall Hall truly concluded at this moment. And the first place in the final assessment, the last person to leave the Ice Profound Realm, was astonishingly Yun Che!

Watching Yun Che appear in the white light and the subsequent disappearance of the assessment array, everyone's minds went blank. They stared wide-eyed for a long time, utterly unable to believe what they were seeing. Li Mingcheng's results were remarkably impressive; if he had taken first place, no one would have been surprised. But Yun Che's profound strength was clearly only at the fifth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm. He hadn't even entered the Divine Path, and even within the Sovereign Profound Realm, he was only at the mid-stage. Moreover, he was a profound practitioner from a lower realm, far weaker than those from the God Realm at the same level. Given his profound strength and background, let alone the Snowfall Hall, it would be extremely difficult for him to even enter the Falling Snow Palace. His participation in the Snowfall Hall assessment was merely a "special exception" granted by the Hall Master, with an air of mockery and even slight humiliation. His acceptance of it was seen by everyone as nothing more than a joke. Yet, this "joke" had astonishingly surpassed Li Mingcheng and everyone else in the final trial!

"Yun Che, you... you, you, you, you..." The immense disparity was too much for Mu Xiaolan to process at once. "You... actually... first... ah..."

Yun Che looked at Mu Sushan. By now, he fully understood that he had clearly been set up by the Snowfall Hall's chief steward. The significant look Mu Sushan gave him was a clear and blatant admission. While in the Ice Profound Realm, he had briefly wondered if "a quarter of an hour" might be too short. He never imagined it would actually be... too long! It seemed Mu Sushan had discerned something from his words, actions, and performance in the Blizzard Realm assessment, leading him to subtly "trick" Yun Che. And he had done so without leaving any traces; even with Yun Che's shrewdness, he hadn't noticed anything amiss. Anyone who held a high position in the God Realm would certainly not be an ordinary person.

However, on the other hand, this result also showed Yun Che that he had significantly underestimated his current strength. When he first entered the Sovereign Profound Realm, he could kill Xuanyuan Wentian, whose profound energy had already reached the Divine Path. Now, with his profound energy at the mid-stage of the Sovereign Profound Realm, perhaps the Divine Path profound practitioners he could contend with at full strength were far beyond his previous expectations! But with this outcome, it was completely impossible for him to remain low-profile.

"Alas," Yun Che sighed, muttering to himself, "Someone like me is like the sun in the night. No matter how hard I try to be discreet, I can never hide my overly brilliant light."

Yun Che turned around, facing the stunned crowd, and said to Ji Hanfeng, "In that case, I should be qualified to become a disciple of the Snowfall Hall, right?"

"Not only that," Mu Sushan chuckled, before Ji Hanfeng could even respond, "As the last one to leave the Ice Profound Realm, you are undoubtedly the most outstanding new disciple in this group. Not only are you qualified to become a formal disciple of the Snowfall Hall, but you will also receive a 'Jadefall Ice Soul Pill' as a reward. With your current cultivation, if you can fully refine this Jadefall Ice Soul Pill with assistance, you will absolutely be reborn, and your progress will advance by leaps and bounds from now on, heh heh heh."

"Wait!!"

A sharp voice suddenly rang out. Li Mingcheng stepped forward from the line, his face grim, and loudly declared, "He cannot have the Jadefall Ice Soul Pill! Anyone can see that the results of this assessment are completely abnormal! This kid, Yun Che... is clearly cheating!" He had delayed his entry into the Snowfall Hall for so many years precisely at Mu Fengshu's instruction, to win the "Jadefall Ice Soul Pill" specially awarded in this year's assessment. He had endured and prepared for years for this day. The Jadefall Ice Soul Pill was within his grasp; how could he allow it to fall into someone else's hands... especially into the hands of a "worthless" person whom he considered unappreciative of his own standing?

"I cheated? Where's the proof?" Yun Che said helplessly. Since things had come to this, it was impossible for him to remain low-profile; he was forced to go along with this outcome.

"Proof? Heh!" Li Mingcheng sneered, walking step by step towards Yun Che. "Does this even need proof? Anyone with eyes can see you absolutely cheated! Every Ice Chatterwolf in the Ice Profound Realm is a Divine Origin Realm level one profound beast, and they are extremely aggressive. Even I have to be extra careful when dealing with them. How could you, a 'waste' whose profound strength is only at the mid-stage of the Sovereign Profound Realm, possibly last so long in the Ice Profound Realm when you'd be instantly killed by an Ice Chatterwolf?!"

"Junior Brother Mingcheng is right," Ji Hanfeng said, his gaze fixed on Yun Che. "I believe not only Junior Brother Mingcheng but everyone present cannot possibly believe this result. Yun Che, you have some nerve! The trials of my Snowfall Hall are set up to select superior disciples for the Ice Phoenix Sect, how sacred and dignified they are, yet you dared to cheat! You, a mere commoner from a lower realm, what do you take my Ice Phoenix Sect for?!"

"Ji Hanfeng!" The words "commoner from a lower realm" slightly angered Yun Che. He unceremoniously called out Ji Hanfeng's name: "Before the assessment, you yourself said that while the Blizzard Realm assessment might allow for some trickery, it was impossible for anyone to cheat in the Ice Profound Realm trial! Those were your exact words! So what grounds do you have now to question me for cheating?"

"Exactly! On what grounds? If you say Yun Che cheated, at least provide some proof!" Mu Xiaolan rushed over, standing beside Yun Che, speaking with considerable spirit. In truth... she was incredibly nervous, utterly so. Because even she was quite certain... Yun Che must have cheated! Otherwise, with his profound energy, how could he possibly have endured for so long in the Ice Profound Realm! However, Yun Che had been brought by Mu Bingyun, so she had no choice but to support him. And she absolutely, unequivocally could not admit to this! While she didn't know what method Yun Che had used, cheating in a Snowfall Hall assessment would be a massive scandal. If it were confirmed, she didn't care about the consequences for Yun Che, but it could very likely implicate Mu Bingyun. She could not allow such a thing to happen under any circumstances.

"Confirming whether Yun Che cheated is simple," Li Mingcheng said confidently. "In the recent assessment, Yun Che remained in the Ice Profound Realm for a full quarter of an hour! I, Li Mingcheng, admit I am incapable of achieving such a result, yet Yun Che did. Therefore, if he didn't cheat, his strength must be far superior to mine."

At his words, the surrounding profound practitioners burst into laughter. Li Mingcheng was at the third level of the Divine Origin Realm, and in its late stage. Considering his talent, he was certainly capable of matching a fourth-level Divine Origin Realm opponent. Yun Che, however, was someone from a lower realm who hadn't even entered the Divine Path—a joke in this assessment. He didn't even qualify to be mentioned in the same breath as Li Mingcheng, so how could he possibly be superior?

"Then," Li Mingcheng raised his arm towards Yun Che, his eyes playful and scornful, "whether you cheated or not will be clear the moment we exchange blows. Yun Che, since you claim you didn't cheat, let's spar a bit. Oh, you don't even need to defeat me; if you can withstand five moves without losing to me, then I, Li Mingcheng, will admit you didn't cheat. But if you can't even last five moves against someone whose assessment result was inferior to yours, tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

"Hahahaha, Junior Brother Mingcheng, a fine suggestion!" Ji Hanfeng laughed. The surrounding profound practitioners looked at Yun Che with either pity or schadenfreude, all uniformly believing that Li Mingcheng's offer of "five moves" was far too generous, or perhaps intended to toy with him.

"Yun Che, did you hear that?" Ji Hanfeng said coldly, in a commanding tone. "If you want to prove you didn't cheat, then spar with Li Mingcheng to clear your name! If you truly had the ability to last that long in the Ice Profound Realm, dealing with a mere five moves from Li Mingcheng should be child's play."

"No!" Mu Xiaolan pulled Yun Che's sleeve and said sternly, "Yun Che was exempted from the first assessment stage by the Hall Master's personal 'special permission.' For the 'Blizzard Realm' and 'Ice Profound Realm' assessments, Yun Che and all other participants followed the same procedures and entered the same profound assessment arrays. You have no evidence, only speculation—on what grounds do you accuse him of cheating? Yun Che was brought here personally by my master from the lower realm precisely because he possesses such strength. Why should he be subjected to your baseless doubts!"

"And, Ji Hanfeng, don't forget," Mu Xiaolan's voice rose a few more octaves, "the Snowfall Hall's assessments are conducted by the profound arrays. You are merely a supervisor and recorder; you have no right whatsoever to interfere with the assessment process or its results. The outcome of the assessment was decided the moment the profound array disappeared. You have absolutely no right to demand that Yun Che prove he didn't cheat."

"..." Ji Hanfeng was momentarily speechless, unable to retort. Because Mu Xiaolan was right; he was only a supervisor and recorder. The assessment process and results were carried out and determined by the profound array itself. As a mere Snowfall Hall disciple, he had no authority to interfere whatsoever.

Li Mingcheng quickly stepped forward and stated righteously, "Yun Che's cheating is no longer just a matter of the assessment results. This concerns the fairness, strictness, and reputation of the Snowfall Hall, and indeed the entire Ice Phoenix Sect! If..."

"Hmph! You speak so nobly, but in truth, it's all just for the Jadefall Ice Soul Pill!" Mu Xiaolan instantly exposed Li Mingcheng's intentions, then urged, "Ji Hanfeng, the assessment has been over for so long! Why don't you announce the results immediately and give the Jadefall Ice Soul Pill to Yun Che! That's what you should be doing!" Mu Xiaolan now felt a sense of urgency, wanting to conclude matters here quickly, then take Yun Che to Mu Bingyun to devise a strategy for later. She absolutely, unequivocally could not let the cheating accusation be confirmed on the spot.

"She is right; Ji Hanfeng indeed has no right to interfere with the assessment process or its results, and therefore no right to demand that Yun Che spar with Li Mingcheng to prove his innocence."

A calm voice came from behind. It was Mu Sushan who spoke. Hearing Mu Sushan come to her aid, Mu Xiaolan breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to give him a grateful look, Mu Sushan's next sentence nearly made her jump:

"However, I do."