Miss Loser is too enchanting

Dugu Qianye casually pointed out two people, then stood aside to watch. With her and the old man’s supervision, the two didn’t dare to cheat and quickly recorded the scores of each group and each individual, handing them over to Dugu Qianye.

After taking a look, Dugu Qianye announced the rankings of each group. Mo Ziqing and his team truly lived up to their reputation as the genius group, not only coming in first place but also far surpassing the second place in score.

Before announcing the final list, Dugu Qianye called two groups to step forward. Those two groups obviously did not know why.

"You may leave now," Dugu Qianye said.

"Why? We are in 15th place, not the last two," one group protested.

"We are too; we’re in 19th place," the other group added.

Both groups were dissatisfied, raising their voices in protest. At that moment, a small green bird appeared on Dugu Qianye’s shoulder. Stroking the bird’s feathers, she asked, "Does it look familiar to you?"

Seeing Qingluan, the faces of the two teams changed. They had all seen it while dealing with the Phantom Beast.

"I said not to harm the life of a Phantom Beast, and clearly, you did not take my words to heart," Dugu Qianye said. "Since you don’t follow the rules, you’re no longer qualified to participate in the selection."

In the end, those two groups had no choice but to leave. Only then did everyone realize that there had been a Beast overseeing them.

Then Dugu Qianye called over another group. The group stepped forward and said, "We did not kill any Phantom Beasts."

"I know," Dugu Qianye replied, "although you did not break the rules, Zhao Qian, Zhao Xi, the two of you scored 12 flags each, while the other three managed a total of just 9 flags. I said you were a team, but it seems you didn’t understand the meaning of teamwork. So there’s no need for you to stay either. Also, threatening your own teammates is not what a team leader should do."

These five individuals also had no choice but to leave. After that, Dugu Qianye eliminated the last six groups, narrowing it down to 100 people.

Among the people Dugu Qianye retained, there were 58 Phantom Masters and 42 Sword Masters. Aside from those few geniuses, the others truly had nothing particularly remarkable about them. Once the list was made public, it stirred up quite a commotion at the Empire College.

"Headmaster, we cannot let her continue this farce!" An instructor burst into the headmaster’s office and spoke to the old man rocking in his chair.

"Oh? And how exactly are they creating a farce?" the old man asked, seemingly puzzled.

"Most of the candidates Dugu Qianye selected are only Phantom Masters and Sword Masters, with just a few above the rank of Great Phantom Master and Great Sword Master. How can they compete with such strength? Isn’t that absurd?" the teacher argued angrily.

"Isn’t there still four months? Are you certain they will be at the same level of strength then?" the old man asked.

"How much can one improve in four months!"

"We’ll see when the time comes," said the old man, then he squinted his eyes and ignored the person standing in front of him.

Later, when someone from the Imperial Palace came, the old man sent them away as well.

Dugu Qianye didn’t care about the external pressure. After returning to the courtyard, she saw Sang Yu and others chatting in the pavilion, all looking somewhat exhausted, with Sun Kui and Lei Xiaohu even sprawled out on the table. Seeing Dugu Qianye return, they waved to her.

"Boss, how did it go? We didn’t embarrass you, did we?" Sun Kui said with an upturned grin as Dugu Qianye approached.

"Hmm, third place, not bad at all," Dugu Qianye replied as she sat down.

"That’s right, you’d lose face if our score was too low!" Lei Xiaohu chimed in.

"Why haven’t you all gone to rest yet?" Dugu Qianye asked, seeing how tired they were.

"We were waiting for you! We wanted to find out what comes next," said Sang Yu.

"Heh heh, what awaits you is hellish training, so you’d better go get some good rest," Dugu Qianye said with a mischievous smile.

"Ah! You’re kidding," everyone groaned in unison.

"Take advantage of today and rest well. You’ll find out soon enough how luxurious your current life is!"

After saying this, Dugu Qianye returned to her room. The others exchanged glances, then went their separate ways to rest. Dugu Qianye tidied up her room a bit before heading out again.

In the Alchemy Room, each partition held an alchemy cauldron, beneath which danced fervent flames. Due to the constant burning, the room was very warm. This was the main classroom for the Alchemist Class students. However, at the moment, the Alchemy Room was empty as all the people were standing in the outer hall, watching the two individuals in front.

Dugu Qianye looked at the 80 people below and once again lamented the scarcity of alchemists. Even the Empire College had so few; outside the college, numbers were even smaller.

The teacher beside her addressed everyone, "Standing here, you should know why. Today we’re here to select candidates for the Four Great Empires Competition. Those under 25 who can produce Tier 2 or higher alchemy products may stay; the rest of you can go back. There won’t be any classes this afternoon."

After hearing the teacher’s instructions, students began to leave one after another, and soon only five remained. Mo Feng, having contracted a Divine Beast not long ago, had broken through to Tier 4, but he had not revealed this and nobody else knew except for Dugu Qianye.

Dugu Qianye looked at the five remaining. Well, the number was just right, there was no need for further selection.

She stepped forward and said, "You all managed to reach Tier 2 before the age of 25, which means your talents are admirable. Now, with four months until the competition, my requirement is that you all advance one more tier based on your current levels."

Upon hearing Dugu Qianye’s words, the students below had yet to respond, but the teacher next to her was visibly agitated, "Qianye, I’m afraid that might be a bit difficult."

Dugu Qianye smiled and said, "Teacher, for the next few months they’ll be undergoing training and will not attend regular classes."

"Have you invited a Great Master to guide them?" the teacher asked.

Dugu Qianye did not respond, only smiled.

Afterward, Dugu Qianye took the five individuals to a room prepared for her by Xie Fan and others, and told them to make themselves comfortable. She asked about their alchemy tiers; aside from Mo Feng, there was a 25-year-old Tier 3 Alchemist, and the remaining three were Tier 2 Alchemists. Three had fire-element Contract Beasts, while the other two relied on the school’s provided Beast Flames for alchemy.

Once she understood the basic situation, she said, "This pharmacy has been specially prepared by the college for you. You’ll find many alchemy ingredients in the inner room. From now on, you all will practice here in the morning and move to the nearby Alchemy Room in the afternoon for your alchemy. I will come regularly to guide you. When I am not around, you can ask Mo Feng any questions. If you follow my instructions, I guarantee you will progress by one tier in the next four months."

After Dugu Qianye finished speaking, the Tier 4 Alchemist scoffed, "You’re not joking, are you? I thought you’d invited a Great Master for us, and that’s why I came."