"You have other friends?"
Bai Yuyu's voice was dramatic.
She put on a miserable face, looking as if she couldn't comprehend it at all: "With your personality, you can actually make friends?"
Shen Yao thought to herself that it wasn't really a friendship, but how could she tell this girl about calling someone "master"? It would scare her sleepless for a year.
"Just a friend," she pursed her lips.
"Then tell me about this friend of yours! Let me properly vet them for you!"
Bai Yuyu brought a small stool over and sat down opposite her, taking on the air of an advisor.
"Get lost!"
Shen Yao was concise.
"What's this friend of yours like? Male or female? Handsome or not? Pretty or not? Tell me! Even if your friend is an animal, I promise not to laugh at you!"
Shen Yao was silent for a moment, an image of the white-haired girl involuntarily appearing in her mind.
And the faint smile on her delicate face.
Hmm...
Shen Yao turned her head and said: "She's alright."
"Alright? Is it a man or a woman?" Bai Yuyu asked.
"Same as me."
"Oh... a cute little sister then."
Bai Yuyu smiled mischievously, her eyes sticky.
She knew Shen Yao well. With Shen Yao's cold and sharp personality, she definitely wouldn't become friends with a big sister who had similar attributes to her. So the greatest possibility left was a cute and soft younger sister.
And Shen Yao always spoke straightforwardly.
Saying "alright" probably meant she didn't want her to continue asking.
So looking at the whole picture, little detective Bai Yuyu had already sketched a portrait of Shen Yao's new friend in her mind—
A soft, cute, pretty little sister.
And you know what? Don't even say it.
In a certain sense, Bai Yuyu's guess was quite accurate.
The bad woman's outward disguise was indeed like that, but in reality...
"..."
Shen Yao gave Bai Yuyu a somewhat complicated glance. Your guess has gone completely off track.
Although Mu Qinglan was indeed cute and indeed a little sister, why did these two words together sound so strange to her?
"So when will you have a chance to introduce me to this little sister of yours?"
Hearing this, Shen Yao thought for a moment: "Better not."
"You're so protective, huh?"
Bai Yuyu smiled mischievously again, feeling she had hit the jackpot.
"I just feel you wouldn't be able to handle her," Shen Yao remembered Mu Qinglan's malicious personality and sighed: "If you get embarrassed later, don't say you know me."
"How could that be possible?"
Bai Yuyu didn't believe it at all.
The two chatted for a while longer. Bai Yuyu remained curious, trying every means to probe for information about Mu Qinglan, while Shen Yao was watertight, deflecting all probing attempts.
A little later, Bai Yuyu looked at the time, stood up, and said:
"That's it for today. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future to inquire about your little sister. Keep her well hidden!
I'm going to prepare for tomorrow night's Human Gate test. After I finish the test, tell that little sister to wash up and wait for big sister me!"
Bai Yuyu ran off with a weird laugh.
In the room, hearing Bai Yuyu's words, Shen Yao seemed to remember something.
"Tomorrow night is the full moon night."
She recalled that Mu Qinglan's goal seemed to be passing the Human Gate next month? Although she didn't think Mu Qinglan had a chance to participate, she'd still go and share some key points about the test with her in a few days.
With her physical condition, she shouldn't fail.
○
After dinner, Mu Qinglan didn't take a nap but caught the old steward of the mansion to ask him about the matter of knocking on the Heavenly Gate.
There were many people she could ask about gate-knocking.
But it wouldn't be wrong to ask this most powerful old steward.
The old steward was named Yuan Shi, once a fourth-rank expert in the military. Due to past events, his body had sustained hidden injuries, which later forced him to retire from the front lines and come to Heyang to take up the position of a steward.
If this old steward had been at home the previous two days, the assassin wouldn't have had a chance to get close at all.
"Does Miss have something to ask?"
The old steward sat opposite her and said kindly.
Mu Qinglan didn't rush to ask about the gate-knocking matter but instead inquired: "Grandpa Yuan, how long did it take you to enter the eighth rank?"
"Me?"
The old steward thought for a while: "Just over four months, I can't remember exactly since it was decades ago, but it wasn't as long as five months. Is Miss asking about gate-knocking?"
The old steward wasn't particularly surprised, since for most ninth-rank transcendents, gate-knocking was the first challenge they faced on their path of cultivation, so it was natural to be curious.
Mu Qinglan smiled and nodded, not mentioning at all that she planned to knock on the gate the next night.
Some things, you quietly accomplish them, and then "inadvertently" let slip—that's showing off.
Some things, you talk about before doing them—that's being stupid.
She wasn't stupid.
The old steward had already witnessed the girl's talent at the National Teacher's mansion and estimated that she could probably break through in two to three months. He didn't withhold information.
"The gate-knocking ritual—actually, the ritual itself is secondary. The only important thing is your ranking in the gate-knocking test. This determines whether you can pass. And what kind of destiny trait you can obtain," the old steward rattled on, treating her like a complete novice.
Actually, Mu Qinglan wasn't a novice. She had her own understanding.
Although it was a game understanding.
In the game, gate-knocking, or the profession evolution dungeon, was a seven-player matchmaking mode that only opened at night.
Seven players cooperated with each other while also competing, all with the sole objective of defeating the boss.
After the battle, those with high overall scores would gain qualification for advancement, while those with low scores would have to go back to level up their equipment and practice combos.
Those who advanced would get new main quests and new dungeons to play.
As for those who didn't advance...
Come back to explore these areas again later~
"There are seven test takers in the gate-knocking test. Everyone competes with each other, but you can also choose to cooperate secretly. Anyway, as long as you can achieve victory, no one cares what you do."
The old steward said earnestly.
"For the Human Gate, three out of seven pass; for the Earth Gate, two out of seven; for the Heaven Gate, one out of seven. Each is more brutal than the last, but if you fail, you can try again. Let me tell you some points to pay attention to..."
Mu Qinglan listened silently.
But the more she listened, the more peculiar her expression became.
Why did this gate-knocking test sound so much like the setting from an anime in her previous life?
Seven people, cooperating with each other, competing against each other, scheming and plotting...
Oh my, the Holy Grail War.
○
After having dinner, the moonlight gradually deepened.
Alone in her room, Mu Qinglan wasn't in a hurry to sleep. After all, she was a night owl in her previous life and was actually more energetic at night.
Perfect time for practice.
"I've mastered them all."
Mu Qinglan looked down at her hand, on which a faint light was flowing.
In just one night, with the support of the system and her own training, she had mastered the three spells of a ninth-rank magician.
It should be enough to handle opponents of the same rank.
She could even make further progress.
The moonlight was slightly cold, but the girl's heart was somewhat hot.
'The mastery standard for the Light Wisp spell is quick casting with the left hand, but I could already do this by the afternoon. Now I've advanced even further. I wonder if this counts as small accomplishment. I remember Sister Ning saying that only seventh rank could achieve small accomplishment in spells?'
Mu Qinglan smiled, withdrew her left hand, and the light at her fingertips flickered.
It receded with the moonlight.
"It's going to rain."