Chapter 43: Inner Sect Ranking (VII)

Lin Chen stepped into the 33rd level and was instantly transported to a vast battlefield.

Familiar faces surrounded her—Fairy Qimeng, Meng Li, Cuier, Instructor Liu Qingwan, and others. Their expressions were stern as they prepared to face the impending battle.

Behind her, the Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters of the Profound Cloud Sect stood in orderly formation, each with a firm gaze. A heavy atmosphere shrouded the entire field, as if they were prepared for a fight to the death.

"Woo… woo… woo." Suddenly, the horn of battle sounded in the air, its low and distant tone piercing the silence of the battlefield.

Fairy Qimeng mounted a handsome Auspicious Beast, the long sword in her hand gleaming with cold light. She shouted:

"Sisters! For the sake of drinking milk tea every day, charge!"

Lin Chen felt her vision darken. This "drinking milk tea every day" was clearly her own wish; she hadn't expected the illusion to manifest her private desire in such a mocking way.

She shook her head, unable to dwell on it, knowing that this level primarily tested healing ability.

She took out an ancient zither and gently plucked the strings with her fingertips, causing circles of soft, healing musical notes to diffuse from her body.

One had to know that even the simplest "Spiritual Sound Healing," when bolstered by Lin Fan's 99 lifetimes of experience, could unleash exceptional healing effects.

Moreover, what she was casting at this moment was the Sect's ultimate healing technique, and its power could not be underestimated.

Sound waves echoed in the air, and lotus flowers began to bud, driven by the sonic vibrations. They contained immense healing power, ready at any moment to counter the impending enemy attack.

"Swish, swish, swish—" Sure enough, no sooner had Lin Chen set up her healing sound field than a dense rain of arrows appeared in the sky, piercing the firmament and plummeting straight down.

The Disciples of the Xuanyin Sect fought desperately to resist, but a few were still struck by the arrow rain.

Lin Chen's healing musical notes transformed into invisible energy, flowing into the bodies of the injured Disciples. Their wounds healed rapidly, returning to their original state in no time.

The battle continued. As the team advanced, the arrow rain grew denser and the attacks more ferocious, but Lin Chen remained unruffled. Her healing power was like a trickling stream, continuously nourishing the companions around her.

At this moment, Chief Disciple Lei Ji was watching all of this from the outside, her eyes rekindling with their former brilliance.

She tilted her head slightly, looked at Chi Yan beside her, and smiled: "Do you think Lin Chen can clear this?"

Chi Yan smiled calmly and shook his head: "Lotus flowers born from musical notes—that is quite a good technique. Her mastery of musical notes is indeed very high, but those spiritual lotuses have not yet bloomed. She is, after all, just a beginner and not yet proficient; I fear she can only clear at most one-third."

Chief Disciple Lei Ji nodded in agreement: "Indeed. Back then, when all my spiritual lotuses bloomed, I only made it halfway. Now, her musical cultivation is far inferior to mine; reaching one-third is already quite good."

After speaking, she suddenly changed the subject, a hint of playfulness in her eyes: "Sigh, my strength truly won't allow it. I even wanted to reach second place on the ranking to keep you company!"

Chi Yan's forehead faintly sprouted a few black lines: "You!…"

Inside the level.

Lin Chen's footsteps were like flowing clouds and moving water, carrying an elegant and natural composure. She walked forward lightly, her long hair cascading down like a waterfall, swaying slightly with her movements and emitting an elegant radiance.

The zither music flowed slowly from her fingertips, like a trickling stream, rippling through the air.

Whenever the arrow rain struck, the spiritual lotuses formed by Lin Chen's musical notes would overflow with wisps of Spiritual Qi. Like gentle silk threads, they silently wrapped around the injured Disciples, rapidly healing their wounds.

Time passed quietly. In the blink of an eye, the level was already halfway through, yet the spiritual lotuses themselves had never bloomed; they remained as buds.

All of this looked calm, but it actually concealed astonishing power.

Outside, Chief Disciple Lei Ji watched, dumbfounded. Her heart was full of shock. Back then, when her spiritual lotuses had fully bloomed, she had only made it halfway. Yet now, Lin Chen had already cleared half the distance relying only on the overflowing floral fragrance.

"How is it possible…" Chief Disciple Lei Ji muttered to herself, her eyes filled with disbelief and deep shock.

The potential Lin Chen displayed far exceeded her expectations. She vaguely realized that Lin Chen not only had the possibility of achieving a higher score than her, but might even pass this nearly impossible 33rd level.

Inside the level.

As Lin Chen moved lightly forward, the arrow rain on the battlefield gradually ceased, and the surroundings began to quiet down.

However, this quiet did not even last for a minute.

The ground began to tremble slightly, and low, whistling sounds faintly came from the sky.

Lin Chen raised her head slightly to look at the sky, her delicate face appearing even more beautiful and moving under the dim light and shadows.

In her eyes, as bright as stars, were reflected countless meteors trailing long, flaming tails, plummeting rapidly from the horizon.

Facing the meteor shower, Lin Chen's delicate body trembled slightly; she almost subconsciously wanted to let Lin Fan handle it.

But at the thought that he had just snatched the monster she had worked so hard to fight for half a day, Lin Chen's delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she muttered inwardly:

"I absolutely cannot let him have it easy this time."

Her slender fingers gently stroked the ancient zither, and several soft musical notes quickly merged into the unbloomed spiritual lotuses.

The light of the spiritual lotuses became increasingly brilliant, with a rosy glow appearing at their tips, quietly awaiting the arrival of the meteor shower.

"Swish, swish, swish—" The meteors, trailing long, flaming tails, broke through the air and descended, as if to engulf the team of young girls before them completely.

"Moonlight Shield!" The Disciples of Yueyin Palace shouted in unison, and silver light rose like a full moon, shrouding everyone within it.

The shield blocked most of the meteor impact, but a few meteors still broke through the defense and crashed toward the team.

"Rock Sound Wall." The Disciples of the Earth Sound Palace quickly plucked their giant stone zithers, and rock shields formed in front of them.

They held the shields, stood in neat formation, and guarded the companions behind them with their own bodies.

"Boom—" The meteors smashed into the shield formation, flames soared into the sky, and shattered stone fragments flew everywhere like sharp arrows.

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, several Earth Sound Palace Disciples were knocked flying backward by the impact, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.

Lin Chen's brows tightened slightly, and just as she was about to let the spiritual lotuses bloom, Lin Fan's voice sounded in her ear: "Lin Chen, first observe their injuries. The power of the spiritual lotuses needs to bloom at the most critical moment."

She pursed her red lips, placed her hands gently in front of her chest, crossed her fingers, and her focus quickly fell on the injured Disciples. "Thankfully, the injuries are not too serious."

With that thought, Lin Chen manipulated the spiritual lotuses, and the silk-like healing Spiritual Qi wrapped around the injured Disciples.

Almost in an instant, those wounds healed rapidly, as if they had never been injured at all.

In this way, although the meteors attacking from the sky were massive in scale, they were continuously weakened by the layers of shields and defensive arts of the Yueyin Palace and Earth Sound Palace Disciples.

Although many Disciples were injured under the large-scale bombardment, no fatal injuries occurred.

And these injuries were all within the range of Lin Chen's spiritual lotus healing sound field, healing rapidly in a short moment.

Half an hour later.

Lin Chen, looking at the finish line close at hand, could not help but raise her hand to cover her mouth, her cheeks slightly flushed, and she laughed softly.

"Lin Fan, this time I am really going to reach the top of the ranking…"

Meanwhile, in the plaza, all the Disciples and Elders were staring intently at the projection of Lin Chen clearing the level.

"It's the final stretch," someone said softly, and a tense atmosphere spread across the plaza.

This was the first time in history that a Disciple had reached such a height; they were only one step away from passing the 33rd level.

Everyone held their breath, and you could hear a pin drop in the entire plaza.

Everyone was waiting for a miracle to happen.