Jin Yu immediately puffed up his chest.
He admitted it.
His brain might not be the sharpest.
But when it came to facing the demons, he would rather die than yield. His unshakable, imposing stance? That was solid.
For a moment, the disciples of Kunlun Sword Sect fell into an awkward silence.
On the one hand...
This kind of behavior would only reinforce the stereotype that sword cultivators lacked intelligence.
On the other hand...
Jin Yu's final display was actually not bad at all.
After a long pause, Cang Li chuckled and said, "This junior is still much better than that disciple from Qingxiao Pavilion."
With that, the tense expressions eased.
Exactly!
No matter what, Jin Yu never wavered, not even at the very end.
But the Qingxiao Pavilion disciple?
He hadn't even faced a true life-and-death situation before he voluntarily sought cooperation with the demons. Someone like that would be condemned by the entire cultivation world.
"Next." Yun Jin smiled sweetly.
The image within the Heart Testing Mirror began to change again.
A subtle tension spread among the onlookers.
They were starting to get a feeling...
Those kneeling few might all have problems.
But even if someone didn't make a grave mistake... that didn't mean what would be revealed wouldn't be embarrassing.
Just look at Jin Yu—he'd already made a complete fool of himself in front of everyone.
Though Jin Yu, being thick-skinned, didn't seem to care at all...
The others did!
"Please not me, please not me."
Silently, many disciples prayed.
Eventually—
The image settled on another disciple from Qingxiao Pavilion.
That disciple immediately revealed a panicked expression.
The scene began to play.
As everyone watched, they gradually fell into silence.
This person had made a choice similar to the last disciple from Qingxiao Pavilion.
Both of them were bloodthirsty, completely lacking reverence for life, and when confronted by demons, they instinctively chose to cooperate.
These two—
Both came from Qingxiao Pavilion.
How could the probability of issues be so high among Qingxiao Pavilion disciples?
In front of the image—
The previously composed sect members now straightened up unconsciously.
Disciples from the Beastmaster Sect and Xuandan Gate were visibly tense.
Qing Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.
Ji Wusi had once mentioned his suspicions about Lin Xiao, suggesting there might be a deeper issue. Back then, Qing Yun hadn't believed it, only telling Ji Wusi to investigate thoroughly before jumping to conclusions.
But now—
Qingxiao Pavilion disciples were repeatedly showing problems.
Could this really just be coincidence?
They had originally assumed the kneeling disciples had only harbored malicious intent toward Yun Jin herself.
But what if—
There was something deeper going on?
What if all five—
Had chosen to collude with the demons?
Even someone like Qing Yun, who rarely involved himself in mundane affairs, couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. No matter how coincidental things seemed, this level of "coincidence" couldn't be overlooked. If all five really had problems...
Then the likelihood of a systemic issue within Qingxiao Pavilion was extremely high. They constantly proclaimed their mission to exterminate the demons. But what if one of the four Holy Lands had already been infiltrated?
That was a scenario too terrifying to imagine.
If even Qing Yun had picked up on it, then others were certainly thinking along the same lines—perhaps even more deeply. Even Xuan Feng's face was growing somber. He was now anxious to see just what the remaining three Qingxiao Pavilion disciples would reveal.
And—
Among the remaining kneeling figures, disciples from the other three Holy Lands were also present. Could it be... they had also failed the final trial?
If that were the case—
Even if the ratio wasn't as outrageous as Qingxiao Pavilion's near one hundred percent, it still wouldn't be low. Had the four Holy Lands been infiltrated by demons this deeply without anyone realizing?
They didn't want to believe it, but they kept watching.
Within Qingxiao Pavilion—
Lin Xiao's face had turned completely grim. He knew about the Heart Testing Stairway.
But the one used previously by Wushuang Sect didn't include a test specifically targeting one's attitude toward demons. That had made sense. A thousand years ago, the demon race had been cornered, reduced to lurking in shadows, far from being any real threat. No one had seen a need to include such a test.
Never in his wildest imagination had Lin Xiao expected that Wan Dao Saint would add such a scenario to the current trial.
His heart gave a sharp jolt.
This was getting troublesome.
If he could—
He'd have charged in right now to stop Yun Jin from continuing.
But...
Word had already come in from earlier: the giant turtle had taken Wushuang Sect's entrance and was now roaming the Endless Sea.
The giant turtle was terrifying in strength, and to make matters worse, it was now deep within the Boundless Sea—the natural domain of oceanic creatures.
That sea was so vast that not even the legendary Wan Dao Saint had found its boundaries. How could Lin Xiao locate a single turtle in it?
He couldn't even find the entrance, let alone stop Yun Jin.
So... he could only sit and watch?
Lin Xiao's mind raced, but he couldn't come up with a single solution. His face had turned ashen. He was already thinking ahead—what excuses he would need to offer when the other three Holy Lands inevitably came knocking.
"We continue." Yun Jin still smiled, casually pulling up another image.
This time—
It was Ye Liuqin.
Compared to those Qingxiao Pavilion disciples, Ye Liuqin's conduct was clearly far more composed. That trace of aloof arrogance in her demeanor wasn't considered inappropriate among disciples of the Holy Lands.
After all, a bit of pride was expected.
Most importantly—was the third trial.
Ye Liuqin passed that one with no issues at all.
"Next."
This time, again, it was a disciple from Qingxiao Pavilion.
Now, everyone began to notice a pattern.
Yun Jin would first pick one random "lucky" contestant—then always follow it with another "lucky" one from Qingxiao Pavilion.
At this point, it was obvious she was deliberately targeting them.
Before, people might have questioned it.
Now? They understood completely.
Out of five disciples from Qingxiao Pavilion, all five likely chose to cooperate with demons.
How did Wushuang Sect perish? Because they sacrificed themselves to seal the outer-realm demons outside the realm.
And now? Those from the same Holy Land that paid such a price were watching as others who colluded with demons strutted around right in front of them.
If they weren't targeted, who would be?
As expected, this Qingxiao Pavilion disciple once again chose to cooperate with the demons. Next, the image shifted to the kneeling disciple from Kunlun Sword Sect.
Kunlun Sword Sect.
The elder Mei, who had just spoken in defense of his sect's disciple, tensed immediately. This damned Wushuang Sect. How dare they use such a method to forcibly peer into someone's heart?
If he had known, he would never have let their disciple participate.
Ji Wusi glanced at the elder, his expression cold. This disciple from Kunlun Sword Sect... his choices weren't much different from those from Qingxiao Pavilion. When faced with demons, there wasn't even a trace of a sword cultivator's pride.
The Kunlun Sword Sect disciples fell into silence.
They couldn't help but turn toward their fellow disciple.
Why?
Of the four Holy Lands...
Under Ji Wusi's leadership, Kunlun Sword Sect had always been known for its hatred of demons. Many demons had died by the swords of their disciples.
And yet this disciple, deep down, leaned toward the demons?
A terrifying thought flashed through everyone's minds.
While the four Holy Lands were focused on eradicating demons...
Had the demons already launched a counter-infiltration into their ranks?
If that were true, then this incident—
Was enough to shake the very heavens.