Chapter Forty-Eight: Frost-Edged Blood Plum

"Can you tell me how you did it?"
Liu Ru gazed quietly at the young woman before her.
The speaker was a girl with azure hair, petite and delicate with a touch of refined beauty. Though she was asking a question, she stood there with a calm dignity, neither humble nor arrogant.
Liu Ru tilted her head, her mind swirling with countless thoughts in that instant.
First of all, Leafnight Academy had never announced that candidates were forbidden from communicating during the examination; otherwise, those groups of friends huddling together to confer would be violating the rules.
Therefore, after discovering the trick, sharing it with others did not constitute cheating.
That was why the girl dared to ask so directly.
In truth, such an act required a certain courage, because even if sharing secrets wasn't against the rules, everyone present was a competitor. To reveal the secret so openly was to lower the difficulty for others.
Yet all these thoughts flashed through Liu Ru's mind in a moment, and then she smiled.
"What is your name?" she asked.
The girl was taken aback, then replied honestly, "My name is Yang Mei."
"That's a lovely name," Liu Ru nodded in praise. "I'm Liu Ru."
Her voice was gentle, but at that moment, almost every pair of eyes in the room narrowed in astonishment.
For now, Liu Ru was the most famous candidate in all of Leafnight City. She had revealed the third trial's questions to every candidate in the city through the Scarlet Heart Diary. Though few knew what Liu Ru looked like, her name had become legendary.
"So you are Liu Ru!" Yang Mei exclaimed, delighted.
"The secret to the trials of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum," Liu Ru continued, "lies in the power attached to each flower and plant. Sense that power, absorb or neutralize it, and you can easily pull up the flower or plant."
With Liu Ru's name as a guarantee, almost everyone who heard her believed her instantly.
Perhaps others would have tried to hide something, but since Liu Ru had just revealed the third trial's questions to everyone, she had no reason to conceal or deceive.
"Thank you, Liu Ru. I hope we meet at Leafnight Academy," Yang Mei smiled as she expressed her gratitude, then turned to continue her exam.
...
...
"As expected of Liu Ru, there is hardly anything questionable about her choices."
In the monitoring hall, all the student council members could not help but sigh in unison.
For others, this might have been a dilemma, but for Liu Ru, it was nothing at all.
After all, she had just revealed the third trial's questions; she would certainly not pretend to refuse sharing the secret.
"Won't that mean more people pass?" Su Ziye asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
"You must understand," Zhou Yi explained patiently from behind him, "theoretically, if Liu Ru chose to pull out all the flowers and plants in the Profound Hall and distributed them to others, we would count everyone as having cleared the trial."
"Besides, Leafnight Academy has never expressed a dislike for admitting too many students."
"But from what I know, you enroll very few people each year," Su Ziye pressed.
"That's because the candidates aren't diligent enough!" Zhou Yi said in anguish.
"So if someone actually helped the others pull out every flower and plant in the hall, what score would they receive?" Su Ziye asked curiously.
"Nine points," Zhou Yi replied without hesitation. "If someone can tirelessly withstand the power attached to all the flowers and plants, and successfully absorb or neutralize it, then their talent is the highest this first trial can measure. Even if they walk out empty-handed, we would still give them nine points. After all, we are living people grading, not mindless machines."
"But those who were helped, even if they pass, would only get one point. Such candidates would find it hard to pass the second or third trials, so it doesn't affect us."
"I see." Su Ziye nodded, then glanced upward. "Hmm, it seems the young lady has no intention of leaving."
Zhou Yi looked up as well. "Indeed, she seems to have realized the value of the powers attached to these flowers and intends to experience them further."
...
...

Liu Ru truly did not leave immediately.
Although she had no knowledge of the scoring details, nor was she aiming for a high score.
She stayed for one simple reason—she was far from satisfied.
This was crucial.
The icy power on that white plum blossom was indeed pure, but its flaw was that there simply wasn't enough of it.
Just as Liu Ru felt her Meridian Shifting Realm loosening, the icy power was exhausted.
Anyone would feel frustrated by that.
So even though the other candidates were now sensing spiritual energy thanks to Liu Ru's hint, the number of flowers and plants still far exceeded the number of candidates—a case of plenty for all.
Without hesitation, Liu Ru sought out another red plum blossom, closed her eyes, and soon found herself in that blissful interplay of ice and fire.
The mingled powers subtly improved her body, pushing her cultivation ever forward. Yet, regrettably, this red plum's strength was even less than that of the white plum.
It lasted barely two-thirds as long before its energy was spent.
With a hint of disappointment, Liu Ru let go, not even bothering to pull it up.
But then she realized something else.
The condition for passing the first trial was simply to pull up and bring out any flower or plant, but there was never a rule that you must leave immediately after doing so.
You could, in theory, help others with theirs as well.
Realizing this, Liu Ru's excitement was rekindled.
She had only tried plum blossoms so far, and from watching others, she deduced that not all the other plants carried icy power. For her, currently in need of icy energy for her cultivation, the rest were unnecessary.
So she continued seeking only plum blossoms. On the other hand, the freezing cold of the plum blossoms deterred most candidates—few could endure even minus thirty degrees, let alone without the Vermillion Bird Blood Ignition Technique as she had.
This time, Liu Ru was more cautious. She had thought all plum blossoms were more or less the same, but now she realized there were differences in grade.
Her eyes fell on the tallest, most beautiful blood plum in the hall—already attempted by three or four others, none of whom lasted even ten seconds.
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...
"Liu Ru is going for the Frostblood Plum."
In the monitoring hall, Liu Ru was already a key focus. They had seen her choose a low-grade plum blossom for her second attempt and quickly drain its power, realizing she would soon notice the differences in grade. But they hadn't expected her third attempt to be the most difficult of all.
"What is a Frostblood Plum?" Su Ziye couldn't help asking.
Zhou Yi, of course, provided the answer. "Grade A flowers and plants—twelve in each exam hall, three of each type. All are catalogued and named. The one Liu Ru has chosen is called the Frostblood Plum. It brings ultra-low temperatures down to minus one hundred degrees. Almost no one can withstand its bone-chilling cold. Of course, the reward is great—anyone who can pull out a Grade A plant is guaranteed at least eight points, making them a star in the first trial."
"In that case, scoring high seems easy!" Su Ziye remarked.
Each hall had twelve such plants, and with eight halls, there could be nearly a hundred eight-point candidates.
Thinking of his own eight-point score just written down, he suddenly felt it was not so special.
"It's not that simple," Zhou Yi said, flicking Su Ziye's forehead. "Do you think minus one hundred degrees is easy to endure? Didn't you see how Liu Ru struggled at minus fifty? Without the Vermillion Bird Blood Ignition Technique, she wouldn't have lasted."
"What if someone really got frostbitten? Would the academy be responsible?" Su Ziye asked.
"That's impossible," Zhou Yi smiled. "We know our limits. This is an exam, not a battlefield. We're not here to endanger lives."
"In these confrontations, it's more a battle of mind and spirit. Anyone who fails will simply lose consciousness, forfeiting their qualification. We'll make sure unconscious candidates are safely removed—there's no real danger."
Hearing this, Su Ziye was greatly relieved but soon worried again. "What if she does fail?"
"She already passed two trials," he added.
"That's the question of risk and reward," Zhou Yi said with a smile. "Though no one has been carried out yet, it's inevitable as the exam progresses. Everyone must know their limits—whether to keep their current score or challenge themselves for more."
"This is why we don't announce the scoring details. We don't encourage blind ambition but advise everyone to focus on their own domain."
"But you haven't said what happens if she fails," Su Ziye pressed.

"I've already told you," Zhou Yi replied, watching Liu Ru. "If she fails, she will be eliminated."
"How can that be!" Su Ziye protested loudly.
"Because the third trial is, by nature, that harsh," Zhou Yi said with a smile. "But you should trust your young lady. In this Profound Hall, she is, without question, the strongest."
...
...
Liu Ru herself did not believe she was the strongest.
In fact, her true level might have been the lowest in the hall. If this were a ring, not an exam, she would have been swept out in the first round.
Even now, when she gripped the rough trunk of the blood plum, she realized she might have underestimated her opponent.
In that instant, she felt as if the blood in her veins had all been frozen.
The biting cold surged in waves, never ceasing. Frost clung thickly to her brows and hair; her skin paled and turned brittle.
For a moment, she thought of her father nailed to the stake—those pale, rigid hands she had seen. Perhaps the cold he felt then was no worse than this.
Or perhaps her own suffering surpassed even his.
Without a conscious thought, she activated the Vermillion Bird Blood Ignition Technique—a fierce breathing method that drove her blood to a boil, releasing ultimate power. At first, she had needed to consume her bodyweight in meat just to fuel it, her body like a furnace burning day and night.
But after reaching the Blood-moving Realm, she no longer needed such vast amounts of food; more energy was stored in her blood.
Now, that stored power was released without reservation. Everyone watching saw a crimson heatwave radiate from her.
But Liu Ru was oblivious to it.
She continued her struggle with the icy power, the Vermillion Bird Blood Ignition Technique accelerating, reshaping her meridians for optimal flow.
The chill seemed inexhaustible, but so too did her blood's strength.
For a moment, she thought this conflict would be eternal—painful, yes, but strangely blissful.
But all struggles must end, and compared to the plum's endless cold, her reserves were depleted first.
Her veins felt empty.
The crimson waves around her faded, and frost crept over her once more.
She was nearly sealed by the rebounding icy power.
...
...
"This can't be!" Zhou Yi was the first to object. "Did someone tamper with the settings? How could this happen?"
Having boasted earlier, Zhou Yi was now bewildered.
The other student council members were equally perplexed. "Did the president increase the difficulty of the Grade A plants? I thought Liu Ru had already succeeded."
"I'm going to report this to the president!" Zhou Yi declared. "We can't allow any shady dealings in our Profound Hall."
At that moment, Su Ziye remained the calmest.
"Look," he said, "she's still holding on."