"By the moment she accepted my apologies and felt the truth behind my words, everyone but me and my sister remained alive. Two of seventeen that had come to attempt to right the wrongs, to recover the blessing of the [Goddess] that had allowed us, a simple tribe of mortals further our cultivation in a world that had just started to discover what qi was even about." The female voice, which had reached Bai Qi since the first part of the event, suddenly got supplanted by a male one.

"Indeed, and then, I would proclaim that even if I forgive the humans, and him specifically, there would be no more humans approaching me, less they desired a war with all of the beasts that had evolved thanks to my presence. Beasts that, even after being routed for the first time, had returned as soon as they felt I was in danger." The female voice retook the lead, continuing as if the interruption was part of her explanation.

"Her words, even if unspoken, were felt by everyone present, beasts and my sister alike, stopping the hostilities and allowing me to negotiate." The male voice interjected again, prompting the woman, if the being born from a single, simple tiger lily was one, to continue speaking.

"And negotiate you did. Or even manipulate me, as, after all, what could I, a simple flower, could have known about cultivators and their [Greed]?" This time, the so-called [Fairy] didn't actually explain much but directed a question to her invisible conversation partner.

"I didn't lie to you, Fei Xian. Your blessing was true. A boon to our people, even if it only naturally touched women. And so, when it did touch me, and I discovered all of the things that I did, it was indeed my fault to share it with the men that had assumed that cultivating near you was far more special than we knew to be, even with some young women surpassing experienced warriors. And yet, it was no one but a few men to wrong you, weren't they? The rest accepted, and some greedy ones returned to the fold, but not before others wronged you, provoking the massacre that followed."

"Indeed, but to say that you, as the last men of the knowing ones, should be the sole one punished, wasn't it manipulation? Especially after telling me a poor, uneducated, and inexperienced evolved flower that the women still considered me as a [Goddess]? That you had lost your mind just from the visage of mine? That you would accept any test, any punishment, only for the reward of seeing me if I agreed to allow the remaining women of your clan to cultivate near me? Tell me, Zhen Jian, was all that something other than manipulation?"

"No, it wasn't." Bai Qi could almost feel how the invisible man shook his head. Yet, a moment later, the man's voice resounded again, with such emotions that even Bai Qi felt himself shivering, "But my feelings, and you know it, were sincere! As well as the blood on my hands, the one from everyone that even once thought about attempting to grab your blessing by force!"

"...indeed they were, and so they remain. As do mine." The simple tiger lily, a flower that had blossomed at the same time as the simple world turned into a plane of the great [Astral Road], shared her feelings, the same that had remained for hundreds of years.

***

Still showered by the bright pinkish light, the same one that had not only entirely healed him but also revitalized every inch of his body, Bai Qi reached the end of the path.

As Bai Qi entered the room, he was awestruck by its enormity. It was far too grand to be called a mere cavern, with its beautifully polished walls adorned with intricate carvings and hundreds of pink orbs floating around the exquisite chandeliers. The ceiling towered over a hundred feet above, and the walls were so far away that Bai Qi could barely make them out, even with his senses. However, what drew his attention was the actual objective of this test - two sets of doors, each as tall as the ceiling and at least a hundred feet wide.

The massive doors had two distinct engravings, one for the right side depicting a man and the other for the left side depicting a woman. The left engraving had additional instructions underneath the main character, while the other had none. It was evident that the instructions were added at a different time, possibly to detail the rules and how to navigate various tests that awaited within. Bai Qi had no idea if it was so, but with Xie Ru undertaking that test, it was more probable than not.

And it wasn't surprising that as Bai Qi stepped towards the doors, the one to open was the one with no instructions at all, the one with the carving of a man, and that the woman's one vanished, as it was never there. Well, one could say that a vanishing door the size of a small palace could be surprising, but at least it wasn't so for Bai Qi, who accepted it as a fact and continued straight, entering the [Man] door.

The [Guest] plaza of the [Delicate Forest Palace], accessed via a teleportation formation located in [Baoshi Hua] and also the place where all the remaining, or surviving in some cases, participants of the second half of the challenge called [Martial Path of the Hebs] were sent, at the 13th hour since the end of the first part.

"Once again, let me start by congratulating everyone who has made it so far and remained to see the event's conclusion. This time, the true one." The primary Elder council's member, the factual head of the [Delicate Forest Palace], Hudie Xiuying, the [Brave Hairstreak] voice resounded over the plaza.

Her slightly hoarse voice filled the entirety of everyone's mind, overwhelming senses and any defenses with pure raw power, one that, while concealed and held back, was still enough to send several people to the floor as so much pressure, willingly or not, it carried, even before, but now, when coupled with the exhaustion of some participants and the fact that an enlarged, thanks to a simple aura technique, Hudie Xiuying's image hovered over the entire plaza, the effect was even grander, sending nearly half of the present to their knees.

"For a long time, wise men have said that each challenge should have its reward. And the latter should be delivered promptly. Thus, I will avoid giving a speech and merely tell you I am glad so many stand before me now." Despite her emotions being far from joyful and proud, Hudie Xiuying maintained a composed tone and demeanor. She nodded slightly towards the gathering before summoning a massive tablet that towered towards the sky and divided the plaza in two.

"As you look at the sacred table of rankings, one that has accompanied this challenge since the first instance, you will see your own points. And only yours, for now." Hudie Xiuying explained the function of the grand stone slate - one made from purified [Midnight Granite], before adding, "The announcement and distribution of the overall ranking and rewards will take place tomorrow. Take the chance and rest, the braves who participated in the second part. As for the others, take your time, as tomorrow, at the same time, you will learn if you are worthy to enter the grounds of the [Palace] to receive rewards that you haven't even expected!"

Having done her part and left all of the further announcements and small events to the low-tier and assistant elders of the power she led, Hudie Xiuying retreated from the plaza, not interested in the slightest about either of the former. Her genuine interest laid not between the ones on the plaza, neither guests nor participants, but in the single person absent from it, all while the [Life-saving formation] showed as alive.

***

The next day, one hundred twenty men and the two women that had taken and completed the second part of the [Martial Path of the Hebs], as well as the three hundred eighty cultivators that had decided to avoid risking further after the first part, gathered, along their masters, friends, and other companions on the [Guest] plaza of the day before.

There weren't many changes to the plaza except for the surroundings of the enormous ranking slate. A big platform had appeared overnight, or maybe it was grown up, as what else could one think when it looked as if the wooden construction had actual roots going underground, and the six columns that held it appeared to have bark covering them?

But not many eyes even looked at the platform, as there was another far more notable change, even if it wasn't quite a change to the surroundings but to the people on the plaza. If before, the head elder of the [Palace], accompanied by a few attendants and the ever-present green robes of the rule-enforcing part of the [Delicate Forest Palace], Elder Xun Guo's [Thorns], now there were dozens if not hundreds of disciples, all of them in the bright and colorful, flower-patterned dresses.

The [Delicate Forest Palace], as nearly every other Palace or Sect, had a rank system dictated by merits, prowess, and the circle the disciples or elders were part of. Yet, a notable difference from other powers, except for the green of the [Thorns] and the white that Elders of the council carried, all of the disciples and elders dressed in a plethora of pink, the distinction between ranks shown not by color, but by the flowers engraved on the dress-like robes.

For the outer circle, it was an engraving of peonies, their color showing the status and prowess of the disciples, ranging from white for the lowest and reddening to a deep crimson for the rising stars of their circle.

For most of the inner circle, Chrysanthemums adorned their robes, and while color varied, the difference in status was close to none, the right to change the color being obtainable with just a hefty sum of merit points.

As for the true elites of the inner circle, they received the Hibiscus, first a single one, and then accumulating more and more of them to show their wins and prowess, with the current star of the inner circle, Xiao Meiren, donning a brilliant pink dress with over two dozen red flowers.

All elders of either circle wore robes decorated with orchids, the difference between the inner and outer ones shown by the color rather than type. Red for the latter and the rarest, regal purple for the former.

Personal disciples and the winners of the inner tournaments would receive the right to wear robes decorated with lilies, with the disciples of the Council members shown by the type of flower, dressing in robes covered with the images of the tiger lily held so sacred by the [Palace].

As for the young elites that had chosen to remain in the [Palace], the assistant elders, they received the mark of the magnolia, a flower that could be said to be one of the rarest and symbolized beauty. The beauty of true stars that had decided to dedicate themselves to growing the next generation of disciples.

"Once again, I congratulate all of you on behalf of the [Delicate Flower Palace]." Hudie Xiuying's voice resounded over the plaza even before she appeared, with a show that was by far the most impressive of all.

It looked as if a flower bloomed mid-air, a tiger lily. Then it scattered its petals, as if because of the passage of time, and from one of them, as it landed on the stage, the [Brave Hairstreak] appeared, her pure white dress contrasting with her raven-black hair and the dotted petal that suddenly turned into what seemed to be a ramp, connecting the several feet high stage to the ground.

The main room of the [Fairy] shrine. At about the same time as the finishing ceremony began.

Healed as he was by the [Fairy], or whatever one could call the being behind all of this, the tests that Bai Qi encountered after crossing the [Man] door had been short of grueling.

And while he had completed them successfully, even if he himself had several times thought of the impossibility of a couple of them, especially the proverbial, this time literal, a mountain of blades and sea of fire, Bai Qi managed to come out on his own.

*Thump*

Not that he had any strength remaining...