“Then let’s start with the competition. Since Senior Sister Foster has spoken, it’s settled!” With a helpless smile, Matthew Turner, who was in charge of incense burners seven and eight, waved at David Clark and Ethan Wright. David Clark glanced at Emily Foster, then immediately turned and walked over to line up with the others.

“That’s fine. Honestly, it’s all the same to me. Even if you put them at the very end of all the labor disciples, so what? They still can’t escape the outcome they deserve!” Brian Harris lazily shook his head, casting a disdainful glance at the departing David Clark.

Now that the order was set, the rest was easy. As Emily Foster and the others on the platform each took out a few sticks of incense, the top ten disciples at the front of the labor disciple line stepped forward one by one to register in front of everyone.

After registering their names, the top labor disciple, Samuel Reed, headed to the first trial tower, the second disciple to the second tower, and so on. As they pushed open the tower doors and entered, Brian Harris and the others also lit their incense. At the entrances of the ten trial towers, a layer of formation light appeared, isolating the towers from the outside.

At the same time, the windows on the first floor of all ten trial towers lit up, a gentle glow like moonlight spreading out, indicating that the ten disciples inside had officially begun their challenge.

After a few breaths, the glow on the first floor faded, and the second floor lit up.

The top seven of the ten disciples were all single-element fourth level, some having stayed on Snowy Clothes Peak for over a decade. With their fourth-level cultivation, crushing the first few floors of the trial towers was a breeze. In just a few dozen breaths, towers one through seven all lit up to the fourth floor, while towers eight, nine, and ten were stuck on the third floor, as those were manned by single-element third-level labor stewards.

“This competition is really dull. There’s basically no suspense. You can tell the top seven just by their cultivation. If Senior Sister Foster hadn’t been in the mood to make a bet with me, I wouldn’t have bothered coming down.”

The challenge proceeded smoothly, without any surprises. The higher a labor disciple climbed, and the longer they stayed, the better their result.

But labor disciples basically had no ability to challenge above their level. The seven fourth-level labor disciples were almost guaranteed the top seven spots, and the seventy or eighty third-level labor disciples filled out the top hundred. Since the puppets inside the trial towers appeared randomly—sometimes wind, sometimes fire, and so on—final rankings depended a bit on luck, but overall, cultivation determined your general placement.

Watching the top ten disciples still challenging inside the towers, Brian Harris finally spoke with a smile. Though his demeanor was lazy, his words were full of anticipation and superiority.

He truly didn’t mind waiting. This matter was about face for both of them—the longer they stayed here, the worse it would look for Emily Foster. After all, the outcome was already set, so his earlier words were just teasing Emily Foster.

During the banter, Emily Foster remained calm, while Matthew Turner and Henry Bennett on the side could only smile wryly. Brian Harris grinned brightly, not finding it hard to endure, but the other two were truly bored. They had to time the disciples’ trials and couldn’t even cultivate while waiting for six or seven hundred disciples to finish one by one.

Both of them couldn’t help but wonder what kind of foolishness Emily Foster had committed to agree to such a ridiculous contest with Brian Harris.

Chapter 012: I Will Definitely Disappoint You

“Senior Brother Harris, I’m here to register!”

Time passed, and by the time the setting sun slanted westward, the grand competition among the six or seven hundred labor disciples of Snowy Clothes Valley was nearing its end. The process was just as most had expected: the seven fourth-level labor disciples took the top seven spots without dispute, with only minor differences due to luck. The former number one, Samuel Reed, became number two, the fourth disciple, Eric Smith, dropped to fifth, and so on. Aside from the top seven, the seventy or eighty third-level labor disciples and over two hundred second-level labor disciples followed the same pattern.

Except for a few changes in ranking, everything else was uneventful.

As the end approached and only two rows remained, Ethan Wright finally strode up to the platform and respectfully cupped his fists to Brian Harris, trembling with excitement. The order of the competition was based on last year’s rankings, so newcomers like Ethan Wright and David Clark were automatically placed at the end.

Brian Harris wasn’t in a hurry to see the outcome between the two, nor was Emily Foster, so they just followed the normal procedure. But Ethan Wright was truly impatient after waiting most of the day. Now that it was finally his turn, he was so excited he could hardly contain himself. After all, this was his chance to perform in front of several inner court disciples. If he did well, he could finally catch up to Brian Harris.

For a new labor disciple to latch onto an inner sect disciple was a stroke of luck! If it weren’t for David Clark, he wouldn’t have had such an opportunity. Precisely because of this, he was determined to stomp David Clark down hard!

The harder he stomped, the happier Senior Brother Harris would be.

“Go on, do your best. But don’t do too well—if you make Senior Sister Foster lose so much face that she can’t show herself in public, I won’t let you off!” As Ethan Wright grew excited, Brian Harris perked up, glanced at Emily Foster, then squinted at Ethan Wright.

Ethan Wright froze. What did that mean? While he was stunned, Brian Harris burst out laughing. “Remember, just make Senior Sister Foster so ashamed she doesn’t come out for a few days. Do your best!”

Only then did Ethan Wright’s expression twist strangely. He respectfully agreed, then strode toward the third trial tower. As he approached, he turned to glance back, and when he saw David Clark still waiting in line, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Just wait—he was definitely going to stomp the other down hard!