After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Then, another slightly sarcastic voice rang out: "Could it be that this rogue cultivator is just trying to gain fame and reputation by spreading this kind of news to glorify himself?"
Tao Zhizhi's face showed an incredulous expression: "Fourth Senior Sister, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person... Is reputation that important to you? You actually resorted to spreading such rumors to ruin someone's reputation!"

This person is skilled in using euphemisms and biased statements!
She knew Tao Zhizhi harbored ill intentions towards her. Last time, she had broken Tao Zhizhi's leg bone. How could this person not have malicious intentions? She wasn't surprised that Tao Zhizhi would target her.

Even though he didn't break the female lead's kneecap, she still harbored ill will towards him. What does this ill will resemble...?

To bully a weak person relentlessly is utterly unreasonable. When the weak person grows up and settles their score, will the former bullies regret their actions?
No! They will only regret not crushing the weaker ones completely back then, giving them a chance to grow! They will also hate the weaker ones they were bullied for no reason and without any justification.

A large forest has all kinds of birds; a large population has all kinds of people.

Even if I'm on the opposite side of this group, so what? It won't be that easy for me to slap her in the face!

Lin Yan revealed a mocking expression, "The Immortal Sect's competition will begin in a few days. It's a pity that it's in the form of internal group battles, so if you're not in the same group, you won't have a chance to fight. So, aren't you all eager to kick me while I'm down? Let's have a friendly spar, and the losers should shut their mouths!"

"Fourth Senior Sister... you'll get hurt doing this. There are so many people, how can you possibly compete with them all? Don't try to be brave. Just apologize to everyone, and this matter will be over!"

Gu Zhu, who arrived late, heard her junior sister say this and quickly shielded her behind her: "Junior sister, you're just too kind, that's why she bullied you like this? This kind of ingrate who forgets the kindness of the sect and betrays the cultivation of the sect deserves to be beaten to death!"

Lin Yan glanced at Gu Zhu, seeing no abnormality in him, and wondered if his golden core had been cured just like that? Didn't they fail to acquire any pills to repair the golden core at the last auction?

"Tsk, she's quite kind, isn't she? You're all quite kind," she said sarcastically, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "I never knew I could bully people back in the sect. Oh...right, it's probably my very existence that makes you all unhappy."

"Stop talking to me in that sarcastic tone!" Gu Zhu glanced at her junior sister, then switched to a gentler tone. "Junior sister, I'll teach this bully a lesson for you!"

"Tsk, you?" Lin Yan looked at him with a scrutinizing tone. "You look like a pole, anyone who didn't know better would think you're a clothesline pole that's come to life."

Hearing this mockery, Gu Zhu was instantly enraged. "You ungrateful wretch! Today I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

As he spoke, disregarding the many disciples present and the possibility of the fight injuring others, he drew his sword and attacked Lin Yan.

She dodged the attack with a swift movement. "Oh? So eager to make a move? What if you hurt others with so many people here? Don't you pride yourselves on being righteous and kind? Why aren't you kind now?"

He finished speaking with a disdainful laugh, "So weak!"

Gu Zhu paid no heed and his attacks became even more ferocious. However, Lin Yan neither drew her sword nor made a move, but simply dodged and evaded, preventing her opponent from even touching the hem of her clothes!
He roared angrily, panting, "If you're so capable, stop just hiding!"

"What a joke! If I were to fight you, so many people here would get hurt, and I would be responsible. You're trying to pin all the blame on me, how could that be allowed? If you're really capable, then come up to the fighting stage. Acting aggressively offstage makes you look less than human!"

Among the onlookers, someone, perhaps a bit dim-witted, suddenly asked, "What does that look like?"

"Of course they're beasts!"

"You know what, they do look somewhat alike!"

"..."

Everyone quickly moved away from the disciple who had spoken to them, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

The disciple, with two cute buns in his hair, was eating a spiritual fruit and looked at the dispersed people with a blank expression, not understanding what was going on.

Someone recognized him as Nian Jiao, the top-ranked student on this year's list of prodigies.

"How...how could she be here?" "Wasn't she supposed to be not participating in this year's Immortal Sect Competition?"

"I do not know……"

Nian Jiao, the top prodigy of this year, focuses solely on cultivating the sword and refuses to learn any other techniques. Despite his incomplete mental development, he possesses a unique understanding of the sword and, at a young age, has already achieved perfect harmony between himself and his sword.

Once her cultivation level improves, she will undoubtedly become the strongest fighter and a pillar of the Sword Sect.

At this moment, Lin Yan had already distanced herself from Gu Zhu, so that the other party could not hit her for the time being, and she could also distract herself to watch the movements in the crowd.

When that cute female disciple appeared in her field of vision, she felt a sense of being charmed.

So cute!

In a moment of distraction, Gu Zhu's sword was already at her. She dodged, narrowly avoiding a cut. Not wanting to waste time arguing with this person, she said in a deep voice, "Do you dare step onto the dueling platform?"

"How could I be afraid of you!"

They stormed onto the fighting stage, but the fight lasted less than ten minutes!

Gu Zhu thought he was very powerful, and that the person opposite him was just a female disciple who had been "expelled" from the sect and whose talent was not as good as his own, so he could definitely handle her easily.

Once on the dueling platform, he was completely dominated and unable to fight back. Suddenly, he became enraged and began slashing and thrusting his sword at Lin Yan.

The crowd below the stage looked at the male cultivator who was wildly slashing at the air, appearing completely insane, with a lot of questions on their faces, and started pointing and whispering.

"What is he doing? Has he gone mad?"

"I don't know, it's a joke."

"..."

Tao Zhizhi saw people talking on both sides of her, her hands clenched tightly, her lips bitten, feeling extremely embarrassed.

What's wrong with my senior brother? He was doing just fine at the beginning, so why did he suddenly start wildly slashing and swinging at the air, looking all furious?

How embarrassing! I just want to walk away!

But Gu Zhu seemed oblivious to the discussions about him among the audience, and continued his frenzied attack, hurling insults like "bitch" at him. He was a far cry from his usual public persona.

Lin Yan clicked her tongue twice, feigning surprise, and said, "Is this the upbringing of a direct disciple of the Xuan Tian Sect? I've truly seen something new today!"

Feeling that it was about time, she went up and kicked the person away, causing excruciating pain to their internal organs before kicking them off the stage.

Once she was out of the ring, Gu Zhu lost. She won the match with an overwhelming victory!
Gu Zhu's recent madness was due to being caught in an illusion.

The formations are profound, and of course, they cannot be set up only by using formation plates.

Using one's own body as a lure, one can manipulate the enemy's emotions, exotic scents, etc., to draw them into a simple illusion without their knowledge. (End of Chapter)