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

The medicinal fragrance emanating from the alchemy furnace was very faint, almost undetectable.

Jiang He knew that the quality of this batch of pills was definitely not low!

"May I take a look at the pills you've refined?"

"Of course, please take a look, senior." Lin Yan presented the pill with both hands.

Jiang He took the box and immediately recognized it as a top-grade healing pill.

She praised, "At such a young age, to be able to refine pills of such quality, your talent is truly remarkable."

Healing pills are basic pills and not difficult to refine. It was not surprising to her that a cultivator with exceptional talent could refine a Heaven-grade pill at a young age.

Receiving praise from her senior, Lin Yan did not become arrogant or complacent. Instead, she humbly replied, "You flatter me, senior. I still have many shortcomings and need to work hard to improve."

Humility earns the favor of seniors. Jiang He particularly liked disciples who were neither arrogant nor complacent. She nodded slightly and asked casually, "I wonder which alchemist you studied alchemy with before?"

A friend had mentioned to me before that the new disciple had previously been in a sect, but had been bullied to the point of having to leave the sect. However, she hadn't told her who the new disciple's previous master was.

Lin Yan scratched her head awkwardly and said honestly, "I'm new to alchemy and have been learning on my own without a master to guide me."

Jiang He was somewhat surprised to hear this, but at the same time, he was even more satisfied with this disciple's talent.

If one can refine top-grade pills by self-study, wouldn't it be like soaring to the sky with someone to teach them?
Her friend has found her an extraordinary apprentice.

Seeing that someone was satisfied, Wen Ningqing said, "Alright, let's not disturb Xiao Yan's alchemy anymore."

After saying that, he pulled his friend and walked outside.

……

Time flew by, and the first day of the Immortal Sect Competition arrived.

The next three days were all internal group battles. Surprisingly, she and Miaofazong were not assigned to the same group.

Each group has fifty people, and only the top ten cultivators can advance to draw lots again to be regrouped.

She had three matches on the first day, and the first one was one of the earlier matches.

Her first opponent was also a disciple of a certain sect. There were very few independent cultivators in her group, only three including her, the rest were disciples of sects or other forces.

The disciple immediately introduced himself politely, rattling off a long list of names, but she only remembered one: Zhao Si.

The name was unique; she remembered it immediately! Lin Yan also gave her name, and the competition began.
To ensure fairness in these immortal sect competitions, the use of hidden weapons or other underhanded tactics is prohibited, as is the use of one's own magical treasures; instead, one must use the magical artifacts provided by the sect.

After the two finished introducing themselves, they began to choose magical artifacts. She chose a sword, and the other person also chose a sword.

At the referee's signal, Zhao Yu launched the first attack, brandishing his longsword and aiming straight for his opponent's face.

She dodged easily with a flash, while simultaneously gathering spiritual energy into her sword to suppress the opponent's sword. Then, she skillfully flipped the sword and attacked the opponent's hand holding the sword.

The opponent clearly did not expect her attack speed to be so fast. By the time he reacted, he had already been kicked away at close range. Then, several sword energies came and he was knocked off the arena.

The self-introduction and weapon selection process takes three minutes, the on-stage fight lasts three minutes, and the battle ends in six minutes!
The battle ended too quickly, and the audience below the stage fell silent for a moment before sparsely applauding. Among the audience were fellow cultivators from the same group, whose feelings were quite complex upon seeing Lin Yan's strength!
They couldn't secure first place in their group anymore; their next priority should be a top-ten finish to ensure they advance to the second round. The referee announced Lin Yan's victory. As she stepped off the stage, she saw Zhao Si still in a daze, while his companions quickly pulled him away.

Her first match was recorded with a recording stone and posted in the square, immediately drawing praise from others for her strong performance, making her a shining example of independent cultivators.

There were also dissenting voices, saying that she was just lucky and that her opponent in the first round wasn't strong. Even if she made it to the second round, she would be utterly defeated by the sect disciples.

In short, she became famous. The advantage of fame is... no advantage at all. It brings mostly trouble; people always inexplicably come up to her and say things that seem plausible but are actually wrong.

For example, she said she needed a male cultivation partner, and that beneath her formidable strength was actually a little girl yearning to be loved, and so on. These kinds of comments came from different people's mouths.

Because her second match was scheduled in an awkward round, she couldn't leave immediately and could only sit in the rest area and wait, ignoring the "shocking" comments with an indifferent expression.

She only became somewhat angry when a male cultivator appeared and said things that were simply not something a carbon-based life form should say.

This person is of average appearance, but speaks with extraordinary confidence.

“I can tell you’re starved for love. Accept me. I’m a male cultivator, at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and only fifty years old. I’m more than a match for you.”

Why aren't you saying anything? Are you captivated by me?

"I know I'm very charming. If you become my Daoist partner, we can have two children in a year. If you serve me well, I'll provide you with cultivation resources. You can spend ten low-grade spirit stones every day. Doesn't that seem like a lot? Well, that's what happens when I know how to pamper people!"

"..."

I know that there are many magical "species" among the cultivators that are incomprehensible to ordinary people, but this is just too incomprehensible.

A cultivator who can say such things can't just be described as narcissistic; they definitely have psychological problems!

Fortunately, Lin Yan was not the kind of person who would remain silent and ignore things. Upon hearing these words, she did not hesitate to gather a burst of spiritual energy and strike, sending the other person flying several meters away.

Then, spiritual energy transformed into a blade and pierced the opponent's knee.

"Ah!" That was a scream, even worse than a pig's squeal.

The man tried to struggle to get up and cause her trouble, but his kneecap was dislocated and he was in so much pain that he couldn't stand up. His face turned a liverish color, whether from anger or pain!

A female disciple clapped her hands in response. "Pah! Look at yourself! Speaking so rudely, you deserve to be beaten!"

The female disciple was resting and waiting for her turn in the competition when she saw some of the male cultivators' outrageous remarks and felt extremely disgusted.

However, since she was neither related to nor connected with the man, she didn't feel comfortable intervening to help. Seeing the female cultivator directly break the male cultivator's leg, she felt the pent-up anger in her chest finally dissipate.

Upon hearing this, the male cultivator hurriedly swallowed a painkiller. After the pain subsided, he shamelessly asked, "Hey, what's it to you? Why are you interrupting? You wouldn't happen to have a crush on me, would you? Is this how you try to get my attention?"

He sized up the female lead: "Tsk, I've seen plenty of female cultivators like you! Not good-looking at all, you just like to use these tricks to attract the attention of male cultivators!"

The female cultivator got goosebumps upon hearing this. Before she could refute him, the male cultivator let out another scream, his body slumped to the side, and he completely lost consciousness.

Lin Yan withdrew her hand, her gaze falling on the competition stage, without uttering a single word to the others. (End of Chapter)