Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Ma Liang continued walking towards the center of the island, planning to register at the arena for the Demon Suppression Ceremony first.

As he walked to the center of the street, he immediately saw two female cultivators standing in front of the building.

Ma Liang stared intently and was immediately stunned. The two were clearly Yuan Yao and Yan Li, but their robes were completely different from what he remembered. They looked very conservative and had lost all the bright and flamboyant style he remembered.

Ma Liang subtly sent out a wisp of divine sense, instantly discerning the cultivation levels of the two individuals; they were merely at the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

At this moment, Yanli, with a warm smile on her face, called out to the passing cultivators, asking if they needed a guide.

Yuan Yao, on the other hand, stood there with her eyes downcast, looking reserved and not daring to say a word.

Ma Liang looked at the two of them. It had only been ten years since they met Han Li. How could they have changed their personalities so drastically?

While Ma Liang was secretly observing the two of them, Yanli, with her sharp eyes, immediately pulled Yuan Yao and ran over quickly.

"Senior!" Yanli said with a slightly awkward smile, her tone urgent but her words hesitant. "Are you here to guide us? Don't worry, with the two of us leading the way, we guarantee... we guarantee that no matter where you are looking, we'll know where it is!"

Looking at her slightly flustered appearance, Ma Liang asked, "You two, are you new to this job of guiding people?"

Yanli was a little embarrassed, and a hint of awkwardness appeared on her face: "Senior has a good eye! Yuan Yao and I have indeed only been doing this kind of guiding business for a short time."

Ma Liang waved his hand dismissively, "It's alright, lead the way and take me to the registration office for the Demon Suppression Ceremony."

Yanli's face immediately lit up with joy. "Alright, senior! Please come with us!"

Afraid of offending Ma Liang, she quickly added, "By the way, senior, my name is Yanli, and this is Yuan Yao!"

Ma Liang nodded. "I understand."

Yanli walked ahead, leading the way, constantly chattering as she introduced each shop on both sides of the street.

Yuan Yao, however, simply followed quietly beside Ma Liang, a stark contrast to Yan Li's lively demeanor.

Ma Liang's gaze swept over the two of them.

Although these two experienced many ups and downs later on, they still achieved considerable success.

If I rashly interfere with their trajectory, who knows where I might lead them?

Ma Liang didn't have any romantic feelings for the two of them; Yuan Yao and Yan Li's personalities were simply not his type.

His favorite character was Song Yu from anime.

After a moment's hesitation, he finally decided to offer a word of advice; whether they listened or not was entirely up to them.

Ma Liang looked at Yuan Yao beside him and asked, "Do the two of you live on this Kui Xing Island?"

Yuan Yao still seemed a little reserved. She nodded slightly and pointed in a direction, "Reporting to Senior, the two of us live in the residence over there."

Ma Liang glanced in the direction she pointed and didn't ask any more questions. "Listen, the two of you must leave Kui Xing Island for the next Demon Suppression Ceremony ten years from now."

Upon hearing this, Yanli, who was leading the way, paused, her smile fading considerably. "Senior, why is that?"

"My understanding is higher than yours, so I naturally know some of the plans of those in power. I'm saying this for your own good."

"If you take this to heart, leave Kui Xing Island as soon as possible before the next Demon Suppression Ceremony."

Yanli completely dropped her previous playful demeanor and quickly walked to Yuan Yao's side.

"Senior, we are complete strangers to you. If this is a confidential matter from higher-ups, why would you specifically remind us? We truly cannot accept such a favor."

"I suppose we had some kind of connection in our past lives."

Yanli and Yuanyao exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt: "The previous life?"

"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say."

"As for how to choose, just do what you think is best. Continue leading the way."

To everyone's surprise, Yanli stood still and took a half step back.

"Senior, just turn one more corner and you'll reach the registration area. Yuan Yao and I have some things to attend to, so we won't keep you company any longer."

Ma Liang couldn't help but chuckle, "You're quite quick-witted; that's a good thing."

He casually took out two bottles of pills from his storage bag, and with a flick of his spiritual energy, presented the bottles to the two of them.

"These are two bottles of Qi-Nourishing Pills suitable for Qi Refining stage cultivators. They are somewhat beneficial to cultivation and can be considered as a reward for guiding you."

"If you're worried about the quality of the pills, you can simply sell them at the market for spirit stones."

After saying that, Ma Liang stopped looking at them and walked towards the corner ahead, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

Yanli and Yuanyao subconsciously took the pill bottle, but their hearts were filled with unease, as if this unexpected benefit was somewhat unreal.

The two exchanged a glance, and Yuan Yao first uncorked her own pill bottle.

A refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly filled the air. She looked down and saw that the Peiyuan Pill inside the bottle was lustrous and of superior quality!

"This...this is a high-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill!" Yuan Yao's voice trembled slightly. "One bottle costs nearly a hundred low-grade spirit stones!"

Upon hearing this, Yanli quickly unscrewed her pill bottle and brought it close to her eyes for a closer look.

The ten pills in the bottle were all plump and full, a world apart from the inferior goods in the market; they were undoubtedly top-grade.

She weighed the elixir bottle in her hand, growing more and more delighted with each look. "Who cares about any high-level schemes? Didn't that person say there are still ten years left? Who can say for sure what will happen in ten years! With these elixirs, our cultivation will be much easier!"

She stroked the bottle with delight, then suddenly remembered Ma Liang's words, "We had some kind of fate in our past life." She turned to look at Yuan Yao, who was still in a daze beside her, and said, "Hey, Yuan Yao, do you think what that person said about our past life could be true? Did we really know him in our past life?"

Yuan Yao shook her head. "I don't know."

"Although we can't see through his cultivation level, he doesn't seem to be someone of very high cultivation. How can he be so sure that we have a karmic connection from a previous life?"

"Besides, he even signed up for the demon-hunting competition of the Demon-Suppressing Ceremony. If he were a truly powerful cultivator, why would he get involved in such a competition? His cultivation level probably isn't that high either."

How do you know that someone's level of understanding is low?

"What if it's some kind of Core Formation cultivator, or even... a Nascent Soul expert?"

Yuan Yao reached out and poked her forehead, rolling her eyes in annoyance: "A Nascent Soul cultivator? With our mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation, how could we possibly know such a big shot? What are you thinking!"

Yanli rubbed her forehead where she had been poked, "He said it was in our past life, what if it really is!"

As she spoke, she mischievously nudged Yuan Yao's arm again.

"Yuan Yao, you just don't have the right personality. You speak so bluntly to me, but when you're with strangers, you start acting like a lady!"

"Who's pretending!" Yuan Yao immediately became agitated, reaching out to scratch Yanli. "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Yanli dodged and laughed, the two of them joking and laughing together, their clear laughter attracting the attention of the cultivators passing by on the street.

……

Ma Liang soon arrived at the registration area for the Demon Suppression Ceremony.

The place was already crowded with people, and there was a long line of cultivators waiting. He waited patiently for a while, and finally it was his turn.

The list posted on the wall of the registration area clearly listed the prizes for this grand ceremony, including the Dust-Clearing Pill and several other spiritual items that could be used for Core Formation.

Ma Liang was engrossed in reading when the cultivator in charge of registration impatiently tapped the table: "Hey, are you here to register? If you're going to register, hurry up and do it!"

He snapped out of his daze, picked up his pen and wrote his name on the roster, then took a number plate from the wooden box next to him.

Looking down, I saw the words "Number Nine" clearly engraved on the wooden sign.

When registering, Ma Liang was careful to report his cultivation level as the peak of the Qi Refining stage, concealing his true cultivation level.

He put away the wooden sign, lingered no longer, and turned to leave the crowd.