After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

The three agreed to meet in front of the mountain gate.

When Lin Zhixu arrived, Zhou Tong and Chu Yan were there.

After waiting for about half an hour, seeing him approaching from afar, she immediately jumped up and waved vigorously at him: "Senior Brother Lin, over here!"

Chu Yan stood next to Zhou Tong, still looking as honest and unassuming as ever.

Lin Zhixu approached and noticed his expression, then couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Didn't you get enough rest?"

Chu Yan smiled shyly: "Nothing much, Zhou Tong was just so excited last night that she didn't sleep a wink, and dragged me out of bed before dawn this morning."

Zhou Tong's ears turned slightly red, and she glared at Chu Yan, who immediately shut his mouth.

Lin Zhixu looked at their intimate interaction with a strange expression. "Are you two living together now?"

Zhou Tong and Chu Yan blushed. Zhou Tong quickly explained, "We don't live together. I was lucky; I did well in the outer disciple assessment and was selected for the inner sect."

"Inner disciples are assigned a menial disciple to help with their daily needs, so I asked Chu Yan to come over. He lives in the room next to mine."

"Senior Brother Lin, you don't know, Chu Yan is just too honest. He's easily bullied in the servant disciples' quarters..."

Chu Yan looked at Zhou Tong, who was standing in the morning light, looking radiant, and silently lowered his eyes.

Zhou Tong has already entered the inner sect, and he is becoming more and more confident in his words and deeds, while he is still a menial disciple.

When walking beside Zhou Tong, he would always subconsciously slow down by half a step, letting Zhou Tong walk in front while he followed behind with his head down, making himself look like Zhou Tong's servant, so that others wouldn't laugh at him.

Although Zhou Tong never looked down on him and always protected him, he still felt that he was not good enough for Zhou Tong.

He was already very content just being able to stay by Zhou Tong's side.

Lin Zhixu could tell that Chu Yan's current state was not right. The two of them were not on equal footing to begin with, and if they didn't talk it out, there would definitely be a rift between them in the future.

However, the two of them haven't really crossed that line yet, so as an outsider, he shouldn't interfere.

He hasn't even sorted out his own feelings yet, so how can he be qualified to meddle in other people's relationship matters?

……

The three of them went down the mountain and into the city.

The market was bustling with activity. The streets were crowded with independent cultivators setting up stalls and vendors hawking their wares. The air was filled with the aroma of burnt pills and the fishy smell of freshly baked spirit beast feed.

Zhou Tong led the two through several streets and alleys with familiarity, and plunged into the largest herbal medicine shop on East Street. After haggling with the shopkeeper for a long time, they finally came out satisfied with a bundle of good-quality Qingling grass.

Lin Zhixu then realized that Zhou Tong had come down the mountain this time to buy spiritual plants for alchemy, hoping to raise his cultivation level further before the sect competition.

The sect's martial arts competition has requirements: only disciples who have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage within ten years or to the Golden Core stage within a hundred years are eligible to participate.

Zhou Tong was just one step away from success, so he decided to go all in and make a desperate gamble.

As for Chu Yan, he was just a menial disciple and not qualified to participate. He was only there to keep Zhou Tong company.

After buying the spiritual plants, the three of them found a tea stall on the street to sit down and rest.

Zhou Tong picked up his teacup and drank more than half a bowl, then started talking animatedly, sharing with Lin Zhixu the gossip he had recently heard.

"This competition is full of geniuses. The Lingyun Sect alone has produced two prodigies this year, one named Chu Yueyao and the other Jiang Chen. They are said to be only in their early twenties and have already reached the fifth level of Foundation Establishment in less than ten years since they entered the sect."

"There are rumors circulating outside that these two have talents comparable to the legendary Immortal Venerable Wu Cang and Immortal Venerable Feng Heng. I think that's just bragging and exaggeration."

"There is also the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, which has a man named Yan Qinghan. It is said that his swordsmanship is unparalleled and that he could rival the Immortal Venerable Wu Cang in the future."

Zhou Tong spat, "How can you say such a thing? Shameless! Who is Immortal Venerable Wu Cang? He is a sword genius who appears only once every ten thousand years! Back then, during the Northern Border monster tide..."

"He single-handedly slew seven divine beast-level monsters with his sword. The sword light pierced the sky for three days without dissipating. Even now, people still burn incense and kowtow when they mention him."

"There's also a legend that ten thousand years ago, the Demon Clan invaded. It was Immortal Venerable Wucang and Immortal Venerable Fengheng who defeated the Demon Lord and restored peace to the world. Who does that Yan Qinghan think he is, daring to compare himself to Immortal Venerable Wucang after only practicing swordsmanship for a few years?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, and Chu Yan silently refilled his empty teacup.

Zhou Tong is a die-hard fan of Yan Lingcang, so naturally she can't stand anyone putting down Yan Lingcang.

Lin Zhixu chuckled.

In fact, it wasn't just him; you could say that everyone in the Tianheng Sect was a die-hard fan of Yan Lingcang.

Since the Wanjian Sect spread this rumor, the two sects have been at odds.

When disciples of the Tianheng Sect are out and about, they don't give a friendly look when they hear that someone is from the Wanjian Sect.

However, he also felt that Yan Qinghan of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect was no match for Yan Lingcang.

It wasn't because he knew Yan Lingcang was the protagonist and was blindly confident, but because he had personally witnessed Yan Lingcang's cultivation in his youth in the illusion.

That state of being one with the sword and with the world is something that others might not be able to reach even after a lifetime of practice, but he seemed to have it innately.

He was born for the sword.

The fact that someone can be recognized by Heaven as the number one cultivator in the cultivation world naturally has its reasons.

After cursing Yan Qinghan, Zhou Tong drank most of a cup of tea to calm himself down. Then, he changed the subject and his tone suddenly became somewhat sentimental: "But speaking of which, the competition in this year's sect competition is really fierce."

"From what I know, quite a few people broke through their bottlenecks before the competition, probably because they wanted to give it their all, just like me."

Chu Yan nodded: "The foundations of the major sects have indeed deepened considerably over the years."

Lin Zhixu asked curiously, "Where did you get so much information? I don't know anything about this."

Zhou Tong said helplessly, "Senior Brother Lin, this isn't a secret at all. Even we can find out about it, so what kind of secret is it?"

"Senior Brother Lin, you only cultivate every day and don't interact with the outside world much, so you're naturally not very well-informed. Chu Yan and I often travel between the peaks, so we naturally hear more rumors."

Chu Yan nodded silently from the side, and rarely interjected, "Especially those menial disciples, they're very well-informed about inside stories."

Zhou Tong: "However, these rumors are three parts true and seven parts false. Some are released by the sects themselves to create hype, and some are fabricated by idle people adding fuel to the fire. Only a fool would believe them all. Anyway, Chu Yan and I usually just listen to them for entertainment."

Lin Zhixu thought about it and felt that what they said made sense.

He does not usually contact the outside world and does not like to make friends, so he is naturally somewhat isolated from information.

Zhou Tong added, "By the way, Senior Brother Lin, you probably don't know this, but the disciples have secretly set up betting odds on who will win first place in this sect competition. In the Foundation Establishment stage, you and Senior Brother Luo are the most popular."

"After all, both Wu Cang Immortal Venerable and Feng Heng Immortal Venerable are in our Tianheng Sect, and you two are their only disciples, so you naturally receive more attention."

Lin Zhixu thought for a moment, then took out a bag of spirit stones from his storage bag and placed it on the table.

"If you have the chance, please place a bet for me too."

Zhou Tong's eyes lit up, and he quickly took the bag, only to be surprised by its heavy weight.

This is quite a generous amount; Senior Brother Lin is indeed very generous!

"Alright! Senior Brother Lin, you want to bet yourself?"

Lin Zhixu shook his head: "No, help me escort Luo Yiyan."