Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

Tan Suiting looked at the inexplicable, broken medicine cultivator in front of him.

Stared at so intently by such a handsome young man, Su Boyu lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

He was about to say something when the dragon prince in front of him spoke coldly.

"If you have the ability to make me draw my sword," Tan Suiting said, "I'll be waiting for you at the execution platform."

Su Boyu was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened: "What...?"

How did we get to that godforsaken place?!

Tan Suiting brushed past him, then stopped as if remembering something, glancing sideways at him with eyes as calm as a ripple, as if saying to him, or to everyone present: "Those below the Golden Core realm need not come to join the fun."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Su Boyu, who had only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for two months, was ashen-faced. He never expected that someone would speak to him like this in his lifetime.

Moreover, this person was the dragon prince whom he had a great liking for.

The humiliation he suffered in public was multiplied, causing his fingers to tremble slightly.

The system chuckled twice and said resentfully, "What do you have to say for yourself? How are you going to deny it? This is entirely your fault!"

This is totally Xie Weixing's style of showing off!

Xie Weixing: It's only natural for people to learn to speak God.

*

The later competitions were much more boring. Xie Weixing ate so many sunflower seeds that his mouth was almost burning, but he didn't see a single promising talent.

It's all about Qi Refining and Foundation Building.

Because the rule states that those aged 25 and above are disqualified from participating in the general election, theoretically, some people would try to participate at the last minute, at the age of 24.

But most of them are only at the Foundation Establishment stage. Even those who manage to reach the Golden Core stage often find out in a fight that they only got there by using spiritual herbs. They're utterly useless.

Xie Weixing sighed, realizing how heartbreaking the cultivation world was for those without talent.

He felt once again that he had made the right gamble back then in that dilapidated wooden hut on the back mountain.

If you don't become a senior apprentice, you'll become a zombie.

He was idly reminiscing about the past when he finished his drink, and another handful was handed to him.

He clicked his tongue, then suddenly remembered, "Where did you get these sunflower seeds from?"

Shen Chunri was busy and didn't have time to pay attention to him, so she pointed to the side.

Xie Weixing looked up.

Over there, a man in a green brocade robe with wide sleeves embroidered with cloud patterns was eating melon seeds with his legs crossed. His eyes were slightly upturned, and he looked at the stage with narrow eyes. His features were soft, as if they were melting into his light brown hair. Even with his legs crossed, he was still a flawless young master with a superior temperament and appearance.

Sensing his gaze, the man turned to look at him.

Seemingly misunderstanding his meaning, she held out another handful of sunflower seeds: "Hmm?"

Xie Weixing quickly waved his hand, politely refusing, and pointed to his throat: "No, I can't, it'll make me feel hot again."

The man gave him a thumbs up.

Xie Weixing paused for a moment, then gestured with his hands: "Are you deaf and mute?"

The man paused for a moment, then chuckled, somewhat speechless. His voice was quite pleasant, like that of a submissive person: "Still healthy."

Shen Chunri pulled him aside: "Don't block my view of the game."

So Xie Weixing switched places with Shen Chunri.

"Hello, my name is Yu Xintang. I'm a talisman cultivator." The man introduced himself with a smile, his eyes narrowed, and he looked more like a snake than Shen Chunri.

[Yu Xintang, one of the main characters in the original book and the strongest talisman cultivator]

[It was his single talisman that blew up the barrier at the foot of Feng Hua Sect Mountain.]

[It's so beautiful!]

[Not only are they good-looking, but their family is incredibly wealthy. The Yu clan of Penglai Realm is so rich that saying they're "rich enough to rival a country" is an insult.]

[He's also incredibly skilled in formations, mastering both talismans and formations. He could have also learned swordsmanship, but during the incident at Ten Thousand Swords Mountain, he injured his bones while saving Su Boyu from Nie Zhao, rendering him unable to wield a sword.]

[The next Lord of Penglai Realm, he is the one whose fate was most regrettable in the original book.]

[I agree that he should be the empress. That Tan Suiting deserves to never rise to the position; he was too harsh on our little Yu Bao.]

[According to the original book's pacing, he should have faced off against Xiaoyubao in a competition, then gone easy on her out of chivalry. Later, he wanted to join the Dao Seeking Sect together, but since they didn't accept talisman cultivators, he had no choice but to go to the Tianxuan Sect. However, he secretly observed her throughout the process.]

[A backup option with a strong male ghost vibe]

[Whether it still matches now is hard to say, as Wen Fu in the original book didn't fight Tan Suiting.]

[Ahhh, I can't wait! I just want to see this kind of multi-male lead love triangle. Yan Chenxiao, Wen Fuyu, Xintang, Tan Suiting—each one is so appealing!]

"My name is Xie Weixing," he introduced himself, starting his lesson with zero frames. "Lately, when I'm drawing talismans, they keep burning up on their own. What could be the reason?"

Judging from the comments, he's going to blow up the Feng Hua Sect's gates in the future, so he must be really good at drawing talismans. Maybe I should start learning from him now.

We should learn as much as we can, and learn from the barbarians' superior techniques to control them.

Yu Xintang readily agreed: "Draw one for me, and I'll take a look."

Xie Weixing did as instructed.

Judging from his talisman-drawing technique, Yu Xintang knew that he was not very skilled and was probably someone who wanted to engage in dual cultivation.

It's a pity. Although she has a lot of talent, if she studied for several years, she would still only have this level of proficiency...

"I learned a little bit before my two-month seclusion, but I haven't quite figured it out yet," Xie Weixing said. "This talisman..."

"What?" Yu Xintang smiled.

"I'm talking about this talisman..."

"The previous sentence?"

Xie Weixing paused for a moment, then recalled, "I learned a little bit before I went into seclusion for two months."

"How long have you been studying?"

"About half a month?" Xie Weixing blinked. "I have an hour of talisman lessons every afternoon."

Yu Xintang smiled.

"What's wrong?"

He wrote the incantation with a swift stroke and then stuck it on Xie Weixing's forehead with a snap.

A silencing spell.

Xie Weixing couldn't speak: "Hmm?"

"I'm jealous," Yu Xintang said, withdrawing her long, slender white fingers and placing them on her knees. "I don't want to share this with you."

Xie Weixing: ...

Can't you just say something nice to appease me, brother? Are we really that close?

Shen Chunri went up on stage for the competition. She was lucky and was matched against a formation cultivator, which wasn't too difficult.

It seems the original plot has been completely disrupted, and none of the opponents drawn by the group were the ones arranged in the original book.

Tan Suiting was a little thirsty and was about to ask Xie Weixing if he wanted to eat snow lotus tofu when he turned his head and saw that Xie Weixing was sitting a lot away from him, talking to someone he didn't know, holding a talisman in his hand.

"So that's how it is. No wonder. That explains why it started burning while I was writing. I'll control my spiritual power next time." Xie Weixing suddenly realized.

Yu Xintang felt the cold gaze directed at her from not far away.

He cleared his throat and subtly nudged Xie Weixing: "Cough."

"Hmm? What's wrong? Is your throat itchy?"

He remained oblivious to the approaching chill, studying the talisman in his hand.

"You talisman cultivators are really rich, huh? You're willing to buy a single talisman for ten high-grade spirit stones, hoarding it like toilet paper."

Yu Xintang ignored him.

"Um?"

Xie Weixing looked up and found Yu Xintang facing him sideways, her eyes looking straight ahead, watching the game very attentively.

What are you doing?

I still ignored him, practically writing "I don't know this idiot" on my face.