The Long Journey to Immortality

Although Fu Chen had confidence in Han Lu, based on Han Lu's cultivation level in her file, he didn't think she had the ability to defeat a cultivator at the second level of Qi Refining.

Han Lu waved her hand, "Little master, don't worry, it's no problem. Just helping me spread the word will be a huge help."

Seeing that Han Lu wouldn't listen to advice, Fu Chen gave her another suggestion, "Junior Sister Han, if all else fails, you can ask Elder Piaomiao for help. If Elder Piaomiao just says a word, these bored people who are bothering you, only thinking about becoming famous or trying to get into the fold of some senior elder by defeating you, will definitely stop bothering you."

Han Lu chuckled lightly, "Little Master, I understand your good intentions, but if I have to ask you for help with such a small matter, wouldn't that make me seem too incompetent?"

"Don't worry," Han Lu repeated the word, "I'll beat them into submission."

Upon hearing this, Fu Chen stopped trying to persuade her. He repeated Han Lu's request to confirm that it was correct before leaving the small courtyard where Han Lu lived. He then used his small reputation within the family to help Han Lu spread the word.

Within half a day, almost all the Dongshan Academy disciples who wanted to challenge Han Lu knew the requirements that needed to be met to do so.

And so, another round of discussion and sarcastic remarks were inevitable.

"This Han Lu is so arrogant and ignorant."

"Do you think we'll be merciful just because you've become a disciple of a Golden Core cultivator?"

"He probably thinks he's very powerful, hehehe."

"It's just that I advanced to the third level of Qi Refining the day before yesterday, otherwise I would definitely have given Han Lu a beating three days later."

……

The already heated topic gradually gained traction, and even many disciples of the East Mountain Academy with cultivation levels above the fifth level of Qi Refining learned about it.

On the same day the news spread, Wen Erya, who was unaware of the matter, made a special trip to Han Lu's place to ask if Han Lu needed her to lend her a few magical items and provide any small assistance she could.

To avoid gossip and the inability to resolve the matter perfectly, Han Lu did not intend to "bully others with her wealth" and use the magical artifacts she took from Xiaoyaozi's cave to fight off the enemy. Naturally, she would not borrow magical artifacts from Wen Erya.

Han Lu repeatedly expressed her confidence, but Wen Erya was still worried and said that she would come to the scene to watch on the day of the competition in order to prevent any trouble from happening.

Han Lu did not refuse.

Although it was called a contest, Han Lu felt it was more like using magic to reason with someone.

To clearly explain a point and convince people, it is essential to have several competent referees present.

Wen Erya is absolutely qualified to be the judge on this issue.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

In order to speed up her cultivation progress, Han Lu, who had been hiding the Meridian Opening Pill in her storage bag, finally took it out.

With the help of the elixir, Han Lu successfully opened her tenth acupoint during her intensive training on the day of the duel.

With her strength further enhanced, Han Lu, already brimming with confidence, became even more certain that she could resolve the minor incident that had inexplicably dragged her into today.

But when she arrived at the appointment and saw the crowd surrounding the entrance of No. 17 in the Seventh Hospital, she was dumbfounded.

Recalling the challenge letters placed in front of her door a few days ago, and the several fellow disciples who came to her door to challenge her to a duel, she wondered in surprise, "What, have I made enemies with nearly a hundred fellow disciples?"

[Author's Note] This is the second time this week that the assistant has reminded everyone to vote for Yi Xue Jiang.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Seven Matches

Saying there were a hundred people is a bit of an exaggeration, but if you add up all the fellow disciples who challenged Han Lu to a duel a few days ago, there must have been at least forty or fifty people.

Among them, there were more than a dozen people who met the cultivation level requirements set by Han Lu and came to Han Lu's doorstep on this day to take the initiative to fight.

Besides these fifteen people, a small portion of the other members of the Zhengyi Sect who were gathered around Han Lu's house were the challengers' "friends and family," who came to cheer them on and support them.

The vast majority of the rest were people who had heard about Han Lu's story, found it interesting, and came here to watch the show and join in the fun.

After all, the life of cultivation in the Zhengyi sect is much more boring than the mundane world.

Since there's finally a show to watch and something to enjoy, naturally some cultivators will be willing to take some time to step forward and see what's going on.

Since many people had never seen Han Lu before, when Han Lu held up her waist tag to identify herself, the crowd spontaneously made way for her, so as not to delay the performance.

Although it was others who picked a fight and caused her trouble, ultimately, it was Han Lu who took the initiative to propose this challenge.

With so many people gathered at her doorstep, she, as the "organizer" of this competition, naturally had to say a few words to maintain order and avoid wasting everyone's time.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Han Lu calmly asked, "Which of you want to challenge me to a duel?"

After saying that, Han Lu pointed to an area on her left and continued, "Please all stand here."

After a brief instruction, the scene became orderly.

The onlookers spontaneously made way for them.

The dozen or so cultivators who had come here to challenge Han Lu all left the crowd and headed towards the "challenge area" designated by Han Lu.

After everyone had stopped walking around, Han Lu counted the number of people and said, "Fifteen people came in total..."

After a moment's hesitation, she continued, "How about this, to avoid you accusing me of hiring someone or throwing the match, you should come up with a plan among yourselves, put together a group of five people, and choose them to compete against me."

"If you really can't make a decision in the end, then I'll help you make the choice."

"Wen Erya, Senior Sister Wen will be here soon, and she will be the referee."

What are your thoughts, everyone?

Han Lu's idea was good, and it also dispelled the concerns of some challengers who had previously judged her with their own petty mind.

Two highly organized challengers stepped forward and began to organize the challengers to determine a winner using various standards and rules.

Just then, Wen Er Ya arrived.

"Senior Sister Wen," Han Lu greeted her proactively.

The call of "Senior Sister Wen" drew everyone's attention to Wen Erya, who was still wearing the uniform of a Qi Refining cultivator from the Zheng Yi Sect.

Many of the onlookers only knew of the name Wen Er Ya, but had never seen her in person.

The crowd discussed it animatedly, turning their already high regard for Wen Erya into a series of positive comments.

"So she was the thirteenth princess."

"The Thirteenth Princess is really low-key, actually walking around the sect in such an ordinary uniform."

"Senior Sister Wen is not only highly skilled in magic, but also very beautiful."

……

When faced with compliments and greetings from strangers, Wen Erya simply maintained a polite smile and did not respond much.

Upon arriving at Han Lu's side, Wen Erya immediately presented her with a package containing four Rejuvenation Powder pills.

Han Lu did not refuse Wen Erya's kind offer.

She then asked Han Lu about the progress of the matter.

Knowing she hadn't missed the show, she stood with Han Lu, patiently waiting for the challengers to use words and rules to determine who was better.

The two sisters stood together, and the onlookers who had just been praising Wen Erya changed their tune and started pointing out Han Lu's minor flaws.

"Not in good shape."

"Hair was messy and the bun was tied in an unsightly way."

"Her eyes are too big, and her face is too small."

……

These words left Han Lu feeling somewhat helpless, but she wasn't angry at all.

She was confident that once she won the next five matches and resolved the controversies surrounding her, the rumors would change drastically.

"Not in good shape" can become "slim".

"Disheveled hair and an unsightly bun" can be transformed into "genuine personality and unconcerned about details".

Having "big eyes and a small face" can be interpreted as "cute and charming".

After the two "organizers" communicated and coordinated, and established a series of reasonable and well-founded selection rules, eight of the fifteen challengers were eliminated.

The seven selected individuals all possessed the cultivation level of the second stage of Qi Refining. Two of them had entered the Zhengyi Sect half a year prior, while the other five, like Han Lu and Wen Erya, had become disciples of the Zhengyi Sect approximately ten days ago.

These challengers came here hoping to defeat Han Lu and prove their worthiness to become disciples of a Golden Core cultivator. They didn't necessarily want the Golden Core elders to look at them differently, but at least they wanted to defeat Han Lu and feel good about themselves.

Such a pure reason makes this matter, which has been somewhat chaotic due to the many older cultivators who are eager to gain fame, seem pure again.

Han Lu was not good at making choices. Looking at the seven people in front of her, she couldn't think of any new selection criteria for a moment, so she simply decided, "Removing anyone would probably make everyone dissatisfied, so let's just do this..."

"You line up in order, and I'll fight you one by one."

"Since we've already decided to play five games, two more games won't make a difference."

This decision pleased everyone except for those cultivators who had been pre-selected and excluded from the challenger team.

Under Wen Erya's witness, Han Lu made a three-point agreement with the seven challengers to ensure that no cultivator would be seriously injured or killed during the battle.

The most important rule is that Han Lu will not use any magical artifacts; she will only rely on her true skills to compete, and the challengers are free to choose.

None of the seven challengers had any objections to this. Five of them even volunteered that they would not use any magical tools, so as not to take advantage of Han Lu and avoid a fight that could damage the harmony among fellow disciples.

The other two hesitated for a moment before also making their promises.

Seeing that the competition was about to begin, the onlookers spontaneously made way for a clearing of a space seventy zhang square, so as not to affect the competition or be affected by the magic.

Using the open space in front of the Seventh Academy as a competition venue was a last resort.

Although the Zhengyi Sect has a proper competition venue, neither Han Lu nor the seven challengers were willing to pay the venue usage fee of up to two spirit stones for this.

Han Lu strolled to the center of the open space, waiting for the first challenger to come up on stage.

One of the challengers casually plucked some weeds from the ground and held them in his hand.

The seven people selected weeds based on the tips of the weeds peeking out from between their fingers, comparing their lengths. The monk who grabbed the longest weed became the first challenger.

This shows that, in the minds of the seven challengers, defeating Han Lu was not difficult, and this honor was awarded to those who came first.

After pulling weeds and drawing lots, the seven people also determined an order of precedence.

Previously, the "carefree" cultivator who called Han Lu "Junior Sister Han" became the first challenger.

The monk wearing a small beaded crown stood ten meters in front of Han Lu, bowed, and introduced himself as "Sikong Junfeng".

Although challenging Han Lu was not primarily for fame, Sikong Junfeng would still be happy to leave a good reputation for being "skilled in combat" in the mountain academy.

Since the other party was so polite, Han Lu felt she couldn't be impolite in return.

Han Lu cupped her hands in greeting and replied, "Han Lu."