The Long Journey to Immortality

The other two disciples in the same period, Yu Hetong and He Lanwei, performed even better than their two "senior brothers and sisters".

Both players achieved resounding victories, advancing to the knockout stage with seven consecutive wins.

This outcome was slightly unexpected for Han Lu.

As top performers in their respective cultivation realms, Yu Hetong and He Lanwei both need to advance to the top sixteen to reach the "passing grade" set by Han Lu and receive a reward that is extremely precious to Qi Refining cultivators.

As for the three disciples in the second batch, Han Lu treated them differently as well.

Although his cultivation level was not as high as that of the four senior brothers and sisters before him, he was able to achieve great success due to his talent and other factors.

Han Lu had even higher expectations for two of them.

Mingxin is alright. Although Han Lu has not given up on treating her, she has already figured out the general situation of this female disciple.

After winning six and losing one in the preliminary rounds, Mingxin needs to win one more match to complete the task assigned by Han Lu.

Although Mingxin lacked natural talent, she was diligent in her cultivation and studied Qiu Peng's combat manual extensively before the competition.

Having reached this point, Han Lu believes that as long as she encounters bad luck during the group pairing, winning another match shouldn't be a problem.

Yuan Jinghui and Wu Tianqi are seen by Han Lu as strong contenders for the championship.

Naturally, surviving to the final day of the competition and advancing to the semifinals became Han Lu's minimum requirement for these two disciples.

The two lived up to expectations, winning all seven of their preliminary rounds, and each victory was achieved by overwhelming their opponents.

The two of them have a good chance of achieving the high goals set by Han Lu.

When the elimination rounds began in the last three days, all the Golden Core elders of the Zhengyi Sect came out in full force.

At least two-thirds of the Golden Core elders came to the viewing platform, and Han Lu finally met Yun Min Daoist, who had not appeared for a long time, on this occasion.

After stepping down from his position as sect leader, Yunmin Daoist, who had acquired a large amount of cultivation resources, became a complete cultivation fanatic.

In public, Han Lu had only met Yunmin Daoist three times.

It is said that in just twenty years, Daoist Yunmin successfully drew two elixir patterns, bringing him one step closer to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

This time, the two finally met again during the competition. Before Han Lu could even greet him, Daoist Yun Min warmly invited Han Lu, his "friend despite the age difference," to sit down next to him and watch the competition together.

Chapter 751 The Complex Relationships Between Cultivators

"Han Lu..."

Because of their past relationship, and because Daoist Yunmin knew Han Lu's character very well, even though Han Lu had advanced to the Golden Core Realm and become a sect elder several years ago, Daoist Yunmin still addressed Han Lu by her given name when they met again in this public setting.

When dealing with his relationship with Han Lu, Yunmin Daoist, who once held a high position and still surpassed Han Lu by a realm, was much more composed than Piaomiaozi.

"I heard you've taken on quite a few disciples in the sect these past few years?"

"That is indeed true," Han Lu said. She did not object to Daoist Yunmin calling her by her given name, and even hoped so. "I received a lot of kindness from the sect in my early years, so I thought about teaching more people and nurturing a few promising disciples to repay the sect's kindness to me."

Upon hearing Han Lu's reply, Daoist Yunmin continued, "I heard about your ability to train disciples more than twenty years ago."

"Back then, entrusting Nian Haoge to you for education was one of the few correct decisions I made."

Han Lu smiled and said, "Elder Yunmin, you flatter me. I only used a little effort. It was mainly because Haoge has outstanding talent."

"Han Lu, you're too modest. I imagine you've taken on several apprentices now, and among them must be many talented young people."

Master Yunmin's gaze fell upon the 640 Zhengyi Sect disciples moving about in the large arena area in front of the viewing platform, and he asked, "How many of you have advanced to the elimination rounds and are standing in front of these arenas below?"

“We’re lucky,” Han Lu’s smile deepened. “All seven disciples have advanced.”

"Oh..." Daoist Yunmin was slightly surprised. "As expected, Han Lu, you are not only good at fighting and cultivating, but you are also a good master. Come and introduce yourself to me."

"Let me meet the future Golden Core elder of the sect fifty years in advance."

He only wanted to use this topic to reminisce about his relationship with Han Lu, but he didn't expect to hear some big news.

As the two sat on the viewing platform, their conversation naturally reached the ears of the other Golden Core elders on the platform.

Han Lu's words drew the attention of many Golden Core elders, who shared the same surprise as Daoist Yun Min.

After all, it's already quite good if two-thirds of the disciples under the elders can become truly accomplished.

Even elders who have been deeply rooted in the sect for over a hundred years cannot guarantee that more than half of their disciples will advance to the elimination rounds of such a grand event.

Han Lu, who had achieved such results in less than five years since forming her core, naturally attracted the attention of these Golden Core cultivators who were not particularly familiar with her.

I was thinking of using my keen ears to hear some interesting gossip and some of Han Lu's insights on mentoring students.

After all, the progress of an apprentice is also part of the assessment by the elders of the Zhengyi Sect.

If an apprentice advances rapidly, even achieving the Golden Core stage within a century, it will greatly benefit the master.

Han Lu's thoughts were very pure.

He felt he should introduce his top disciples to Daoist Yunmin, showcasing the results of his efforts in recent years and making this former sect leader, who cared deeply for the sect, happy.

Guided by her divine sense, Han Lu introduced her seven disciples at the Qi Refining Realm to Daoist Yun Min.

Han Lu spent more time talking about her two outstanding disciples, Yu Hetong and Wu Tianqi.

Just as Han Lu had expected, although Daoist Yun Min had relinquished his responsibilities as sect leader, he still cared deeply about the development of the sect's younger generation and was quite concerned about this topic.

In just ten minutes, the topic of apprentices brought the two, who had grown somewhat distant due to not seeing each other for a long time, much closer together.

When they talked again, the topics of conversation changed from things that could be casually discussed in front of others to private matters.

The mode of communication also changed from speaking to communicating through consciousness.

As an elder, Daoist Yunmin inquired about Han Lu's life during her three years back in the wilderness and was curious about this part of Han Lu's story.

Han Lu also took this opportunity to inquire about Yun Min Daoist's life after retirement and to learn from him, seeking his insights on the Golden Core realm cultivation, as Yun Min Daoist's cultivation speed had increased rapidly this year.

Hearing that Han Lu had left the desolate land for many years but had not had any estrangement from her family and had even gained a lovable younger brother, Daoist Yunmin was happy for Han Lu, but also a little worried that Han Lu might abandon the Zhengyi Sect because of family ties.

He frankly expressed his concerns and hoped that Han Lu could stay in the Zhengyi Sect for a while longer. Han Lu also took the opportunity to explain her thoughts and the unwritten agreement with Xuan Chengzi.

With all the problems and solutions no longer needing his attention or his concern, Yunmin Daoist was finally at ease and began to talk to Han Lu about his cultivation in recent years.

His cultivation speed was incredibly fast. Naturally, Daoist Yunmin was beaming with joy and high spirits, as if he had returned to the time when he was a genius of the sect during the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.

Upon hearing that this "friend of a different age" was expected to advance to the late stage of the Golden Core realm within fifty years, with a 70% chance of attempting to transcend the tribulation, Han Lu was overjoyed, as if she herself was about to advance.

With concern but also a bit of a mood killer, he reminded Daoist Yunmin of the recent tragedy of two elders of the sect failing their tribulations.

Daoist Yunmin was indeed worried about this, but he was only worried that there would be no successors for the Nascent Soul Realm experts in the sect for the time being.

"I am still confident that when I undergo tribulation two or three hundred years from now, with the magic treasure that you retrieved from the ancient cultivation secret realm, Han Lu, I might be able to increase my chances from 70% to 90%."

The magical treasure that Daoist Yunmin was referring to was naturally the Free and Easy Umbrella.

Although the two sat upright on the viewing platform communicating with their minds, their emotions were clearly written on their faces in this silent exchange.

Just like Qiu Peng and Han Lu, who are clearly master and apprentice, their relationship has a sibling-like feel to it.

Yunmin Daoist, who once had a gap in cultivation and status with Han Lu, also had a change in his relationship with Han Lu after nearly forty years of knowing her.

The two are quite suitable to be described as close friends who share the same ideals and get along well.

While they were chatting, Xuan Chengzi was about to go on stage to give a speech and announce the start of the competition.

The Golden Core cultivators on the viewing platform also put aside their other matters and turned their attention to the competition.

In recent years, Master Yunmin has been busy with his cultivation and has not taken on any new disciples. There are no Qi Refining disciples under his tutelage.

Naturally, he treated Han Lu's disciples as his own during this competition, showing them care and concern to increase his sense of involvement while watching the event.

Although Piaomiaozi was chatting with Jin Daoren, he kept glancing at Han Lu out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing Han Lu chatting happily with Daoist Yunmin, he felt a pang of jealousy and a strange sense of being cuckolded.

As Han Lu's former mentor, Piaomiaozi couldn't help but reflect on her attitude and think about how to properly handle her relationship with Han Lu in the future.

We don't need to become inseparable, but at least we should get back to how we were before.

This matter is not simple.

How to handle attitudes towards the same cultivator at different levels and in different positions is a major challenge in the cultivation world.

While others were solving Han Lu's difficult problem, Han Lu herself was also solving a problem.

Chapter 752 The Walls Have Ears

Piaomiaozi was troubled about how to face Han Lu, and Han Lu had also thought about how to follow her heart in private and in public when facing this nominal master.

Not only should Han Lu face Piaomiaozi, but after advancing to the Golden Core realm and becoming a sect elder, how to deal with some friends and acquaintances who are comfortable on the path of cultivation is also a difficult problem.

Especially when dealing with Wen Erya.

Fortunately, Wen Erya was exceptionally talented and her personality was compatible with Han Lu's.

In addition, the two had a close relationship, which helped to minimize the problem and prevented any estrangement from arising because Han Lu's cultivation level had surpassed Han Lu's.

Han Lu can temporarily alleviate the problem by simply focusing on herself.

Once Wen Erya also advances to the Golden Core Realm, the relationship between the two will no longer be a problem.

As Xuan Chengzi announced the start of the competition, the academy, whose staff had already been assigned tasks, proceeded with the competition in accordance with custom and rules.

There were a total of twenty arenas, and forty cultivators who had already been standing on them simultaneously unleashed their spells and magical artifacts at the command of the referees, thus beginning the grand competition.

In the first round of the competition, among the forty cultivators facing off on the arena, there were none of Han Lu's disciples. This naturally made her uninterested in most of the battles on the arena, which she considered "clumsy and low-level." She only glanced at the arena for those at the tenth level of Qi Refining and above.

Out of the corner of her eye, Han Lu noticed that Elder Yun Min was also not paying attention to the arena. Suddenly, an idea came to her, and she used telepathy to ask Elder Yun Min about the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in her sect.

Of course, she did not reveal her meeting with senior a few days ago.

Yunmin Daoist was quite surprised to hear Han Lu suddenly bring up such a private matter.

Having once been a sect leader, he naturally knew some things about the sect's highest levels.

Although it was only a few years before he left office that he received a summons from the real senior and went to the real senior's world for a short visit, he still knew this.

This matter was, of course, a closely guarded secret. However, Daoist Yunmin did not mind revealing some little-known secrets to regain some of his sense of being the sect leader and to win over Han Lu, satisfying her curiosity and making her feel like she was one of his own.

"I know some things, but not much. What do you want to know?"

The three consecutive short sentences in the reply maintained the restraint required when discussing confidential matters, while clearly expressing the willingness to reveal some basic information.

After meeting Senior Zhen, Han Lu naturally became curious about another Nascent Soul Realm expert from a sect who was traveling around.