Infiltrating the righteous path? Just another place to be a sycophant.

You surrendered pretty quickly, faster than the others before you.

See? That's what you call professional.

"If Senior Brother Lu is not satisfied, I can give you these magic treasures too!"

"That's right, Senior Brother Lu, these magic treasures aren't the best, but they're still worth some spirit stones!"

"Senior Brother Lu, I also have a limited edition of 'The Tale of Moonlit Flowers' written by Young Master Chang of the Righteous Path Alliance. I'll leave it here for now..."

A book titled "Moonlight and Flower Chronicles" was placed on the ground, immediately catching Lu An's attention.

Good grief, a limited edition dating guide for men and women, how did you get your hands on that? Bringing this into the secret realm?

Not only Lu An, but even his companions were stunned.

How come you have this book on you!?

"It's not because I'm bored, it's just to kill some time..."

Everyone was speechless. So you read this kind of book? No wonder your face is always so red.

As the token left their bodies, time gradually passed, and the group was enveloped in white light. Finally, their figures became illusory as they were teleported out of the secret realm.

As the sword shadow in the sky vanished instantly and the longsword returned to its sheath, Lu An breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems I, Lu An, have managed to intimidate them.

Those who were teleported out of the secret realm breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the familiar Heavenly Demon Sect, the elders on the judging panel, and the sect leader and deputy sect leader.

It seems that Senior Brother Lu ultimately let them go.

Chapter Sixteen: Who is the Senior Brother, Who is the Senior Sister?

After the group was teleported out of the secret realm, people began to ask how they had been teleported out.

So they told them about their pursuit of Zhiruo and their encounter with Lu An.

"Senior Brother Lu's strength is earth-shattering! Those sword shadows are absolutely terrifying!"

"I have never seen such a powerful sword technique. Fortunately, Senior Brother Lu did not make a move."

"Although I sacrificed a copy of 'The Tale of Moonlit Flowers,' I was spared the loss of my life..."

The group recounted their encounter with Lu An, and soon after, they attracted the same group of fellow disciples who had been frightened by Lu An and had handed over their tokens to leave the secret realm.

As rumors spread, more and more things about Lu An emerged, and they became increasingly outrageous.

"Senior Brother Lu, he must have a clear sword heart!"

"Senior Brother Lu almost killed me back then; his sword intent nearly shattered my consciousness!"

"Oh dear, thank goodness Senior Brother Lu didn't make a move, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get out of here alive..."

The crowd was abuzz with discussion. The sect leader, deputy sect leader, elders, and other sect deacons exchanged bewildered glances after hearing these words.

They also noticed something: it seemed that no one had seen Lu An make a move.

Each time, Lu An would either stand still and utter a few harsh words to scare them, or he would use his Thunder Technique or Sword Technique to frighten them into handing over their tokens.

Is Lu An really that strong? So many people didn't even see him make a move. Is it because there's no one who can force him to make a move?

"It was just luck, nothing but luck!"

Seeing the gazes cast upon him by the elders, Li Podao couldn't help but feel a little smug, but he still maintained a humble demeanor.

Li Nayue, the deputy sect leader standing to the side, looked at Li Podao and shook her head.

That old guy, he's got his tail wagging in the air.

However, it must be admitted that he is quite skilled at training apprentices.

Even before Zhao Mengyuan, he had trained several very strong disciples. Although not all of them stayed in the Heavenly Demon Sect, they are now well-known figures in the world.

And this Lu An will probably become a master in the future.

Hearing what these people were saying, Zhao Mengyuan, who was standing to the side, became even more curious about Lu An.

Is Lu An really that strong?

But she sat there looking in the mirror for a long time and still couldn't see Lu An's figure.

For some reason, Lu An's image could not be found in the mirror, as if Lu An was deliberately avoiding the mirror.

Therefore, the Heavenly Demon Sect has not preserved any footage of Lu An's battles.

What a mysterious and powerful junior brother!

Later, I need to find an opportunity to ask Master about the background of this junior brother.

How many people are left on the field?

"After doing some calculations, there are probably about seven people left..."

"No, there are only six people left!"

"Looks like the competition is almost over."

…………

"Senior Brother Lu, where are we going now?"

"I don't know, senior sister, please stop following me, okay?"

The two walked together, addressing each other as senior brother and senior sister, but Lu An was thoroughly annoyed.

Why is this guy following me? What's so great about me that I'm following him?

They even asked us where we were going. If I knew, would I be wandering around aimlessly?

As the two were wandering aimlessly, they saw a dazzling red beam of light shoot into the sky from a mountain peak not far away, disappearing into the clouds.

Immediately afterwards, clusters of dark clouds began to gather, carrying blue and white lightning that flashed continuously within the clouds.

Someone is undergoing tribulation!?

This was Lu An's first thought.

This was also Zhiruo's idea; this kind of situation really looked like someone was undergoing a tribulation.

Who exactly is undergoing tribulation during the sect's grand competition? And judging from this golden light, they are probably about to enter the Nascent Soul stage.

"Senior Brother Lu, it seems someone has entered the Nascent Soul stage." Zhi Ruo tugged at Lu An's sleeve and said softly.

Lu An was stunned when he heard this.

Good heavens, a split-minded stage?! Don't scare him, he'll be doomed if he goes straight into the neurotic stage.

Even in the Nascent Soul stage, he was walking on thin ice, let alone the Spirit Separation stage. Why don't you just go for the Void Refinement stage?

"Senior brother, shall we go and investigate this together?"

Zhi Ruo tugged at Lu An's clothes, causing Lu An to pause in surprise.

"Investigate? Investigate...investigate what?"

"Let's find out which fellow disciple is that Nascent Soul stage cultivator!"

"No need, I'm not that gossipy..."

"Senior brother, I know you just used a sword technique and your spiritual energy was depleted. Don't panic, I'll take you flying!"

Zhi Ruo grabbed Lu An, and in the blink of an eye, she and Lu An transformed into a streak of black light, heading straight for the mountain peak that was shooting out a red beam of light.

A strong gale whistled in Lu An's ears, as loud as an earth dragon turning over.

"Wait...don't speed...waaaaaah..."

…………

Countless bolts of lightning struck down, producing deafening thunderclaps. The dazzling lightning flashed on and off repeatedly.

The raging lightning, like a swarm of crazed electric snakes, frantically coiled around the figure on the mountain peak, crackling and exploding with deafening sounds, as if it were the end of the world.

One bolt of lightning after another struck down, each one hitting the person atop the mountain with pinpoint accuracy, as if he were being punished by the heavens.

After an unknown amount of time, the number of lightning bolts gradually decreased, and even the thunderclouds began to dissipate. A figure gradually emerged from a cloud of smoke.

The man sat in meditation on the mountain peak, his robes were tattered and worn, and the entire mountain peak was filled with the smell of burning.

"Hahaha, I've broken through! I've broken through!"

A man dressed in a black and blue robe, with disheveled hair, stood on the charred and rock-strewn mountain peak, looking smug.

Feeling the abundant spiritual power and true essence within his body, he had successfully entered the Nascent Soul stage.

To suddenly break through to the Nascent Soul stage in this place, wouldn't that be enough to easily defeat a Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

You can't say he broke the rules. He came in as a Nascent Soul cultivator and came out as a Spirit Division cultivator. You can only blame him for breaking through!

If you get distracted here, wouldn't that make you a master?

Although he had just been struck by lightning during his tribulation and his power had not yet recovered, the transformation from Nascent Soul to Spirit Division was a qualitative change resulting from quantitative change. Even if several Nascent Soul cultivators of the same strength came, they would not be able to defeat him.

Although he was half-naked, his body was a true split-spirit body, and he was going to sweep through this sect competition!

"Are there only six people left this time?" He looked at the token in his hand, which had only six remaining dots of light, representing the number of people remaining in the room.

Meanwhile, Zhiruo and Lu An concealed their auras and hid behind a rock, nervously watching the expert who had already broken through to the Nascent Soul stage.

"How many Nascent Soul stage cultivators can one Nascent Soul stage cultivator do?"

“It’s hard to say. Generally speaking, a Nascent Soul cultivator at level one can fight three or four Nascent Soul cultivators at level eight or nine. That’s how we talk about cultivation levels.” Zhi Ruo shook her head. “But the one in here isn’t an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, nor is he an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. It’s hard to say.”

"Senior Sister Zhiruo, who is he?"

“He is Elder Sha Yuan’s true disciple, Liu Zhengxuan,” Zhi Ruo replied, while looking at Lu An with a puzzled expression: “Senior Brother Lu, why do you call me Senior Sister?”

"How many years have you been a member of the sect?"

"It's been more than fifty years."

"I've only been here for... about ten years..."

Zhi Ruo fell silent, surprised that the person in front of her hadn't been in the sect as long as she had.

It seemed that she should be a senior sister, but she had been traveling for more than ten years, so she was not very clear about the affairs of the sect.

She had only heard of it because she heard that Li Podao had taken in a very handsome and mysteriously powerful disciple.

When I saw it today, it was indeed the case.

Stick close to Lu An, and we'll definitely win! Making it into the top three would be a victory!

"No matter what, the Heavenly Demon Sect values ​​strength above all else. You are stronger than me, so you are my senior brother!"

"Senior Sister Zhiruo, what level of Nascent Soul are you?"

“I am only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, one level below Senior Brother Lu.”

"Only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage..."

Chapter Seventeen: The Powerful Nascent Soul Stage

Lu An nodded, feeling even more speechless.

He hasn't been in the sect as long as Senior Sister Zhiruo, nor is he as strong. He only got called Senior Brother because of his bragging and his physique that makes it impossible for others to detect his strength. He really... doesn't deserve it!

"Senior Sister Zhiruo, what do you think we should do...?"

"Senior brother, I'm only asking for your opinion!"

"I……"

Lu An didn't know what to say. "What do you want my opinion?" A Nascent Soul cultivator asking a Foundation Establishment cultivator for advice? You're something else...

when!

As the two were discussing, a sharp metallic sound suddenly rang out.

Looking out from behind the rock, the two saw a long black sword appear beside Liu Zhengxuan, but it was blocked by the semi-transparent black and gold barrier around him.

"A sneak attack? Who is it?"

Liu Zhengxuan looked at the black longsword, his expression changed slightly, then turned into disdain.