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

Li Podao breathed a sigh of relief, while Zhao Mengyuan, standing to the side, had a complicated expression.

The kid really did win, but she still didn't see how he made his move.

From beginning to end, she never saw Lu An actually make a move.

As the three were teleported off the island, the scene of cheering crowds appeared before them.

But for some reason, Lu An sensed some malicious gazes, which made him feel a chill run down his spine.

Some people welcomed Li Yun, while others welcomed Zhang Zhiruo.

When it was his turn, he was greeted by Li Podao and Zhao Mengyuan.

"My disciple, well done! You got first place."

This was the first thing Li Podao said to Lu An when he met him, and he said it with a smile.

A smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

"I'm number one!?"

Lu An had no idea what place he was in. He was completely bewildered when he was assigned to participate in the competition, and he just wandered around aimlessly until the end of the sect competition.

The results came out, and he was told he was in first place!?

He did nothing but run away and show off.

Good heavens... this is fate... is he really blessed with good looks?

Let's shift our focus to Zhao Mengyuan.

Although Zhao Mengyuan also had a smile on her face, I always felt that the smile wasn't so friendly.

"Junior brother has really made something of himself. Not only did he win first place in the sect's grand competition, but he also found his Daoist partner there."

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Sister... Wait, no, what about a Daoist partner!?"

"You kissed Zhang Zhiruo, so aren't you already Daoist partners?" Zhao Mengyuan's tone carried a hint of resentment. "I don't blame you, Junior Brother. It's just that I haven't responded to you enough. I wish you a long and happy marriage."

A kiss? How did they know about that? Is the sect competition being broadcast live?!

Besides, it was Zhang Zhiruo who suddenly kissed him forcefully! He's innocent! Innocent!

"Senior sister, do you believe me if I say that it was Senior Sister Zhiruo who forcibly kissed me, that it wasn't my choice?" Lu An said pitifully.

"Heh, junior brother, don't worry. I'm not that petty. These are your freedoms, and I naturally won't interfere or care."

Chapter Twenty-Four: Forming the Golden Core in Front of the Master

Zhao Mengyuan gave a cold laugh, her eyes seemingly concealing countless sharp knives.

I don't care about you at all! You've already shown me the look of wanting to kill me, okay?

"There might be some misunderstanding here."

"Misunderstanding? How could there be a misunderstanding in this situation?"

Zhao Mengyuan took out a brown hexagonal stone that emitted a faint spiritual aura. The next moment, it projected the scene of Zhang Zhiruo kissing him.

"Ah...this..."

Looking at this posture and this scene, Lu An didn't know what to say for a moment.

Speechless, speechless. They look so intimate, so passionate.

He wanted to turn his head away from the image, but by sheer coincidence, as soon as he turned his head, he met a familiar gaze.

That's Zhang Zhiruo on the photo stone.

After Zhang Zhiruo and Lu An's eyes met, she suddenly giggled, then turned away shyly and disappeared into the crowd.

The others chuckled at the sight, some of the male disciples even casting hostile glances at the scene.

It seems that Zhang Zhiruo still has some sycophants within the sect.

Oh no, this has made us enemies. We were already weak, and now we've offended so many people. Won't it be even harder for us to survive in the Heavenly Demon Sect in the future?

Thinking of this, Lu An felt a sense of unease.

Is this place still safe to stay?

"Let's not talk about that for now. We'll throw you a victory celebration banquet right here at Heavenly Demon Peak!"

Seemingly noticing Lu An's predicament, Li Podao patted Lu An on the shoulder and then pulled him away from there.

"Master, I want to go too..."

"Hey, you can clean up after your junior brother and collect his reward. He just finished the competition and must be quite frightened. I need to comfort him."

Li Podao waved his hand, signaling Zhao Mengyuan to stay here. Zhao Mengyuan could only bow her head and reply with a "Yes," and then watch as Lu An was taken away by Li Podao.

…………

After Lu An was taken to his residence on Tianmo Peak by Li Podao, Li Podao asked him to sit there for a while, saying that he wanted to get him some fruit.

After staying at his residence on Tianmo Peak for a while, Li Podao finally arrived late, carrying a fruit platter filled with rich spiritual energy.

"My disciple, please sit down."

Li Podao placed the fruit platter on the table and invited Lu An to sit down.

Lu An was nervous and uneasy. Although he had won, he was really unable to explain his relationship with Zhang Zhiruo.

If his persona in front of his master is that of Zhao Mengyuan's lapdog, and this scene is recorded and spread, wouldn't he be finished?

Master won't punish him, will he?

"Here, have some oranges, they're so nice."

Li Podao personally peeled an orange for Lu An, placed the bright orange flesh in Lu An's hand, and gestured for Lu An to eat it.

Lu An reached out his trembling hand, took the orange from Li Podao's hand, and ate it.

The oranges were delicious after being nourished by spiritual energy, but he didn't feel at ease eating them.

Is this a simple trap?

“I know about your situation. Zhang Zhiruo is at least a Nascent Soul cultivator; you, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, can’t force her,” Li Podao said, looking at Lu An. “You were probably forced by Zhang Zhiruo, weren’t you?”

"Master, yes! She forced me, and I had no choice!"

Lu An was overjoyed. It seemed that his master was reasonable and understood that he had been forced.

Yeah, how can a Foundation Establishment cultivator force a Nascent Soul cultivator?! Are you kidding me?!

However, it seems no one is saying that he forced Zhang Zhiruo.

"Even though you were forced, the fact that she forcibly kissed you means you must have done something inside to win her favor, right?"

"No, Master, that's not what I meant, I myself..."

"Alright, you don't need to say anything more. I understand. Your senior sister has been cold towards you for many years without any results. It's normal for you to have a new goal."

Lu An was stunned. Was this old man speaking up for him and making excuses?

"We're all men, so we can understand. It's painful to put in so much effort for a cold woman and get no response."

Li Podao patted Lu An on the shoulder with a serious expression.

Lu An looked at Li Podao and wondered if this old man had some unspeakable past.

"Thank you for your understanding, Master."

However, he still put on a dejected appearance to avoid Li Podao noticing anything.

Li Podao looked at this disciple and was quite satisfied with him.

The reason he made him wait so long was that he was looking at the recording stones that the other elders had sent him, which contained images of his battle scenes.

After reading about the Breakthrough Path, I summarized Lu An's characteristics.

This kid always remains calm in the face of danger. Although he has never made a move, he always manages to intimidate his opponents.

He has excellent mental fortitude and superb acting skills; he is very good, better than most of his disciples.

Furthermore, there's luck. Li Podao also discovered that no matter how dangerous the situation this guy is in, unexpected good fortune always comes his way.

For example, a group of disciples were fighting in a cave, causing the cave to collapse. In the end, he was the only one who managed to escape. The others either lost their tokens and were teleported out, or they were crushed to death.

There are countless examples, the most compelling proof being that Lu An actually survived the tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage during the Divine Transformation stage.

Under such a tribulation of lightning, even those in the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation stages would need a stroke of luck to survive.

However, it is truly unbelievable that Lu An, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, was completely unharmed.

Look at Liu Zhengxuan next door, he was directly cleaved in half. When his master saw him come out, he cried as if his son had been cleaved.

Elder Anxu's expression wasn't too good either, because after seeing her true disciple kiss Lu An, she felt like her own cabbage had been eaten by a pig.

However, Rihado disagreed.

I am the sect leader, and Lu An is my true disciple. He's like my precious cabbage that's been stolen!

Now I have control over the entire sect's resources again, and Lu An's victory made him feel quite triumphant.

"Disciple, are you about to break through to the Golden Core stage?"

"Yes, Master, I'm just one step away, but my talent..."

"Don't panic, with your master here, I will surely help you form your Golden Core!"

As he spoke, Li Podao reached out and gently grasped Lu An's wrist, beginning to examine Lu An's condition.

Then Rihado's expression changed from calm to surprise, and finally to astonishment.

"My disciple, do you know?"

"what do you know?"

"You have already reached the Golden Core stage."

"How is that possible? I'm clearly still in the Foundation Establishment stage!"

Lu An couldn't believe it; how could he possibly be at the Golden Core stage?! He clearly didn't feel any sense of breakthrough at all.

Li Podao examined Lu An's condition, his brows furrowed.

He had the expression of an old Chinese medicine doctor encountering a difficult and complicated disease.

"You're clearly at the Golden Core stage, yet you don't have a Golden Core. That's strange."

"A Golden Core cultivator without a Golden Core? Master, don't scare me like that!"

Lu An was indeed at the Golden Core stage; that's what the aura within his body told him. However, there was a major problem: Lu An didn't have a Golden Core within him.

Where there should have been a golden core, there was only a condensed ball of true essence. The true essence was condensed there, and it did look like a golden core, but it just hadn't condensed into one.

A Golden Core stage cultivator without a Golden Core? Good heavens, how did Lu An cultivate to that stage?

It's a knowledge blind spot, a real knowledge blind spot.

This true disciple of mine is really going to give me a big surprise.

Just as Li Podao continued his investigation, he suddenly discovered that the true essence within Lu An's body was beginning to change.

At the same time, Lu An also began to feel changes in his body.

Countless streams of spiritual energy from heaven and earth began to converge into his body, just like the situation in the secret realm, except that it suddenly stopped then.

However, a steady stream of spiritual energy poured in, and in Li Podao's perception, the spiritual energy actually condensed at Lu An's Golden Core.

"Oh no, what's wrong with you..." Li Podao frowned deeply.

"What's wrong with me?!" Lu An asked anxiously.

After exploring for half a day and sensing the changes within Lu An's body, he seemed to understand something.

A rumble of thunder came from the sky, and when the two looked up, they found that thunderclouds were gathering.

In Li Podao's perception, a power of the Heavenly Dao also appeared in the thunderclouds. If he was not mistaken, this should be the tribulation cloud.

Now, even if one is still confused about what happened, or doesn't understand what has happened, they will understand what has occurred.

"He's about to form his Golden Core..."

This good disciple actually formed his Golden Core right in front of him.