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

This little girl was probably attracted by this strange phenomenon and came to investigate, right?

Never mind, it's fine as long as I leave.

So Li Podao turned his head away, no longer paying attention to Zhao Mengyuan who was walking away.

It's still possible for someone in the Tribulation Transcending stage to investigate someone in the Void Refining stage, unless that person in the Void Refining stage has practiced some particularly powerful technique to conceal their aura.

"Hello, Master!"

Li Podao arrived in front of Lu An, and Lu An immediately bowed to the suddenly arriving Li Podao.

"Hmm, how's the practice going?"

"Thanks to Master, I have already practiced two of the techniques and have now mastered the third one."

Li Podao listened to Lu An's report on the recent situation and nodded in satisfaction.

Surprisingly, this kid is quite suited to this technique. I couldn't even master it back then, but he's learning it exceptionally smoothly.

Sure enough, this kid isn't exactly a good-for-nothing; he's just not good at martial arts.

"Master, but isn't this cultivation technique a bit off...?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Master, I don't really want to practice this kind of cultivation technique..."

"Is there anything wrong with this kind of cultivation method? You have a unique talent, and this kind of cultivation method is perfect for you!"

Li Podao stroked his beard and said.

Lu An, however, was cursing inwardly.

This is the kind of technique that suits me?! What kind of crappy technique did you give me, old man? It's supposed to summon heavenly lightning, but when you do summon it, it just won't come down and strike you!

And those sword shadows, they look pretty scary, but damn they don't cut people, they're powerless!

The only useful abilities are teleportation and levitation, but if he really needs to travel, he still has to use his sword! After all, he's still only at the Foundation Establishment stage!

"Master, what I mean is, why is my technique so powerless?" Lu An asked, his face full of exasperation. "How am I supposed to defeat my enemies like this?"

Yes, this cultivation technique was given to him by this cheap master; it's full of special effects.

That thunderbolt only scare people, it doesn't actually strike.

And those moves that unleash countless sword shadows are just for show; they don't actually kill anyone.

It's all special effects! It can't kill anyone at all, damn it!

“Ah, the so-called 'no moves are the best moves'—if you use this technique, the opponent will be scared away immediately. Why would you need to defeat the enemy?” Li Podao said earnestly, “With your aptitude, this technique is perfect for you!”

This sixth brother is truly something else; I have no idea where he got this kind of skill.

"Master, is my aptitude really that bad?"

“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but since you’ve asked, I have no choice but to be frank.” Li Podao shook his head and said, “As far as true disciples go, you have the worst aptitude.”

"If we consider the aptitude of inner disciples..." Lu An still held a sliver of hope.

“There aren’t many as bad as you,” Li Podao said simply and directly.

Upon hearing these words, Lu An felt as if his heart was bleeding.

Old Deng finally told the truth.

"But don't worry, with this technique, you'll be invincible," Li Podao comforted him. "As long as you don't make a move, your opponents won't know how strong you are! They won't dare to attack rashly when they see your technique!"

Lu An was speechless, but he knew that what the old man said was true.

With techniques that constantly summon thunder and fire and unleash countless sword shadows, who wouldn't be terrified?

Combined with his physique, whose cultivation level cannot be seen through, isn't this perfect?

It must be said that, in a sense, this old man knew how to choose his cultivation method.

"Master, then... I can only practice this set of techniques?" Lu An felt a little sad.

"No, this technique won't interfere with your cultivation, but there's a reason why I'm teaching you this technique."

"I wonder what the reason is, Master?" Lu An asked curiously.

"You are the only disciple I am still teaching now, so you must participate in the sect competition in a few months. Do you understand?"

"If you lose, my resource budget for the past twenty years will be deducted by that nun Li, and that will put me in trouble."

Li Podao spoke to Lu An in a very solemn tone.

Upon hearing what Li Podao said, Lu An instantly felt like he had been tricked.

Good heavens, they recruited me as a true disciple just to secure resources for the sect's grand competition?

"This competition is open to anyone above the Nascent Soul stage, and everyone must be at least at the first level of the Nascent Soul stage. But I used connections and wrote you as the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage." Li Podao grinned slyly.

Upon hearing this, Lu An's eyes widened instantly.

Good grief, they wrote my strength as the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage?

You old thief, you want me, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to fight against a Nascent Soul cultivator?

Good heavens, truly good heavens, you've done a wonderful job as a master.

Isn't this a scam?

"Master, can I not participate?" Lu An wanted to refuse.

Fighting in a competition where the lowest level of experts is the Nascent Soul stage, he only has one life, and he doesn't want to throw his life away.

"No, if you don't participate, I won't help you cultivate your Golden Core." Li Podao's expression suddenly turned terrifying: "Also, if you don't get a good ranking, I'll cripple your cultivation, expel you from the Heavenly Demon Sect, and leave you to fend for yourself."

This damned master... he's starting to feel like a demon...

"Alright, don't worry too much. I'll give you some talismans so you can protect yourself."

"And if you get a good ranking, I'll reward you handsomely! After all, I'm not a devil!"

Seeing that Lu An looked very scared, Li Podao comforted him.

Chapter Nine: The Dilemma of the Holy Maiden

Zhao Mengyuan returned to her residence and sorted out what she had seen and heard that day, feeling secretly alarmed.

This Junior Brother Lu, whom Master just rescued from the Cold Palace, is actually so strong!?

Will my position in my master's heart be taken away?

Zhao Mengyuan paced back and forth in the room anxiously, her heart filled with unease.

However, since this junior brother joined later and his contribution to the sect was not as high as hers, Zhao Mengyuan felt that she should not worry about this problem for the time being.

But what about in the future? With such talent, it's only a matter of time before he surpasses me!

Zhao Mengyuan's face was full of bitterness; she felt that she was facing a major crisis.

It seems that the halo of self-proclaimed genius of the sect is about to be taken away by this junior brother.

"Your Highness, you seem troubled. Has something happened?"

"Yes, Your Highness, you can talk to us about it."

Seeing Zhao Mengyuan looking anxious and agitated, Xia Wan and Zi Yue asked in confusion.

They rarely saw Zhao Mengyuan like this; she was always incredibly calm.

"What do you think of Lu An?"

Zhao Mengyuan thought it would be better to find out what Junior Brother Lu's persona was like in the sect first.

"Uh, devoted? He wrote so many love poems for Your Highness, he was quite devoted."

"I think Senior Brother Lu is a good person..."

The two gave different answers.

Zhao Mengyuan's face darkened.

Since they've all said that, Lu An's reputation within the Heavenly Demon Sect must be quite good.

With strength and a good reputation, and being a fellow disciple of the sect leader, isn't this clearly a move to replace her?

Even if he liked me before, I can't tolerate him developing like this. The sect leader's strongest disciple can only be me!

But wouldn't that be too petty of me? They're all my junior brothers, how could I be like this?

As a result, Zhao Mengyuan fell into a state of mental confusion.

If all else fails, why not accept his advances?

Zhao Mengyuan suddenly had another idea.

If he is your Daoist partner, then there probably won't be any problems.

With such high comprehension, such a good reputation, handsome looks, and infatuation with her, isn't this a match made in heaven?

She has made too few contributions to the sect. Although they are both disciples of the sect leader, she is not much different from Xiaobai in front of her.

Since he is my junior brother and a devoted lover who likes me, why not nurture him and then make him my Daoist partner?

With just that thought, Zhao Mengyuan instantly felt her mind broaden.

Yes, isn't this killing two birds with one stone?

Yes, we need to urge him to contribute more to the sect, and then find an opportunity to accept him later! Yes! That's exactly right!

Plans and ideas gradually took shape, but the inner turmoil did not dissipate so quickly.

But this seems to be the best compromise... Maybe we can give it a try?

Amidst this dilemma, the eve of the sect competition arrived, and the Heavenly Demon Sect's sect competition was about to begin.

However, before that, rumors about Lu An were already rampant.

The most common speculation is about Lu An's strength.

It has become common knowledge that Lu An was personally instructed by Li Podao to cultivate on Tianmo Peak.

Lightning and thunder frequently struck Tianmo Peak, accompanied by terrifying sword shadows and flashes, as well as occasional gales, causing much discussion among the crowd.

This is probably the commotion caused by Senior Brother Lu practicing his skills.

Just how terrifying is Senior Brother Lu?

Moreover, no one knows who found out Lu An's strength, but it is said that he is at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage.

"You're saying Senior Brother Lu is at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage!?"

"Impossible! That commotion was at least at the Void Refinement stage!"

"I think Senior Brother Lu has probably held back; he's at least at the half-step Tribulation Transcending stage!"

The crowd was abuzz with speculation about Lu An's strength, and the more the rumors spread, the more uneasy they became.

"In my opinion, he's probably already at the half-step Mahayana stage! He'll definitely be the next sect leader!"

This was said by a disciple when Zhao Mengyuan passed by. Although Zhao Mengyuan thought the guy was talking nonsense, the last sentence was very hurtful.

He will definitely be the next sect leader!

She's worked so hard for so long, and even if everyone spreads rumors, why doesn't anyone spread the rumor that she's going to be the sect leader?

Just because he caused a bit of a commotion at Tianmo Peak, does that mean he's already considered the next sect leader?

What am I, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Sect, anyway?!

"Hmph, if you ask me, becoming the sect leader is out of the question..."

Zhao Mengyuan liked hearing this. Right? How could it be the sect leader position already? The sect leader position isn't solely determined by strength.

If that were the case, those madmen from the Heavenly Demon Sect who killed countless people back then would have been sect leaders long ago.

"I think it's at least the long-vacant position of Holy Son!"

Zhao Mengyuan's heart broke instantly.

Holy Son, does this mean you're now on equal footing with me?

Zhao Mengyuan felt extremely distressed.