Cultivating Immortality Begins with Acting as a Girl Chapter 170

“This Junior Sister Shen is indeed not bad; she has three-tenths of Senior Brother Gu’s demeanor back then.”

In a corner of the audience, sat four people, three men and one woman. One of them, a young man dressed in light green clothes, praised softly, a hint of admiration in his eyes.

“Just so-so. Every year, there are always a few geniuses among the newly admitted disciples, but how many can compare to Senior Brother Gu? This Shen Shaohua is no exception.” A woman sitting next to the green-clad man, holding a round fan to half-cover her face, snorted disdainfully, her tone carrying a hint of arrogance.

“Nianqin, Senior Brother Gu repeatedly told you to be cautious in your words and actions, and not to be too arrogant. Have you forgotten again?”

Behind the woman, another handsome man spoke calmly.

If Song Ling were here, he would recognize at a glance that this person was Kuang Wan, who had dueled Tao Zhibin on the Resentment Platform three months ago.

“Senior Brother Kuang, this Shen Shaohua just defeated your junior fellow disciple, why are you speaking up for him!” Zhuang Nianqin’s tone carried a hint of annoyance.

“I’m not speaking up for Shen Shaohua, I’m just reminding you of what Senior Brother Gu instructed. Although Senior Brother Gu is one of the top disciples in our Purple Radiance Sect, he is not without opponents. Wen Xingwen, Yun Jiazi, and Qi Ning are all strong rivals for him in the sect’s grand competition two years later, and the debate within the sect about who will be the next chief disciple has never stopped…”

Kuang Wan paused, then continued, “Everyone knows that we are close to Senior Brother Gu, so at a time like this, we must be even more careful not to say things that would needlessly attract enmity and affect Senior Brother Gu’s reputation, do you understand?”

“Precisely, precisely.” Beside Kuang Wan, a squinting boy nodded in agreement.

“I get it.”

Zhuang Nianqin nodded somewhat reluctantly, muttering, “He’s just a new disciple, is there really a need to be so cautious…”

…

In the arena, after Song Ling finished treating Le Ziren, he left the stage and went to the (Rest Area).

The subsequent matches almost became a personal show for the direct disciples. No matter how excellent the ordinary disciples were, even if one of them had reached close to the peak of the Qi Nurturing stage, they were still easily defeated by their opponents due to the lack of magical artifacts.

Song Ling could clearly see the unwillingness on that person’s face and the despair at this completely unfair preliminary examination.

Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, it was the last match of the day.

The two combatants in this match, like Song Ling and Le Ziren, were both direct disciples of elders.

One of them was He Jun, the new disciple taken in by Elder Xue Chenfeng, and also the junior fellow disciple whom Gong Bo had boasted three months ago he would defeat Song Ling in a duel. His opponent was Zhu Jingxuan, a disciple of Elder Ji Yi.

The two started fighting fiercely, evenly matched, but just as He Jun was about to fall into a disadvantage, a sudden change occurred.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a spiritual energy fluctuation far exceeding the Qi Nurturing stage suddenly erupted from He Jun’s body. The power of the magical artifact in his hand instantly surged, and in just three moves, he completely defeated Zhu Jingxuan.

The audience fell silent for a moment, then erupted in an uproar of exclamations and admiration.

“First Layer of Qi Refinement? He actually reached the First Layer of Qi Refinement in just three months?! But how is that possible?!”

“Unbelievable, truly unbelievable. This preliminary examination is far more exciting than last year’s!”

“I thought Princess Zhaoming was already talented enough, but I didn’t expect this Junior Brother He Jun to be even more significant!”

“I heard that Princess Zhaoming was originally going to become Elder Xue’s disciple, but she only transferred to Elder Bai’s tutelage because Elder Bai offered a Class B spiritual root. Now it seems that the disciple Elder Xue took in is not inferior at all!”

“Junior Brother He Jun’s aptitude is not as good as Princess Zhaoming’s. For him to achieve this, it must be because Elder Xue spared no expense in cultivating him. I wonder if Princess Zhaoming will regret it now?”

On the high platform, in the elder’s seating area, Ji Yi, who had always maintained an all-knowing smile, could no longer smile.

“Old Ghost Xue, how much did you invest? Even with a continuous supply of Dust Refining Powder, it’s absolutely impossible for your little disciple to break through to the First Layer of Qi Refinement in three months with his aptitude!”

Ji Yi’s face was dark as he questioned Xue Chenfeng beside him.

“Hehe, Elder Ji, you can’t generalize everything based on aptitude. I actually didn’t manage this little disciple much; perhaps his comprehension is exceptionally high, and his understanding of cultivation techniques far surpasses ordinary people, which is why he could achieve this.” Xue Chenfeng said with a faint smile.

“Comprehension…”

Ji Yi’s mouth twitched. Comprehension was something intangible and immeasurable, unlike aptitude which could be clearly tested.

The same person might have different insights when facing different cultivation techniques; even in the cultivation world, it was considered metaphysics. Xue Chenfeng used this reason as an excuse, and he really couldn’t refute it.

The expressions of the other elders were not much better than Ji Yi’s. He Jun reaching the First Layer of Qi Refinement had, to some extent, already meant killing the competition. Their disciples would not be his opponents, and the top spot in the preliminary examination was practically decided.

Only Sect Master Cen Hongzhe, stroking his beard, still smiled broadly and said,

“Excellent, our Purple Radiance Sect truly has a wealth of talent.”

…

He Jun stood on the arena, looking at Song Ling below with a slightly provocative gaze.

Song Ling’s expression remained calm in response, and he turned and left.

Although he didn’t know how He Jun had achieved the First Layer of Qi Refinement, it made no difference to him. Being suppressed by him was He Jun’s only outcome.

Song Ling returned to the bamboo grove courtyard and continued practicing the three pseudo-techniques of the “Blade Forging Art.” It had to be said that these three pseudo-techniques were indeed attack-oriented. Moreover, since Song Ling had not cultivated the main body of the “Blade Forging Art,” the feeling of practicing them was noticeably more obscure than the pseudo-techniques attached to “Rippling Water Zen,” making them harder to get started with.

However, this was just a matter of time.

A night passed, and the sun rose again from the east. The Purple Radiance Sect’s preliminary examination for the year also came to its last day.

Today, there were four rounds of matches: sixteen into eight, eight into four, the semi-finals, and the finals.

Song Ling displayed the same strength he used against Le Ziren, advancing through the rounds and winning three consecutive matches, standing on the final arena.

And his opponent, without surprise, was Elder Xue Chenfeng’s junior disciple, He Jun.

He Jun had a handsome face and a tall, upright figure. Dressed in the direct disciple’s attire, he stood proudly on the arena, his eyes filled with confidence in his own strength.

At this moment, even those who had been impressed by Song Ling’s performance and had become his supporters did not believe that Song Ling had a chance to win this match. After all, his opponent was a cultivator who had reached the First Great Realm of Cultivation, Qi Refinement, and was no longer on the same level as him, who was still in the Qi Nurturing stage.

“Sigh, Princess Zhaoming is really unlucky. In previous years, she would definitely have been the top one, but unfortunately, a monster like He Jun appeared.”

“You’re talking as if Princess Zhaoming is doomed to lose. Maybe there’s still a chance to win.”

“Win? He Jun has already reached the First Layer of Qi Refinement, tell me how he’s going to win? Win with his head?”

…