On the stage, the top contenders of the Immortal Gate are competing.
The winner will receive the attention of the sect and become the most promising new star of the Immortal Gate.
In the audience, spectators are marveling at the exciting battle and discussing who will be the victor.
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan is contemplating the usefulness of disguise techniques.
The ability to change one's appearance and aura into that of another person, undetectable by anyone other than a True Immortal.
Using someone else's face to do bad things, gaining villain points...
He couldn't think of any other uses, but having multiple skills is never a burden. Perhaps disguise techniques will play a crucial role unexpectedly.
And then there's Sima Dong on the stage.
Although he also comes from the prestigious Sima family of the Apex Level cultivation world and has good talent, he has a bad personality.
He always clashes with the protagonist and can only compete with him in the early stages.
After the mid-term, he disappears completely, serving as a pure stepping stone.
"Hmph, you've managed to hold on for so long in my hands. It will be quite a story when it gets out. I'm tired of your tricks, now I'm going to use my full strength. Prepare to die!"
Sima Dong's words brought Lu Chuan's attention back to the stage.
The spiritual sword directly aimed at Luo Li's face.
Luo Li took a step back and raised her sword to deflect the incoming spiritual sword, skillfully neutralizing its powerful impact.
Lu Chuan also noticed some clues. This Luo Li is not simple.
"Sima Young Master will surely win!"
"Look at Luo Li, she was so hyped before, claiming to be a sword prodigy, but she can't even hold her ground against Sima Dong."
In the eyes of the people below the stage, Luo Li is at a disadvantage, only able to defend herself without any opportunity to attack.
But Lu Chuan doesn't think so.
Sima Dong's sword technique is a straightforward and powerful move. If hit, it could shatter bones, but it is ultimately just brute force.
On the other hand, Luo Li's sword technique, although seemingly weak, hides strength. She skillfully neutralizes the opponent's moves and then seizes the opportunity to launch her own attack.
As long as Luo Li finds an opportunity, breaking the deadlock is easy.
And indeed, with continuous attacks, Sima Dong begins to lose control of his breathing. His stamina is depleting too quickly, and more and more openings are exposed.
Luo Li defends while using her sword to attack the openings.
Luo Li's counterattack has begun.
She targets the openings, and every attack forces Sima Dong to retract his sword and defend horizontally.
"Talented, Sima Dong is truly talented. I rarely feel the urge to take on a disciple."
"He is indeed a promising talent, but Luo Li's understanding of swordsmanship far surpasses Sima Dong."
"I see a connection between me and these two youngsters. I hope none of you will compete with me, senior brother."
The elders above closely observe the competition stage. Seeing the spectacular exchange between the two, they start to vie for Luo Li and Sima Dong to become their disciples.
Only Lin Qingxue in the corner is not interested in the competition. She came to watch reluctantly.
The sect leader told her yesterday, "You haven't attended the previous competitions, why not come and watch the finals tomorrow? Maybe you'll have the idea of taking on a disciple.
You've been alone on this mountain for a hundred years. It's time to find a successor."
For the past few days, she has been taking care of the unconscious Lu Chuan in the bedroom on the mountain. Taking care of him, or simply being by his side.
Hearing the praise from her senior brothers and sisters beside her about a junior, she curiously glanced at the competition stage a few times.
The newcomer named Luo Li indeed performed impressively.
Her attacks were swift and precise, without any unnecessary movements.
She searched for opportunities to counterattack while defending. With such swordsmanship, her resilience and patience in cultivating the Dao are rare.
Sima Dong is also decent, using an offensive sword technique as a defense. As long as he doesn't make any major mistakes in the future, he can also achieve something in the path of the sword.
She admires such juniors
.
But even if she wants to take on disciples, how can she compete with her senior brothers and sisters?
It's better to return to the mountain early. Even if Lu Chuan is sleeping, as long as she is by his side, she will feel at ease.
The sect leader mentioned the idea of taking on disciples, and she did feel a flicker of interest, but the intended disciple is already decided by the sect leader.
As Luo Li approaches step by step, Sima Dong is forced into a corner of the competition stage.
Sima Dong has exhausted most of his stamina and can no longer launch an attack. He can't even maintain a defensive posture.
"You've lost," Luo Li calmly says to Sima Dong.
Sima Dong's veins bulge as he shouts at Luo Li, "How could I, the young master, be defeated by trash like you!
I am a genius, while you are just some garbage who came out of nowhere.
Since you started this deception, don't blame me."
In the blink of an eye, the situation on the stage reverses, and Luo Li's sword is knocked away.
Luo Li stands motionless in front of Sima Dong.
"Hahaha, in the end, I am still superior in skill."
Sima Dong thrusts his sword into Luo Li's arm, and blood seeps out, staining her white shirt red.
"Do you still refuse to admit defeat, you insignificant fish?" Sima Dong, considering himself the victor, sneered contemptuously.
"Hmph!" Luo Li coldly snorted.
Seeing Luo Li's refusal to accept defeat, Sima Dong arrogantly laughed and exerted force with the sword in his hand.
The sword pierced through Luo Li's arm.
Luo Li furrowed her brows, sweat trickling down her face. She felt the pain, but she would never surrender to such a deceitful person.
Sima Dong must have used some kind of prohibited immobilizing item, but he was able to bring it onto the martial arts stage, indicating that the organizers must have their own insiders.
During their time in the inner sect, Sima Dong often bullied weaker disciples of the same sect, taking away their cultivation resources by relying on his family background and swordsmanship.
Despite coming from a prestigious family, he took pleasure in bullying the weak.
Once, Sima Dong's little group bullied the weak in front of Luo Li, and she couldn't help but intervene.
Since then, she had a grudge with Sima Dong. He targeted her in every possible way,
spreading rumors about her, such as being kept by a wealthy senior sister, or having multiple romantic partners among senior sisters and junior sisters.
They didn't know that Luo Li was a woman, and such rumors had no effect on her.
She came to the Immortal Gate to seek the Dao, not to find a Dao companion.
Luo Li would never surrender to such a shameless person.
"You, someone like you, don't deserve to win." With all her strength, Luo Li squeezed out these words.
Sima Dong was completely infuriated, embarrassed and angry. He swiftly drew his sword and stabbed towards Luo Li's neck.
Sima Dong missed, and in an instant, Luo Li disappeared before his eyes.
He looked at the immobilizing stone in his pocket, feeling puzzled. How did Luo Li dodge that attack while being immobilized by the stone?
"People said you don't deserve to win, didn't you hear?" Lu Chuan jumped onto the martial arts stage and carried Luo Li down, taking the long sword from her hand.
He approached Luo Li's delicate and tender ear and whispered softly, "Leave the rest to me."
Returning to the martial arts stage, Lu Chuan faced Sima Dong directly.
Sima Dong asked, "Who are you, another insignificant fish? How dare you challenge this young master?"
"I am Lu Chuan. I just can't stand someone as shameless as you and want to teach you a lesson. Can't handle it?"
Upon hearing the name Lu Chuan, Sima Dong immediately thought of the prestigious Lu family of cultivation.
"Are you from the Lu family, brother?"
"You don't need to know so much. Fight or not? You've consumed a lot of spiritual energy, I won't use any, you can do as you please."
"Let's fight! You ignorant brat, I'll show you the power of the number one genius in the inner sect of the Immortal Gate!"
Above the martial arts stage, the referee was about to intervene when Lu Chuan rushed onto the stage, but a white-haired and youthful-looking old man stopped him.
"Elder, wait a moment," the old man with long white eyebrows called out to the referee.
"I know that kid, his name is Lu Chuan. He should have participated in the inner sect competition, but he was seriously injured not long ago and just woke up these past few days."
"He said he won't use spiritual energy, only swordsmanship. But Sima Dong is not restricted, let those two have some fun."
The referee dared not defy the decision of the sect leader and could only remain silent.
Sima Dong had promised him many benefits this time and asked him to take care of Lu Chuan, but he couldn't change what the sect leader had said.
Lin Qingxue vaguely heard the name Lu Chuan and looked towards the sect leader.
The sect leader stroked his long beard and gave Lin Qingxue a signal to look down.
Lin Qingxue saw the familiar figure on the martial arts stage and felt puzzled. How did Lu Chuan end up on the martial arts stage?
Luo Li, who was watching from below, took some pills to recover. She stared intently at Lu Chuan on the stage.
When she suddenly couldn't move just now, it was probably because Sima Dong used a restraining Law Treasure.
As the legitimate son of the Sima family, it wasn't surprising for him to have several Law Treasure Spirit Weapons. He should have been prepared. She had been too careless.
But who was this Lu Chuan? Why had she never heard of him in the inner sect?
When Sima Dong swung his sword just now, although Luo Li appeared calm on the surface, she was actually afraid, her heart pounding.
When Lu Chuan held her, the feeling of fear was replaced by a sudden sense of security.
She wanted to see who Lu Chuan really was.
The onlookers were also curious. Discussions about Lu Chuan could be heard all around.