Chapter 492: The Celebration Ends

Sect Master Lu and Young Sect Leader Lu fought to a draw. This gave all the heavenly talents a surge of relief and pride, dispelling the pent-up frustration in their hearts.

However, the cultivators who had dispersed their cultivation and rebuilt it wore solemn expressions. Caught between ancient Heavenly Court prodigies and contemporary talents, they feared that the ultimate outcome of this great era's struggle would have no bearing on them.

In the spectator stands, Qiu Jin'an withdrew his gaze, replaying the battle in his mind. He slowly exhaled, "The younger generation is truly formidable."

Jiang Qun asked curiously, "Are you saying Sect Master Lu possesses such combat prowess at such a young age?"

"No, I mean he's even better at deceiving people than that old scoundrel Buyu."

"When that old scoundrel Buyu was his age, his tricks were still quite naive. Of course, I was also quite naive back then and fell for them again and again."

"Lu Yang is different. His deception is seamless. He didn't just trick a few people; he tricked everyone in the world."

Jiang Qun was speechless.

He was glad he was born later and didn't live in the same era as Daoist Buyu; otherwise, how unlucky would he have been?

"However, there's one good thing about this Lu Yang kid: he only deceives outsiders; he doesn't harm his own people."

"I need to get Bai Ming to spend more time with Lu Yang. That Bai Ming kid has decent talent and a fairly sharp mind, but compared to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, he's far behind."

Yang Ding chimed in, "Tian Zhi is even worse than Bai Ming; he's a bit stubborn. He also needs to learn more from Lu Yang."

Luo Hongxia, however, wouldn't allow her good disciple to get close to this Lu Yang kid; any closer would be too much.

Master Jiesha also dared not let his disciple get too close to Lu Yang. Monks don't lie, and he couldn't let his disciple learn bad habits from Lu Yang.

Immortal Fairy once again took over Lu Yang's body, returning cheerfully to the center of the judging panel.

"Everyone's busy, shall we continue the competition?"

The competition was only halfway through; several more rounds were yet to come.

The competition proceeded methodically: Late Golden Core stage group, Early Nascent Soul stage group... From time to time, astonishing cultivators appeared, not because of their incredible combat strength, but because of their astonishing ideas.

The Luoshui Guard and the Immortal Sect secretly observed those on stage, noting which might be ancient cultivators who had dispersed their cultivation and rebuilt it, which might be powerful figures feigning weakness, or what other strange phenomena, such as Kong Hao, who had an old demon sealed within him.

Immortal Fairy and the Immortal Sect Master were also discussing suspicious cultivators.

As the competition drew to a close, a list was compiled, and the remaining matters were handed over to the imperial court to investigate the backgrounds of these individuals.

After ten days of magnificent contests, the competition concluded, and the Dao Sect's celebration drew to a close.

"It's finally over."

Lu Yang let out a long breath. He had been busy with the entire celebration, while Immortal Fairy hadn't lifted a finger to help.

"Second-in-Command, well done!" Immortal Fairy didn't hold back on verbal praise.

Lu Yang didn't dare take credit and quickly said politely, "It's all thanks to the Fairy's excellent recruitment strategy, working one person to death."

"Sect Master Lu, when you come to the imperial capital in the future, you must visit my residence! I want to treat you well!"

The First Prince saw that Lu Yang was a talent and would be a great asset for future succession matters. Not to mention that Sect Master Lu could affectionately call Yun Zhi "Girl Yun." The First Prince didn't even dare to imagine the depth of that relationship.

With the celebration over, the final stage of dividing the spoils was underway.

Surrounded by the crowd, Luo Hongxia took out a tightly wrapped treasure box.

"Be gentle; don't damage the treasure box."

"...This is a supreme treasure of my Immortal Palace, not your cosmetic case."

Luo Hongxia activated the treasure box, which emitted beams of light, drawing everyone into it.

Inside the treasure box, the Great Yu cultivators were still desperately striking the barriers. Three Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivators unleashed earth-shattering attacks together, but against the treasure box sealed by a single drop of Yun Zhi's blood, it was all in vain.

"Don't be afraid, everyone! The Grand Preceptor is still outside! Perhaps a battle has already broken out, and the Grand Preceptor will come to save us!" Black and White Venerable encouraged the others.

He calculated the time, figuring the celebration was about to end, which would be an excellent opportunity for the Grand Preceptor to act.

"Look, the seal has been lifted!" Black and White Venerable exclaimed in surprise, pointing to a light not far away. Hope rekindled in the hearts of the Great Yu cultivators.

However, once the seal was lifted, they were met with a flood of Great Xia cultivators, pouring in like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

"My Soul-Locking Sect contributed greatly during the capture; we should get one Great Yu cultivator!"

"Hey, hey, hey, Old Li, have you forgotten that you lost all the Great Yu cultivators to my Void-Breaker Sect during the competition?"

"Don't talk nonsense! Gambling is illegal. Who was gambling with you?"

"...Do you have no shame?"

"Listen to my advice, everyone. Let's sit down and slowly discuss how to divide the Great Yu cultivators." As a newly promoted Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator, Lu Baqian proactively stepped forward to maintain order.

Since everyone's interests were involved, they argued endlessly, turning red-faced. Fortunately, Lu Baqian's intervention diverted their attention.

Everyone collectively piled onto Lu Baqian, and only then did Venerable Yi step forward to organize the overall situation.

Lu Yang yawned throughout the discussion of the results, not caring about the final outcome, only knowing that the strongest of the Great Yu cultivators, Black and White Venerable, was assigned to the Dao Sect.

As for the rest, they were left to continue their discussion.

"By the way, Venerable Yi, what have you decided to do with the old demon Wu?" Lu Yang asked Venerable Yi before leaving the treasure box.

At that time, his identity as Young Sect Leader Lu made it inconvenient for him to inquire about Kong Hao's situation.

"That kid Kong Hao said he wants to continue sealing old demon Wu and live peacefully with it. He believes he can eventually inspire old demon Wu to become friends with him."

"Alright, that's certainly one choice." Lu Yang was somewhat worried about Kong Hao.

Old demon Wu was far inferior to Immortal Fairy. Immortal Fairy was beautiful and kind-hearted, loved by all, harmless to humans and animals, and wouldn't hurt him. But an old demon like Wu, who had accumulated years of malice, could scheme against Kong Hao at any time.

However, this was ultimately Kong Hao's own choice, and Lu Yang couldn't interfere.

Senior Sister, carrying Black and White Venerable, left the treasure box with Lu Yang.

"Speaking of which, where did the Grand Preceptor go?"

After leaving the treasure box, Lu Yang suddenly remembered that the Grand Preceptor hadn't shown up at all, nor had Senior Sister found him.

He had expected the Grand Preceptor to cause trouble at the end of the celebration and had been on guard for a long time, but there had been no movement.

"Strange," Lu Yang thought to himself, "Could he have sensed something was wrong and fled beforehand?" He mused that this Grand Preceptor was indeed difficult to deal with.

"Huh? We're at the barbecue shop?" Lu Yang looked up and realized they had arrived at the barbecue shop. Master Liu and Master Gao were cleaning up the grills, the three ghosts Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, and Xiao Qi were clearing the dishes, and the Sect Leader was sweeping and mopping the floor—a scene of closing up shop.

He had wanted to grab a bite, but seeing them like this, he decided it was best not to ask them to reopen.

"Lu Yang has arrived! Please, come in quickly." The Sect Leader enthusiastically invited Lu Yang inside.

At the Dao Sect, Lu Yang was their backing.

"Come to think of it, why am I so enthusiastic towards Lu Yang? Is it because he's Yun Zhi's junior brother? I always feel there's some other reason."

"Who was it that instructed me to be especially polite to Lu Yang, even more polite than to... him?"

"Who said that to me?"

Seeing the Sect Leader spacing out, Lu Yang grew curious: "Is something wrong?"

The Sect Leader snapped back to reality, realizing his lapse in etiquette: "Oh, nothing. Please, have a seat."

Lu Yang looked around, feeling someone was missing: "Where's Immortal Fairy? Is she at the farm?"

"Who?"