Chapter 185: The Sect Master Emerges—Teaching You How to Handle Other Sects’ Second-Seat Sword Cultivators…

The very afternoon the Sect Master of Azure Profound Sect arrived, Ying You was taken away by his entourage. The remaining disciples had no choice but to follow suit—it was all incredibly rushed.

But then again, Azure Profound Sect carried serious weight. Along the way, not a single person dared to complain. Everyone sat quietly and obediently on the silver kite, and by nightfall, after crossing Azure Dragon East, they arrived at Vermilion Bird South.

“Sigh, I wasn’t even done enjoying myself at Crimson Sky Sect, and now we’re already back at Azure Profound Sect,” Xu Xianxing finally let out all his pent-up frustration as he hopped off the silver kite. “Azure Profound Sect is just too dull. I still prefer the luxurious vibe of Crimson Sky Sect.”

The group chatted as they walked toward their lodgings.

This time, they got lucky—their rooms were all close together, making it easy to come and go. Wen Yun finally escaped the fate of being assigned next to Shen Wuxie every time, and Bai Li Que no longer had to deal with his cousin.

Ji Mingyue looked at Xu Xianxing like he’d lost his mind. “You like Crimson Sky Sect? Their buildings are drafty at night—nice to look at but totally impractical. You’re probably the only person outside of Crimson Sky Sect who actually likes that place.”

Xu Xianxing chuckled. “That’s only in comparison to Azure Profound Sect. Of course Crimson Sky Sect isn’t as good as our sect.”

They laughed and joked, but Lian Mu remained silent. Bai Li Que noticed and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

Lian Mu snapped out of her thoughts. “Nothing. I was just wondering how Ying You’s doing.”

Everyone paused. Xu Xianxing said, “You’ve been concerned about him ever since we got back from Penglai. You never cared this much after defeating anyone else.”

Wen Yun raised a brow. “Did the Azure Profound Sect Master speak to you privately?”

Lian Mu couldn’t exactly mention the Sword Contract, so she casually replied, “I was just thinking—if he dies, will his name be removed from the Magnolia Ranking? I seriously injured him, but the Illusion Realm didn’t count him out. It’s kind of frustrating.”

“If the Illusion Realm had ruled him out, you’d be ranked number one on the Magnolia Ranking right now,” Ji Mingyue said, finally understanding. “So it’s about the ranking. But don’t worry—you’ve already beaten Gong Rumei. Climbing to the top of the Magnolia Ranking is just a matter of time. You’ve got three Heavenly Spiritual Roots. Once your dantian is repaired, suppressing a single Heavenly Spiritual Root will be a piece of cake.”

Bai Li Que was excited, too. When he first heard Lian Mu had reforged three Heavenly Spiritual Roots, he hadn’t quite believed it. But now, he was just in awe. Their Returning Immortal Sect actually had someone this extraordinary.

Lian Mu wasn’t the first to reforge a Spiritual Root, but to have three Heavenly Spiritual Roots—she was truly one of a kind.

Xu Xianxing added, “So it’s about the ranking, huh… I actually researched the Pangu Illusion Realm’s trigger conditions with my master. Technically, serious injury should mean elimination, but the Pangu Illusion Realm only recognizes ‘true injury’—that is, a vital point being struck or being in a prolonged near-death state from external wounds. You only cut his hair. Maybe that didn’t count as hitting a vital spot.”

After all, no one had ever been on the verge of death just from getting a chunk of their hair chopped off.

Lian Mu mused, “Looks like next time I’ll need to aim more carefully.”

Wen Yun said, “Forget about him already. You’ve been distracted lately, and it’s just a ranking. There’ll be plenty of chances in the future. If he dies, your only real competition on the Magnolia Ranking will be Lu Feishuang. If he lives, you’ll have another shot at defeating him. Either way, you don’t lose.”

“It’d be a shame for a genius like him to die just like that,” Ji Mingyue added. “But then again, defeating a genius with your own strength is a unique kind of glory on the path of cultivation. It makes for a great story. As they say in the mortal world, ‘For one general’s success, ten thousand bones must dry.’ It’s a bit brutal, but if you want to stand at the top of the world, you’ll inevitably have to climb over your rivals’ heads.”

Lian Mu: “…”

No wonder they were her friends.

She smiled faintly and decided to let it go for now. Ying You hadn’t woken up yet—no point in overthinking it alone. She’d wait until he came to, then probe him again.

“Gong Rumei’s arrogant. His Red Plum Sword Intent doesn’t work on me, so taking him down was easy,” Lian Mu said. “But Ying You and Lu Feishuang are definitely opponents worth paying attention to.”

Their swordsmanship was on a completely different level from other sword cultivators. Lian Mu had experienced the power of the Flying Swan Sword firsthand—she knew exactly what the gap was.

She needed to upgrade Wealth Bringer’s grade as soon as possible, and this return to Vermilion Bird South was the perfect opportunity.

Wealth Bringer had cracked during the Penglai Illusion Realm and was still awaiting repairs.

Though their return to Vermilion Bird South had been abrupt, she had to admit—the Azure Profound Sect Master’s decision had handed her a golden opportunity.

There were still two weeks left before the Flying Sea Pavilion’s beast battle promotion round ended. Coming back early meant she could just make it in time for the final stretch.

Lian Mu turned to Xu Xianxing. “When does the next Illusion Realm round start?”

“Still a ways off. It’s scheduled for a month and a half from now. We were supposed to spend the first half-month at Crimson Sky Sect, then head to the Shifang Nether Soil to acclimate. We’d stay there for another full month,” Xu Xianxing explained. “Originally, after leaving Crimson Sky Sect, we were supposed to go straight to the Shifang Nether Soil under Azure Profound Sect’s jurisdiction, but no one expected things to change so suddenly.”

Lian Mu nodded. “That’s plenty of time.”

Seeing her calm, composed expression, Xu Xianxing and Ji Mingyue suddenly understood. “You’re planning to…”

Lian Mu nodded. “Mm.”

This time, she was going to upgrade Wealth Bringer to Tier Two or higher. The high-grade Refined Jade from Flying Sea Pavilion—she had her sights set on it.

Ji Mingyue nudged her quietly. “You didn’t take me last time. This time, I’m coming too.”

Lian Mu replied, “We’ll go together when the time comes.”

Wen Yun looked puzzled. “What are you two whispering about?”

Bai Li Que also wore a confused expression. “?”

Lian Mu said lightly, “Nothing. We were just wondering—with so much time left, how many meals Senior Brother Guan is going to treat us to.”

At the mention of Guan Huailin, Xu Xianxing suddenly remembered something. “Oh right, I forgot to tell you—Senior Brother Guan is heading back to the sect for a few days. He’ll treat us when he gets back.”

Wen Yun frowned. “Back to the sect again?”

“The Sect Master has come out of seclusion. Senior Brother Guan is representing the Chief team to report the current situation.”

At that, everyone except Lian Mu was stunned.

“The Sect Master…” Bai Li Que furrowed his brow. “Wasn’t he supposed to be in seclusion for a hundred years due to damage to his heart meridian?”

Lian Mu’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t know much about the Sect Master, nor was she particularly curious.

Xu Xianxing explained, “He had no choice. I heard the Crimson Sky Sect lost some kind of tower, and it ended up in Black Tortoise North. That territory falls under our sect’s jurisdiction, so the Sect Master had to personally step in. Sounds like a big deal. I don’t know the details—Senior Brother Guan only mentioned it in passing.”

Lian Mu’s fingers paused for a moment.

A tower… Could it be…

She was just about to ask more when footsteps suddenly approached from behind. Guan Shize came running over, holding an image-recording stone in his hand. “The rankings for the last Illusion Realm round are out! I memorized the whole Five Cultivator list—come take a look!”

At his words, everyone turned around, instantly forgetting the previous topic and crowding around him.

“Let me see—where did that loser Shen Wuxie drop to this time?”

“Wait, why did I drop a rank? I didn’t even do anything,” Xu Xianxing said, confused.

Ji Mingyue replied, “…Maybe that’s exactly why. You didn’t do anything. Just ate and drank all day.”

Xu Xianxing looked a bit embarrassed. “Uh… I’m in the Chief team of our sect. There’s really nothing for me to do.”

Returning Immortal Sect’s spirit materials and spirit plants were almost never depleted. After several rounds, they’d barely used anything up—just restocked from other sects. And Guan Huailin always led the team with caution and stability. They rarely clashed with other sects’ Chief teams, so their Spirit Artifacts were hardly ever damaged. As the Chief Disciple’s artifact refiner, Xu Xianxing had nothing to do.

“Feng Huanyin is still first on the Alchemy Cultivator Ranking. Ji Mingyue, you need to step it up,” Xu Xianxing said, pointing at the name on the Plum Blossom Ranking. “Gao Linzhen is almost catching up to you.”

Ji Mingyue said confidently, “That’s just temporary. Once they fall into the trap, Feng Huanyin will definitely drop. The top spot on the Plum Blossom Ranking is mine.”

“What trap?” Xu Xianxing asked.

Ji Mingyue wrapped an arm around Lian Mu and patted her shoulder. “Only Lian Mu and I know about this. Can’t tell you yet—you’ve got too big a mouth.”

Xu Xianxing rolled his eyes. “…Oh, I see how it is. You’re freezing me out. Just wait—when we get to my turf, I’ll top the Night Ephemeral Ranking too.”

Wen Yun, who had held the top spot on the Red Lotus Ranking for four rounds straight, remained unshaken. “Keep working hard. If we can take the top spots across all rankings, no other sect will dare look down on Returning Immortal Sect again.”

Bai Li Que fell silent for a moment. He glanced at the Orchid Ranking, where Jiang Yuechen sat firmly at number one, and recalled his own long, tragic history of being second place since childhood.

But everyone else was talking about being number one.

Bai Li Que muttered, “Mm…”

Xu Xianxing grinned. “If you don’t knock Jiang Yuechen off the top, I’ll never respect you again, Second Place Bai Li.”

Bai Li Que sighed. “…I’ll do my best.”

Guan Shize laughed. “Since you’re all aiming for the top, I’ll settle for making the top fifty.”

Wen Yun clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself short. That kind of talk just blocks your own path. You went toe-to-toe with Lu Feishuang, didn’t you? The second-seat sword cultivators from other sects probably couldn’t even take one move from her, but you lasted more than three. That means you’ve got top ten potential.”

Guan Shize scratched his head. “I won’t bring shame to the sect.”

As he spoke, he instinctively looked toward Lian Mu, only to find her lost in thought, clearly distracted.

“Lian Mu?”

She snapped back to attention. She’d heard what they were saying, but her mind had been on the Thousand Mechanisms Pagoda and she hadn’t responded in time.

“You used to spar with me—there’s no way you’re only top ten material,” Lian Mu said, patting him on the shoulder. “Next time, I’ll teach you a few more moves. You’ll make it into the top six of the Magnolia Ranking.”

The top four spots were basically locked in by the Chief team, plus Lian Mu. The top five were already decided, with only minor shifts in order. No one else could break in. But the sixth spot—that was what all the second-seat sword cultivators from the Four Great Sects were fighting over.

Guan Shize blinked. “Huh? You guys have way too much faith in me.”

He was just a regular three-Spiritual Root cultivator. How could he possibly…

Lian Mu said firmly, “You made it into the top ten for the apprentice seats—of course you can make top six on the Magnolia Ranking. Come find me when you have time. I’ll teach you how to take down the other sects’ second-seat sword cultivators.”

The surprise came so suddenly that Guan Shize was momentarily stunned, but he nodded almost instinctively and agreed without hesitation, his response lightning-fast: “Alright!”