As the Imperial Diviner of Great Qian, Jiang Chenyin also followed the path of “Merit-based Immortalization.”
The responsibilities of the Imperial Diviner required her to constantly monitor the movements of powerful experts within the territory of Great Qian.
Generally speaking, those several Immortals were homebodies who preferred to stay in their own domains. Why had someone suddenly gone to Wu City?
She pinched her fingers to perform a divination, only to find that something was wrong.
The Immortals of the Four Great Super-Grade Immortal Sects were all staying safely within their respective sects. Where, then, did the pressure of an Immortal in Wu City come from?
This was no small matter!
Although this Immortal pressure was weak and had vanished almost as soon as it appeared, it would remain a threat until the cause was clear.
After a moment of thought, Jiang Chenyin made her decision.
“It seems my trip south to Wu City needs to be moved up!”
***
On the other side, the audition matches for the Rogue Cultivator Ranking in Wu City had already begun.
The first battle belonging to Lin Shu—or rather, the first battle belonging to “Jiang Shu”—had already come to an end.
Lin Shu shed his disguise and walked over to Lu Zhiyun and Chang Jiujiu. “How was it? My battle was pretty exciting, wasn’t it?” he asked.
Lu Zhiyun didn’t know how to respond, and Chang Jiujiu simply didn’t want to. She was already drowsy from watching.
If the matches for the Sect Ranking were battles between the favored children of the younger generation, then the Rogue Cultivator Ranking was a gathering place for “extraordinary” people who loved the underdog story and “respecting the elderly while loving the young.”
In the Rogue Cultivator Ranking, you could see a teenage genius at the Golden Core stage beating up an eighty-year-old man who had finally broken through just as his lifespan was ending.
You could also see matches where both cultivators ran out of Spirit Qi—or more accurately, ran out of moves—and ended up in a heated brawl, rolling around like a common street fight.
You could even witness all sorts of grudges and scandals from rogue cultivator families, such as a story where a grandson’s wife was pregnant with his Golden Core stage grandfather’s child, leading to a revenge story where the grandson spent three years on the east bank and three years on the west, finally breaking through to the Golden Core in six years to seek vengeance…
In short, it was an absolute mess, a chaotic dance of demons.
Even Lin Shu was filled with emotion. He had put a lot of effort into blending in so that he wouldn’t be recognized as a sect disciple.
Of course, if Lu Zhiyun and Chang Jiujiu could hear those words, they would surely sneer at him.
After all, what kind of decent person uses a Spirit Gathering Formation to scheme against their opponent?!
In Lin Shu’s match, he had faced a rogue cultivator in his thirties. The difference was that the man had his whole family there to cheer him on, while Lin Shu was alone.
Before the match started, the man’s wife had tenderly wiped the sweat from his forehead and caressed the scar on his cheek with a gaze as soft as water. His daughter, though not yet grown, was very sensible, standing on her tiptoes to hug her father and cheer him on. Even his neighbor’s wife was there with tears in her eyes, presenting him with flowers. Then there was the family maid… and his childhood friend from the village…
‘Damn it!’
‘Do you really deserve to be called a rogue cultivator?’
‘Shouldn’t a rogue cultivator be all alone like me?’
Lin Shu looked at the lively scene and only regretted that he didn’t have a cigarette in his hand.
Once the fight began, the opponent clearly didn’t take this teenage Golden Core brat seriously. After delivering a long-winded lecture, he demanded that Lin Shu make the first move.
Never mind that Lin Shu’s actual cultivation was higher; even the Grade Two Golden Core he used for his [Disguise] could have crushed the man.
But… he had to blend in!
What was the most important stereotype of a rogue cultivator?
The answer: poor skills and a total reliance on external items!
So, Lin Shu pulled a modified Tianque Sect Spirit Gathering Formation from his storage bag and placed it in front of him.
He then raised his right hand, curled his middle finger, and gestured provocatively. “Come at me!”
Seeing Lin Shu use the lowest-grade Spirit Gathering Formation to insult him, the man naturally charged straight into the array.
A moment later, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he fell fast asleep in the center of the Martial Arts Platform…
To better fit the image of a broke rogue cultivator, Lin Shu even pulled out a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo and knocked the man off the stage like he was playing billiards.
After this battle, the name “Jiang Shu” became famous instantly. Even the *Xiuxian Daily* called him a rising “shameless” star of the rogue cultivator world.
Some sect disciples, unaware of the truth, even planned to recruit “Jiang Shu” into their sects to participate in the Sect Ranking just to deal with the “even more shameless” Tianque Sect.
Lu Zhiyun didn’t understand why Lin Shu had used a formation produced by Tianque Sect for his first match.
Wasn’t that just dragging their own sect’s name through the mud?
It wasn’t until a few days later, when she saw a pair of rogue cultivators start their match by immediately laying down arrays—both using the Tianque Sect Spirit Gathering Formation—that she reached an epiphany!
The two people on stage stared at each other, both hoping the other would step into their formation first, but neither was fooled.
In their helplessness, they could only chant “incantations” like, “I curse 180 generations of your family,” or “Your mother has ascended to the Immortal Realm,” and so on, trying to provoke the opponent into attacking first.
The aftermath of all this was that the Tianque Sect Spirit Gathering Formation became a massive trend in the Rogue Cultivator Ranking auditions.
The Array Department of Tianque Sect was overwhelmed with customers. Even though the Senior Brothers of the Array Department strictly ordered them not to use the formations for evil, everyone just claimed they were gifts and wouldn’t do anything wrong.
As for Lin Shu, aside from helping those in the Sect Ranking craft defensive gear at his small stall, he had also started selling a book: *360 Incantations to Effectively Infuriate Your Opponent*.
Since he couldn’t openly sell Tianque Sect’s formations, he was content to just have a taste of the profits!
But when he tallied the accounts that night, Lin Shu discovered that the Spirit Stones earned from the book were more than what the Array Department made.
With this positive reinforcement, Lin Shu worked even harder on his writing. His next works were titled *Civilized Standards for Cultivation* and *On the Civilized Atmosphere of the Cultivation World*…
Lu Zhiyun watched as the auditions grew increasingly distorted each day, feeling a deep sense of regret.
‘Is this still a competition for orthodox sects?’
‘It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this a feast for Demon Cultivators!’
She once again resolved that, starting with her, she would completely change this atmosphere.
***
A few days later, the auditions for the Foundation Establishment Stage of the Sect Ranking also began.
Lu Zhiyun was about to start her first battle representing Tianque Sect.
The surrounding area was bustling and lively. Everyone wanted to see the favored children trained by the major sects.
Lin Shu and Chang Jiujiu arrived early to stand below the stage and cheer for her.
“Junior Sister, good luck!” Lin Shu encouraged her warmly.
“I will, Senior Brother!” Lu Zhiyun replied.
“Junior Sister, work hard!” Chang Jiujiu encouraged her with sleepy eyes.
“I will, Senior Sister!” Lu Zhiyun nodded.
“Junior Sister, give it your all!” The Three Pure Immortaless patted her on the shoulder.
“I will, Imm—Huh??? Lady Immortal, why did you come out?” Lu Zhiyun was so startled she almost dropped her sword.
“Oh, Little Shu and your Senior Sister already talked about me!” The Three Pure Immortaless put her arm around Chang Jiujiu’s shoulder, looking quite intimate. “Now I am the specially appointed guest instructor for Qingluan Peak!”
“The Lady Immortal should come out to get some fresh air. Eldest Senior Sister is one of our own, so there’s no problem!” Lin Shu explained.
Yesterday, he had explained the situation to his Eldest Senior Sister. He told her the Three Pure Immortaless was a reward from the last Immortal Secret Realm. Chang Jiujiu was slightly surprised, but then she quickly returned to her calm state.
“Senior Sister, aren’t you curious?” Lu Zhiyun asked, bewildered.
“What’s there to be curious about? Getting an Immortal as a reward for clearing an Immortal Secret Realm is perfectly normal, isn’t it?” Chang Jiujiu yawned.
It was the exact same excuse Lin Shu had used…
‘Is the weird one actually me?’
She hadn’t cleared many Secret Realms, so they better not be lying to her!
Lu Zhiyun began to doubt her worldview. Suddenly, another question occurred to her.
She pulled Lin Shu aside and whispered in his ear, “Senior Brother! Why didn’t we introduce the Lady Immortal to Junior Uncle back then?”
Lin Shu glanced at the Immortal and said, “Do you want to taste the power of an Immortal-tier Lingchef?”
Lu Zhiyun shook her head like a rattle.
An Immortal plus the food Junior Uncle cooked equals… what?
She didn’t even dare to imagine it; it would be an absolute disaster.
If those two teamed up, Tianque Sect would probably be wiped out within a single day…
Stopping herself from overthinking, Lu Zhiyun gripped her sword again. With light steps, she leaped onto the Martial Arts Platform.
Her opponent for this match was Ye Taotao of the Shenxing Sect, who was said to be a rising star of the same age.
The Shenxing Sect was a Grade One sect famous for its speed. It was said that all their cultivation techniques were related to quickness.
Under heaven, no technique is unbreakable, save for speed.
‘I suppose I’ll have to go all out for this match!’ Lu Zhiyun thought to herself.
In the next moment, she saw a 2-meter-tall giant, completely encased in armor, slowly crawling onto the Martial Arts Platform.