By the time Luo Jianqing had arranged all the affairs, it was the eve of the sect’s grand competition.

As the grand competition was about to begin, Zuo Yunmo had still not made a breakthrough in his cultivation level. He could only helplessly smile at Luo Jianqing and say, “It’s such a pity, Senior Brother. If only I had made a breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, I could have had a fulfilling battle with you.”

Luo Jianqing laughed lightly at his words and replied, “Junior Brother, even if you reached the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, you wouldn’t be able to challenge my authority.”

Zuo Yunmo raised his eyebrows and said, “I wonder who used to always sit on my shoulders when we were younger, every day…”

“Junior Brother!” Luo Jianqing interrupted with a warning tone.

Zuo Yunmo smiled faintly and put his index finger to his lips, making a “shh” gesture.

Luo Jianqing completely lost his temper and could only think to himself: Tomorrow, he must make this second martial brother who disrespects his seniors understand how to write the three characters of “big martial brother” on the arena!

That night, Luo Jianqing explained the next day’s affairs to Xuan Lingzi, and after confirming that Xuan Lingzi would not attend as a spectator, he felt a bit lost but also thought it was to be expected. The grand competition was only a battle between disciples, and even the fight between him and Zuo Yunmo was only at the level of Golden Core realm cultivators. How could it catch Xuan Lingzi’s eye?

However, before leaving, Xuan Lingzi said in a calm voice, “Don’t let YuXiao Peak lose face.”

Luo Jianqing responded and left.

As night fell, the bright moon rose in the east.

The entire Taihua Mountain was shrouded in a silent night, so quiet that one could hear the beasts in the mountains and forests howling.

The next day was the sect competition, and many disciples had not slept all night. Some were meditating and practicing to stabilize their cultivation; some were constantly training their spirit beasts to ensure that nothing would go wrong; while others were sparring with their familiar senior brothers to improve their combat ability.

In the pitch-black night, a black shadow flashed across the YuXiao Peak, passing through layers of restrictions and leaving the YuXiao Peak.

Luo Jianqing quickly shuttled through the mountain peaks. He was dressed in black night clothes, with his face covered by a black cloth, and he had also taken a second-grade Face-Shifting Pill, so that cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage could not detect his true appearance.

Luo Jianqing was not worried about Xuan Lingzi suspecting his whereabouts. When he was a child, he used to sneak out to play with the other six Taihua Seven Children at night. At first, Xuan Lingzi punished him for reflection, but after a particularly harsh punishment, Luo Jianqing refused to admit his mistake and even fainted, so Xuan Lingzi no longer bothered with such things.

Growing up in Mount Taihua, Luo Jianqing was familiar with the place like the back of his hand. He took a shortcut to Haoming Peak and instead of heading towards the residences of inner disciples, he went to the abode of outer disciples.

At that moment, there were many people training inside, but Luo Jianqing didn’t pay attention to them. He searched for a while and found the person he was looking for.

Despite the fact that the grand competition of the sect was scheduled to begin the next day and his strength was nowhere near enough to last through the first round, Li Xiuchen still sat in the courtyard with a grim expression. He neither practiced nor sparred with others, but kept gesturing with a dagger in his hand, his mind unknown.

In his previous life, Li Xiuchen received careful guidance from Xuan Lingzi after entering Mount Taihua. Although he had poor aptitude, Xuan Lingzi managed to help him reach the sixth level of Qi Refining within a year. It’s worth noting that out of the twenty-four new disciples, only two reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, one of whom was a top-grade aptitude disciple.

Luo Jianqing was very jealous of Li Xiuchen’s diligence and conscientiousness in his previous life. At that time, the Flame Valley had already opened, and the disciples in the Qi Refining stage were divided into three groups: early, middle, and late, for competition. The top three champions could go to the Flame Valley.

In this life, nothing has changed except that Li Xiuchen is only at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Actually, the fact that Li Xiuchen even reached the fourth level of Qi Refining is already remarkable. He barely trained and didn’t have Xuan Lingzi as his mentor, yet he managed to achieve such a level of cultivation. To put it in the words of Jie Zizhuo, “There must be something fishy about that kid Li Xiuchen!”

Luo Jianqing didn’t know how Li Xiuchen practiced, as Xie Zizhuo had been keeping an eye on him but never found any sign of him working hard. However, Luo Jianqing didn’t care about this matter, and tonight, he came here for a different purpose. Thinking of this, Luo Jianqing concealed his figure and converged his breath.

After a cup of tea, Li Xiuchen put his dagger back into his waistband. Just as he turned his head, he suddenly saw a black-clothed, masked person standing in front of him.

Li Xiuchen widened his eyes in horror and was about to speak, but his voice was muffled by the other person.

A hoarse voice sounded in the courtyard, “You look pretty good to me. I like you very much. I’ll give you this magic weapon to help you pass tomorrow’s Taihua Mountain Sect Competition. You don’t have to thank me. When we meet again in the future, you will naturally know who I am.”

After a long time, Li Xiuchen collapsed onto the ground, exhausted. But a long sword appeared on the ground next to him. Li Xiuchen was still immersed in the terrifying atmosphere just now. Even if the other person hadn’t worn a mask, Li Xiuchen wouldn’t have been able to see their face at night.

When his body finally stopped trembling, Li Xiuchen crawled to the long sword and picked it up.

“What a stroke of luck! This is really a stroke of luck! I really am the protagonist! Hahaha!!!”

Outside the courtyard, Luo Jianqing tore off the black cloth on his face and sneered. Then he flew away.

The Taihua Mountain Sect Competition, held once every seven years, began on time the next day.

Nowadays, there are hundreds of Qi Refining disciples, over a hundred Foundation Building disciples, and ten Golden Core disciples in Taihua Mountain. Among them, the Taihua Seven Children are all in the Golden Core stage, and three junior brothers have also worked hard to reach the Golden Core stage.

The competition stage was set up in front of the Lingyun Hall on the square in the Cangshuang Peak. Elderly representatives from other sects could sit in front of the Lingyun Hall to watch this young generation’s martial arts event. This time, the three peak masters of Taihua Mountain all came, and the Sect Master Hao Xingzi was sitting in the center of the audience, leading this competition.

The four elder disciples in the out-of-body stage are responsible for the sect’s grand competition, and more than 20 Nascent Soul stage elders are stationed around the arena. If any accidents occur, they can save people in time.

In the world of cultivation, sparring always comes with life-threatening risks. Once they go all out, it’s a fight to the death. Therefore, in the grand competition of the sect, high-level elders must be present to watch, otherwise it is likely to cause a disaster.

The first to compete are the disciples in the Qi refining stage, starting with those in the first to third levels. This competition is not very exciting. After all the matches have ended, there was a sudden cry among the disciples, not for the little junior brother who won the victory, but for the appearance of seven people around the competition stage.

The Taihua Seven Children, all gathered together!

Junior Sister Mu Tianxin wore a fiery red dress, like a raging fire; Sixth Senior Brother Xiu Hen had a sturdy and powerful build; Fifth Senior Brother Huo Yuchong had red hair and a violent personality; Fourth Senior Brother Xie Zizhuo wore a black outfit and was charming with a fan; Third Senior Sister Wei Qiongyin held a sword and watched with a cold expression; Second Senior Brother Zuo Yunmo smiled gently, friendly and easygoing.

And the person walking at the forefront of the seven was as if he had attracted all the brilliance of the world, dazzling like a star.

There was a green lotus with three petals on his forehead, and he wore a white and blue-trimmed school uniform. He was incomparably handsome, with features like a painting, and every move he made was full of beauty. Although he didn’t have many expressions on his face, his clear and cool temperament separated him from others in an instant, and made the great experts in front of Lingyun Hall suddenly think of a name.

“Luo Jianqing”

Taihua Mountain, Yuxiao Peak, Luo Jianqing.

Even the powerful cultivators in the combined stage have long heard of this name.

He is the only disciple of Yuxiao Peak in Taihua Mountain, and he is also the closed-door disciple of the number one cultivator in the cultivation world, Venerable Xuan Lingzi.

“Is this Luo Jianqing?”

“Truly worthy of Taihua Mountain. Despite being only a mid-level golden core cultivator, I can feel a towering sword intent emanating from him.”

“Head disciple Hao Xingzi, is Venerable Xuan Lingzi not here to observe the competition today?”

Hao Xingzi was prepared for this situation. Although his cultivation level is higher than these people, he is currently speaking with them in his capacity as the head of Taihua Mountain. Hao Xingzi spoke calmly and indifferently, “Yes, this is my Taihua Mountain’s head disciple, Luo Jianqing.”

These people were once again amazed, and even the elders in the tribulation period of the four sects, eight major families, and sixteen factions were all closely watching Luo Jianqing’s figure, without shifting their gaze.

At this moment, Luo Jianqing is watching disciples in the mid-level Qi refining stage compete on the arena. Dozens of people went up to compete, and after a fierce competition, when an ordinary-looking young man won, even the presiding elder was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

After a moment, the presiding elder shouted loudly, “The winner of the mid-level Qi refining stage is Li Xiuchen, at the fourth level of Qi refining!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the disciples immediately began to whisper to each other. Xie Zizhuo tilted the corner of his mouth and whispered to Luo Jianqing, “Senior Brother, what’s going on? He won again, for the sixth time! He got lucky and skipped six rounds, only fought two matches, and even defeated a Qi Refining stage six disciple in the end. Do you believe it? I don’t! His knife must be a problem, it’s so powerful!”

Xie Zizhuo wanted to go and see what was happening, but Luo Jianqing pulled him back and advised him kindly, “Fourth Junior Brother, this junior brother has also suffered serious injuries. His knife is indeed a treasure, but since the referee elder did not stop the match, it is allowed.”

Xie Zizhuo said angrily, “The heavens are unfair!”

Luo Jianqing smiled and said softly, “Junior Brother, you don’t need to envy other people’s good luck.”

Xie Zizhuo was so angry that his eyes turned green. “Am I jealous of him?!”

Luo Jianqing reached out and slapped him hard on the back of his head, making the talkative guy shut up and mutter, “Senior Brother, you also hate him a lot, what’s going on today?”

Luo Jianqing just smiled and didn’t say anything.

On the other side, Li Xiuchen celebrated excitedly but few disciples came to congratulate him. Even the little girl Liu Xiaoxiao stood among the disciples of the Qinglan Peak, just looking at Li Xiuchen without going to congratulate him.

Seeing this, Luo Jianqing smiled faintly, narrowed his eyes, and continued to watch the next match.

Soon, the match for Qi Refining disciples came to an end, and the number of Foundation Building disciples decreased significantly. Eventually, their matches also ended, leaving only ten Golden Core stage disciples competing.

All eyes in the audience were focused on the five platforms, and Luo Jianqing flew up to the stage, looking at the charming and lovely girl in red opposite him, gently brushing his sleeves and saying with a smile, “Junior Sister, today…I won’t be polite.”