The spring in the Central Plains means small bridges over flowing water, fine wind and drizzle, a straw cape, and a bamboo hat—a feeling of boundless freedom.

But the desert spring presents a flat expanse of land, occasionally dotted with the withered brown wild grass left over from last year; everywhere else is a vast stretch of pale yellow, simply lacking the scorching heat of midsummer. Lu Yuan was experiencing a desert spring for the very first time.

It truly was a rare experience; every landscape possessed its own distinct characteristics.

Lu Yuan was currently seated by the window of the newcomers' quarters, gazing at the scenery outside and the distant views. This was the desert spring. Of course, Lu Yuan was likely the only one interested in admiring the view right now; everyone else was deep in discussion about the upcoming major division competition.

"I hear the First Branch Division is incredibly strong, with quite a few young elders at the Body Tempering stage..."

"Yes, and they say the Third Branch Division also has many masters..."

"Our Tenth Branch Division seems to be on the weaker side..."

"It won't be easy for our Tenth Branch Division to win this time." "Indeed." "..."

The door to the newcomers' quarters was pushed open, and Zhao Han entered with an air of arrogance, followed by his lackey, Huang Yun. As Zhao Han first stepped inside, he maintained his overbearing demeanor, but upon seeing Lu Yuan, his expression immediately shifted. After being soundly thrashed by Lu Yuan last time, he had devised countless schemes for revenge, yet he had never managed to encounter Lu Yuan. Now that he finally saw him, the sight brought a phantom pain to his face, as if the injuries from being beaten into a pulp and locked in solitary confinement for seven days had returned. "It's good that you're back, Lu Liu. The Tenth Branch Division competition is about to start; I'll show you my prowess then..." Zhao Han declared with utmost arrogance.

He quickly retreated from the newcomers' quarters, already planning to consult with the Eldest Senior Brother, intending to persuade him to intervene and thoroughly teach Lu Yuan a lesson during the Tenth Branch Division competition.

Lu Yuan showed absolutely no reaction.

Just an ant.

In Lu Yuan's mind, Zhao Han was nothing more than an ant, not worth wasting any further time on. As long as the ant didn't keep barking in his direction, it would be fine. If it dared to bark again, he would simply beat it soundly once more. Killing him was out of the question, as this was the territory of the Five Immortals Alliance, and certain rules of the Alliance had to be observed. Basically, as long as Lu Yuan wasn't provoked beyond his limits, he remained relatively harmless. But once his bottom line was crossed, Lu Yuan was no longer harmless; he would dare to do anything reckless, even daring to provoke the Elder Council.

Lu Yuan had always been someone who appeared harmless on the surface but was utterly audacious at his core.

Changing the subject, the door to the newcomers' quarters was pushed open again. This time, it was his childhood friend, Meng Bai, who walked in. Meng Bai paused upon entering: "It's you. You've been back so rarely these past few days. I learned quite a bit from Head Song and wanted to teach you, but I couldn't find you anywhere. But since you're back, let's stick together for this Tenth Branch Division competition; we’ll strive together. Don't worry, I’ll look out for you..."

Lu Yuan smiled, feeling a slight touch of emotion.

A friend is a friend.

Lu Yuan said, "Alright, Meng Bai, you’ve always known I was a disciple of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect. In fact, I am a true disciple of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect." Meng Bai couldn't help but touch Lu Yuan’s forehead: "Little Liu Zi, have you gone mad? A true disciple of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect? How is that possible?" Lu Yuan let out a long sigh: "Not only am I a true disciple of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, but I am also at the Body Tempering stage..." Seeing that Meng Bai still didn't believe him, he had no choice but to leap up, hovering effortlessly above the roof of the newcomers' quarters for a prolonged moment before gracefully descending.

Flying!

This was an ability unique to the Body Tempering stage.

Lu Yuan being able to fly proved only one thing: Lu Yuan was truly a cultivator at the Body Tempering stage.

Meng Bai stared, stunned and silent for a long time: "You little Lu Zi, you actually lied to me..."

Lu Yuan shrugged and said, "I did mention it back then, but you didn't believe me. I was too lazy to explain further. It’s just that now, with the Tenth Branch Division competition starting, I needed to clarify things, so I explained it all..." The situation back then was this: Lu Yuan had claimed to be a true disciple of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect, but Meng Bai thought it impossible, believing Lu Yuan was joking. Lu Yuan had always been inherently lazy, so he decided not to press the issue. Explaining further might even sound boastful. Now that the competition was imminent and they might need to cooperate, he felt it necessary to state the truth upfront.

Meng Bai suddenly seemed to recall something and said, "I heard that the Five Peaks Grand Competition of the Mount Hua Immortal Sect this year also involved someone named Lu Yuan. I always assumed it was someone with the same name, and since you happen to be a true disciple of Mount Hua, that Lu Yuan couldn't possibly be you, could he?" Lu Yuan nodded.

Meng Bai clutched his head: "Heavens above, Earth below! You, such a lazy person, always lazy even as a child, somehow managed to become the champion of the Five Peaks Grand Competition? It truly shows heaven is blind!" The young Lu Yuan, although a childhood king among boys, was extremely lazy; his ideas always revolved around how others could be lazier. In contrast, Meng Bai was the active, running-around type of childhood leader.

Speaking of which, the two of them couldn't help but recall those childhood days.

If the discussions about the impending Tenth Branch Division competition had heightened the tension, then the announcement of the rewards for this newcomers' competition by the Tenth Hall truly poured oil on the flames, setting the atmosphere ablaze with even greater fervor.

The rewards for first place in this Tenth Branch Division competition were astonishingly high: two mid-grade spirit beasts, one mid-grade spatial artifact, the Pure Water of Heaven, and the Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame. The mid-grade spirit beasts alone were quite valuable, and a mid-grade spatial artifact was considered priceless in the cultivation world of the Great Jin Kingdom. The Pure Water of Heaven had numerous uses, the greatest being that after consuming it, one’s cultivation could proceed for a time without the risk of Qi deviation. The Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame was an extremely useful flame for forging Flying Swords and Spirit Swords. As for higher-grade Immortal Swords, they were only mentioned in legends; the Flying Swallow Sword wielded by the legendary Peerless Yan Cangtian was said to be an Immortal Sword, but how such a sword was forged remained unknown to anyone.

Which one of these four rewards was not of extreme value?

The rewards for first place were incredibly generous.

Looking at the second-place rewards: one mid-grade spirit beast, one small-grade spatial artifact, and the Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame. Although the second-place rewards fell short of the first, they were still quite substantial. A small-grade spatial artifact was roughly the size of a Shura Pouch. As for the mid-grade spirit beast, the value of the Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame needed no further mention.

The third-place rewards were scaled back slightly: one mid-grade spirit beast and the Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame. This was a step down from second place but still considered quite good.

The rankings beyond third place also received some rewards, such as small-grade spirit beasts, but they were far inferior to the top three.

When these rewards were announced, the enthusiasm soared even higher. Everyone understood that first, second, and third place were generally unattainable for ordinary people, but such a presentation inevitably stirred excitement. Moreover, the Tenth Branch Division competition wasn't a series of one-on-one duels; rather, it involved throwing a group of people into a vast environment and letting them fight it out. There was always a chance for someone to pick up scraps. People recalled a Tenth Branch Division competition over a hundred years ago where someone at the seventh level of Qi Condensation managed to sneak a victory, taking first place and numerous artifacts while stronger experts annihilated each other. Hearing this story, everyone naturally began to imagine themselves in that person's shoes.

This was the common mindset. As for those with both strength and soaring ambition, like Zhao Qiankun, their sights were naturally set on first place. Zhao Qiankun’s strength had indeed improved tremendously recently; he had reached the peak of the first level of the Body Tempering stage and was just one step away from entering the second level.

Lu Yuan, who had been admiring the desert spring scenery, paused upon hearing this. Such rewards... it truly left him speechless. Except for the Pure Water of Heaven, which he didn't urgently need at the moment, he required everything else.

Especially the Pure Water of Heaven. He had initially planned to search for it in the desert, but after sitting on the back of the Golden-Eyed Eagle for eight full months, he hadn't spotted a single drop. This only emphasized how rare the Pure Water of Heaven was. The Blazing Fire of the Scarlet Flame would also be useful when forging a Flying Sword in the future.

This time, it seemed he would truly have to exert himself more.

"The outlook is not optimistic." Song Jianjiu frowned, clasping his hands behind his back. Song Jianjiu had always been an exceedingly proud man. He hadn't emerged from one of the five great immortal sects; he had once been nothing more than an obscure rogue cultivator. However, relying on his innate talent and relentless effort, he finally reached a realm above the eighth level of the Body Tempering stage and became the Head of the Tenth Hall of the Five Immortals Alliance. He harbored even greater ambitions, such as becoming a Deputy Hall Master like Cao Qiu of the Lonely Lamp Night Rain hall. However, this Tenth Branch Division competition looked difficult.

It wasn't that Song Jianjiu's training standards were inferior to those of other Hall Masters, but rather that the quality of the newcomers assigned to him at the start was far inferior to those assigned to the First, Third, and Fourth Branch Divisions. His allocation was not significantly different from the other branches. Under these circumstances, victory would indeed be challenging.

Thus, Song Jianjiu could only frown and state, "The outlook is not optimistic."

He hoped that the true disciple Zhao Qiankun and the Ninth Generation Elder Song Wang would not disappoint him.

As for the others, Song Jianjiu held little hope, especially for those ranked in the bottom fifty.

(Apologies, I had planned for three or four updates today, but a relative visited unexpectedly, so I can only manage one update. I will stay up all night writing today and guarantee four updates tomorrow. I sincerely apologize, but when a distant relative visits, one must receive them—it's a host's duty. Life is full of unavoidable constraints.)