The situation was clear now: it had become a showdown between the First Branch and the Third Branch, leaving all other branches in the shade.

Was the first place taken by the First Branch or the Second Branch?

Naturally, many were stunned that even Wu Chendong, with his 298.5 Immortal Coins, had not secured the top rank. Who, then, could it be?

All eyes turned to Cao Qiu.

As it turned out, Cao Qiu was in no hurry. He picked up a nearby celadon water cup and took a delicate sip. After milking everyone's anticipation to the fullest, he leisurely announced, "First place goes to Lu Liu."

The name caused a wave of bewilderment.

Indeed.

Few people knew who Lu Liu was.

"Who is Lu Liu?"

"Is he an elder from which Immortal Sect?"

"How have we never heard of him?"

"An Immortal Sect has so many elders; perhaps one of them recently had a fortuitous encounter and suddenly grew powerful?" Such things were not unprecedented. The most classic example was Chu Fei, who went from being an ordinary elder to a renowned Sword Immortal through such a chance. The discussion raged.

Zhao Qiankun, Zhao Han, and the others were visibly shaken. Zhao Qiankun had already guessed Lu Liu's identity, but he never expected this person to be so formidable as to claim first place.

Meng Bai was initially surprised, then felt a surge of pride. It was natural to be proud of a friend achieving such a result. He immediately searched for Lu Yuan's location.

The people of North Peak were also silent. Ling Yuzhu from the Ninth Branch knew a little, but the others were in the dark. After a long pause, Ye Fang murmured, "Surname Lu, this result, and he's called Lu Liu... Sixth Senior Brother, could first place be you?" He looked at Lu Yuan with disbelief.

Lu Yuan nodded.

And immediately, pandemonium broke out.

So many true disciples of North Peak exploded into activity.

Lu Yuan actually won first place this time. It must be remembered that this competition wasn't just among the true disciples of the Huashan Immortal Sect; true disciples from the other four major Immortal Sects, six or seven medium-sized Immortal Sects, plus many young elders were competing together. If it were only the true disciples from the five major sects and mid-tier cultivation sects, Lu Yuan taking first place would be acceptable. But to take first among them and the young elders was incredibly difficult.

The so-called young elders were mostly one or two hundred years old, and these young elders, generally having potential, were often granted superior cultivation methods. Over time, their strength was considerable, and they could easily defeat true disciples before the latter had fully matured.

Just look: in the top ten, from tenth down to second, they were all young elders; not a single one was a true disciple.

And now... Lu Yuan had seized the top spot.

Of course, this was just a small-scale eruption, as the surroundings were chaotic, and most people were still unaware.

Cao Qiu, standing on the high platform, continued, "Six hundred Immortal Coins."

Six hundred! Six hundred! Six hundred!

Six hundred Immortal Coins!

Are you kidding me!

When Wu Chendong scored 298.5 Immortal Coins, everyone was thoroughly shocked. They hadn't expected this person to be even more outrageous, vastly surpassing 298.5 Immortal Coins to directly claim six hundred—that number was terrifying. Considering the entire ten-branch competition only involved a little over 1,600 Immortal Coins total, one person taking six hundred was astonishing. Lu Yuan was actually touching his nose now; if not for the incident with Yuan Ling, he might have earned even more Immortal Coins.

Hearing the news of six hundred Immortal Coins caused an even greater sensation. No one expected such a decisive victory, far exceeding the second-place holder.

And so, the crowds fervently began debating just who Lu Liu was.

Unfortunately, the North Peak group was not tight-lipped, and Meng Bai was a notorious chatterbox. Consequently, the news that Lu Yuan was Lu Liu spread instantly. Lu Yuan wasn't famous before, but after the Five Peaks Grand Competition, he had certainly made a name for himself as the strongest true disciple of Huashan. Of course, everyone assumed he had only narrowly surpassed Song Nanshan.

They thought he was just slightly stronger than top-tier true disciples like Song Nanshan—a peak contender, nothing more. In everyone's estimation, Lu Yuan, Song Nanshan, Zhao Qiankun, Zhang Qingshu—one top true disciple per Immortal Sect—should all be on the same level. At least, that was what they believed.

But now, it seemed that was far from the truth.

Others like Song Nanshan, Zhao Qiankun, and Zhang Qingshu couldn't even break into the top ten of this competition, which was dominated by young elders. Yet, Lu Yuan alone burst into the top ten, taking first place with a massive lead of six hundred Immortal Coins, dwarfing Elder Wu Chendong's 298.5.

For a true disciple to reach this level—truly remarkable!

At that moment, countless people surged toward Lu Yuan's location. Meng Bai struggled to push toward him but found it impossible; the crush was too intense. The North Peak disciples also realized the situation was spiraling; far too many people were squeezing toward them, making them feel they might be crushed by the human tide.

This was too much. Even Yun Yi, with his steady temperament and experience witnessing grand scenes, couldn't help but change color; he was genuinely frightened by the spectacle. The other true disciples were even more terrified. To be precise, Lu Yuan himself was frightened.

With so many people rushing toward him, and yet he couldn't draw his Sword of Nurturing to ward them off—even the sycophantic Zhao Qiankun would likely be terrified by this scene. Lu Yuan dared not linger. He instantly took flight, ascending into the air to escape; he couldn't stay here.

Lu Yuan had planned to linger in the Newcomer's Chamber, but before long, another surge of people arrived, each introducing themselves, eager to forge connections with Lu Yuan. In their minds, building a relationship with someone as promising as Lu Yuan was crucial; he might even become the next Sect Master of the Huashan Immortal Sect.

Lu Yuan was startled again and soared upward. It seemed the Tenth Hall offered no peace for now. He might as well fly outside and rest on the eagle's back, Lu Yuan mused as he flew.

"Body Tempering Stage, ah." "To get first place, he must be in the Body Tempering Stage, so he can naturally fly." "His flying posture is so handsome..." Voices rose, praising every apparent virtue of Lu Yuan as if he possessed none but strengths. The North Peak true disciples could only offer wry smiles. How could no one mention his most famous flaw—his laziness? In truth, even they were somewhat stunned by the extent of Lu Yuan's progress.

Yun Yi and Yun Ping clearly realized the gap between them and their Sixth Junior Brother was widening. It had been significant during the Five Peaks Grand Competition, but now the distance had grown even more vast.

Even Song Nanshan felt bitter. After losing to Lu Yuan that day, he had resolved to win back the upper hand. He had trained diligently, including intensely during his current training at the Tenth Hall, only to find Lu Yuan's progress was even faster. It seemed catching up to Lu Yuan would be extremely difficult.

If there was anyone feeling most bewildered, it had to be Song Jianjiu.

He had been cultivating ten newcomers in an elite manner.

The result: of his elite-trained ten, only Zhao Qiankun performed reasonably well; the others were mediocre. Meanwhile, Lu Yuan, whom Song Jianjiu hadn't seriously focused on, surprisingly won first place in the competition, leading to him inexplicably winning a bet against his lifelong rival, Xuanyuan Zhong.

He had won just like that, leaving him truly bewildered.

Song Jianjiu was arrogant and loved victory; victories usually brought him immense joy. But winning in such a dazed manner left him unsure whether he should be happy or unhappy.

The silver-haired youth stood with his hands clasped behind his back. His facial features—eyes, nose—were exceptionally narrow, and his azure robe snapped sharply in the strong wind.

He stood atop a low slope, looking down upon the earth.

It was as if the world lay within his grasp.

"Yuan Ling, I heard you had quite a humiliating time this round, retreating temporarily against Gongyang Sanguang, Cao Qiu, and the Cloud Manifestation of your Senior Brother Yuan Yuan Shangren. That's quite unlike you," a hoarse voice rang out. A short, extremely ugly old man emerged from the shadows.

On the back of this short, ugly old man's clothes was a massive, crude character resembling that of a notorious traitor from Kunlun Immortal Sect's history. That figure was once an extraordinarily gifted prodigy who, for unknown reasons, betrayed Kunlun, taking with him the sect's supreme secret tome, the Taiyi Secret Scroll.

Kunlun Immortal Sect was ancient, rumored to even inherit some paths of the Immortals. The Taiyi Secret Scroll was the supreme manual for crafting powerful artifacts, one of the three most crucial secret texts in Kunlun, yet it was stolen by this person.

This man’s true name was lost to history; he was only known later as Elder Tianchou, a major figure in the Demonic Path.

After he took the Taiyi Secret Scroll, the people of Kunlun dispatched numerous Longevity cultivators to hunt him, but he killed them all in return. His infamous reputation was no less than Yuan Ling's.

Yuan Ling smiled nonchalantly, a smile that was quite wickedly charming. "Cao Qiu and Gongyang Sanguang are both cultivators in the Longevity stage. And my Senior Brother Yuan Yuan Shangren's cloud clone is formidable enough. It's only natural for me to yield slightly." Then, Yuan Ling let out a long breath, "With Peerless Yan Cangtian here now, and if my Martial Uncle were present, which Demonic Path leader would dare act ostentatiously? They'd be hunted down by my Senior Uncle Yan. No one in the Great Jin Kingdom could withstand Yan Cangtian's Three-Foot Green Edge—that's common knowledge..."

"If I appear too strong, I invite trouble. Sometimes showing weakness isn't a bad thing."

Elder Tianchou laughed heartily, "In any case, you found three potentially useful prospects, correct?" "Yes, I found three. It's a pity that the one I most desire now is Lu Yuan," Yuan Ling murmured, his narrow eyes contracting like a viper's.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.