Chapter 33: Not being envied by others is mediocrity

In the Blood Prison Great Formation, Lu Chen remained calm, his expression unchanged, as if all the disputes had nothing to do with him.

He quietly waited until the essence energy in the formation was completely absorbed before leisurely beginning to prepare to break the formation.

"Bang!"

With a tremendous bang, Blood No Shadow's final trump card was instantly shattered by him.

In an instant, the ultimate winner of this grand competition was beyond doubt.

Seeing this result, the heavenly envoy's face turned ashen.

But restrained by the presence of the Qing Luo Sect Master and the elders, even though he had previously received many benefits, he dared not openly trip Lu Chen.

The remaining disciples inside, after sensing Lu Chen's strength, also gave up fighting one after another.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Lu!"

At that moment, a relatively familiar person stepped forward to Lu Chen, clasped his hands, and offered congratulations.

Lu Chen smiled slightly, returned the clasped-hand salute.

This person was the disciple who had survived the ancient tomb back then; he did not know the exact name.

However, he had no grudge against that person, and they had not clashed in the recent battle.

Following the principle that it's better to do less than more, Lu Chen's attitude toward him was relatively friendly.

However, seeing his reaction, several disciples who were about to leave snorted contemptuously.

"Sure enough, he likes to kick people when they're down; he never had a good relationship with Lu Chen before, but as soon as he saw Lu Chen was going to win, he rushed over to curry favor."

Although they said that, Lu Chen didn't care; instead, he asked for the other's name.

"May I ask your esteemed name, Senior Brother?"

"No need for formalities, I'm Qin Lin."

After saying that, Qin Lin clasped his hands again, seemingly to avoid suspicion, then turned and left with several disciples.

"Qin Lin... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."

Lu Chen kept a wary eye, then turned his gaze to the side where the Empress Qi Luo had appeared at some point.

"Empress sister, how did you come out?"

"You brat, usually keeping a low profile, yet you actually possess the techniques of the Heavenly Demon Clan."

"However, you're just an ordinary disciple; where did you get this technique? Did you take it from Su Qian?"

"Hehe." Lu Chen gave an embarrassed laugh, tacitly admitting it.

"Logically, this technique shouldn't be cultivated by non-demons; it would cause a severe backlash, so why do you feel no backlash at all?"

"Hmph... you brat, you're becoming more and more intriguing to me."

The Empress said a few lines, felt bored, and quickly retreated back into the depths of Lu Chen's sea of consciousness.

Having experienced countless ages and an unknown number of years of lifespan, everything in the world had long lost its novelty for her.

Nowadays, the only things that can pique her interest are Lu Chen and matters related to her nemesis.

Unfortunately, Lu Chen is still too weak now; even if he learned news of her enemy, he could not help her regain a physical body.

Even if her physical body were restored, her cultivation realm would stagnate for a short time.

"Having waited ten thousand years, waiting another ten thousand years is no problem."

The Empress murmured a sentence in a voice only she could hear, then fell back into sleep.

On the square, only Lu Chen, Gu Xiangxiang, Blood No Shadow, and Mei Qianxue remained.

Blood No Shadow still harbored resentment, but after receiving a mental transmission from his master Mu Yun, he too soon left the formation.

"Lu Chen... you..."

On the field, Mei Qianxue approached Lu Chen's side, her face full of regret.

Lu Chen seemed not to notice her expression, walked up to her and coldly said:

"Senior Sister Mei, do you still want to fight again?"

"No! Lu Chen... I wanted to say..."

Before Mei Qianxue could finish, Lu Chen ruthlessly cut her off.

"If not, then please withdraw, Senior Sister Mei; otherwise, don't blame this junior brother for taking action."

Lu Chen's face showed no pity, only coldness and detachment.

A flicker of complexity flashed in Mei Qianxue's eyes; she bit her lip and finally lowered her head.

In the past, she had relied on her looks and talent to be fawned over within the sect, and had never been treated so coldly by a man.

"Alright..."

She spoke, wanting to say more but stopping, her eye sockets suddenly turning red.

"Lu Chen..."

"Senior Sister, please!"

Lu Chen's face was icy cold, unmoved by her performance.

"Junior Brother..."

He had thought he had made his meaning perfectly clear, but Mei Qianxue's steps paused again, as if she were about to say something.

Seeing that words wouldn't move him, Lu Chen's aura faintly surged, and soon a terrifying pressure spread outward.

Feeling Lu Chen's aura, Mei Qianxue's eyes flickered with complexity again, then she flew away on her sword from the great formation.

Watching her retreating figure, scenes from the past suddenly appeared before Lu Chen's eyes.

"This woman, I never expected she'd still be pretending to be a pure lotus at this point..."

"Does she really think I'm still that ignorant, naive Lu Chen who just entered the sect?"

"Excellent! Truly excellent!"

The voice of the Qing Luo Sect Master echoed throughout the sect, she smiled faintly, she slowly descended from the high sky.

Because she won the bet, after knowing she hadn't misjudged the person, she appeared very happy.

"I announce, this term's Holy Son of the sect is Lu Chen, and the Holy Maiden is Gu Xiangxiang!"

As the words fell, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

In a moment, many disciples clasped their hands and congratulated, saying, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Lu!"

Moreover, many disciples stepped forward on their own, wanting to close the distance with Lu Chen.

"Senior Brother Lu, do you still lack a cauldron by your side?!"

"Senior Brother Lu, do you still lack a lackey by your side?"

"Senior Brother Lu..."

Naturally, where there is congratulations, there is jealousy.

Some disciples remained in their original spots, their faces full of jealousy.

However, Lu Chen paid no heed to those jealous gazes.

As the saying goes, to be free of envy is to be mediocre.

Precisely because he has sufficient ability, he will be envied.

This, on the contrary, demonstrates his own strength.

"Lu Chen, Gu Xiangxiang, you two come with me."

After the Grand Competition ended, it was naturally time for rewards.

Gu Xiangxiang glanced at Lu Chen, her face showing a hint of excitement.

Just a few minutes earlier, she never imagined she could actually obtain the Holy Maiden's position.

Originally, upon noticing the strength of Bloodless Shadow and a few others, she had already considered withdrawing.

This, Lu Chen also glanced at her and gave a faint smile.

The two bowed to the Qing Luo Sect Master, then immediately followed her away from everyone's sight.

Soon, the two arrived above the Demonic Skill Pavilion.

The Qing Luo Sect Master produced two storage bags, handing one each to Lu Chen and Gu Xiangxiang.

"The storage bags contain the sect's rewards for the Holy Son and Holy Maiden, one each."

"Moreover, you may each choose one technique from the top floor of the Demonic Skill Pavilion."

Saying this, Qing Luo waved her hand, and the seal on the top floor of the Demonic Skill Pavilion, previously locked, slowly opened.

"Thank you, Sect Master."

Lu Chen received the storage bag, and upon hearing about the techniques of the Demonic Skill Pavilion, his heart filled with anticipation.

He participated in the Grand Competition just for these few techniques of the Demonic Skill Pavilion.

Now that it is within reach, how could he not be anxious?

Gu Xiangxiang followed closely behind him, and suddenly handed him the storage bag.

"Lu Chen, I obtained the Holy Maiden title without effort in this Grand Competition; these rewards should go to you."