Chapter 50: Sister, I really didn't waste my affection on you

Gu Jiangming was ready.

A scene like this Sect Grand Competition is actually quite standard; if any larger sect doesn't hold a Sect Grand Competition, the quality of its disciples cannot be guaranteed to take shape.

In a sense, this is a conventional educational system, a relevant event that inevitably exists after a qualified sect develops over a long period.

When all is said and done, if a sect wants to last, it naturally must have a constant stream of outstanding disciples appearing; once that is cut off and this momentum is lost, it is destined to be buried.

【You attended the Zhenggang Sect Grand Competition ceremony with the crowd, standing among the many law-enforcement deacons; these law-enforcement deacons are mostly direct disciples of the Zhenggang Sect, distinguished by their Nascent Soul Stage cultivation.】

【Among them, your wife Wang Qinghe is also a law-enforcement deacon, overseeing the basic order of the entire sect.】

【She chose a leisurely and suitable position for you.】

【You only need to attend the fourth round of the Sect Grand Competition's martial sparring, appearing as one of the examiners.】

【Your duty is—to intervene in time when a dangerous situation arises and terminate the martial sparring between the two parties.】

【Nothing happened for the first seven days; you did not participate in the duties of the other law-enforcement deacons and stayed until the martial sparring you were assigned to oversee.】

【You carried the Taicang Sword on your back and stood at the examiner's seat by the martial arts stage to watch the battle, with protective barrier formations already sealed around the perimeter to avoid interference or damage to the venue.】

【There were only seven hundred or so disciples left in this round, and you only needed to focus on ensuring that no accidents occurred during the matches on the No. 5 stage and guarantee safety there.】

【The two law-enforcement deacons attending with you were Mu Xiuling, whom you had met a few days prior, and Li Chujiang, another disciple from the inner sect.】

【"Greetings, Senior Brother Gu." Mu Xiuling cupped her hands to you in greeting.】

【You nodded slightly.】

【After Mu Xiuling spoke, Li Chujiang seemed somewhat dissatisfied, but he also cupped his hands and saluted you: "Greetings, Senior Brother Gu."】

【Your situation in the Zhenggang Sect is very awkward; many people treat you with great courtesy, but since you are not a disciple who grew up in the Zhenggang Sect, many still view you as an outsider.】

【Especially since you, as an outsider, enjoy better treatment than many inner sect disciples and even true-transmission disciples.】

【However, the truth is that Wang Qinghe is very good to you, and her father, Wang Jiangxing, loves you for her sake; considering the children, he treats you quite well, yet you have not abused the resources of the Zhenggang Sect because of this, and in fact, you have often relied on your own efforts to cultivate.】

【Whether it is cultivation techniques or sword arts, they have nothing to do with the Zhenggang Sect.】

【This is entirely because Wang Qinghe treats you too generously, to the point where, in the impression of many, you are like a live-in son-in-law who has married into a family above his station, borrowing his partner's status to gain benefits while idling away his days, a lazy rogue cultivator just drifting through the sect.】

【You hold these idle rumors in contempt; with your naturally proud disposition, you do not wish to engage in petty verbal disputes.】

【"Senior Brother Gu, those people in the sect are just busybodies, making trouble out of nothing." Mu Xiuling knows your recent situation, and she has heard many of the rumors herself; she lowered her voice to comfort you: "You don't need to pay attention to their gossip; they just can't stand to see you doing well."】

Gu Jiangming naturally understood this situation.

The matter of Wang Qinghe transferring merit points was too outrageous; in anyone's eyes, someone who had done no work and made no contribution to the sect was enjoying better treatment than they were.

Just having to endure a few words of gossip behind one's back is enough to say that the disciples recruited by the Zhenggang Sect have a relatively high level of basic Morality.

【This was the first stage match you oversaw.】

【Both parties in the match were outstanding figures among the outer sect disciples; one was named Lei Mingzhao, and the other was named Fang Xiao.】

【The former had just broken through to the Golden Core Stage, while the latter was at the peak of the Crystallization Stage; in principle, as long as the gap between the two was not too vast, they could compete on the same stage.】

【The two cupped their hands to show fellowship as fellow disciples, but they had no intention of holding back once they started, immediately using the divine abilities and techniques they were best at.】

【The Heavenly Gang Five Thunders is a technique that every disciple of the Zhenggang Sect must master, but it is not easy to release a divine ability instantly.】

【Zhenyangzi, the true-transmission disciple of the Zhenggang Sect whom Gu Jiangming encountered twenty years ago, was a cultivator capable of releasing the Heavenly Gang Five Thunders instantly.】

【Lei Mingzhao took a full four breaths of time to unleash the Heavenly Gang Five Thunders, yet even this speed caused the watching outer sect disciples to show expressions of astonishment, as if this speed was the fastest they had ever seen.】

This Heavenly Gang Five Thunders is truly an old acquaintance; ten thousand years later, Gu Jiangming uses this move as a minor skill, tossing out several Thunder Methods with a single thought.

It is just that the power is much worse.

In the Shushan File, "I am invincible below the Immortal," is by no means a joke.

And four breaths of time is equivalent to four seconds.

In a higher-level battle, these four seconds would make one complete cannon fodder; one might be killed just as they start to cast a divine ability.

【Facing such a duel, you felt bored.】

【On the contrary, Mu Xiuling and Li Chujiang nodded slightly, thinking that the two's battle was not bad.】

【Li Chujiang held a writing brush, seemingly recording something.】

【You seem to have heard from Wang Qinghe that the sect will record disciples who perform well in martial sparring on a list; even if they lose the sparring, they will be promoted to the inner sect, though the quota is limited.】

Gu Jiangming nodded after seeing this practice; it is quite reasonable.

In Immortal novels, it is often said that if you lose the Sect Grand Competition, you cannot be promoted, making the disciples bitter and deep-seated in their hatred, wishing to kill their fellow disciples on the spot to obtain better cultivation resources.

Are you cultivating disciples, or are you raising Gu insects?

The normal line of thought should be that those who fight well get promoted, and for those who fail, you look at their performance; if their performance is good, they can be promoted along with the others, not hindering their cultivation. If there are problems in other aspects, such as their character, they can be put on hold for a year and reviewed the following year.

The core interest of a sect is to improve its own competitive ability and find ways to improve the comprehensive strength of its disciples, not to let you engage in evil-path cultivation.

You are gathering the entire strength of the sect to raise a monster that recognizes no kin, right?

Then this sect should have been gone long ago.

Through this point, Gu Jiangming basically confirmed that the world he is in should have a correct worldview; even if there are good and bad, it shouldn't be too sinister, and the righteous sects still have the appearance that righteous sects should have.

【Lei Mingzhao won this martial sparring match.】

【"Junior brother, you let me win." Lei Mingzhao cupped his hands and helped the fallen Fang Xiao up.】

【"Impressive, I haven't seen you for a few days and you've already reached the Golden Core Stage." Fang Xiao said with a bitter smile.】

【Mu Xiuling gently raised her hand and sent the two off the stage to ensure the matches on the stage proceeded in order.】

【The second match on the No. 5 stage began.】

【You only glanced at it and discovered the abnormality.】

【"Disciple Zhang Ran greets the senior brothers."】

【You can see that the disciple named Zhang Ran before you has unsteady footsteps; although he appears to be in the Golden Core Stage, he is staggering and unstable, with a significant gap compared to the previous Lei Mingzhao, and he also looks like he was injured previously.】

【"Is it within the rules to take pills for a temporary breakthrough in realm before sparring?" You asked Mu Xiuling.】

【"It is naturally not to be tolerated," Mu Xiuling replied.】

【You flicked your sleeve, and Zhang Ran staggered back several steps, gently pushed into the distance; you controlled this force with great precision.】

【Li Chujiang saw this and had some objections, immediately lifting his right hand in the air, seemingly wanting to pull Zhang Ran back from afar.】【But the light force you pushed out was like Mount Tai pressing down before Li Chujiang, and Zhang Ran was still sent off the stage unhurriedly.】

【You glanced at Li Chujiang.】

【The look in those eyes seemed to brook no questioning from anyone.】

【Li Chujiang's heart was already in a state of turbulent self-calculation; after a moment, he asked with some hesitation: "Senior Brother Gu, is... is there a problem with him?"】

【There was an added sense of deference in his speech.】

【"I am a Body Cultivation practitioner; his aura is unstable, and his meridians should be damaged. I previously looked at the roster, and at the very beginning of the Sect Grand Competition... he was only at the Crystallization Stage Great Perfection, yet now he is at the Golden Core Stage." Gu Jiangming continued: "It is possible for an injured person to break through, but the problem lies in his aura being too weak."】

【Among the contents cultivated in the Dragon Aspect Heart Life, there is an invisible momentum that can clearly distinguish the strength and weakness of an enemy.】

【The aura of the strong cannot be concealed, and the aura of the weak has nowhere to hide.】

【Li Chujiang dared not argue; in fact, he had not detected any problem with Zhang Ran's aura at all. Under his perception, Zhang Ran was no different from an ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivator.】

【However, in the battle just now, he sensed a massive gap in strength between himself and this Senior Brother Gu, who did not have a very good reputation.】

【Li Chujiang did not have the courage to question Gu Jiangming's words, at least for now, and if any mistake were truly made, it would be blamed on Gu Jiangming.】

【Zhang Ran smiled bitterly and said: "It truly did not escape the keen eyes of the Senior Brothers."】

【"I was injured some days ago and have no hope of any greater breakthrough in this life, so I thought to seek a slim chance by being promoted to the inner sect. I swallowed a Mysterious Pole Pill to try, thinking I could deceive the heavens, but I did not expect to be detected. I am ashamed." Zhang Ran cupped his hands in apology to the other person in the match, then avoided the crowd and left.】

【Just at this moment, you felt a familiar Mana coming from the other side.】

【Yes/No: Choose to leave your current area?】

Gu Jiangming pondered for a moment; in the entire Zhenggang Sect, whose Mana could be familiar to him?

Is there even a shred of awareness? A good brother treats him with the attitude of sticking by his side through thick and thin regardless of rumors; how could he, as a buddy, abandon his good brother at a critical moment!

This kind of thing is mutual.

If you are loyal to your brother, your brother naturally will not treat you poorly.

【You rushed over without the slightest hesitation.】

【Wang Qinghe was currently exchanging blows with Qingyangzi, the third disciple under Zhang Xuanjun's tutelage.】

【"Junior Sister Wang, how exactly did my Junior Brother Zhenyangzi die back then?" Qingyangzi asked coldly: "Master is currently in seclusion and cannot demand an explanation from you. As Zhenyangzi's Senior Brother, I must get to the bottom of this matter!!!"】

【Zhang Xuanjun is a famous martial arts fanatic of the Zhenggang Sect, immersed in the Dao of cultivation day and night; his disciples are no less so, hence their style of conduct is very similar.】

【And Zhenyangzi is not only Qingyangzi's Junior Brother; the two of them are also paternal half-brothers from the same clan.】

【To flare up publicly on such an important occasion, it is likely that a grudge has been brewing for a long time.】

【The air pressure of the Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection was released, without the slightest regard for the other disciples on the sidelines.】

【You arrived at the scene and confronted him there.】

【The air pressure of a Nascent Soul Stage Great Perfection followed closely behind, only your release was more violent, more brutal, and more wanton.】

【The Dragon Aspect Heart Life technique is, after all, the cultivation of the Dragon Dao.】

【The Dragon is the Supreme; how could there be any reason to yield to others?】

【Hence, its momentum is not merely as simple as ordinary overbearingness.】

【"Who are you?" Qingyangzi narrowed his eyes, the scabbard on his hand fell away, and a three-foot azure sharp sword was held in his hand.】

【"Her man."】

【You raised your head slightly.】

【"I see you are also a sword cultivator." Qingyangzi's gaze noticed the long sword carried on your back, "I will not bully you either, draw your sword."】

【"To deal with you, there is no need to draw a sword."】

【You knew well that you only had one sword technique, and drawing the sword would result in either death or injury. This is, after all, the Zhenggang Sect's territory, so there is no need to invite unnecessary trouble.】

【Moreover, the Dragon Aspect Heart Life is enough to handle the person before you.】

【"Good—" Qingyangzi shouted loudly.】

【He raised his hand and struck with a sword, the force weighing a thousand jun.】

【Qingyangzi restrained a bit of his force; clearly, he did not want to make the matter too big.】

【"Clang—"】

【Qingyangzi's sword landed on your shoulder, emitting a deafeningly loud sound, yet your figure remained unmoved.】

【Mu Xiuling and Li Chujiang, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, witnessed this scene and were immediately dumbfounded, finding it somewhat hard to believe what was happening before them.】

【At this moment, Qingyangzi's pupils shrank slightly; although he had restrained a portion of his force, this was still not a sword strike that an ordinary person could easily take, let alone a situation like Gu Jiangming's, who relied on his physical body to take it head-on.】

【Since that is the case, he need not hold back his moves.】

【Today, he, Qingyangzi, swears to demand an explanation!】

Meanwhile.

Wang Qinghe stared nervously at every movement on the screen, not distracted for even a moment, to the point that she even stopped eating the pastry in her hand.

This man, why is he so charming.

Is this, this, this, this the past life of the Dao Venerable of Mount Shu? I love it, I love it.

Big sister really didn't dote on you in vain.

Standing up at a critical moment!

This is Gu! Jiang! Ming!

Show it fiercely for big sister!

Beat these things that look down on people to a pulp!

A feeling of pride and elation welled up in Wang Qinghe's heart.

So satisfying.

Cultivating a husband from a past life is truly too interesting.

Begging, begging, begging, begging for monthly votes! Begging, begging, begging, begging for recommendation votes! (End of chapter)