Uncle-Master, you... you're not playing by the rules!

"Cheering you on!"

"We came all this way to see you in the midst of our busy schedules—could you be a little nicer to us?"

Chunwa and Qiuchan's voices were milky and soft, their tone earnest and weighty:

"No other meaning, just telling you not to be nervous. If you lose, you lose. If Shishu Ling Zhou doesn't want you, no matter—our Master treasures you dearly. When the time comes, you can come to Hundred Herbs Peak and be a Weeding Disciple—wouldn't that be wonderful?"

True Person Yinyue treasures me? She treasures me for weeding her fields, more like. True Person Yinyue can't be fleeced for wool—why the hell would I go to Hundred Herbs Peak! Master is the eternal god!

Xiao Ran kept his face taut, unwilling to let his aloofness slip.

"You two go to Sword-Wielding Mountain. I planted strawberries there, and plenty of other good fruit. Once Master comes back, they'll be gone."

The two girls' eyes lit up at once.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You told us to scram."

"Scram."

"Fine, you told us to scram... so scram we will, to pick strawberries and eat them."

"If Master ever asks, you tell her we were cheering you on the whole time."

"Hurry up and scram."

Chunwa and Qiuchan slapped their own rears, stepped onto their swords, and zipped off toward Sword-Wielding Mountain in a flash.

After being stirred up by those two girls, the crowd's looks at Xiao Ran shifted.

Their conversation hadn't been hidden—anyone who could hear had heard it.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

"Are the two little shishu from Hundred Herbs Peak that close with Shishu Xiao?"

"Naturally. Elder Yinyue favors him because of his uncommon skill at farming—that's not hard to understand."

"Didn't I just hear the two little shishu say, 'If you lose, you lose, don't be nervous'? Does that mean..."

"Children say whatever comes to mind. It seems Elder Yinyue doesn't have high hopes for Shishu Xiao."

"This could also be part of his scheme—best to tread carefully."

"Let's wait until Senior Sister Jiang and Junior Brother Ye take the stage."

"I heard someone say earlier that Senior Sister Jiang seems to be inquiring about the transfer procedures. Maybe she plans to take his place and become the new Direct Disciple of Sword-Wielding Mountain."

"Shishu Xiao standing here might be his last show of backbone..."

"Look at Junior Brother Ye over there—he's really unremarkable in the crowd."

"Don't underestimate that one. Miracles can happen on his person. I once saw him, in a desperate situation, covered in light as he broke through to Foundation Establishment."

"Shh—look, Shishu Luo Sheng is here!"

Everyone looked up to the sky.

A fat man in a green robe, potbellied, strode through the air!

Each step left a lingering imprint of dharma seals in the sky.

Behind him, two Law Enforcers from the Discipline Hall followed on their swords.

Luo Sheng stepped forward, drifting down to land before Xiao Ran, cupping his hands in salute: "Junior Brother Xiao, you're well, I trust."

Xiao Ran glanced at him.

This was a young, fat man with a faint smile perpetually fixed on his face—half real, half fake, impossible to read. He was known as the Smiling Tiger, and it was said he was even more of a wily old fox than his father, Huangfu Qun.

He wasn't naturally that fat, either. If he wore a looser Daoist robe, he might even have some immortal air about him. But he insisted on squeezing into a standard-sized green robe, making him look potbellied, out of shape, and dripping with official authority.

Maybe that was the best way to flaunt the Huangfu Family's background...

The two Law Enforcers standing behind him were both at the Golden Core cultivation level, but from their deferential attitude toward Luo Sheng, their actual strength was likely far inferior to his.

Looks like this fatty was stronger than he'd imagined—even stronger than Chuyan. Not the spoiled brat he'd assumed.

Xiao Ran thought this over, then returned the greeting: "Good morning, Senior Brother Luo."

"Not Senior Brother Luo—Senior Brother Luo Sheng."

"Good morning, Senior Brother Luo Sheng."

Luo Sheng kept smiling, never taking offense.

"Two hundred and fifty years ago, I was dragged into the Disciple Challenge a month and a half after it started by my father... ahem, by my Master. I never expected you, Junior Brother, to be so bold as to come this early. When I heard the news, I skipped my morning cultivation and rushed straight here. Today, I'll be the one ensuring your safety."

Subtext: ensuring his own safety, not the Inner Sect Disciples'.

Xiao Ran nodded.

"Much obliged."

Luo Sheng gave a slight bow to the crowd, then rose into the air, producing a green stone cushion engraved with intricate patterns. He floated midair, sat down on it, and watched the battle.

"Junior Brother Xiao has taken time from his busy schedule to spar and exchange pointers with everyone. Anyone interested, please step up. Junior Brother Xiao is magnanimous and won't hold a loss against you."

Keyword: Junior Brother Xiao is magnanimous and won't hold a loss against you.

First Chunwa and Qiuchan had no brains, now Luo Sheng and the Smiling Tiger...

The deep, unfathomable image Xiao Ran had painstakingly built was shattered in an instant by these three.

The crowd, once tense and cautious, suddenly understood everything.

The boulder hanging over everyone's hearts fell by more than half.

Amid the howling wind, a faint murmur of chatter rose from the crowd.

Before long.

The first disciple to challenge stepped onto the square platform, shaking it slightly with his weight.

A shadow fell over Xiao Ran's head.

Looking up, he saw the disciple was tall and broad, over two meters in height, his muscles bulging and straining against his blue robes, like an ancient giant.

The Giant Disciple cupped his fists, producing a booming, hollow sound.

"Disciple Wan Long, at the Qi Refining cultivation level, a disciple of Dayu Peak. Today, I will spar with Uncle-Master Xiao in Body Art at a mortal's cultivation level."

A stir ran through the crowd.

You call that a mortal's cultivation level? You're already at the peak of Body Tempering!

Isn't this blatant bullying?

Young man, you have no martial virtue! I love it! Hahaha!

In the crowd, Lin Yunzi secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Xiao Ran, thinking, If Uncle-Master had used his treasure, he wouldn't be in this predicament.

In the air, Luo Sheng narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable.

The Giant Disciple wore a smile like a spring breeze, brimming with confidence.

"Uncle-Master, please."

Xiao Ran nodded slightly and gently pushed out a palm from a distance.

This palm strike seemed utterly ordinary, yet it was like a stone dropped into a still lake, rippling through the air.

Boom! The palm force resonated with the air, suddenly expanding outward.

Boom! Carrying the morning mist and spiritual pressure, the palm force resonated a second time, instantly accelerating, rumbling and roaring, until it folded and resonated with space itself...

Boom! After three layers of force were stacked, the palm strike seemed gentle at first, then abruptly accelerated, fierce as a dragon and surging like a crashing wave, slamming into the giant's chest.

Huh? The Giant Disciple was stunned.

But it was already too late.

Boom! The palm force resonated yet again with the Giant Disciple's own flesh! His eyes went blank, he spat out a mouthful of blood, and his massive body shot backward like a cannon, crashing into the crowd and knocking over a swath of people.

Xiao Ran withdrew his palm.

"Next."

The wind howled.

The crowd fell silent.

Though the wind was strong and the crowd large, it was as quiet as a graveyard in the dead of night.

Luo Sheng, Uncle-Master, has led me astray!

This kid really was hiding his strength! The Inner Sect Disciples who had been eager to try earlier were now too scared to make a sound.

What kind of palm technique is this? Pushing with mortal strength to vibrate the air... Could it be the internal energy of the mortal martial world? No, internal energy doesn't have this kind of power!

The Inner Sect Instructors frowned, puzzled.

Lin Yunzi, well-traveled as he was, couldn't understand Xiao Ran's palm technique at all.

In the air, a flicker of sharp surprise passed through Luo Sheng's slightly narrowed eyes.

Among the disciples, several Golden Core Experts on the challenge list now cautiously chose to observe.

Until a thin, weak disciple was shoved from behind and forcibly pushed onto the square platform.

Under the gaze of the crowd, with no chance to retreat, the thin disciple had no choice but to cup his fists.

"D-disciple Chen Hefei, I dare to test Uncle-Master's immortal arts with my Qi Refining cultivation."

Xiao Ran glanced at him. Though the disciple was thin and weak in character, his breath was extremely steady, and his spiritual meridians were smooth—clearly, his fundamentals were solid.

The Giant Disciple earlier had only been defeated because his cultivation was sealed.

Now, facing a fully-powered Qi Refining disciple, there was still some pressure.

Should I advance to Qi Refining? Not yet! Xiao Ran steadied himself and calmly drew his sword.

"I have no immortal arts, only sword techniques. Are you ready?"

The thin disciple suddenly tensed up, hurriedly drawing his sword and forming hand seals with both hands.

"Sword Control Art!"

A sword flew out, straight at Xiao Ran.

It seemed this disciple was only pretending to be weak—his strike was steady as hell.

"Sword Control Art!"

Xiao Ran followed suit, forming a hand seal with one hand... barely counting as a seal, really.

The crowd was startled.

What? A mortal could also perform the Sword Control Art?

Xiao Ran formed the seal with his left hand and tossed his sword into the air with his right.

Just as everyone's attention locked onto the sword—

He suddenly stomped his foot, resonating with the Square Platform, borrowing the force to dash forward swiftly, while simultaneously sending a tremor through Chen Hefei's body, numbing him.

Chen Hefei's focus had been on the sword duel, so his mental reaction was half a beat slow; now his feet were numbed by the tremor, and his body lagged another half beat.

The result was that Xiao Ran closed in within a single breath, slapping him sideways across the temple.

Smack! That slap carried the violent vibrating force of resonance, carving a beautiful arc through the air.

Thud! With just one thud, Chen Hefei's head was driven down into the marble, while his body drifted down behind his head like a yellowed autumn leaf.

Chen Hefei wouldn't die, but he'd be concussed for a good while. The outcome was sealed. From the crevices of the stone, a line squeezed out—

"M-Uncle-Master... you have no martial virtue!"

The crowd fell dead silent.

A mortal, defeating two inner disciples at Qi Refining in a row.

This... was no longer about martial virtue.

This was raw, naked talent!

If not for encountering a prodigy, why would that always lazy and unruly Sword-Wielding Elder take on a disciple so easily? Lin Yunzi was moved to tears—he had finally latched onto the right thick thigh!

Luo Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded without a word.

Xiao Ran's combat talent was now clear for all to see. Continuing to challenge him was pointless, unless someone deliberately wanted to offend Sword-Wielding Mountain.

Just as everyone was about to give up on challenging him, a calm voice came from the crowd behind Xiao Ran.

"Disciple Ye Fan wishes to test Uncle-Master's skill at Foundation Establishment."