Invisible Force (Thanks to "A Lang Laoshi" and "Ou Bu Tu Cao" for becoming alliance leaders!)

The mountain wind swept past. Lu Xun was no longer sitting cross-legged; he had recovered.

As for the other Outer Sect Disciples, they were sitting and lying about in every direction. Xu Zhongcheng was still foaming at the mouth like a crab. He hadn't broken, had he...?

A perfectly good Outer Sect Trial had thus come to an end.

But it had to be said that these Outer Sect Disciples had all given it their all, and their performances were a little better than those of the previous batches.

The most outstanding performer in this trial was undoubtedly Lu Xun. He had probably even broken the outer sect record, but he was not an Outer Sect Disciple. He had merely come along to participate, so his results did not count. That Emerald Pill was instead awarded to Ji Li.

"You did well," Lu Xun praised her.

Ji Li immediately felt as though she were floating. Even her walk looked like she was strolling among the clouds.

Meanwhile, over at Evergreen Peak, Shen Yan was grinning happily. He had bet on Ji Li to win, making him the victor of this wager.

As expected of the disciple I took a liking to! Shen Yan thought.

As for Yue Heshan... the charitable gambling king truly lived up to his name. He lost every bet, as though he were simply donating money.

Shen Yan glanced around at his fellow martial brothers and saw that every one of them wore a thoughtful expression.

They had been martial brothers for many years. How could he not know what they were thinking?

They had probably all developed thoughts of taking Ji Li as a disciple!

As mentioned before, once the Demon Sect's Outer Sect Disciples entered the inner sect, if several elders took a liking to them, it would be time for the disciples to choose in return, much like a talent show.

Though Shen Yan was the Sect Master, he was genuinely terrible at teaching disciples. None of the disciples under him had amounted to much. He was stingy, his cultivation methods were risky, and once someone suffered cultivation deviation, they would turn into a hairless freak...

Now look at the other Peak Lords. They were generous, highly skilled at teaching, and their cultivation methods had fewer side effects. They seemed far more appealing.

Thus, he had never been particularly popular during the reverse selection stage.

He had taken a liking to Ji Li long ago and had even paid a tremendous price—giving her a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny piece of Fire Essence.

If she were snatched away after that, his heart would ache for half a year!

Shen Yan sank into thought. He needed to come up with a plan.

However, there was a more important matter to discuss for the time being.

Shen Yan cleared his throat twice, then said solemnly, "There is something that should have been discussed after Sir returned to the sect. But judging by the current situation, Sir seems to have no intention of returning anytime soon, so let us discuss it first."

Seeing Shen Yan's serious expression, everyone replied in unison, "Please speak, Sect Master."

"Do you all still remember the Invisible Force on Reception Peak on the day Little Martial Uncle jumped off the cliff?" Shen Yan asked.

Upon hearing this, the Peak Lords' expressions grew grave as well.

That day, Lu Xun had accepted the test and made a shocking leap from Reception Peak. Mao Nanbei had wanted to stop him, but she had been suppressed by an Invisible Force and could not move at all.

It was only after sensing that mysterious force that they had gathered beneath Reception Peak and seen Lu Xun, whose face was completely unharmed while his body had been smashed to pieces.

Shen Yan continued, "Why Little Martial Uncle could survive jumping off the cliff is his own secret. Since Sir was willing to accept him as a disciple, it is not something we need concern ourselves with."

"But that force appeared without a sound, then disappeared without a sound... What do you all think?" he asked.

Logically speaking, such an incident occurring within the sect should have been investigated immediately. Yet Sir's attitude had been strange. He seemed indifferent to it and even appeared to be telling them not to act rashly.

Since that was the case, it presumably posed no harm to the Demon Sect.

Thus, they had intended to ask Sir after he returned to the sect. Yet they had not expected him to have no intention of returning at all.

Sima Chuan was the first to speak. "With our strength, we could not even sense where that force came from. It is indeed strange."

Luo Wanqiu frowned slightly. "Do not forget, everyone, that was Reception Peak. Half a streak of sword qi left behind by Master is still within the peak!"

"Yes. Even the sword qi Master left behind showed no reaction. That should not be possible," said the dark-faced Gongshu Pan.

Instead, Yue Heshan, the Little Martial Brother with the most abnormal train of thought, took a sip of tea, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Senior brothers and sisters, this junior brother has a thought."

"Stop keeping us in suspense and say it!" Gongshu Pan was an impatient man.

The usually unserious Yue Heshan rarely became solemn. "We were unable to detect that force at all, which shows just how mysterious it was."

"And what is strange is that the sword qi Master left behind showed no reaction either. So... could it be that Master himself made a move?"

The moment he said this, everyone was shocked.

This explanation seemed unconvincing at first glance, but upon careful thought, it was actually the most reliable answer!

After all, although Yan Li was in Secluded Life-or-Death Cultivation, he was not dead yet.

For someone to evade their Divine Sense and avoid attracting the attention of that half-streak of sword qi on Reception Peak was inherently unreasonable.

Unless... the one who acted was truly Master himself!

Once the matter involved Yan Li, who was still in Secluded Life-or-Death Cultivation, they did not even dare discuss it further.

It seemed they had circled back to the beginning. They still had to wait for Sir to return to the sect first.

After chatting for a little while, everyone returned to their respective peaks.

Meanwhile, Lu Xun had also returned to the Back Mountain, still sent back by Shen Yan.

The dignified Sect Master of the Demon Sect had now taken on a side job as a rideshare driver. It was truly hard on him.

However, once Lu Xun completed his cultivation of the Qi Devouring Art and officially entered the First Realm, he could learn Object Manipulation Flight. That would make things much more convenient.

After returning to the mountain, Lu Xun shut himself inside his room and checked his status panel.

The trial task had been completed perfectly, granting him 5,000 Experience Points.

The first stage of the Prestige Value Task had also been completed, granting him 10,000 Experience Points and 1 Special Attribute Point.

Leveling up twice had consumed 3,000 Experience Points. His experience bar now displayed: 12150/3000.

He was in no rush to level up. Instead, he continued making plans in his mind.

Experience Points were extremely precious. Besides upgrading cultivation methods, they could also be used in other ways. If he learned a sword technique now, he could use Experience Points to raise its level.

Simply put, upgrading cultivation methods was leveling up the character, while upgrading sword techniques was leveling up skills.

He had his own considerations. He would save them for now; they would have a great use later!

Late at night, the exhausted Lu Xun quickly fell asleep.

Not long after closing his eyes, his breathing became rapid.

Soon, he opened his eyes, drenched in cold sweat.

Wet again...

Second Senior Sister's loving whipping had begun again!

"What a sin!" Lu Xun wailed.

He knew he could forget about getting a peaceful night's sleep for a while.

The effects of Sword Intent Entanglement were still present. Even in his dreams, he was cultivating.

This whipping lasted another entire night.

That night, Lu Xun was "killed" nineteen times in total.

(PS: Thanks to "A Lang Laoshi" and "Ou Bu Tu Cao" for their alliance leader rewards. Two alliance leaders in one day—I'm secretly delighted... And please don't stop voting with recommendation tickets, okay?)