Favoritism

"Meng Yao!"

Just as everyone was shocked by Lu Wangchuan's strength, Li Tianxiang rushed toward the ring and picked up Yun Mengyao's shattered body.

"Meng Yao, hold on. I have a Life-Extending Golden Pill given by my grandfather. Take it quickly."

He hurriedly pulled a handful of pills from his sleeve and shoved them blindly into Yun Mengyao's mouth, but her life force had drained away entirely, and she could not swallow them at all.

Even if she swallowed them, they probably would not have any effect.

Lu Wangchuan never showed mercy when he struck. That punch, which seemed to merely pierce a large hole in her chest, had actually completely destroyed her entire physical body.

Accompanied by her final sigh, Yun Mengyao slowly closed her eyes.

At the very last moment of her life, she let go of everything.

Sold to a brothel by her own parents in her childhood, she experienced the greatest despair and tragedy of life, leading her to stop at nothing to grow stronger later on, even betraying her own master.

She hated the people of this world, to the extent that she eventually became the very person she hated, lost in hatred.

She had thought that this would allow her to escape the suffering of this world, but until now she realized that she had never escaped fate at all.

She was just an utterly ordinary minor character.

If she had known this would happen, why bother betraying her master back then? She might as well have just remained a tiny martial novice—how pitiful, how laughable.

"Yao'er, no—! Open your eyes. I won't allow you to die, you cannot die. Ah—!"

Consumed by grief and indignation, Li Tianxiang had crimson eyes as he went straight for Lu Wangchuan.

"I'll kill you!"

"Courting death!"

Lu Wangchuan's gaze turned sharp as he raised his hand and struck out with another punch.

"Not good."

Second Elder hurriedly blasted out a palm strike, channeling spiritual qi to his grandson to enhance his attack. Yun Mengyao had already been killed by Lu Wangchuan with a single punch, and without boosting his grandson's offensive power, he would simply be unable to withstand a blow from Lu Wangchuan.

With the power of his grandfather's aid, Li Tianxiang's strength surged explosively in this instant. Unleashing his Forbidden Technique with all his might, the phantom of a fierce tiger roared and leaped behind him, instantly arriving before Lu Wangchuan.

As their two forces collided, the phantom of a dragon and elephant appeared once more behind Lu Wangchuan.

Boom—!

Another explosive blast rang out, and the shockwave was more than twice as intense as the previous one. Even more disciples were blown away, and this time the violent gale was something even martial artists of the Dantian Realm, who had achieved mastery in the Physical Body Realm, could barely endure.

When the shockwave dissipated, everyone was startled to discover that Li Tianxiang actually had one of his arms severed, and had been blasted a hundred meters away by Lu Wangchuan. He was panting heavily, clearly suffering severe injuries.

"So strong!"

Everyone's hearts leaped once more. Li Tianxiang himself possessed the cultivation of the Condensing Truth Realm, and coupled with Second Elder specially channeling spiritual qi to him just now, the strength he had erupted with was definitely not weaker than Yun Mengyao's.

Yet after a head-on collision, he still failed, and even lost an arm.

How could Lu Wangchuan's strength be this terrifying?

"If I wasn't mistaken just now, did the phantom of a dragon and elephant appear behind him?"

"It's the Prajna Dragon Elephant! He actually cultivated the Prajna Dragon Elephant!"

"My god."

At this moment, everyone's minds trembled once more. Knowing that Lu Wangchuan's cultivation was powerful had already shocked them to the extreme, but they never expected that what Lu Wangchuan cultivated was actually the Prajna Dragon Elephant.

Everyone knew just how difficult this technique was to cultivate. Across the entire sect, almost every generation had fewer than two people who practiced it, and among the younger generation, only Zhao Yanlong, the son of the Sect Leader, had cultivated it.

Never did they expect that Lu Wangchuan had practiced it as well.

Just how monstrous did his aptitude have to be to reach this step?

"Li Tianxiang, you dare to arbitrarily attack and injure a fellow disciple—you are courting death!"

Aside from being pleasantly surprised by Lu Wangchuan's strength, Cheng Yunxiao quickly began to call Li Tianxiang to account, roaring as he stepped directly forward.

Second Elder certainly didn't dare let his precious grandson fall into Cheng Yunxiao's hands, and immediately made a move to block him.

"Tianxiang is my grandson! Who dares touch him?"

The two of them possessed even greater cultivation. When they clashed, the terrifying pressure made every single disciple present feel chilled to the bone.

Yet right at this moment, an even more terrifying pressure erupted outward.

"Could the two elders be planning to fight each other as well? What kind of system is this?"

Accompanied by a calm voice, the two of them immediately stopped their hands the very next second, and together with all the disciples present, cupped their fists in a bow toward the direction the voice came from.

"Greetings, Sect Leader."

Lu Wangchuan cast his gaze over.

It was his first time seeing the Sect Leader of the Divine Water Sect. He looked to be around forty-odd years of age, dressed in a white robe with black hair and beard. Brilliant light flashed across his eyes, exuding a touch of immortal air.

This person was very strong!

Lu Wangchuan could clearly sense that he was stronger than Cheng Yunxiao and Second Elder by many times over.

The Sect Leader also glanced at him and smiled faintly.

"A formidable youth indeed."

Lu Wangchuan did not speak, and the Sect Leader continued to speak.

"Li Tianxiang has violated sect rules, and is sentenced to wall-facing for three years. Second Elder, as an elder, you rashly intervened to meddle in a duel between juniors, losing all decorum. Give Lu Wangchuan fifty Divine Blood Pills, and this matter ends here."

"Yes!"

Knowing he was in the wrong and not daring to disobey, Second Elder raised his hand and tossed a porcelain bottle to Lu Wangchuan.

Lu Wangchuan stood on ceremony, directly catching it.

He would finish the pills to elevate his cultivation, so he could beat Li Tianxiang up properly in the future!

The Sect Leader spoke once again.

"Since Lu Wangchuan has won the challenge, he shall henceforth be the Peak Master of Still Water Peak. His status and position shall be conferred at the elder tier, and his resource benefits shall be double that of a peak master."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's hearts were filled with astonishment.

One had to know that the resources belonging to a peak master were already considerable to begin with. In history, it was not as if there had never been peak masters with double resource benefits, but those individuals had all rendered monumental meritorious service to the sect.

Yet now, Lu Wangchuan hadn't established any meritorious service whatsoever, yet he received double resource benefits. It was truly rare, and clearly showed intentional favoritism on the Sect Leader's part.

Lu Wangchuan didn't hesitate either, immediately cupping his fists in gratitude.

"Many thanks, Sect Leader."

"Think nothing of it; this is what you deserve. Today's grand ceremony concludes here, and will continue tomorrow. Disciples of all peaks, I hope you will take Wangchuan as your goal, strive diligently, elevate your cultivation, and on no account slack off."

"Understood!"

Having spoken these words, the Sect Leader turned and left. Second Elder's faction also retreated, while the remaining disciples either dispersed or stood in the distance, looking at Lu Wangchuan with awe and envy.

Cheng Yunxiao, Lin Qingxue, and the others arrived by Lu Wangchuan's side, and looking at the youth before them, they could not help but feel a myriad of emotions.

This was merely a youth who hadn't even broken through his twentieth year!

In the world of martial artists, several decades were nothing more than the blink of a day. How many people could achieve what Lu Wangchuan had today at the age of nineteen?

There was no need to doubt that Lu Wangchuan would definitely become an existence that people looked up to in the future.

"You brat, you definitely hid your cultivation again."

Cheng Yunxiao laughed and scolded, striking a punch against Lu Wangchuan's chest.

Lu Wangchuan smiled calmly and casually fabricated an excuse.

"Circumstances forced my hand. If I had kept too low a profile and Yun Mengyao refused to fight me, I wouldn't have been able to forcefully seize Still Water Peak either."

Cheng Yunxiao nodded, his gaze filled with admiration.

With cultivation this powerful, he was still able to keep his composure. Lu Wangchuan's temperament, intelligence, and natural endowment were truly rare in this world!