The Yan Family and Demonic Arts

The situation was clear. This smooth-talking male cultivator from the Yan Family had taken a liking to Zhong Weiniang and had likely been fawning over her for quite some time.

As for that neither-male-nor-female Yan Family cultivator, they were jealous. For the time being, Luo Hong supposed they could count as a female cultivator.

Ignoring the two of them, Zhong Weiniang immediately asked Luo Hong about Liu Jing's experiences on Xiang Mountain.

Luo Hong sighed helplessly. Don't any of you want to reach Core Formation? Why are your heads full of romance? Does the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World even have a future if this keeps up?!

Well, it seemed there really was no future. In a few years, the Seven Great Sects would be driven into retreat by the demonic path's invasion.

Though exhausted at heart, Luo Hong still could not stand by and watch someone so openly try to cuckold Liu Jing.

The two chatted about Liu Jing for quite a while. During that time, the male cultivator of the Yan Family tried several times to cut in, but Zhong Weiniang stopped him every time.

Perhaps realizing he had no hope, once the Ascension Competition officially began, the male cultivator named Yan Shouyi seemed to give up entirely and drank Spirit Tea alone in gloom.

At that point, the neither-male-nor-female Yan Xiuming sidled over, whispering to him and affectingly refilling his tea. The sight gave everyone nearby goosebumps.

Having achieved her goal, Zhong Weiniang immediately let Luo Hong off and watched the bloody battles on the arena platforms with great interest.

It had to be said that whoever built this structure knew what they were doing. From the rooftop, Luo Hong could easily observe the action on all seven platforms.

The so-called Ascension Competition was a way for rogue cultivators to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills from the Seven Great Sects.

Each sect offered ten spots. Those who successfully defended a platform could not only join one of the Seven Great Sects and become sect disciples from then on, but also receive an incomparably precious Foundation Establishment Pill, giving them a chance to rise in a single leap.

For ordinary cultivators, such an opportunity was absolutely worth fighting for with their lives. With no one keeping order, every Ascension Competition suffered extremely heavy casualties.

The Ascension Competition had originally been established to ease the resentment of countless rogue cultivators over the Seven Great Sects' monopoly on Foundation Establishment Pills. Yet by now, it had long since changed in nature.

After watching more than ten matches in a row, Luo Hong discovered that over half the cultivators who stepped onto the platforms came from Cultivation Families, and most of the winners were among them as well.

Before long, Luo Hong spotted Han Yunzhi on Spirit Beast Mountain's platform.

Seeing that his opponent was merely a little girl at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, the defender viciously mocked her several times before the match began.

Yet not long after the battle started, once Han Yunzhi had painstakingly tied up the defender's Magic Artifact, Little Black shot out like Black Lightning, tearing through the defender's thin protective spiritual light in an instant and clamping down on his throat.

Of course, kind-hearted Han Yunzhi did not order Little Black to bite down. She merely forced the defender to concede before letting him go.

"Little Martial Uncle, do you know what kind of Spirit Beast that is?"

Luo Hong had always been curious about Little Black. Since it could restrain the World-Passing Blood Curse, it was probably no ordinary Spirit Beast.

"I do not know either. This Spirit Beast has not fully grown yet, so many of its traits cannot be seen. But it truly is fast. That young girl will likely claim one of Spirit Beast Mountain's spots." Zhong Weiniang answered casually.

Several shichen later, the Ascension Competition was nearing its end. After watching many battles, Luo Hong found that among Qi Refining Stage cultivators, victory or defeat in spell fights was mostly determined by the quality of one's Magic Artifacts. Talismans were only supplementary; there were very few cases of someone relying on talismans to defeat an opponent.

As for spells, they were used even less often. Intermediate beginner-level spells and above required obvious casting time, making it easy to expose an opening during a clash of Magic Artifacts. Low-level beginner spells, meanwhile, were too weak to be worthwhile and might as well save their Magic Power for their artifacts.

Since the battles were becoming too repetitive, Luo Hong lost interest and simply fixed his attention on Han Yunzhi. Her exquisite coordination with Little Black was still quite a sight to behold.

"Nephew-disciple Luo, do you know that female cultivator?"

Zhong Weiniang suddenly asked. Her eyes curved like a bright crescent moon, as though she had discovered some secret and was secretly delighted.

"We only met once. This junior is merely interested in her Spirit Beast."

Luo Hong told the truth. Little Black's performance made it hard not to take notice.

Although Han Yunzhi's later opponents consciously guarded against it, Little Black was too fast. Defensive Magic Artifacts could not keep up, spiritual light barriers could not stop it, and Han Yunzhi constantly harassed them besides. Every one of them fell beneath its sharp fangs.

"Oh? You only met once?"

Zhong Weiniang looked at the matching talismans on Luo Hong's and Han Yunzhi's shoulders. Not only did she not believe him, she felt a little envious.

One day, Third Senior Brother and I will be like that too!

After a while, cultivators began obtaining spots one after another and were led into the surrounding buildings.

The cultivators dispatched by the Seven Great Sects to oversee the competition were all Foundation Establishment stage disciples. Yellow Maple Valley, for example, had a Foundation Establishment Late-stage vice sect master leading the group, and he was the only one actually doing any work.

Zhong Weiniang and the other two Foundation Establishment stage disciples had come purely to socialize with disciples from other sects. Not only did they not have to work, they could eat and drink for free.

The reason for this disparity was that Zhong Weiniang and the others were disciples of Core Formation Stage elders. Naturally, the hard and tiring work would not fall to them.

Just Then, a streak of purple light flew out from Blade Transformation Dock's building and landed on the roof of Luo Hong's small tower.

The newcomer was Yan Xiao, the heavily made-up woman who had formed a grudge with Luo Hong.

As soon as she arrived, she stood behind Yan Xiuming and obediently called out, "Aunt."

"Very good. At least you did not disgrace the Yan Family. Sit down and have some tea to rest."

Yan Xiuming affectionately stroked Yan Xiao's head and pushed his teacup toward her.

"Thank you, Aunt. With the Foundation Establishment Pill, Brother Kuang and I will surely both break through. Only then will we truly avoid disgracing you."

As she spoke, Yan Xiao shot Luo Hong a provocative glance, as if telling him she would make him pay after she reached Foundation Establishment.

Luo Hong had no intention of responding, but the Next Moment, he saw that Han Yunzhi's opponent in her final match was none other than Yan Kuang. His heart immediately sank. Given Han Yunzhi's temperament, she would likely suffer a loss against Yan Kuang. He therefore used voice transmission to ask Zhong Weiniang:

"Little Martial Uncle, why are all these Yan Family members so strange? They seem like demonic cultivators practicing demonic arts."

"They do not merely seem like it. They are practicing demonic arts. That Yan Kuang below practices the Wrathful Aspect Technique. The Yan Xiao opposite you practices the Cold Yin Art. And that neither-male-nor-female Yan Xiuming is even more remarkable. He practices the extremely wicked Yin-Yang Chaos Technique, and he has already reached the stage where he can only advance his cultivation through Dual Cultivation.

"Hehe, that Yan Shouyi whom Yan Xiuming cherishes so dearly is said to be his chosen Dual Cultivation partner. Just thinking about it makes one blush."

Blush? Stop lying. You clearly look fascinated.

"Nephew-disciple Luo, there is no need to worry about that delicate little girl. Yan Kuang will not be a match for her Spirit Beast."

Zhong Weiniang waved a hand, making her judgment with the discernment of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator.

"Let us hope so."

Luo Hong could not relax in the slightest. A life-and-death spell fight was not merely a contest of combat strength. He only hoped Little Black would not be harmed.

Seeing that Luo Hong was still staring at the platform with a worried expression even after hearing her reassurance, Zhong Weiniang could not help but feel wistful.

It would be wonderful if Third Senior Brother looked at me like that one day.