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The sect competition is held in close succession. No matter how strong a person is, they cannot withstand the exhaustion of several rounds of high-intensity battles. Therefore, Shen Ji is often eliminated in the second or third round because he always fights against the top thirty people on the Azure Cloud Ranking each sect.

"Isn't this unfair?" Qiaoqiao asked. "How come Senior Brother always draws these people? Is someone manipulating the draw results?"

A disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect explained, "Junior Sister Qiao, you don't know this. Because the people of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion are skilled in divination, they always consult the oracle before drawing lots. Their luck is always auspicious, and they always manage to draw the lot they want. But Senior Brother's luck is always inauspicious, so he always unfortunately gets drawn..."

This is within the rules of the competition, after all, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has many divination practitioners, and they set the rules, so it naturally benefits them.

In other words, Shen Ji's luck was just too bad. If he were someone with good fortune, even with the cultivation level of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion disciples, they wouldn't have been able to outwit him.

"So that's how it is..."

[So, the eldest brother lost because he was just too unlucky.]

How pitiful.

Shen Ji:

I've been pitied by my junior sister again; it feels so complicated.

[But it's okay, I'm here for you this time!]

Hearing his junior sister's thoughts, Shen Ji had a sudden inspiration. That's right! His junior sister even obtained a sword immortal's inheritance after just one trip to the secret realm trial; in terms of luck, she's a hundred times better than him. If his junior sister had been by his side when he drew the lots, perhaps he could have drawn a better one this time?

He was about to say thank you, junior sister, when he heard Qiaoqiao continue:

It's okay even if the senior brother gets eliminated!

[I will carry on my senior brother's legacy; I, Sword Immortal Qiao, will definitely take first place in this sect competition!]

Shen Ji's lips twitched; it turned out they weren't planning to help him draw lots.

Is this how "will" is used? Junior sister, I really want to thank you.

He looked at his junior sister; her almond-shaped eyes shone like stars, and she seemed to radiate confidence. A strange premonition arose in his heart—he actually felt that his junior sister could really do it.

If she had attained enlightenment before the Divine Lamp, perhaps there would be a chance. But with her current Foundation Establishment cultivation, defeating those Golden Core disciples would be far too difficult. In the face of absolute power disparity, trickery is useless.

Just as Shen Ji was shaking his head repeatedly, feeling like he was going crazy, a question came from the stage, "Shen Ji, is that the disciple who gets eliminated in the first three rounds every time?"

Looking up, I saw that the one speaking was none other than the stern-faced Commandant Nangong.

As soon as he spoke, someone immediately replied, "Commander, it is indeed this person."

"To rank first on the Azure Cloud Ranking shows he has some strength, but his performance in this sect competition indicates he's cowardly in the face of enemies and unfit for great responsibilities. Even if such a disciple achieves higher cultivation levels in the future, what can he accomplish?"

His tone was calm, as if it were just a common assessment from an elder, but in reality, he was belittling Shen Ji, saying that he lost because he was cowardly and timid. This was clearly a distortion of the truth!

The disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect were furious. When had their senior brother ever been a coward?!

On the surface, they're talking about the senior brother, but aren't they actually mocking the Flowing Cloud Sect?!

Just because he's of high status, he dares to say such things. He's shameless!

Under the gaze of all sides, Shen Ji remained composed and unyielding, replying calmly, "It is indeed regrettable that I failed to bring glory to the sect in previous years' competitions, but I have a clear conscience. Tell me, who among you here is not a defeated opponent of mine?"

Even those who had defeated him through repeated battles of attrition would be won back by him the next time; he never doubted his own strength.

[The eldest brother is so handsome!]

He deserves a good scolding!

[What's so impressive about that? Once you shed this skin, isn't it just a giant, croaking toad?]

Shen Ji:?!

Hearing his junior sister's praise, he had been sitting up straight, but when he heard the last sentence, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

What did Qiaoqiao say?!

This head of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion... he's actually a golden toad in human skin?! A demon?!

Even someone as composed as Shen Ji couldn't help but be shocked; how could this be?!

No wonder when he first arrived, his junior sister said there was a big scoop. If this scoop were to break, the entire Cultivation World would be shocked!

Shen Ji stared at the tall, stern-faced Daoist on the high platform, looking him up and down, but he couldn't see any sign that he was a demon. If it weren't for his junior sister's inner thoughts, he would never have believed it upon suddenly learning of this.

Who is this person?! The head of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, how could he be just a golden toad?

Putting aside others, if he were a demon, how could he possibly have deceived Song Wuya? How could he have deceived his fellow Daoist, Madam Rushui, who was also Mahayana cultivator?

Perhaps it was because Shen Ji's gaze was too shocked that even Commandant Nangong's indifferent gaze was tinged with a hint of incomprehension.

What's wrong with this disciple?

He had an expression as if he had suddenly heard some earth-shattering gossip...

The junior sister, not satisfied with the excitement, continued, "[Everyone knows he's the mastermind behind the alchemy case. He uses pills to enhance his cultivation and maintain his human form. Hall Master Liu and Elder Liu are his subordinates.]"

[His skin had been soaked in elixir, giving it a medicinal fragrance, but inside it was already rotten and repulsive—it was truly disgusting!]

The second and third senior sisters thought to themselves: We have no idea!

Who would have thought that the person behind the scenes, whom we've been searching for so long, is none other than Nangong Commandant Nangong of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion!

This is truly shocking!

It seems that the pill was indeed extraordinary, causing his cultivation to surge and allowing him to remain undetected in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion for so long.

but...

Everyone subconsciously looked at Madam Rushui beside him. Did she know that he was a demon?