Chapter 189: A Prominent Figure

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

“What are you going to do?” The Hu brothers trembled uncontrollably, shaking like chaff.

Deputy Cult Leader Jin displayed a classic cold smile: “Do you know who we are?”

“No, we don’t know.”

“Not knowing us, you deserve to die!”

The Hu brothers quickly responded, “No, no, no, we know who you are.”

“Since you know our identity, we can’t let you live!”

The three brothers nearly cried; should they know their identity or not?

Deputy Cult Leader Jin stopped toying with the Hu brothers and easily killed them.

The brothers were just a minor episode on the journey back.

As the flying boat traveled on, several powerful auras enveloped it, ranging from half-step Spirit Transformation Stage to early Spirit Transformation Stage.

“The Hu brothers should have contacted us at this point, but they haven’t. You were the only ones who passed through this area during that time. Did you kill my men?” The eldest of the Hu brothers sought revenge for the trio.

Lu Yang pondered, “Is this the so-called ‘beat the small, face the big’?”

He had heard of such tales before; a young hero fights the bully, then the bully’s father shows up, followed by the grandfather, and then the great-grandfather, endlessly. (TL Note: Common trope in normal cultivation novels)

This Sisyphean spirit deeply moved Lu Yang.

Needless to say, the eldest of the Hu brothers was also easily killed by Deputy Cult Leader Jin.

The flying boat continued on, and soon an even stronger aura enveloped it.

“So, you killed…”

Deputy Cult Leader Jin: “…are you guys done yet?”

As a cultivator at the Unity Stage, he could not tolerate repeated provocations. Deciding to put an end to it once and for all, he directly attacked the stronghold of the bandits and wiped them out.

…

When the flying boat returned to headquarters, Deputy Cult Leader Jin held a silk banner, his expression one of complete disinterest.

The banner was officially issued, so no one suspected that Deputy Cult Leader Jin was part of a demonic cult—after all, which demonic cult would remove nuisances for the people?

Upon hearing of this, the cult members whispered among themselves, filled with admiration for Deputy Cult Leader Jin.

“Truly worthy of being the deputy leader, earning a banner from the righteous path, playing both sides, truly omnipotent!”

“Indeed, I heard that before joining the demonic path, Deputy Cult Leader Jin was a prominent figure in the righteous path!”

Lu Yang was quite surprised to hear this and quickly asked, “He has such a background? What did the deputy leader do in the righteous path?”

“He was a night watchman.”

“…”

“Deputy Cult Leader Jin could also control time when he was in the righteous path, right?” Lu Yang finally said after a while.

The cult member discussing with Lu Yang looked at him in surprise: “That’s an interesting point I hadn’t thought of!”

The cult member ran to Deputy Cult Leader Jin and shared Lu Yang’s idea, which pleased him greatly. He found Lu Yang and commended his broad thinking.

“Great idea! From now on, I’ll say I was a prominent figure in the righteous path who could control the time of an entire city!”

In the demonic path, the most important thing is to tell the truth while making oneself sound as formidable as possible.

Although Lu Yang had caused some trouble during his initiation test, those were things of the past, and now Deputy Cult Leader Jin found Lu Yang more and more to his liking.

Due to the delay caused by the flying boat journey, talents from various regions, both Qi Cultivation and Foundation Building, had almost all arrived. Lu Yang and his companions were among the last few.

Lu Yang skipped over the Qi Cultivation talents, as they posed no threat, and focused his attention on the Foundation Building talents.

He learned about some of the most famous Foundation Building talents from the people around.

“See that monk in the monk’s robe with a golden bowl? He’s called the Meat-Eating Monk. I heard he had a chance to join one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, the Hanging Temple, but he resolutely gave it up, making a vast vow to find the path to enlightenment on his own!”

“And that one with the sword, could it be the rumored Sword Demon Guzha?”

“It’s said that his demonic sword is extremely bizarre; the moment it was forged, the sword floated in the air and killed the blacksmith. After that, each owner of the demonic sword was devoured by it, including those at the Spirit Transformation Stage. Only Guzha has been able to wield it up to now!”

“The most formidable is Yan Fei, who is said to be a prodigy personally trained by the cult leader. He excels at drawing talismans and has even used them to trap several Golden Core cultivators, playing with them cruelly before killing them. His methods are extremely brutal!”

Needless to say, these three were all at the later stages of Foundation Building.

Lu Yang communicated telepathically to the other two: “Let’s not approach them yet, pretend we don’t know each other. We don’t know the content of the test yet, so we’ll see if we need to form a team based on the situation.”

Only the cult leader and a few other high-ranking members knew of the deep demonic roots of Lu Yang and his two companions. None of the Foundation Building talents had heard of them.

The cult leader appeared in the air, hands behind his back, his expression cold, as he announced the rules of the competition.

Everyone noticed a mark on their hand with a number “one” written in the middle, not knowing when it had appeared.

“In this test, you may kill at will. For each person you kill, you will acquire the number on their mark.”

“The one with the highest number on their mark will be the final victor, and the victor will receive the blessing of the Everlasting Celestial.”

The crowd displayed fervent expressions, except for Lu Yang and his two accomplices who were pretend devotees. The others were true believers in the Everlasting Celestial, and receiving his blessing was the highest reward in the Undying Sect.

“Foundation Building stage as one group, Qi Cultivation stage as another; each group will have one winner. The test period is two days.”

Lu Yang thought to himself that it was just like a demonic cult to have killing as a test, not caring if it meant killing off all participants, risking a gap in generations.

The cult leader waved his sleeve, and without any chance for resistance, everyone disappeared from the spot and appeared in a dense forest.

“This place is a forest from the era of Great Yu, containing various heavenly materials and earthly treasures. You may engage in combat or seek opportunities for breakthroughs.”

“Remember, the Everlasting Celestial is watching you,” the cult leader hinted, a meaning only Lu Yang understood.

“The competition starts now.”

After announcing the start of the competition, the cult leader respectfully asked the Everlasting Celestial why he chose such a method to select a candidate for possession. Wouldn’t it be easier to choose directly based on talent?

The Everlasting Celestial smiled benevolently: “Child, what do you think makes one the strongest? Is it a singular spirit root? An Immortal Physique? These are unimportant.”

“Even with a worthless body, as long as I wish, I can possess it and cultivate it to the Tribulation Crossing Stage, even to a celestial.”

“What’s most important is compatibility with me.”

“In a test of life and death, one’s potential is best revealed. I need them to show themselves to the fullest, so I can observe and choose who is the most compatible with me.”

The cult leader then asked, “What are the traits of someone with high compatibility?”

“Someone who pleases my eye.”

“Do you find me pleasing to look at?”

“I find you the least pleasing.”

“But I am your most devout follower!” the cult leader protested.

(End of the chapter)