Chapter 87: The Early-Death White Moonlight in a Cultivation Novel (Part 18)

This sect-wide competition for new disciples was organized specifically for Li Haochen's cohort—the goal was to select outstanding individuals from the servant and outer sect disciples to be promoted into the inner sect.

In her previous life, Li Haochen was a highly anticipated participant. Although he had been a nominal disciple of an elder, he was still officially listed as an outer sect disciple.

So of course, he participated—and shone brilliantly in that past competition.

As for the other so-called "strong contenders," each one ended up as a stepping stone on Li Haochen's rise: some lost their edge the moment they stepped on stage, while others had the misfortune of being sabotaged by demonic cultivators beforehand…

That's why people started to call Li Haochen a "Child of Heavenly Fortune." After all, in the cultivation world, it was all about fate and providence.

And in most people's eyes, Li Haochen was exactly the kind of cultivator who had that heavenly fate—regardless of what dirty tricks might have helped him behind the scenes.

After all, in the cultivation world, the rules are written by the strong. Only when you have a big enough fist will others listen to what you say.

Originally, Zhou Yanxi thought: her senior brother had only just recovered from his injuries recently, so this competition probably had nothing to do with him.

But she hadn't expected that, because he still lacked a few sect contribution points for the year, he had accepted the sect mission to serve as a referee for one of the competition stages.

What—was she supposed to let her senior brother walk the same tragic path again? No way.She absolutely would not let her brother take the hit meant for the male lead. Not this time.

"Dear Host~ Would you like to buy a Rebound Protection Shield? It's currently a limited-time offer in the system store—only 998 points!"

"Is it reusable? If it's a one-time item, then forget it."

System: (Originally planning to offload an old single-use item… didn't expect the host to be this sharp. Damn.)

"Of course not, dear Host! This precious item can be used three times. It protects the bearer from poison or attack, but only works against attacks from below Golden Core level."

That sounded useful—not a disposable item. If it had been one-use, she would've hesitated before giving it to her senior brother. But now that she knew it was good for three uses, Zhou Yanxi didn't waste time and bought one immediately.

She had actually wanted to buy more, but the system wouldn't allow it.

System: (Sold a Rebound Shield, earned one measly point… and after deducting the transaction fee, I'm in the negative again. Sigh. Maybe I should stop trying to scam this host and just behave.)

Now that she had this protection tool, she needed to give it to her senior brother.But how to explain it? She couldn't just say, "You're going to be used as a scapegoat for someone else's poison trap," could she?

Not to mention, such a strange treasure was completely unheard of in the cultivation world.

Just then, the previously-depressed system came back to life, high-spirited again:

"Host, leave this to me! As long as you're on-site, I can activate it for you when needed."

The system had once been a lofty, arrogant being—but now that the Central Bureau always rewarded it handsomely thanks to this host, it had no choice but to bow its proud little head.

With a good deal on the table, Zhou Yanxi naturally agreed.But just to be sure, she asked, "This help—you're not going to charge me points, are you?"

"Of course not! I'm a principled system. Using store items discreetly for you? That's part of my job!"

Zhou Yanxi: (You say that now, but the greedy face you showed me before still haunts me…)

This sect competition didn't involve inner sect disciples, but it still attracted a large crowd.After all, watching rookie cultivators brawl could be pretty entertaining.

Zhou Yanxi also attended, though there was a noticeable empty bubble around her. Most ordinary disciples, upon seeing the jade token on her waist, didn't dare get close.

The faster-informed inner sect disciples already knew she had become Daoist Master Daoyun's disciple, and their families had warned them not to provoke her.

After all, in terms of seniority, Zhou Yanxi's status was now equal to the sect leader and her own father.

Strictly speaking, the sect leader should now be calling her "junior martial sister," while the rest of the disciples would have to address her as "grandmaster-aunt."

At last, the competition officially began. Zhou Yanxi spotted Li Haochen in the crowd—he was currently at Qi Refining stage, level five.

So he had been working hard over the past two years.Unfortunately, without the two golden cheats from her past life, he now remained solidly middle-tier among the new disciples.

As expected, battles between Qi Refining disciples weren't particularly impressive—full of openings and lacking spiritual energy.

Zhou Yanxi was honestly getting bored. That was, until one male cultivator caught her eye—his sword strikes were vicious, always holding nothing back. His reckless ferocity made her pause to take a second look.

However, his fighting style had a major weakness: his defense was lacking.If anyone spotted the flaws in his technique, they could easily reverse the battle.

Still, among the 650 new disciples, this was the only one who had left any impression on her.

Of course, much of this awareness was thanks to the year-plus of intense training she'd received from Daoist Daoyun, which had greatly improved her combat instincts.

Finally, the moment she had been waiting for arrived—Li Haochen's opponent was that same poison-using scumbag from her past life.

As expected, the moment the man unleashed his dirty trick and Li Haochen tried to hide behind her senior brother, a mysterious gust of wind swept across the dueling platform—

To everyone watching, it looked like the wind just so happened to blow the poison powder back at its caster.

Zhou Yanxi: 666. (Nice one, system. You finally did something useful for once—the illusion was flawless.)

Unfortunately, Li Haochen ended up benefiting again—if he hadn't been standing right next to her senior brother, the system wouldn't have helped him at all.

Zhou Yanxi swore:Next time I catch him alone, I will not show mercy. Someone who hides behind others to dodge poison has no right to be called a "protagonist."

Afterward, the sect took away the disciple who had attempted to poison Li Haochen. Under torture, they discovered he had been a spy planted by demonic cultivators.

Thus, a major sect-wide purge was about to begin.