Chapter 130: The Breakthrough and the Midnight Battle
"Who is it?"
The one who asked wasn't Gu An, but LĂŒ Xian, with Yi Liuyun also looking curiously at Li Xuandao.
The Sword Sovereign of the Righteous Path had an unparalleled reputation, to the point where many believed he was the strongest cultivator in the Taicang Empire.
Li Xuandao smirked. "He has a close connection to Li Ya."
Gu An's heart skipped a beat.
How did he figure that out?!
LĂŒ Xian frowned. "Li Ya? What connection?"
Li Xuandao shook his head. "The specifics are not for me to discloseâI wouldnât want to offend the old master."
Old master?
Gu An internally sighed in relief.
After that, the conversation shifted to other geniuses from the Golden Ranking Tournament.
Li Xuandao praised the tournament, feeling that LĂŒ Baitian had finally wisened up, no longer as reckless as before.
They chatted for an hour before Li Xuandao finally let Gu An leave.
This time, he brought a batch of high-grade spirit tree seedlings, which greatly interested Gu An.
The quality of herbs in Horizon Valley was improving as well, which indirectly proved Li Xuandaoâs increasing influence.
Even though the herbs technically belonged to Li Xuandao, Gu An could harvest lifespan from themâso he
hoped Li Xuandao would continue to prosper
.
âŠAnd LĂŒ Baitian as wellâas long as everyone got along peacefully!
In cultivation, momentary victories didnât matter.
Whoever lived the longest was the true winner.
By late autumn, Gu An barely made it into the top 500 in the Golden Ranking Tournament, relying on the
Thousand Shadows Pearl
.
For his next match, he planned to intentionally lose.
Despite his winning streak, no one remembered his name.
His battles were too difficult and visually unremarkable, and his opponents werenât well-known either.
At noon, in Xuan Valley, Gu An was helping Ye Lan with the Innate Reincarnation Technique.
Ye Lan had already been eliminated, but instead of feeling discouraged, her determination had only grown stronger.
They spent several hours discussing the technique, resolving many of Ye Lanâs confusions.
"Senior Brother, your understanding of this technique is incredibly deep," Ye Lan marveled. "You must have been secretly practicing it. No wonder your cultivation hasnât improved."
Internally, Ye Lanâs respect for the Sword Sovereign deepened.
The Sword Sovereign was already a peerless master of swordsmanship, yet he also possessed such a powerful technique?
She was now convinced that the Sword Sovereign was Gu Anâs master.
After all, when she had been in danger, Gu An had taken the Qinghong Sword to find the Sword Sovereign and saved her life.
She had even suspected that Gu An himself was the Sword Sovereign, but considering the Sword Sovereignâs terrifying cultivation, Gu Anâs age didnât match.
Gu An didnât bother correcting her. This explanation worked just fine.
He raised his right hand, summoned a storage bag, and handed it to her.
"Take this with you and focus on your training."
Ye Lan didnât even check its contents before fastening it to her belt.
Before leaving, she said, âSenior Brother, itâs best to keep your distance from Senior Brother Li Ya for now. The sect is investigating all members of the Li Family, and though their motives are unclear, itâs definitely not something good.â
Gu An frowned slightly but nodded.
He wasnât particularly worried about the investigationâthis wasnât the first time such things had happened.
The Taixuan Sect, despite being the foremost righteous sect, had never been free of internal strife.
Whether or not it endangered Li Ya, Gu An couldnât interveneâhe couldnât possibly watch over Li Ya all the time.
Everyone has their own life to live.
Whether good or bad, as long as they overcame their struggles, those experiences would belong to them alone.
A few days later, Gu An arrived at the Golden Ranking Tournament and immediately surrendered in his match, shocking his opponent.
A month later, the top 100 were officially revealed.
Among them, Wu Jue was the only Foundation Establishment cultivatorâevery other contestant was at least at the Core Formation Stage.
This news spread quickly, skyrocketing Wu Jueâs reputation.
When LĂŒ Baitian later delivered the Sixth-Grade Spirit Tree as a reward, Gu An mentioned Wu Jue, hoping LĂŒ Baitian would find him a good master.
This made LĂŒ Baitian look at Gu An differently.
âYou managed to spot this kind of talent ahead of time, and you still say youâre unfit to be sect master?â LĂŒ Baitian laughed.
Gu An smiled. âItâs just coincidence. The Taixuan Sect has plenty of geniusesâthis only proves the sectâs deep foundation, not my foresight.â
LĂŒ Baitian was pleased with his response.
Even if it wasnât sincere, it was the kind of diplomatic speech fit for a sect master.
âAs for Wu Jue, I canât promise anything. He has already become a disciple of Zhou Yu.â
Zhou Yu, one of the Venerable Elders of the Taixuan Sect, held more power than the Elder Hall.
Becoming his disciple meant Wu Jueâs future was limitless.
Gu An suddenly thought of the True Legacy First Disciple, who was not LĂŒ Baitianâs direct disciple but still stood at his side.
Clearly, even accepting disciples required careful political maneuvering.
Of course, the main reason was that LĂŒ Baitian wasnât strong enoughâhe couldnât single-handedly suppress the three great noble families.
"Iâm planning to make a move against the Li Family," LĂŒ Baitian suddenly revealed.
"But donât worryâI wonât harm Li Ya."
Hearing this, Gu An immediately bowed in respect.
LĂŒ Baitian waved his hand dismissively.
"The Golden Ranking Tournament will elevate the Taixuan Sect to new heights, but potential dangers still lurk.
"Besides the Nightshade Sectâs main bloodline at the other end of Nine Nether Path, there are also forces within the Nine Dynasties plotting against us.
"To avoid unnecessary trouble, Iâll be coming to Medicine Valley less often from now on.
"You need to stop slacking off and focus on cultivation. Got it?"
By the end, he sounded exasperated.
After all, he had already passed down the Reverse Fate Divine Art to Gu An, yet Gu An hadnât produced any results.
Gu An nodded. "Iâll take good care of Medicine Valley, and I wonât let the Taixuan Sect down."
LĂŒ Baitian glared at him before standing up and leaving.
As he disappeared into the snow-covered Third Medicine Valley, his figure quickly vanished into the swirling blizzard.
Another Spring Festival has arrived.
The Golden Ranking Tournament ended the day before the festival.
At dusk, Gu An joined the disciples of Xuan Valley for the celebrations.
Just then, Zhen Qin returned from the Outer Sect, discussing the final rankings of the tournament.
The sect would publish a book detailing the backgrounds of the top 100 participants, serving as an official record.
There was no surprise in the championshipâAn Hao took first place.
However, the runner-up was neither LĂŒ Xian nor any of the royal descendants.
Instead, it was Xuanmiao Zhenren of the Three Pure Mountains, whose duel with An Hao had already become legendary.