One person: Lu family bodyguard, who shattered Longhu Mountain with a single palm strike.

Late at night, in a secluded courtyard in the guesthouse area of ​​Longhushan.

Zhang Chulan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, clutching his hair with both hands, looking as agitated as a headless fly.

"Oh, this is so worrying, it's driving me crazy!"

Zhang Chulan sighed, his mind racing as he considered his opponent for tomorrow.

According to the information provided by Xu San, his opponent tomorrow is Shan Shitong from a family of talisman masters, nicknamed "Azure Talisman God".

Just from the name, you know he's a tough nut to crack.

Although he had been relentlessly beaten down by Bao'er over the past month, which improved his combat skills considerably, he still felt uncertain.

"A master of talismans like Shan Shitong has ever-changing methods. If I want to win, I'll definitely have to reveal most of my cards."

Zhang Chulan bit his thumbnail, thinking to himself, "But this is such a waste! The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony has only just begun, and there are so many monstrous contestants to come. If I reveal my trump card now, how am I supposed to compete later?"

His core tactic is simple: hide whenever possible, ideally pretend to be weak, and strike when the opponent is off guard.

But if we don't get serious, how can we defeat the Azure Talisman God?

Just as Zhang Chulan was scratching his head in frustration, the room window suddenly creaked open from the outside.

Zhang Chulan was startled and turned to look.

Under the moonlight, Feng Baobao, dressed in a loose tracksuit, stood expressionless outside the window, holding a gleaming iron shovel upside down in her hand.

"Come out," Feng Baobao said lightly.

Zhang Chulan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly put on his coat and went to the window, asking in confusion, "Sister Bao'er? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? What are you doing with a shovel?"

"Come with me." Without saying another word, Feng Baobao turned around and walked into the depths of the forest.

"Hey, wait for me!" Zhang Chulan was completely confused, but he didn't dare to delay. He jumped out of the window and ran after him.

The two walked one after the other through the quiet woods in the back mountains for more than ten minutes.

Feng Baobao stopped only when she arrived at an extremely remote wasteland.

Zhang Chulan ran forward breathlessly, about to ask what was wrong, when his gaze inadvertently swept over a large sack on the ground.

The burlap sack was still twisting and turning, making a whirring sound.

Feng Baobao stepped forward and ripped open the sack.

By the pale moonlight, Zhang Chulan could see the person in the sack, and he froze on the spot.

Dan Shitong was bound like a rice dumpling with thick hemp rope, his mouth stuffed with a large wad of rag, and he was struggling violently on the ground with a look of terror on his face.

Feng Baobao ignored Shan Shitong on the ground, turned around, picked up a shovel, and started digging a hole next to him.

After digging a few times, she turned to Zhang Chulan and said in an infuriatingly calm tone, "Zhang Chulan, didn't you find this Qingfu God too difficult to deal with? I'll bury him for you, and you won't need to fight tomorrow; you can advance directly."

After saying that, she gestured to indicate the size of the pit, as if she was assessing whether Shan Shitong could fit inside.

"Holy crap!" Zhang Chulan snapped awake, a chill running down his spine. He grabbed Feng Baobao's arm. "No, Baobao, please don't!"

"What's wrong? Is the pit not big enough?" Feng Baobao tilted her head.

"This isn't even about how big the pit is!" Zhang Chulan cried, on the verge of tears. "This is Longhu Mountain, sister! If you bury a contestant in the middle of the night and it gets found out tomorrow, we'll both be in deep trouble! We have another way, you have to release him now!"

Dan Shitong nodded frantically on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes, thinking to himself that Zhang Chulan was a great person.

Meanwhile, in a luxurious, detached villa on the other side.

Wang Bing kicked over the wooden stool in front of him, his face ashen.

"Grandpa, I just don't understand!"

Wang plopped down in the armchair, glaring at Wang Ai sitting opposite him. "During the day on the cliff edge, that bodyguard surnamed Lin was clearly provoking me. Why didn't you and Master Lü let me fight him?"

Wang Ai held two jade walnuts in her hands, smiling as she looked at her precious great-grandson.

"Hey, Bing'er, you're still too impatient."

Wang Ai said slowly and deliberately, "It's not that Grandfather doesn't want you to do it, but that the occasion wasn't appropriate."

"What's inappropriate about it?" Wang retorted defiantly. "He's just a lousy bodyguard working for the Lu family! I could kill him with a flick of my wrist!"

Wang Ai stopped eating the walnuts, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Think carefully. Today, when you were on the cliff edge, you jumped into the air and suddenly lost control and fell. What exactly happened?" Wang Ai's tone became serious.

Wang Bing frowned and recalled the scene: "I don't know, I just felt a strange wind suddenly pulling me down."

"Later, when you used the magic ink line to pull me, the ink line broke inexplicably."

"That's the problem." Wang Ai leaned forward slightly, staring intently at Wang Bing. "What kind of person do you think could, right under the noses of me, your Master Lü, and Lu Jin—the three Ten Elders—sever my means of communication without us noticing?"

Wang Bing was stunned. He ran through his mind, then shook his head and said, "I don't know. That's unlikely, isn't it? You and Master Lü are both top-tier in the world of supernatural beings. Could it be that the Old Celestial Master intervened in secret?"

Wang Ai chuckled at this remark and shook her head: "Silly grandson, what kind of person is the Old Celestial Master? He's the pillar of the Celestial Master's Mansion, the number one in the world. Why would he have the time to target a junior like you?"

"Then who else could have done it?" Wang Bing was even more puzzled, and a strange unease arose in his heart.

Wang Ai's smile faded, his expression turning grave. He said in a low voice, "Bing'er, do you know that a month ago, when a few of us old folks were having a meeting on the back of Longhu Mountain, something earth-shattering happened here?"

Looking at his grandfather's serious expression, Wang Bing subconsciously swallowed: "What's the big deal?"

"There is an unparalleled master who has triggered a tribulation of lightning in the back mountain, preparing to ascend to immortality!" Wang Ai said, emphasizing each word.

"What?! Ascension and tribulation?!"

Wang Bing stood up abruptly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Grandpa, you're not kidding, are you? What era are we living in? That's just a legend in novels and storybooks! How could anyone actually ascend to immortality?"

Wang Ai didn't laugh; instead, she nodded very seriously.

"It's true." Wang Ai sighed. "All the Ten Elders present at the time clearly felt that terrifying pressure from heaven and earth."

"The opponent is using thunder magic, and it's countless times more powerful and ancient than the thunder magic currently passed down in the Celestial Master's Mansion. We can be certain that there is an old immortal in the Celestial Master's Mansion who is about to ascend to immortality."

Wang Bing gasped in shock, feeling his worldview had been severely shaken.

"But... since he wanted to ascend, did he succeed in the end?" Wang Bing couldn't help but ask.

Wang Ai shook her head, her eyes filled with doubt and awe: "That's the most bizarre part. Just as that master was about to push open the gates of immortality, he abruptly severed his ascension energy, leaving himself in the mortal realm!"

"What?!" Wang Bing felt his head buzzing.

"I don't know why he did it, and no one in history has ever done something so incredible. But we all saw that scorched earth."

Wang Ai looked at Wang Bing and said earnestly, "Now you understand why I didn't let you do it during the day, right?"

Wang Ai paused, then continued, "Someone whose methods we can't even fathom must be the old immortal who's secretly at work. If he really wanted to kill you, not even if the Celestial Master himself came, let alone me and Old Lü, he couldn't protect you!"

Wang Bing froze completely.

The thought that he had been targeted by a powerful figure who could withstand a tribulation and even interrupt his ascension sent chills down his spine.

Cold sweat slid down my forehead.

If that big shot really had murderous intent, he would already be dead when he fell off the cliff today.

Even his grandfather's attempt to save him was easily thwarted.

"Grandpa...I...I'll be alright, won't I?" Wang Bing's face was pale and his voice trembled.

Looking at her terrified grandson, Wang Ai waved her hand tenderly, "Don't worry, it won't happen. If someone like that really wanted to kill you, you would have been dead long ago."

"He only messed with you secretly, which means he just wanted to teach you a small lesson and didn't intend to kill you."

"Phew..." Wang Bing let out a long sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and nodded repeatedly. "Grandpa, you're right! We can't do it, we absolutely can't do it! Luckily, you and Master Lü stopped me back then."

Wang Ai picked up her teacup, took a sip, and reassured her, "Of course, you don't need to worry too much. A master acts according to his mood. As long as they stop causing you trouble, it means you're safe."

Only then did Wang Bing finally feel completely relieved.

His eyes darted around, and he remembered the results of tomorrow's arena draw; his anger flared up again.

"Grandpa, we can't afford to mess with that expert, but what about tomorrow's match in the arena? I'm going to be fighting that stinky bodyguard named Lin Mo!"

Wang Bing clenched his fist, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

The frustration he felt during the day, coupled with the cold sweat he broke out in after being frightened by the expert, made him desperately need to vent to someone.

And that Lu family bodyguard was clearly the perfect target for their anger.

"Of course."

Wang Ai put down her teacup, her eyes full of indulgence. "Why not? The Luo Tian Grand Ceremony is a formal occasion. Once you're on the stage, it's all about skill. As long as no one gets killed, you can fight however you want."

Wang Bing grinned smugly and nodded vigorously, "Then I'm relieved! Grandfather, just watch!"

Wang Ai stroked his beard and added, "But you still need to be careful, Bing'er. That old scoundrel Lu Jin has very high standards; any bodyguard he chooses must be quite capable."

"Heh, sir, don't try to boost their morale. We're not made of clay either," Wang Bing sneered arrogantly. "Even if I can't beat that Zhang Lingyu, surely I can handle a lowly bodyguard?"

As he spoke, he made a vicious gesture as if to break something.

"Tomorrow in the ring, I'm going to break both his legs! Even if that old bastard Lu Jin wants to protect him, he'll be doing it by the rules, and we're in the right!"

Looking at her great-grandson's confident demeanor, Wang Ai smiled with satisfaction.

"Fine! My precious grandson can do whatever he wants!"

Wang Ai said confidently, "Go all out and fight! Even if you cripple that kid, if anything goes wrong, I'll cover for you!"

"Thank you, sir!"

Wang Bing grinned maliciously, already imagining himself trampling Lin Mo under his feet on the arena the next day.

……