I have a high-risk profession in the cultivation world.

Then, unable to resist, he voiced his doubts.

"How did you recognize the four of us as members of the Wuji Sect?" They had clearly changed into casual clothes, and neither Tian Yige nor I often went down the mountain, while Su Chengdian and Luo Suichen were complete strangers.

Someone answered him, "The immortals' swords bear the mark of the Wuji Sect; we already recognize them."

Case solved.

He said, "Who comes down the mountain to eat with a sword?" Now he knows where he's out of place.

He glanced back at the three men, each holding a sword, and their faces showed varying degrees of embarrassment.

Having finally escaped the crowd, Chu Chenmu had the three men put their swords into his storage bag before he could finally reach Zuichunlou. He went to a private room on the second floor, where the surroundings became quiet, and Chu Chenmu breathed a sigh of relief.

No way! It's supposed to be a group of four, but he's the only one who gets to speak. How did he end up with three taciturn disciples?

Zui Chun Lou's cooking skills are quite good, and the food they cook carries a slight spiritual energy. No wonder even the original owner of the Scroll King in the cultivation world would occasionally come to eat there.

Chu Chenmu loves spicy food, just like the original owner of this body. Tian Yige thoughtfully ordered a few spicy dishes and placed them in front of Chu Chenmu. He took a bite and almost bit his tongue off because of how delicious it was.

"I'll stop by for a bite next time I go down the mountain to buy storybooks."

Chu Chenmu thought about the original owner's evaluation of this restaurant in her memories, and there were only two words: acceptable.

"Damn it... the original owner was such a pretentious person."

Of course, Chu Chenmu would change his mind when he looked back much later; young people are bound to be a little reserved.

After lunch, the four of them lingered at the foot of the mountain for a while. Chu Chenmu enjoyed the real-life atmosphere for a while before heading back up the mountain.

Although this is just a world in a book, when Chu Chenmu is immersed in it, he can also experience the warmth and coldness of human relationships and the realities of life.

He felt that he was no longer so disconnected from the world.

……

Back in the courtyard, the three of them didn't leave. In the evening, Chu Chenmu cooked himself a bowl of longevity noodles, and the three of them stayed by his side, sharing another dinner.

Chu Chenmu received birthday gifts from three people.

Tian Yige gave him a sachet filled with flowers that had a refreshing and slightly hallucinogenic effect. Su Chengdian gave him a chessboard. Luo Suichen also presented his gift respectfully, but Chu Chenmu knew he was just going through the motions.

Nonsense, he gave me a sword tassel, and damn it looks familiar. It's probably something that a sect disciple bought in bulk.

But this person insisted on showing an embarrassed and aggrieved expression, saying that he had been orphaned since childhood and was just a lowly Qi Refining disciple who had never left the mountain and could not prepare a gift for his master.

No problem. Chu Chenmu really didn't care about gifts at all. He wasn't looking for anything expensive. Just having someone with him on his birthday was enough for him.

But he secretly took the recording bead and wrote down what they said when they wished him a happy birthday, including Luo Suichen's excuses for him.

……

In March, the snow gradually melts, the grass grows and the birds sing, and the weather warms up. The sect competition is about to begin.

The sect competition is held every three years and is the best opportunity for outer disciples to enter the inner sect. If a disciple performs exceptionally well in the competition and catches the eye of an elder, he/she may be directly accepted into the sect, and the resources and experience gained will be vastly different from before.

Of course, this has nothing to do with the three people who were already inner disciples.

The inner sect also has its own competitions, which are not held together with those of the outer sect disciples.

The competition was divided into two groups: Qi Refining Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage. First, the participants were drawn into pairs to fight each other. After the top twenty were selected from each group, they were divided into four groups, with two disciples from each group advancing to the top eight.

After the top eight are selected, the top student from each group will randomly select the second-place student from another group. The winners will advance to the top four. The top four will then compete in pairs to determine the first and second place winners; the losers will compete to determine the third and fourth place winners. The same format will be used for fifth to eighth place, and the same format will be used for ninth to twentieth place.

There aren't that many inner disciples; the number of personal disciples and ordinary inner disciples combined is only a little over two hundred. Therefore, there are only four arenas each for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment.

Chu Chenmu didn't watch the elimination rounds a few days ago. Tian Yige and Luo Suichen were guaranteed to make it into the top twenty without any doubt. Su Chengdian had specifically come to see Chu Chenmu before the competition.

He said that his cultivation was insufficient and he was afraid that he would not be able to enter the top twenty. He was ashamed to let Chu Chenmu watch the competition and repeatedly asked not to watch him during the elimination rounds.

Seeing that the child was serious, Chu Chenmu thought about it and went along with it.

Five days later, the elimination rounds ended. To Chu Chenmu's surprise, Su Chengdian, with his incredible luck, actually made it into the top 20, becoming the only disciple in the early Foundation Establishment stage among the top 20. His luck was truly amazing. He needed to win all three matches to advance, but he happened to get a bye in the third match, thus avoiding the most difficult competition.

The next day, Chu Chenmu also came to the competition venue. Instead of going to the elders' seat, he sat next to Luo Suichen and the other two. He first asked about their draw results and then repeatedly emphasized that safety should come first. He told them not to force it if they were not as good as their opponents, and not to use overly powerful moves if they could ensure that they could defeat their opponents.

Although disciples within the sect are generally careful in their sparring, there are still instances where they misjudge their opponents' strength and accidentally suffer serious injuries.

Soon all three took to the stage. He first glanced towards the Foundation Establishment stage arena, and after a quick look, he knew that Tian Yige had a good chance of advancing to the top eight, which put his mind at ease. Then he turned to look at Luo Suichen.

The Qi Refining stage competition was simpler and faster. Chu Chenmu looked at Luo Suichen, who stood on the arena, sword hilt in hand, facing the wind. In the previous match, his moves were sharp and decisive, easily defeating his opponent at the eighth level of Qi Refining. Wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, he stepped off the arena with a slight smile.

Although he was young, Luo Suichen was already very talented. Chu Chenmu could hear several voices in the audience saying that Junior Brother Luo was handsome and dashing at such a young age.

Chu Chenmu admitted that he was indeed the male protagonist in the book, and he would definitely debut in the present day. However, when he thought about how this kid would tear him to pieces in the future, he couldn't appreciate him at all. Sometimes, when he saw Luo Suichen, it was as if the words "Don't mess with him" were written all over his head.

"Junior Brother, you're really amazing! Your reactions in actual combat are incredibly fast. There was one move you made that even I might not have been able to defend against." Su Chengdian had lost the match early on, but he remained calm. He was sitting in the audience with Chu Chenmu. When he saw Luo Suichen return, he smiled and spoke.

"Of course it'll be quick. All that time spent in real combat in my previous life wasn't for nothing," Chu Chenmu thought to himself, but he didn't say it aloud. Instead, he took the opportunity to give some compliments and try to win over the other person.

Luo Suichen, who was wrong no matter what she did in her past life, never expected to gain Chu Chenmu's approval so easily in a small competition. She despised herself in her heart, thinking, "Look, this is the approval you sought so desperately in your past life, for which you humbled yourself and tried to please him. Now it's worthless."

But no one noticed that the curve of his lips turned up even wider.