I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, four sword lights flew out from Black Wind Mountain, heading towards the direction of Qingyun Sect.

It was Lu Zhao, Li Gang, Liu Ruyan, and Zhao Feng, who was still seriously injured but had stabilized.

The four remained silent throughout the journey. Li Gang and Liu Ruyan's feelings were extremely complex, a mixture of relief at surviving a close call and shock and doubt at the unfathomable strength of their "Junior Brother Huang." Zhao Feng, though seriously injured and unconscious, was out of danger thanks to Lu Zhao's medicine and methods.

"Junior Brother Huang..." Li Gang finally couldn't help but speak, "How should we report this when we get back?"

"To tell you the truth," V Zhao said calmly, "We encountered a horde of demonic beasts, fought a fierce battle, killed the beasts, Zhao Feng was seriously injured, and the mission was completed."

"Those three people from the Zhao family..." Liu Ruyan whispered.

"Them?" V Zhao glanced into the distance. "They've never appeared. The monsters of Black Wind Mountain are ferocious; it's common for unidentified people to die there."

Li Gang and Liu Ruyan exchanged a glance, both understanding Lu Zhao's meaning. The Zhao family members had died in vain; without evidence, it was all a muddled mess. And the three of them were simply "unidentified" witnesses.

"I understand," Li Gang nodded. "I'll do whatever Junior Brother Huang says."

Liu Ruyan nodded silently. She was now completely convinced of Lu Zhao's abilities, and even felt a little afraid of him.

Before long, the Qingyun Sect's mountain gate came into view. The four of them sheathed their flying swords and landed on the plaza in front of the Inner Affairs Hall.

"It's Senior Brother Li and the others!"

"They're back!"

"He looks injured. Senior Brother Zhao is badly hurt!"

The return of the group immediately attracted the attention of some disciples. In particular, Zhao Feng, who was being supported by Liu Ruyan and whose face was ashen, drew even more attention.

"Li Gang, you're back?" Steward Wang from the Internal Affairs Hall rushed over upon hearing the news. Seeing Zhao Feng's miserable state, his expression changed. "What happened? Did the mission go wrong?"

"Deacon Wang," Li Gang clasped his hands in a fist salute, his face showing lingering fear, "The situation at Black Wind Mountain was incorrect! There wasn't just a pack of Ironback Wolves and a Black Wind Leopard there, but three third-tier demonic beasts, including an Ironback Wolf King! Junior Brother Zhao was injured by that wolf king!"

"Three third-tier demonic beasts?" Deacon Wang gasped. "This... how is this possible? The mission information clearly..." He stopped mid-sentence, seemingly realizing something, his expression changed, and he didn't finish his sentence.

"The information was wrong, which almost led to our total annihilation," Li Gang said in a deep voice. "Fortunately, Junior Brother Huang is exceptionally strong and remained calm under pressure, bravely killing those three third-tier demonic beasts, which is why we survived by sheer luck. Junior Brother Zhao was also severely injured by the demonic beasts while trying to save me." He said this half-truthfully, praising Lu Zhao and covering up the fact that Zhao Feng was actually the first to be injured due to his inferior strength.

"Slayed three third-tier demonic beasts?" Deacon Wang looked at Lu Zhao, who remained calm, with surprise and uncertainty. This young man, who had caused quite a stir as soon as he entered the inner sect, actually possessed such strength?

"It was just luck, and it was also thanks to Senior Brother Li and Senior Sister Liu keeping him in check," V Zhao said calmly. "Deacon Wang, please arrange for someone to treat Senior Brother Zhao's injuries first."

"Yes, yes!" Deacon Wang snapped out of his daze and quickly called over several disciples. "Quickly, take Zhao Feng to Dan Ding Peak!"

Watching Zhao Feng being carried away, Deacon Wang turned to the three and said, "You three have worked hard. I will definitely report this matter truthfully. An error in the mission information nearly caused a disaster; the sect will certainly hold you accountable. You should go back and rest; the mission rewards will be issued at the highest standard."

"Thank you, Deacon Wang." Li Gang cupped his hands in thanks.

"I wouldn't dare, it was an oversight on our part." Deacon Wang smiled wryly, his mind in turmoil. An error in the information? What a coincidence! There must be something fishy going on, but as a mere deacon, how could he dare to investigate further? But this Huang Zhao… is probably not simple.

Before parting ways, the three left the Internal Affairs Hall, and Li Gang and Liu Ruyan once again solemnly thanked Lu Zhao.

"Junior Brother Huang, if it weren't for you this time, Junior Sister Liu and I would probably be eaten by beasts," Li Gang said sincerely. "Your kindness needs no thanks. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know."

"Senior Brother Li, you flatter me. We're on the same team, so we should help each other," V Zhao waved his hand.

"Junior Brother Huang..." Liu Ruyan hesitated, but finally said, "You must be careful of Zhao... he will never let this go."

"I understand, thank you for reminding me, Senior Sister Liu." V Zhao nodded.

After parting ways, V Zhao didn't return to Yunxia Peak, but went straight to the Inner Sect's Hall of Merit. He wanted to exchange for some items.

The Hall of Merit was quite crowded, and many people cast curious or inquisitive glances at Lu Zhao as he entered. After all, the story of his defeat of Zhou Long in one move had already spread throughout the inner sect.

Ignoring the stares, V Zhao walked straight to a counter.

"Senior brother, I would like to exchange for some refining materials." He handed over his identity jade token and a list.

The disciple behind the counter took the jade token and list, glanced at them, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: "Mysterious Iron Essence, Crimson Copper Marrow, Star-Patterned Steel... these are all top-quality materials for refining magic weapons, quite valuable, and require a lot of merit points. Are you sure you want to exchange them?"

"Confirmed." V Zhao nodded. He had earned some merit points from completing the previous mission and defeating Zhou Long, and with the rewards from this Black Wind Mountain mission, it should be enough.

"Alright." The disciple in charge didn't ask any more questions and began the calculation. After a moment, he looked up: "A total of 850 merit points are needed. You have 900 points in your jade token, that's enough."

After exchanging the materials, V Zhao used the remaining merit points to exchange for some auxiliary materials for refining array plates before leaving the Hall of Merit.

Back at his cave dwelling on Cloud Peak, V Zhao's expression darkened after activating the protective barrier.

"Zhao Wuji..." he muttered to himself, a cold glint in his eyes. This trip to Black Wind Mountain had revealed methods far beyond simple suppression; they were blatant acts of killing intent. If his strength hadn't far exceeded his apparent abilities, he would likely have truly perished there.

"It seems I can no longer wait passively." He sat on the stone bed and began to think of a solution. Zhao Wuji had a deep foundation in the inner sect and was backed by the Zhao family, so openly confronting him would be detrimental to him. But sitting and waiting for death was not his style.

"Strength...it's all about strength." He clenched his fist. Although he could fight opponents of higher levels thanks to the *Return to the Void Sword Technique* and his past life experience, his cultivation level was still a major weakness. Late Foundation Establishment was simply not enough for the inner sect. He needed to advance to the Core Formation stage as soon as possible.

"However, before improving my cultivation, I need to cause some trouble for Zhao Wuji first." V Zhao sneered and took out several recording jade slips from his pocket. These were some scenes he had secretly recorded in Black Wind Mountain, including the three third-tier demonic beasts and the corpses of the three Zhao family assassins (although his face was destroyed, the Zhao family crest was shown in close-up).

"We can't directly accuse him, but we can still create some rumors to make him uncomfortable." He made several copies of one of the processed jade slips.

The next day, a message began to circulate among the inner sect members.

"Have you heard? The mission at Black Wind Mountain a few days ago had a serious error in its information; there were actually three Tier 3 demonic beasts! Senior Brother Li Gang's team was almost completely wiped out!"

"Really? Three third-tier demonic beasts? Isn't that just sending them to their deaths?"

"It's absolutely true! Senior Brother Zhao Feng is critically injured and on the verge of death; he's still lying on Dan Ding Peak! Luckily, that newcomer Huang Zhao is incredibly powerful; he actually killed three third-tier demonic beasts all by himself!"

"Huang Zhao? That's the newcomer who defeated Zhou Long? Is he really that strong?"

"That's not all! I heard they found several corpses on their way back, they seem to be members of the Zhao family..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down! You can't talk about this!"

"I'm not making this up; someone saw the jade slip containing the image..."

Rumors spread like wildfire, and although no one was explicitly targeted, the keywords "Zhao family," "incorrect mission information," and "third-tier demonic beast" linked together inevitably sparked speculation. After all, there weren't many people capable of tampering with things in the Internal Affairs Hall.

Tianji Peak, Zhao Wuji's cave dwelling.

With a loud "bang!", a fine jade table was smashed to pieces.

"Useless! All of you are useless!" Zhao Wuji's face was ashen. "Three Core Formation stage assassins couldn't even kill a Foundation Establishment stage brat! And they even left some loose ends!"

Below, a man in black knelt on the ground, his body trembling slightly: "Young Master, please calm your anger! Judging from the traces at the scene, they were killed in one blow... That Huang Zhao was probably hiding his strength; his true combat power is definitely no less than that of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator!"

"Not below the mid-stage of Core Formation?" Zhao Wuji's eyes flashed with cold light. "A rogue cultivator, to have such strength at this age? He must be Lu Zhao!" He became more and more certain of his guess.

"Young Master, rumors are spreading everywhere. Although there is no evidence pointing to us, it is still detrimental to your reputation..." the man in black said cautiously.

"Reputation?" Zhao Wuji sneered. "What can a few rumors do to me? However, this Huang Zhao cannot be allowed to live any longer." His eyes blazed with murderous intent. "Since the covert methods don't work, let's use the open!"

"What does the young master mean?"

"Isn't the inner sect competition about to begin?" Zhao Wuji sneered. "If I 'accidentally' kill him on the arena, who can say anything?"

"But...his strength..." The man in black hesitated.

"No matter how strong he is, can he be stronger than me?" Zhao Wuji said arrogantly. "Besides, I have my own plans. Go and keep a close eye on him. Find out his daily whereabouts, especially his cultivation."

"Yes!" The man in black acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Inside the cave, Zhao Wuji's face appeared somewhat ferocious under the flickering light.

"Lu Zhao...no matter who you are, this time, I will make sure you die!"

Meanwhile, inside the cave at Yunxia Peak.

V Zhao was unconcerned about the rumors circulating outside; he was busy counting the materials he had just exchanged.

"Mysterious Iron Essence, Crimson Copper Marrow, Star-Patterned Steel... plus some I collected before, that should be enough to forge a simplified version of the 'Minor Heavenly Cycle Sword Formation' array plate," he muttered to himself. This was a powerful sword formation he had mastered in his previous life. Although with his current abilities and materials he could only forge the most simplified version, it should be sufficient to deal with enemies in the Core Formation stage. This was a trump card he was preparing for the upcoming Inner Sect Competition and the potentially more dangerous situations he might face.

"Zhao Wuji, you'd better not run into me at the competition." He stroked the cold refining materials, his eyes flashing with a chilling light. "Otherwise, that arena will be your burial ground!"

For the next few days, V Zhao secluded himself, focusing entirely on refining array plates and improving his cultivation. The rumors circulating outside gradually subsided, but the undercurrents grew increasingly turbulent. Everyone was waiting, waiting for the upcoming inner sect competition.

That will be the beginning of a storm.