Chapter 184 - 111: Give Up, He Is at the Golden Core Stage, We Can’t Beat Him

Chapter 184: Chapter 111: Give Up, He Is at the Golden Core Stage, We Can’t Beat Him

"After all, as far as I know, those old geezers from the Ten Thousand Professions Immortal Sect have long been waiting for this Young Sect Leader to have enough fun so she can return and inherit their sect’s ten-thousand-year legacy.

"By then, that little girlfriend of yours will definitely know a lot about the Ten Thousand Professions Immortal Sect.

"As for the matter of the Ancient Immortal Dao Seed in your body, you don’t need to worry too much.

"After all, you aren’t the first Cultivator in the history of the Immortal Alliance to have consumed an Ancient Immortal Dao Seed."

Lu Chen was taken aback, then subconsciously asked, "Others have also eaten an Ancient Immortal Dao Seed?"

Nangong Broken Sword smiled. "Are Ancient Immortals the only ones allowed to eat us? Are we not allowed to eat them?"

At this point, Nangong Broken Sword’s expression gradually grew serious.

"However, unless absolutely necessary, you had better refrain from using foreign powers like the Ancient Immortal Dao Seed.

"It’s not that we dislike this kind of power, but rather, if Cultivators like us get used to taking such shortcuts, it becomes very difficult to return to the proper path.

"Besides, there is no shortage of examples in the Immortal Alliance’s history where people lost themselves and fell into the Outer Path because they worshipped the power of Ancient Immortals.

"But I believe someone who could comprehend two types of Sword Intent and one type of Fist Intent during the Qi Cultivation Stage wouldn’t be easily beguiled by the power of an Ancient Immortal.

"After all, no matter how formidable an Ancient Immortal Dao Seed is, it can at most allow you to master one Great Dao; it can’t let you grasp three at once.

"Alright, with the first matter out of the way, it’s time we discuss something else.

"If my guess is correct, that little fatty wanted you to string us along earlier so you could extract as many benefits from us as possible, right?"

"Uh..." Seeing the teasing look in Nangong Broken Sword’s eyes, Lu Chen felt as though his deepest secrets had just been laid bare.

Seeing that Lu Chen didn’t reply, Nangong Broken Sword immediately knew his guess was spot on. He couldn’t help but shake his head. "Morals are declining by the day. What a decline, indeed. That little fatty really is full of dirty tricks. Fortunately, I was one step ahead and scared him off early.

"Otherwise, with him around, my recruitment effort this time probably would have suffered a double loss."

"Huh?!" Hearing that Nangong Broken Sword had intentionally intimidated Chen Fugui earlier, Lu Chen froze in disbelief.

He realized that this was what a true Golden Core Stage Cultivator was like—seizing the initiative and mixing truth with falsehood. It turned out they didn’t just possess profound Cultivation; their grasp of worldly affairs and manipulation was just as formidable!

Sure enough, aside from a few lucky exceptions, every Cultivator capable of reaching the Golden Core Stage had a few tricks up their sleeve!

Noticing Lu Chen’s stunned expression, Nangong Broken Sword couldn’t help but ask, "What? Am I not allowed to use a few little tricks to recruit students?

"Lu Tongxue, I’m not trying to lecture you, but your way of thinking is a bit too outdated.

"As the saying goes, all is fair in war. If a little trick can get the job done easily, why should I put on the airs of some non-existent transcendent expert? It’s a thankless effort.

"Just look at my closed-door disciple, Jiang Dongliu. He’s learned quite a lot from me.

"Don’t be fooled by his lazy, lackadaisical attitude; that’s all an act he puts on for others.

"If anyone actually underestimates him because of it, they will definitely suffer a massive loss at his hands."

Looking at Nangong Broken Sword’s calculating and shrewd demeanor, Lu Chen found it incredibly difficult to reconcile this man with the domineering figure who had launched a sword strike across three thousand miles just days ago.

It turned out the Sword Cultivators of the Shangqing Daoist Palace were all just putting up a front. He really had let their TV personas fool him!

As if guessing Lu Chen’s thoughts, Nangong Broken Sword whispered, "Isn’t it all just an act to establish the Immortal Alliance’s image of strength in the citizens’ hearts, as well as to intimidate those of the Evil Demon and Heretic Dao?

"An official image is an official image, and private life is private life. Who likes to walk around with a stoic face for no reason in private?

"Life is like a play. Lu Tongxue, you still have... a lot to learn.

"The vastness of the Nine Provinces goes far beyond your imagination."

Lu Chen felt he had truly been schooled.

"Alright, enough about that. I heard from your little fatty that you also know Alchemy, so you’re not planning on going to the Li Huo Daoist School, are you?"

Without waiting for Lu Chen to answer, Nangong Broken Sword continued, "Thinking about it carefully, it is highly likely you’d make that choice.

"After all, given the innate Comprehension you’ve displayed so far, it seems it wouldn’t make much difference where you go to school.

"If we disregard the issue of legacy inheritances, the Li Huo Daoist School—with its abundance of Alchemy Masters—can indeed help you achieve significant improvements in a short period of time. After all, our Qinghe Daoist School can’t produce quite as many Top Grade Elixirs."

Seeing that Lu Chen remained silent, Nangong Broken Sword knew he had guessed correctly.

Even though he had anticipated this, he still couldn’t help but sigh. "It’s fine, not a big deal. If you’re going to the Li Huo Daoist School, then so be it.

"The Four Great Dao Schools regularly organize academic exchanges anyway. If you ever hit a bottleneck in your Cultivation in the future, you can just apply to come to our Qinghe Daoist School as an exchange student. It won’t be an issue.

"Alright, I’ve said just about everything I needed to say. I hope to see you at the Qinghe Daoist School in two years.

"Lu Tongxue, see you around."

With that, Nangong Broken Sword stood up and walked out the door.

No one knew what he said to Chen Fugui and Jiang Dongliu outside, but a moment later, Chen Fugui rushed inside and blurted out, "Wait, Lu, did you spill everything to Nangong Taoist?"

Recalling his conversation with Nangong Broken Sword, Lu Chen couldn’t help but reply, "Teacher, give it up. He’s at the Golden Core Stage; we can’t outplay him. He guessed what we were planning to do from the very beginning.

"Otherwise, why do you think he intentionally put on that strict face, and why did he have his disciple stall you?

"All of this... was entirely within his calculations."

Hearing this, Chen Fugui fell silent for a moment before collapsing weakly onto the nearby sofa.

He sighed deeply. "Sure enough, every single one of these Golden Core Stage Cultivators is a sly old fox. Uncle Li is like that, Principal Meng is like that, and even that guy Old Hao is exactly the same.

"When it comes to playing mind games with these old foxes, we’re still a bit too green.

"After all, they’ve forgotten more about the ways of the world than we’ll ever know."

Lu Chen nodded in strong agreement.

Through this encounter, he had finally experienced the other tricks up the sleeves of Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

It turned out that not only was their Cultivation astonishing, but their mastery of worldly affairs and manipulation was... also second to none.

They couldn’t outplay them. As they were now, they really couldn’t outsmart these sly old foxes!

***

PS: Day 18 of hitting the daily word count completed, asking for daily monthly tickets!

These two Chapters are a slight transition, taking the opportunity to tie up some of the previous foreshadowing.