"Getting her to marry into the family? To improve the family's aptitude?"

Hearing this, Bai Xingyan's face turned beet red.

"Master... I... I'm not worthy of Senior Sister Di..."

Shu Han advised, "How can that be! You're my disciple! How can you not be worthy of that girl? Trust me, I have an eye for these things. She's easy to get along with and has a strong desire to win. Just dominate her in the arena and she'll come running to you!"

"Is... is that really possible?"

"Of course!"

Wei Haolong, overhearing Shu Han's conversation with Bai Xingyan, stormed over furiously, grabbing Shu Han's collar. "What do you mean by that, Old Yu? Encouraging your wretched disciple to take advantage of my student? Damn it, I thought of you as a brother, and this is how you backstab me?"

"What backstabbing?"

Shu Han shrugged him off, "She's your disciple, not your wife. How is that backstabbing? Besides, my disciple is handsome, from a reputable family, and has extraordinary talent. Why are you using such a derogatory term? To be honest, with you, a lecher, choosing a beautiful female disciple, you definitely have ulterior motives. I'm just saving her."

Handsome? Reputable family? Extraordinary talent?

Bai Xingyan's face got even redder as he listened.

"Bullshit!"

Wei Haolong exclaimed, "How can you slander someone's reputation like that?"

"What reputation? Just a few months ago, I saw you peeping at female cultivators bathing in the Fiery Cloud Onsen, and you ran when you were caught!"

Wei Haolong's face turned crimson, and he argued, "Appreciation isn't the same as peeping! Can a cultivator's admiration for the beauty of female cultivators be considered peeping?"

What followed was a series of incomprehensible defenses like "admiring from afar without disrespect", and "gentlemen prefer beauties", causing both Shu Han and Song Changyi to burst into laughter, filling the atmosphere with joy.

Shu Han turned to Song Changyi, "Brother Song, where is your disciple?"

Song Changyi replied, "I haven't taken on a disciple. According to the rules, the top ten cultivators in the Heavenly Fire Leaderboard can be exempted from the duty of teaching Qi Refining disciples, allowing them to focus on cultivating to reach the Core Formation stage."

"Oh!"

Shu Han nodded and then teased Wei Haolong, "Old Wei, can you explain why you've taken on a disciple, and especially a beautiful one at that?"

"I..."

Wei Haolong was at a loss for words, "It's fate between me and my disciple!"

"Ha ha ha!"

Shu Han laughed, patting Bai Xingyan on the shoulder, "Disciple, don't listen to him. He's deranged! You must win her heart and rescue her from her misery."

"Damn it!"

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Wei Haolong glared fiercely at Bai Xingyan, warning, "Kid, I won't touch your master, but you, I can squash like a bug. If you dare to make any move on my disciple, don't blame me for being ruthless. I'll cut that thing of yours off!"

Hearing this, Bai Xingyan shivered in fear.

"Old Wei is just joking with you, don't be scared."

Shu Han then turned to Song Changyi, "Brother Song, since you don't have a disciple participating in the Earth Fire Leaderboard, why did you bother coming?"

Song Changyi smiled, "I've reached a bottleneck in the False Core stage. Mere cultivation won't help me anymore. So, I came to assess the quality of this batch of Qi Refining disciples from our Fiery Cloud Instant Sect."

After a short wait, the Earth Fire Leaderboard competition officially began.

Overseeing the competition was an elder named Huang Chendong, who had just advanced to the Core Formation stage in the past century.

According to Wei Haolong, Huang Chendong was the top ranker of the Heavenly Fire Leaderboard seven sessions ago. However, when Song Changyi made his debut, he defeated Huang Chendong five times in a row. After that, Huang Chendong stopped participating in the Fire List and focused on secluded cultivation, eventually breaking through to the Core Formation stage.

But even being in the Core Formation stage, Huang Chendong still instinctively gave way whenever he saw Song Changyi. After all, the latter had left a profound mark on him.

It was said that even after reaching the Core Formation, due to his unstable foundation and the psychological pressure built up over a hundred years, Huang Chendong's chances of defeating Song Changyi were still fifty-fifty. He lacked the authority and presence typical of a Core Formation elder.

Shu Han glanced at him and commented, "Look who's talking. How many years have you been stuck in the False Core stage?"

Wei Haolong retorted, "Can we have a decent conversation? I've been accumulating... Ah, never mind. Damn, one comment from you, and I'm already feeling down."

"You should stop 'accumulating'. You've piled up enough, it's purely a mental block now."

...

The rules of the Earth Fire Leaderboard were based on group stages. More than two hundred disciples were divided into twenty groups, battling their way up.

Bai Xingyan drew his lot and was placed in group eleven, while Di Guxue was in group twelve. If both of them managed to come out on top of their respective groups, they would meet on the promotion platform.

This made Bai Xingyan feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. Recalling the teachings of his master, he was eager to prove himself. The Earth Fire platform was a magical treasure. As Huang Chendong waved his hand, it rose from the ground and quickly split into over twenty platforms in the sky.

The disciples called out their names and flew to their respective platforms for the group preliminaries.

Shu Han glanced at the fighting disciples on the platforms and noted that most of them were at the Qi Refining stages ten and eleven, with only a few at stage twelve.

Eventually, Bai Xingyan's name appeared on the tenth platform. Shu Han patted Bai Xingyan's shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous for your first time. In the group preliminaries, disciples of Qi Refining stage twelve are rare. Most are just there to make up numbers. Keep a low profile and hide your true strength to avoid attention."

Bai Xingyan nodded, leaped up, and flew towards the tenth platform.

As Bai Xingyan landed on the platform, his opponent, Xu Shi, landed as well. Across the platform, Bai Xingyan's Clear Bright Spiritual Eye lit up. Xu Shi's aura rose like a rising mist, full and overflowing with magical power, unmistakably at Qi Refining stage twelve.

Bai Xingyan couldn't help but smile bitterly, thinking, 'Master, didn't you say stage twelve disciples were rare? Why did I meet one right away?'

Shu Han frowned below, thinking, 'Yes, they are indeed rare! But not nonexistent. Who would've thought your luck would be this bad? No, it's more like Xu Shi's misfortune. With his stage twelve cultivation, he could've ranked somewhere, what a pity.'

Xu Shi looked at Bai Xingyan and laughed, "Junior brother, I haven't seen you before. Is this your first time at the Earth Fire Leaderboard?"

Bai Xingyan respectfully replied, "Senior brother, I've only been with the sect for three years."

Hearing this, Xu Shi's smile became even more relaxed.

"Oh, daring to participate in the Earth Fire Leaderboard after just three years, commendable. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you. Otherwise, they'll say Xu Shi bullies newcomers." However, his demeanor didn't seem to indicate he would hold back at all, as he shouted, "Be careful, junior brother!"

Whoosh!

Xu Shi revealed his premium magical tool.

An ancient, rust-red crescent blade.

As spiritual power poured into it, countless blade shadows covered the platform. With Xu Shi's swing, an endless barrage of blade shadows rained down on Bai Xingyan, leaving no room for escape.

The watching crowd shook their heads seeing this.

"Poor newbie, to face Senior Brother Xu right off the bat. That guy is notoriously ruthless! And he especially enjoys tormenting newcomers!"