Steadily becoming a saint, the immortal officials hired me to tend the horses

Gu An, Ye Lan, and Wu Jue enjoyed drinking wine and eating fruit while watching the battles of the Golden List Conference. They hadn't been scheduled to compete in the past few days, so they were just watching the excitement.

Ye Lan and Wu Jue had become familiar with each other, and Wu Jue was no longer so constrained.

It wasn't until the fifth day that it was Wu Jue's turn to compete.

Taking advantage of his absence, Ye Lan asked with curiosity, "Senior Brother, who is his mentor? He seems quite remarkable."

She had seen much of the world and could discern that Wu Jue was no ordinary individual.

Wu Jue's temperament had transformed after multiple moments of Path Enlightenment, and even with his ordinary appearance and dress, he exuded an unforgettable aura.

"His mentor has passed away, and he has been an orphan since childhood. I saw eye to eye with him and am considered his only friend. For the past five years, I deliberately didn't go to see him; that's why he got so angry," Gu An replied.

After hearing this, Ye Lan felt both sympathy for Wu Jue and found it amusing.

She exclaimed, "Senior Brother, you really are..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Ye Lan's gaze shifted to the huge screen in the sky, and Gu An followed her gaze.

The two competitors on the screen were extraordinary—one was a young Taoist in a green robe, and the other was a warrior in battle armor wielding a long weapon.

Gu An immediately discerned that both competitors were of a higher realm than those before.

The green-robed Taoist was likely in the Divinity Transformation Realm, while the armored warrior was a Void Crossing Realm cultivator.

Both were under five hundred years old, absolute top-tier geniuses.

Above the Core Formation Realm, it's not possible to excel simply by throwing resources at one's cultivation.

The battle was expected to be thrilling, but the green-robed Taoist quickly raised his hand to form a seal and cast a Daoist character shining with green light. The character was a hundred zhang high and wide, resembling a mountain, and collided with the warrior at breakneck speed. The warrior spat blood and was sent flying out of the fight, unable to continue.

Although the armored warrior was constrained to fight in the Divinity Transformation Realm, his rapid defeat took Gu An by surprise.

With his keen eye, Gu An could tell that the green-robed Taoist's Daoist Seal held the mystery of divine skills.

The single move that defeated the enemy caused a stir throughout the city!

"The victor is Sage Xuan Miao from Three Pure Ones Mountain of the Chentang Dynasty."

The voice of an elder rang out from the screen, ensuring everyone would remember the name of the green-robed Taoist.

Ye Lan marveled, "Three Pure Ones Mountain is indeed formidable. I've witnessed it on the Nine Nether Road before. Three Pure Ones Mountain is the Chentang Dynasty's number-one Sect, with few disciples, but each one is formidable. It's said that there was once an Immortal from Three Pure Ones Mountain, though I'm not sure if it's true."

Gu An silently noted the name of this Sect; Sage Xuan Miao's Daoist Seal was indeed powerful, enough to showcase the deep foundation of Three Pure Ones Mountain's Daoist tradition.

An ancient hour later.

It was finally Wu Jue's turn to make a move.

The battles in the Foundation Establishment Realm weren't as exaggerated as Sage Xuan Miao's, so many people weren't looking forward to them much.

However, as soon as Wu Jue threw a punch, the earth-shattering momentum immediately caught the attention of everyone in the city.

With each punch thrown, like the blazing sun erupting forth, the fiery wind of his fist made it difficult for his opponent to defend.

Each of Wu Jue's punches was filled with a sense of power and was incredibly domineering.

After eight punches, his opponent was forced to kneel on the ground, continuously spitting blood.

"The victor is Wu Jue from the Supreme Sect of the Taicang Dynasty."

Discussion buzzed throughout the city as people began to talk about Wu Jue.

Ye Lan was stunned; she knew Wu Jue was no ordinary fighter, but she hadn't expected him to be this formidable.

Gu An's mouth curved upward; he knew that Wu Jue's legendary life was about to begin.

The Sunset Fist, seemingly so ordinary, had been perfected by Wu Jue to the point of reaching the Transformation Realm, even showing signs of further advancement.

It seems that Path Enlightenment could indeed enhance one's understanding of Fist Techniques!

...

In the afternoon.

Inside the Third Medicine Valley.

Gu An met with Lv Baitian in the pavilion; it had been months since they last saw each other, and Lv Baitian was full of vigor, his face brimming with smiles.

He opened his right hand, and a bead appeared in his palm. He laughed and said, "This is a Supreme-Grade Magic Artifact, the Thousand-Shadow Pearl. Spend the next couple of days refining it, and use it at the end of the month at the conference."

Gu An took the Thousand-Shadow Pearl with a bittersweet smile and asked, "You still want me to keep winning?"

In the recent days of the Golden List Conference, there had been cultivators winning by relying on Magic Artifacts. According to the rules, each cultivator could only bring one Magic Artifact or one set of Formations, ensuring relative fairness. Sword Cultivators, Array Repairers, and others all needed to use Magic Artifacts; prohibiting them outright would unfairly disadvantage them.

Even with the limitation to a single Magic Artifact, victories thanks to Magic Artifacts had already occurred, leading to public disapproval across the cities.

Lv Baitian laughed and said, "I have already planned your opponents and Combat times. You still have time. I don't expect you to become world-renowned, but if you can get close to the top five hundred, it would be a solid foundation."

With the gathering of geniuses from nine Dynasties, naturally, the top five hundred would all be exceptional.

Gu An had intended to just go through the motions, but he hadn't expected Lv Baitian to play such a hand.

"Sect Leader, fairness, let's not forget those two words," Gu An reminded helplessly.

Lv Baitian's methods were too far from the Righteous Path!

But on second thought, he realized that his own past actions were also unorthodox, including his Cultivation Techniques.

Unconcerned, Lv Baitian replied, "How is it unfair? Those heirs of great clans, who amongst them isn't using their family's resources? I'm giving you a Magic Artifact, and they have elders from their clans to assist them as well. As for arranging opponents, it's just giving you a bit of luck. I'm not harming your opponents, and the final victory still depends on individual strength."

Gu An fiddled with the Thousand-Shadow Pearl, somewhat hesitant.

"If you enter the top five hundred, I will reward you with a Rank Six Spirit Tree!" Lv Baitian said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Gu An immediately gripped the Thousand-Shadow Pearl and said, "Alas, since that's the case, I can only do my utmost."

Ly Baitian rose to his feet and chuckled, "Alright, start refining the restrictions early. The most difficult restriction has been refined by me, the remaining won't stump you."

Then, he left the attic.

Gu An did not see him off but looked at the Thousand-Shadow Pearl in his hand, lost in thought.

...

The Golden List Tournament was going to last for several months, and Gu An had to take care of Medicine Valley, so he didn't go there to watch the event every day. Ye Lan and Wu Jue also had to prepare for battle.

It was not until the end of the month that Gu An's opponent arrived, the Golden List Token he had exchanged for was a magic artifact specially used for sending messages. At dawn that day, the Golden List Token emitted a sound, instructing him to go and wait.

Each Outer City had a Teleportation Array for the Golden List Tournament, which was easy to find.

After Gu An was teleported to the venue of the Golden List Tournament, he began to wait patiently.

This place was a vast valley, divided in half, with one side as the waiting area and the other as the combat area. The combat area was several miles long, surrounded by mountains with formations set up to isolate it from the world.

"Gu An, you're participating too? Not afraid of getting beaten up?" A light, mocking voice came through.

Without turning his head, Gu An knew Shen Zhen was approaching him.

"Hmm, I'll give it a try," Gu An said calmly.

The recent plot of Supreme Secret Records displeased him. In the book, the character Gu An bullied a fragile girl. Even though it was a misunderstanding, his behavior was somewhat overbearing, which made him view Shen Zhen less favorably as well.

Seeming to understand this, Shen Zhen didn't mind his attitude at all, instead smiling and saying, "If you encounter me, I won't show any mercy, but if you speak nicely to me, I might just let you win."

"A man of dignity shouldn't be humiliated by you," Gu An glanced at her and snorted coldly.

Shen Zhen burst into laughter, bumping Gu An with her shoulder, "Don't be angry, that book is ending soon, and I'm tired of it. Once the Golden List Tournament is over, I will go into seclusion for cultivation, and you might not see me for decades."

On hearing this, Gu An's expression softened and he asked, "Could it be you have gained some enlightenment from the paintings?"

"Exactly, perhaps I'm on the verge of achieving the Dao," Shen Zhen chuckled proudly.

Big talk!

Gu An began to chat with Shen Zhen, waiting for his turn.

Suddenly.

A woman teleported in, her presence catching Gu An's attention.

Ghost Mother of Ephemera!

How has she come again?

Thinks Supreme Sect is unmanned?

To come and go as she pleases?

Gu An thought to himself, though his gaze did not shift to the Ghost Mother of Ephemera.

Even though the Ghost Mother of Ephemera intended to make him the Sect Hierarch, he remained resistant to her.

It couldn't be helped; this person had actually sent a fifth-layer Mahayana Realm evil being right in front of him. If he didn't possess Life Span Detection, he really wouldn't have noticed the Evil Emperor was not dead.

Too dangerous!

The Ghost Mother of Ephemera now took the form of another woman, seemingly using a soul transposition technique.

She also did not pay attention to Gu An, as she probably didn't remember him at all.

Half an hour later, Shen Zhen won her match and was teleported out of the valley.

After another hour, it was finally Gu An's turn.

His opponent was weak, merely an Elixir Formation Realm cultivator. Suppressing his own level to the Foundation Establishment Realm, Gu An fought for dozens of moves before finally defeating his opponent with the Thousand-Shadow Pearl.

For the spectators, this battle was rather dull, with only a few remembering Gu An.

Just like that.

Summer passed and autumn came, and Gu An had been through three combats, all evenly matched and narrowly victorious.

Even now, there were still a thousand participants in the tournament.

Supreme Sect didn't mind the lengthy event. During this time, the income from spirit stones in each city doubled—it was an insane profit.

After three months of combat, a batch of talents had emerged, with An Hao being the most prominent, unbeatable by anyone. He hadn't even used the Taicang Divine-Shocking Sword; he was using spells learned from the Supreme Sect to crush all opponents effortlessly.

Following him were Lv Xian, Sage Xuan Miao, and other geniuses from the Dynasties. Each of the nine Dynasties had someone who made a name for themselves at the Golden List Tournament. Although Ji Xiaoyu didn't participate, other descendants from the Ji Family showed considerable strength.

The Golden List Tournament had spread throughout the domains of the nine Dynasties, capturing the attention of cultivators everywhere, making the name of Supreme Sect known across the other eight Dynasties, ever-rising in reputation.

In the Taicang Dynasty, the names of organizations from the other eight Dynasties were also making their presence known—perhaps that was one reason the other sects were responding.

The Golden List Tournament was just a pastime for Gu An, he didn't care about the ranking at all.

At first, he found it exciting, but as his interest waned, he shifted his focus to cultivation.

That day.

Word about an upcoming battle at the Golden List Tournament spread in advance.

An Hao versus Li Ya!

Li Ya had also shown his strength, proving himself to be within the top hundred contenders. Meeting An Hao, who was firmly locked in as the top contender, naturally garnered much attention.

Gu An was in the Third Medicine Valley when he heard disciples flying overhead on their swords, shouting as they passed, arousing his interest to go watch the battle at the Outer City.

He noticed disciples from various directions heading towards the Outer City, which made him marvel.

Ly Baitian has finally mastered the art of marketing!

Gu An was looking forward to it as well.

Li Ya versus An Hao, who was stronger?

The lives of both seemed like those of lead characters destined by heaven, just that their life trajectories were different.