Chapter 71

Chapter 69 - Seizing the Opportunity?

Lu Junfeng and others naturally distorted the facts, adding fuel to the fire as they spoke.

After listening to Yuan Yangning, he coldly said, "Tuobaye is so arrogant; it's better not to let him join the God-Slaying Squad. If I encounter him in the year-end grand competition, I will avenge Deputy Captain Leng Yidao."

Hearing Yuan Yangning say this, Deputy Captains Lu Junfeng, Leng Yidao, and others were extremely pleased, but they did not show it. Their goal had been achieved.

As long as Tuobaye did not join the God-Slaying Squad, there would be no threat to Lu Junfeng and the others.

...

Tuobaye and Lei Ting arrived at the outer area of Immortal Cloud Valley, where Yang Bin and others had already gathered the peripheral members of the God-Demon Squad.

Seeing over three thousand peripheral members, Tuobaye felt a bit emotional.

"Today, I have gathered everyone here to announce something. First, we welcome Lei Ting to the God-Demon Squad," Tuobaye said loudly.

"Welcome! Welcome!..."

Yang Bin and others had been well-prepared, and the atmosphere was naturally very enthusiastic.

Seeing how welcome she was, Lei Ting was also quite pleased.

She had bullied countless people since childhood, and many feared her, but few truly welcomed her. Many who interacted with her did so with ulterior motives.

However, she could tell that these people did not recognize her and had no ulterior motives. Their enthusiastic welcome was genuine.

Tuobaye gestured for everyone to quiet down, and they all did.

"Today, I have another announcement. From today on, the God-Demon Squad will have four internal members: Lei Ting, Yang Bin, Shu Haiyang, and Gao Chuangxin. Yang Bin, Shu Haiyang, and Gao Chuangxin have made the greatest contributions to the God-Demon Squad. Miss Lei Ting is a Nine-Star Innate Martial God, and she is absolutely qualified. Being an internal member has its benefits. In the future, I will provide cultivation resources based on the contributions of internal members. I hope everyone will work hard to become internal members as soon as possible."

"Great!"

"We will definitely become internal members."

Seeing everyone's high morale, Tuobaye was very pleased: "I hope you all become internal members of the God-Demon Squad. In the future, when you become inner disciples, you can still cultivate and go on adventures together."

"Great! Great!..."

After the announcement, everyone gradually dispersed.

"Lei Ting, what are your plans? Where is the medicinal garden you need to take care of? Do you want me to have someone help you manage it?" Tuobaye asked.

"You're asking so many questions at once; how can I answer you?" Lei Ting seemed to be pouting.

"Just answer as you like," Tuobaye said with a bitter smile.

Lei Ting said, "I will have the outer sect elders rearrange it. I want a medicinal garden near you."

"Why? The medicinal gardens around here are already assigned to others." Tuobaye had a bad feeling.

"I will handle it; you don't need to worry," Lei Ting said.

The next day, Lei Ting occupied the medicinal garden closest to Tuobaye's, demonstrating her considerable influence.

Seeing Lei Ting so close, Tuobaye was initially worried, but since Lei Ting did not cause any trouble, he relaxed and continued his closed-door cultivation.

Lei Ting disdained petty tricks. When she wanted to prank someone, she went big, like spreading the news that Tuobaye would win the championship.

She chose to join the God-Demon Squad and live near Tuobaye's wooden house to understand him better.

Tuobaye was different from the people she had interacted with before, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly how.

Therefore, Lei Ting decided to learn more about Tuobaye and then make him suffer.

However, Tuobaye spent most of his time in closed-door cultivation, even neglecting meals and sleep, and rarely appeared.

Lei Ting could only gather information indirectly from Yang Bin and others, but they didn't know much about Tuobaye, so she still couldn't figure him out.

"I don't believe Tuobaye has no weaknesses. I will definitely find out his weakness," Lei Ting thought to herself.

Even she didn't realize that her attitude toward Tuobaye was different from her attitude toward others.

She admired Mu Linyang, was curious about Tuobaye, and generally disdained others, not bothering to understand them.

One day, Lei Ting finally saw Tuobaye come out of his closed-door cultivation and hurriedly approached him: "Captain, do you really have confidence in winning the championship?"

"I don't have much confidence. It's like being forced to do something I don't want to do. I didn't plan to participate in the competition. I just heard the rewards were good, so I thought I might get some luck," Tuobaye said with a faint smile.

"Ah..." Lei Ting exclaimed in surprise.

She had assumed Tuobaye was a sure winner, which was why she approached him to gather information.

If Tuobaye had no chance of winning and was just after the rewards, wouldn't Lei Ting's efforts be wasted, and she would be bound to the God-Demon Squad?

Lei Ting was naturally frustrated but couldn't say anything. She couldn't admit that she had an ulterior motive for joining the God-Demon Squad.

"Lei Ting, what's wrong?" Tuobaye guessed but didn't point it out.

"Nothing! The news that you would win the championship was widely spread. If you don't win, you might find it hard to stand your ground in the Pill Cauldron Sect," Lei Ting pretended to be worried about Tuobaye.

Tuobaye said indifferently, "I joined the Pill Cauldron Sect by luck. If I get kicked out, it's not a big deal. With my talent, I probably won't achieve much even if I stay in the Pill Cauldron Sect."

"Captain, if you win the championship, you can become an inner disciple directly and even become a disciple of the sect leader, rising to prominence," Lei Ting said.

Tuobaye was surprised, "How do you know the reward for the champion?"

In the past, the champion only received Heavenly Profound Pills and spirit weapons, not the rewards Lei Ting mentioned.

Lei Ting was momentarily speechless, "This... I have my sources. I don't need to report to the captain, right?"

She couldn't explain and had to be a bit forceful.

Tuobaye naturally didn't press the issue, "Even if I become a disciple of the sect leader, what's the point? I have a balanced and useless spiritual root, so there's no value in cultivating me. Giving me resources would be a waste."

"Ah! You have a balanced and useless spiritual root? How is that possible?" Lei Ting was astonished.

Tuobaye had consecutively defeated Duan Tianmeng and Leng Yidao, and as a new outer disciple, his reputation was significant. Everyone probably thought he had exceptional talent.

Even if he said he had a balanced and useless spiritual root, few would believe it.

Lei Ting didn't believe Tuobaye either. A balanced and useless spiritual root would not cultivate as fast as a four-attribute or three-attribute spiritual root. Tuobaye, at a young age, could defeat a Nine-Star Innate Martial God, which meant he had exceptional talent.

Lei Ting thought Tuobaye at least had a dual-attribute spiritual root, which was an excellent talent.

"Nothing is impossible. I am an outer disciple recruited by Senior Brother Mu Linyang. Ask him, and he will tell you. If Senior Brother Mu Linyang hadn't found a disciple with a spiritual root, he probably wouldn't have taken me," Tuobaye didn't hide it.

Lei Ting carefully observed Tuobaye and saw no signs of lying, but she still planned to ask Mu Linyang to confirm.

If Tuobaye really had no hidden cards and was just an ordinary outer disciple, she would be extremely frustrated and wouldn't know how to handle the situation.

Lei Ting couldn't easily leave the God-Demon Squad, as thousands of peripheral members knew she had become an internal member.

If Tuobaye wasn't worth pranking, her joining the God-Demon Squad would be meaningless.

Lei Ting restrained her anger; it was the first time she had been at a disadvantage. Reflecting on her interactions with Tuobaye, she realized she had been at a disadvantage from the start, as if everything was being controlled by Tuobaye.

In the past, when she pranked others, they would fall into her traps on their own. This was the first time she encountered such a difficult target like Tuobaye.

Whether Tuobaye did it intentionally or unintentionally, Lei Ting couldn't be sure.

Tuobaye kept observing Lei Ting but found nothing amiss; she was very good at hiding her feelings.

"Captain, I have something to do, so I'll leave first," Lei Ting couldn't resist wanting to investigate further.

Her curiosity was piqued again. Even if Tuobaye was telling the truth, he probably had other hidden cards.

Lei Ting quickly found Mu Linyang and learned about Tuobaye's situation.

"Really, he's a naturally powerful body cultivator. No wonder he could easily defeat Duan Tianmeng and Leng Yidao," Lei Ting smiled.

Lei Ting thought she had found Tuobaye's hidden card and was ready to do something.

She had been frustrated recently and wanted to get back at him this time.

Lei Ting returned to her wooden house excitedly but found Tuobaye in closed-door cultivation. She didn't interrupt him, as interrupting someone's cultivation was a major taboo, and she had her limits.

Lei Ting waited for Tuobaye to appear every day, but he remained in closed-door cultivation for several days, making her extremely frustrated.

"Tuobaye, just wait. I will make you submit to me," Lei Ting resolved.

She had a new idea: to conquer Tuobaye.

A naturally powerful body cultivator was extremely rare. If she could subdue him, he would be a good 'bodyguard.'

Lei Ting was excited at the thought.

She was already strong and clever. With a powerful helper, she would be even more formidable.

She started thinking about how to make the inner disciples of the Pill Cauldron Sect suffer once she became an inner disciple.

However, Tuobaye's prolonged closed-door cultivation made Lei Ting extremely anxious.

After all, she was still a young girl and couldn't stay calm for long.

...

This time, Tuobaye was fully preparing for the competition. Although he didn't show it, he really wanted to win the championship.

Whether it was the Heavenly Profound Pill or the spirit weapon, they were rare treasures. Even if he couldn't use them, he could enhance his family's strength.

Moreover, becoming an inner disciple by winning the championship would be a good thing. As an inner disciple, the resources he would enjoy would far surpass those of an outer disciple.

As for becoming a disciple of the sect leader, Tuobaye didn't dare to think about it because his spiritual root was too poor.

As long as he could become a disciple of a good master, he would be content.

What he needed was systematic learning, and it wasn't that important whether he learned from the sect leader or not.

The God-Demon Nine Transformations and the Divine Symbol Path he was currently cultivating were enough to consume his entire life. He didn't want to cultivate too many things.