As always, Lingxin Academy was efficient; in just half a day, the final results were already in.

No retake is required; the top 1,000 will be selected based on the sum of their scores from the two completed assessments.

Lu Li and Shu Shu were naturally on the admission list without any surprise. Lu Li was ranked 65th and Shu Shu was ranked 66th, both of which were enough to get into the inner academy.

The senior and junior students were very satisfied with the result. After receiving their admission tokens, they followed the crowd into the teleportation array to leave the academy, intending to return to report three days later.

Back in the large square outside Lingxin Academy, the scene was still bustling and noisy.

The presence of heretical cultivators in the small world only amplified the noise, with some constantly asking questions and others trying to take advantage of the chaos and damage the academy's reputation.

Shushu glanced at those who were intentionally or unintentionally guiding public opinion, and then looked at the teachers who had met him once in the academy and were blending into the crowd without leaving a trace.

Knowing that the academy had already made arrangements, Shushu didn't interfere further. The senior and junior brothers exchanged a glance and left in perfect unison, returning to Qucheng.

As soon as they arrived at the city gate, they saw Jiang Wu not far away being surrounded and pushed by a group of richly dressed people.

Hearing those foul and offensive words, Shushu and Luli frowned and immediately lost their goodwill towards those richly dressed people.

Glancing at Jiang Wu, who was clenching his fists and swallowing his anger, the two of them did not make a move immediately. Instead, they quietly moved into the crowd of onlookers and began to subtly gather information.

There were still many onlookers, and many of them had witnessed the whole thing. When they heard the curious onlookers, they all chimed in, recounting the whole story.

Before long, Lu Li and Shushu figured out the situation and realized that Jiang Wu's misfortune was entirely undeserved.

It was the elegantly dressed woman surrounded by the crowd who disliked Jiang Wu and thus found a pretext to teach him a lesson.

The other party was dressed in fine clothes and wore spiritual artifacts. Jiang Wu, an insignificant rogue cultivator, could only grit his teeth and accept it even though he knew it was unfair, which led to the current situation.

But that group of people were also a strange bunch. They had been blocking Jiang Wu and cursing him for two whole hours. Not only had they not calmed down, but they seemed to have gotten addicted to cursing. The more they cursed, the more outrageous and energetic they became.

Seeing that one of them somehow condensed a fireball and hurled it at Jiang Wu's face, Jiang Wu finally couldn't take it anymore and took a step back to avoid the fireball.

Unexpectedly, this step seemed to trigger some kind of switch, and the group of people immediately turned fierce and launched an attack without saying a word, all heading towards Jiang Wu.

The attack from the elegantly dressed girl was aimed directly at Jiang Wu's dantian, clearly intending to destroy him.

Seeing how vicious she was, many people present changed their expressions.

Shushu and Luli didn't hesitate any longer. One of them blocked the attacks, while the other pulled Jiang Wu back, instantly taking him away from the encirclement.

When those people realized they had no one to vent their anger on, they were not willing to give up and immediately followed the direction to look for them.

Then, they met Dong Hongyuan's cold gaze.

It turned out that just as Lu Li and Shushu made their move, Dong Hongyuan also arrived at the city gate.

Thinking that Lu Li might be the person they had been looking for, he almost didn't think twice and directly stood in front of Lu Li, protecting them completely.

Those people probably didn't expect to see Dong Hongyuan here, and they were all startled, stammering, "Young Master Dong... Young Master Dong."

Dong Hongyuan, however, seemed oblivious to their fear, continuing to blast cold air as if it were free, his tone equally icy.

His stern gaze swept over the group one by one, and he parted his thin lips slightly, uttering a single word: "Get lost."

With just one word, the group of elegantly dressed people, including the girl surrounded in the center, all trembled involuntarily.

Then, as if there were some terrifying monster behind them, they all ran away in a flash. They were so fast that even Shushu wondered if they had put speed-up charms on their bodies.

Only after the group of people had gone far away did Shushu breathe a sigh of relief, turn his gaze away, and look at Dong Hongyuan with some curiosity. At this moment, Lu Li, who was standing next to him, also cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Dong."

When Dong Hongyuan faced Lu Li and Shushu, his coldness lessened slightly, and he was no longer like a block of ice. He first nodded to Shushu, who was curiously looking at him, before looking at Lu Li.

"No need to thank me." He was still sparing with words, but his tone had a rare warmth to it.

After that, the three of them fell silent, and for a moment no one spoke, and the atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

Just as Shushu was wondering whether he should say something, Jiang Wu, who finally found an opportunity to speak, stepped out from behind Shushu, walked to the three of them, and bowed very respectfully.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, seniors. I have no way to repay you but to run errands and gather information. If you need anything, I will do my best to help."

Shushu and Luli were about to wave their hands when Dong Hongyuan spoke first: "No need."

After saying that, Dong Hongyuan ignored Jiang Wu and looked at Lu Li again, asking with a serious and meticulous expression, "I wonder if Fellow Daoist Lu would be willing to come with me?"

This was the first time Lu Li had seen Dong Hongyuan with such an expression. Recalling what she had known about him since they met, she thought for a moment and finally nodded in acceptance of the invitation.

Shushu and Lu Li were always inseparable, so since Lu Li had agreed, Shushu would naturally go along as well.

Seeing this, Jiang Wu realized it was inappropriate for him to follow along. He silently kept this kindness in his heart, intending to repay it when the opportunity arose, and tactfully took his leave.

So, Lu Li and Shu Shu followed Dong Hongyuan and, under his guidance, arrived at the Dong family's outpost in Qucheng.

Dong Hongyuan is the young master of the Dong family, and the people stationed here are very respectful to him. When they saw him suddenly return with people, the manager was a little surprised, but he didn't say anything.

Following Dong Hongyuan's instructions, a set of tea and snacks, reserved for the host's distinguished guests, was served, and then Dong Hongyuan signaled for them to leave.

Then, Dong Hongyuan only asked whether the millet should be avoided, and when Lu Li firmly shook his head, he activated the isolation array.

After activating the isolation array, he still seemed a little uneasy. He checked the council hall thoroughly to make sure there was nothing that shouldn't be there, and then added several more layers of shields before looking at Lu Li.

Immediately afterwards, as if he had made full mental preparations, he took out a dazzling token from his storage ring.