Chapter 40: Supporting Shen Mi

The disciples below exchanged glances, while Lu Xuan's eyes sparkled with admiration, and a hint of something unusual flashed in her gaze toward Lu An.

Without waiting for Lu An to leave the stage, she bowed deeply in front of all the disciples and said loudly:

"Mr. Lu, I previously failed to recognize your greatness and offended you. I hope you can forgive me."

Upon hearing this, Lu An smiled slightly and chose to let it pass. Shen Mi had said before that this woman was about the matter, not the person, and now it seemed to be true.

The disciples below were also astonished. Senior Sister, who was usually proud and arrogant, actually apologized to Lu An in front of everyone, which completely overturned their perceptions.

However, they agreed with this development. Lu An's skill in talisman techniques deserved such respect.

In their minds, Lu An's status had clearly been elevated.

"You think, who is stronger, Mr. Lu or Senior Brother?"

"Senior Brother is stronger. After all, he is the top of our younger generation in the Spirit Talisman Sect."

"I think Mr. Lu is stronger. Senior Brother cannot draw the perfect purple-patterned talisman."

The person's expression changed slightly. He wanted to refute but couldn't think of a reason on the spot.

Hearing the discussions, two people in the crowd looked particularly displeased. They were the ones who had previously tried to persuade Lu Xuan, and now that Lu An was overshadowing Senior Brother, they were quite unhappy.

"Look at how Senior Sister looks at this person. She hasn't even looked at Senior Brother like that."

"This needs to be reported to Senior Brother immediately."

With that, he took out a communication jade slip and began to report the situation with added embellishments.

At that moment, the Sect Master flew onto the stage and nodded to Lu An.

Seeing the Sect Master, the disciples below all showed respectful expressions.

"I announce that, starting today, Lu An will be an Honorary Elder of our Spirit Talisman Sect. He will hold the Elder's Token and can enter and exit our sect freely. No disciple is allowed to obstruct him."

With that, he glanced at the Second Elder with a stern warning in his eyes.

The Second Elder trembled slightly, lowered his head in silence, and thought to himself:

"This child has already reached a certain level. It will be difficult to handle him in the future. I need to think of another way."

The disciples below were somewhat surprised by the Sect Master's words. Soon, cheering began to rise from the crowd, starting with just a few people. But it quickly spread, and before long, the whole crowd was jubilant.

Lu An's lecture had greatly benefited them, and becoming an elder was fully deserved. If he could come and give more lectures, it would be a tremendous boost to their progress.

Lu Xuan stepped forward and asked loudly:

"Mr. Lu, I admire your talisman skills. Will you be coming here to lecture again in the future?"

Lu An pondered for a moment and then replied:

"I'm afraid I won't be coming often. However, Shen Mi is by my side every day and has learned my true methods. If you have any questions, you can ask him."

Lu Xuan was surprised by this and looked at Shen Mi with a hint of curiosity, then asked:

"Isn't Third Junior Brother your disciple?"

According to the rules, once one becomes an elder, they can take in true disciples. Even an Honorary Elder is entitled to this.

However, Honorary Elders usually have only a nominal position, and it is rare for disciples to want to take them as their masters.

But Lu An was different. His exceptional skill in talismans and his popularity among the disciples meant that many would be interested in becoming his disciples.

Before Lu An could answer, Shen Mi interjected:

"I don't have such qualifications. I'm just serving by Mr. Lu's side and learning some minor techniques."

Lu Xuan thought for a moment and then suddenly smiled warmly.

"Since that's the case, Third Junior Brother, I'll be bothering you more in the future. I hope you don't mind."

She was well aware of Shen Mi's skills, which were far below her own. But now, she was very interested in Lu An, and since Shen Mi was close to him, she naturally wanted to get closer.

In no time, other disciples also spoke up, eager to discuss talisman techniques with Shen Mi.

The two spies of Senior Brother were shocked. How did the previously unremarkable Shen Mi suddenly become so sought after in the sect?

Lu An's words were intentionally spoken to establish Shen Mi's authority and to involve him in the talisman competition.

Now that everything was settled, Lu An slowly left the stage and, glancing at the graceful figure below, suddenly smiled:

"Earlier, you said that if I won, you would do whatever I wanted. Is that still valid?"

Lu Xuan did not expect him to say this. Her face turned as red as an apple.

"You, I... um, of course, it still counts."

Seeing her reaction, Lu An smiled faintly and left without looking back, not bringing up the matter again.

Lu Xuan stared at his back, stamping her foot, feeling so embarrassed she wished she could find a hole to hide in.

The other disciples were dumbfounded. Lu Xuan was known for her fiery temper in the Spirit Talisman Sect. If she disliked something, she would usually react immediately.

Yet Lu An had openly teased her in front of all the disciples, and she had not gotten angry. This was truly unexpected.

However, Lu Xuan's usual demeanor quickly returned. She walked over to Shen Mi, grabbed his ear, and said with a forced smile:

"Third Junior Brother, how did you come to know Lu An? Spill it out."

"Ouch, don't pull so hard, it hurts..."

Lu Xuan ignored his protests and dragged him away.

"No rush, let's talk slowly."

Their figures soon disappeared, leaving the other disciples looking at each other in confusion.

After bidding farewell to the Sect Master, Lu An returned to the Spirit Talisman Residence with Bai Sheng.

This time, using the teleportation array, the guarding disciples no longer obstructed them and respectfully sent them off.

In the days that followed, Lu An entered a period of calm. He took this opportunity to focus on his cultivation.

With the aid of the Minor Gathering Talisman, his cultivation speed increased rapidly. His internal true qi became more substantial, and his spiritual sense also improved significantly under the influence of the Withered Tree Rebirth painting.

The change was most evident to Ying Chang, who fought with Lu An during the day. He felt that Lu An's strength seemed to change almost daily. At this point, it was becoming very difficult for him to compete with Lu An using his fifth level of Qi Refining.

Under duress, he had to increase his cultivation level to the sixth level of Qi Refining. However, compared to Lu An, he was still at ease.

This was despite not using talismans; otherwise, Ying Chang felt that Lu An might even defeat him.

The creation of the second-grade Tranquil Heart Talisman was nearing completion. It was expected that in a few days, the talisman could be fully completed. Although it was still far from a perfected talisman, some spiritual insights could be gained, which would likely elevate his talisman skills further.

Lu An's daily life was extremely fulfilling, filled with cultivation, battles, drawing talismans, and teaching the art of talismans. However, he felt no fatigue and, instead, his fighting spirit grew stronger.

The conflict between the Li and Ding families had reached a critical point. Li Ziyou had visited a few times, and Lu An had learned some details. Although the Li family had suffered severe losses, the Ding family had been beaten to a pulp, so the battle shouldn't last much longer. Once the fighting slowed, the contest for the position of the junior master would begin.

One day, an unexpected guest arrived at the Spirit Talisman Residence.

"Is Mr. Lu here?"

Zhao Wenliang looked up, not recognizing the visitor, but Bai Sheng did. This was Shi Zhi, who was introduced as the fifth-ranked disciple of the Spirit Talisman Sect by Lu An's great-grandfather. It was said that Shi Zhi was affiliated with the Second Elder and had some grievances with Mr. Lu. How did he find his way to the Spirit Talisman Residence?