Since Nangong Xiyun's plan was put into action, Su Luo has indeed changed somewhat.
The survival rate of missions assigned to Nangong Xiyun has increased from 30% to 80%.
Nangong Xiyun feels pretty good about this. If things continue like this, she might really become Su Luo's second-in-command in the truest sense.
One day, Su Luo called out to Nangong Xiyun.
"Xiyun."
"Present! What is your command, my loyal subordinate is always ready!"
Su Luo was momentarily startled by Xiyun's vigor. Really, it's not that serious. He continued, "Your Xiao Pa keeps coming over. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"No need. Why should I manage that?"
Su Luo was puzzled: "Aren't you a Beast Tamer? It's not useful for your strength to not have it around. What if you encounter danger?"
Indeed, Xiyun's demonstrated strength is not as great as Xiao Pa's.
"Oh, Xiao Pa recently learned a new move."
With a flick of her hand, Nangong Xiyun summoned Xiao Pa from afar, who emerged through a black hole right in front of her.
"See? If there's danger, I can call it back anytime, no matter the distance. Isn't that amazing?"
"Quite unique."
In the cultivation world, directly summoning a spirit beast to your side from a distance was something Su Luo had never seen before.
"Want to summon something?"
Sorry, the best one can do is mental communication, and then the spirit beast races over.
"This is such an unusual spirit beast. What if I said I wanted it? What would you do?" Su Luo stared at Xiyun, wanting to see how she would respond.
"It’s Xiao Pa's honor to be valued by you."
Nangong Xiyun didn't hesitate at all, presenting Xiao Pa with both hands.
Xiao Pa: ???
Master, are you being a bit harsh to this cat?
Su Luo also froze.
He had only been joking, but she didn't hesitate at all.
The Sect Master sent you to serve me. You don't have to suck up to me like this.
Su Luo pushed Xiao Pa back and patted Xiyun on the shoulder: "I was just joking. Your sincerity is appreciated. Keep it up, and I won't treat you unfairly."
It seems Nangong Xiyun isn't bad. Let's just throw her a pie for now, since I'm not giving her anything anyway.
"Yes!" Nangong Xiyun was satisfied. She didn't expect Su Luo to say he wouldn't treat her unfairly.
Although this was just a small step in gaining trust, it was a start.
Wait, something feels off.
Even though only a bit of trust was gained, why am I so happy about it?
Nangong Xiyun, your purpose here isn't just to gain trust, is it?
But, actually, getting along with Su Luo is quite easy...
Xiao Pa gazed at the two with resentment. So, this cat isn't liked at all? Offered as a gift, then rejected.
Tired. Do whatever you want.
...
Not long after, the selection for the Heavenly Demon Seven began.
But this selection was different from previous ones and wasn't taken seriously.
The reason was that the more promising disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect had already become one of the Seven. The rest were, comparatively speaking, mediocre, so there wasn't much to look forward to.
Furthermore, this selection was just to fill a quota, a way to pick a lucky one to fulfill the requirement of the Heavenly Demon Grand Ceremony.
After the Heavenly Demon Grand Ceremony was over, they would search for new potential candidates to become one of the Heavenly Demon Seven.
So, few in the Heavenly Demon Sect paid attention to this selection, viewing the participants as mere fillers.
This time, the selection was conducted by one of the Heavenly Demon Seven, Situ Ye, and another titled Heavenly Demon, Yin Youming, who was half-human and half-ghost.
With only two main supervisors, it's clear how casual this selection was.
Su Luo arrived at the selection site, ready to begin.
The candidates joining Su Luo in the selection were actually not bad. If this were the original plot, Su Luo would be under immense pressure.
But now, they’re just nobodies.
"Oh, isn’t this Wei Changli’s little brother? Did you come here to embarrass yourself?"
Situ Ye wore purple attire with long hair tied into a high ponytail.
He had met Su Luo once before, but upon seeing him, Situ Ye felt annoyed. Why did Wei Changli die instead of Su Luo?
"What's the matter?"
"I still can’t figure out why Wei Changli died. You returned unscathed."
"You care so much about him. Did he owe you money?" Su Luo hit the nail on the head.
With a single sentence, Situ Ye exploded.
"Do you know how much Wei Changli owed me? Three top-grade Spirit Calming Pills, an upper-grade treasure, thousands of top-grade spirit stones..."
"He died just like that. At least leave something behind for me. Instead, he took all his belongings to the Rainbow Secret Realm. Person’s gone, and so are the things!"
"What’s even worse is that before leaving, instead of paying the previous debt, he borrowed more, promising to return double after returning from the Rainbow Secret Realm. I must have been blind to lend him anything!"
Situ Ye was greedy. He had originally planned to pick a good treasure from what Wei Changli might gain in the Rainbow Secret Realm, only to end up with nothing.
This matter had been weighing on his mind for a long time, and now it exploded at Su Luo’s provocation.
Su Luo chuckled: "You sure are short-sighted."
"You’re courting death!"
Situ Ye grabbed his spear and thrust it straight at Su Luo.
But Yin Youming stopped him: "Situ Ye, that’s enough. Let’s get on with the selection."
Yin Youming was shrouded in a deathly aura yet exuded authority. He wore a half-mask, his left side resembling a human, while the right side revealed a gruesome ghost-like visage beneath the mask.
With Yin Youming intervening, Situ Ye could only let it go, snorting coldly.
Then he began to address the crowd.
"Listen up, if you want to become one of the Heavenly Demon Seven, I’ll be honest, none of you are qualified. But you’re lucky; there’s an opportunity for you. Do your best to seize it."
"The selection has three rounds. Do well, and if Yin Youming and I think you’re decent, you can become one of the Heavenly Demon Seven."
Indeed, it was that casual. Situ Ye continued,
"Before we start, let’s warm up. You’ll all take turns entering that little black room and leave something behind that you think is suitable."
"This has nothing to do with your performance. Whatever you want to leave is fine; it doesn’t matter. Whoever becomes one of the Seven won’t be affected by this."
"Think carefully about what you want to give."
The last sentence, Situ Ye said with a meaningful tone.
The others were cursing in their hearts. What kind of warm-up is this? Are we supposed to warm up our Spatial Rings to lose weight? What a scoundrel, Situ Ye.
Although they said it has nothing to do with performance, how can selections continue if you give too little?
But in order to be one of the Seven, they had to endure.
Everyone obediently gave their treasures, and they were all the best they had, as no one wanted to miss the chance to become one of the Seven.
Su Luo, on the other hand, was empty-handed.
Inside the black room, Situ Ye said to Su Luo, "You have nothing? Are you sure?"
"Yes, nothing. But I have a slap. Do you want it?"
"Get out. I hope you survive the rest." Situ Ye sneered, already thinking about how to sabotage Su Luo.
Yin Youming, sitting beside them, remained silent and expressionless.
Su Luo didn’t bother with their expressions and left directly.
In the original plot, I had to fight desperately, but now, there’s no need.
As long as I eliminate the competition, the remaining one, which is me, will naturally be one of the Heavenly Demon Seven.