Zhaoyan pointed to a spot in the sect plaza and said, "Shuning, you can drop me off right here."
"Alright." Shuning had originally intended to take Zhaoyan all the way to her inner-sect quarters, but since Zhaoyan politely declined, she slowly brought her sword down to the designated place.
Zhaoyan jumped off the sword, landing lightly on the ground. Standing face to face with Shuning, Shuning spoke first, "Zhaoyan, the inner-disciple assessments are in a month. I look forward to seeing you then."
"Mm, Shuning, I will work hard."
"Goodbye."
After bidding farewell to Zhaoyan, Shuning caught up with Mo Shiyu and returned with him to Qianze Peak.
Upon reaching Qianze Peak, the two also said their goodbyes and prepared to return to their respective quarters.
At that moment, both of their jade slips rang simultaneously. They glanced down at them, then looked up at each other: the master had summoned them.
Thus, with a tacit mutual understanding, they headed together toward the main hall of Qianze Peak.
When they arrived at the main hall, only Li Zhuoran and Xie Yun were waiting there; Pei Yuan was nowhere to be seen.
"You're here too?" Seeing them, Xie Yun waved his folding fan in greeting.
Although Shuning held little affection for this Second Senior Brother, and her attitude last time had made that abundantly clear, Xie Yun seemed to have sensed it yet took no offense.
She greeted them politely, "Hello, Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother."
Mo Shiyu took out a flask of spirit wine from his Qiankun Pouch and handed it to Li Zhuoran, "Eldest Senior Brother, your wine."
"Thanks, Junior Brother."
Then the four of them stood together and waited.
*
A quarter of an hour earlier, Chongming Peak.
Xie Jue, the current head of the Baixuan Sect and master of Chongming Peak, sat upright in the seat of honor. With a straight posture and an elegant demeanor, he wore a faint smile that made people feel welcomed and warm.
He said gently, "I have invited you all here today for a first matter: an external secret realm in the east will open in two months."
"Whose peak's inner disciples are up for the trial this time?"
Someone spoke up, "Qianze Peak."
Everyone's gaze turned toward Pei Yuan. Pei Yuan had been half-dozing with his eyes closed, but the moment he heard "Qianze Peak," his eyes snapped open.
Pei Yuan looked at Xie Jue and said frankly, "Master Brother, secret realm trials generally require teams of five, but right now, my entire peak only has four inner disciples to begin with."
"Besides, my eldest disciple currently has a knot in his heart; unless he willingly chooses to go down the mountain, he cannot be forced."
"My second disciple is an artificer like me, as you all know—he can't carry anything heavy with a pole or lift anything with his hands, a total combat zero. Counting it up, Qianze Peak only has two disciples who can participate in the secret realm, so we simply can't make up the required number."
Zhu Mantian, master of Qizhu Peak, had been slowly sipping his tea, but upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, he spat a mouthful of tea right out.
Disregarding his loss of composure, he cursed angrily, "Damn you, Pei Yuan, you... every time a secret realm opens inside the sect, you're the most eager to send your disciples."
"The moment it's a secret realm outside the sect, you start finding every excuse under the sun. I see right through you..."
Hearing Zhu Mantian start cursing Pei Yuan again, everyone else quietly blocked their sense of hearing; listening to him curse was simply beneath dignity.
Only Qiu Ze, master of Pill Peak, beamed with joy upon hearing this, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
Pei Yuan picked at his ear, clearly unbothered by Zhu Mantian's scolding; in fact, he felt the man made a valid point.
External secret realms were perilous and unpredictable, and he still only had four precious disciples. Until they reached a certain level of strength, he simply couldn't rest easy.
When Zhu Mantian finished cursing and everyone saw him start drinking tea again, they restored their hearing.Lin Yu, master of Baihua Peak, proposed, "Why not draw lots to assign inner disciples from each peak to accompany Qianze Peak.""
As soon as these words were spoken, they drew immediate agreement.
"That's a good suggestion, I agree."
"I agree too."
"..."
Knowing he couldn't dodge this time, Pei Yuan sent a message via jade slip to each of his disciples, telling them to wait at the main hall.
Xie Jue also felt this suggestion was feasible. He looked at Pei Yuan and said gently, "Junior Brother, what do you think of drawing inner disciples from the various peaks to accompany your disciples to the secret realm?"
"Very well, but..."
Hearing that "but," everyone whipped their heads around to stare at him: Let's see what you have to say now!
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under their gaze, Pei Yuan gave a light cough, shifted backward slightly to adjust his sitting posture, and continued, "Master Brother, I have a request."
Seeing the situation, Xie Jue chuckled and replied, "Junior Brother, go ahead."
"Can I let my disciples choose the accompanying disciples from the other peaks themselves?"
"Granted."
Initially, some had objections upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, but since Xie Jue agreed outright, they had nothing more to say.
Ignoring the gazes of the others, Xie Jue cleared his throat and continued, "The second matter is next month's inner-disciple assessment..."
*
Qianze Peak Main Hall
Li Zhuoran stood at the far left, followed in order by Shuning, Xie Yun, and Mo Shiyu.
Shuning felt rather uneasy out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Second Senior Brother glancing in her direction every now and then.
She looked at Xie Yun, her brow slowly knitting together: "?"
Li Zhuoran also noticed Xie Yun's actions; his Second Junior Brother's behavior today puzzled him, just a second before he intended to speak up and warn Xie Yun—
Xie Yun snapped his folding fan shut and pointed at the Jade Gourd at Shuning's waist: "Junior Sister, where did you get this Jade Gourd?"
Shuning replied, "From an auction held by Lingbao Pavilion."
Because of their exchange, Li Zhuoran and Mo Shiyu also looked at the Jade Gourd at Shuning's waist, and this time Mo Shiyu remembered why the Jade Gourd looked so familiar.
The two exchanged glances, thinking simultaneously: Isn't this...?
Xie Yun tapped his folding fan against his palm and exclaimed excitedly, "Junior Sister, you like this kind of thing?"
From now on, I'll make a lot more for Junior Sister!
Shuning shook her head.
She immediately denied it: "No, this is a magical treasure."
"Right, it's a magical treasure." Xie Yun slapped his forehead with his folding fan and asked her again, "You just said you bought it at the Lingbao Pavilion auction, how many spirit stones did you spend?"
"Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones."
At these words, apart from Mo Shiyu remaining unperturbed, both Li Zhuoran and Xie Yun stared at Shuning in shock.
The two of them sucked in a sharp breath: "!!!"
Li Zhuoran: Ten thousand high-grade spirit stones? That's my spirit wine for a lifetime!
Xie Yun (with a dumbfounded face): That brat sold the Jade Gourd for that much?
He placed a hand on Shuning's shoulder and promised, "Junior Sister, I will definitely help you get your ten thousand high-grade spirit stones back."
Mo Shiyu also placed a hand on Shuning's shoulder: "I just remembered, this Jade Gourd was crafted by Second Senior Brother."
Li Zhuoran patted Shuning: "Listen to your Second Senior Brother."
Shuning was left completely bewildered by this turn of events.
With a slightly helpless expression, Xie Yun shook his head and said, "Junior Sister, this Jade Gourd was taken away by my younger brother a few days ago. I never imagined it would bounce around and end up in your hands, completely scamming you out of so many spirit stones."
Now it was Shuning's turn to gasp: "!!!"
She took a deep breath to calm herself down; she seemed to have overlooked a very crucial point.
"Second Senior Brother, what is your brother's name?" Shuning asked earnestly.
"Xie Daoyu."
Shuning roared inwardly: Xie Daoyu!
You're not only black-bellied, you even scam people!
Nearby, Mo Shiyu tapped his head, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face, "No wonder I thought Young Master Xie looked a bit familiar."
So he was Second Senior Brother's younger brother.
Shuning placed her hand on Xie Yun's shoulder and said excitedly, "Second Senior Brother, I've been terribly scammed. My spirit stones are counting on you."
Xie Yun nodded: "Junior Sister, rest assured."
My spirit stones are coming back!