“Hiss, who stole my blanket?”
Hearing Yao Dai murmur in her cold sleep, Wen Li flicked her wrist without even turning her head. The dying coals in the stove were instantly replaced with unique flames, bringing a gentle warmth to the air.
At that moment, Li Yangtian—the only other person who remained sober—walked over to Wen Li’s side.
“Tomorrow, the three of you will be heading into the Trial Realm. Be extremely careful.” He had drunk a fair amount as well, yet he wasn't intoxicated.
Wen Li nodded. “Mhm.”
Li Yangtian, who usually maintained a polite sense of distance, couldn't help asking, “You aren't from Cangling Kingdom, nor are you from the Far Cold Lands. Where are you actually from?”
“Why? Planning on looking us up someday?” Wen Li turned her head and teased.
Li Yangtian paused before chuckling softly, offering a self-deprecating sigh. “With my cultivation at only the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement, where could I possibly go? I'd probably get ambushed, stuffed into a sack, and beaten up the moment I stepped outside Cangling Kingdom.”
“...” Wen Li raised an eyebrow. “You... figured it out?”
“Come on, I might not have great talent, but I’m not stupid,” Li Yangtian said, half-amused and half-exasperated. “I wasn't completely sure at first. But once when I was drunk, in that half-asleep, half-awake state, I remembered the glimpse I caught of a woman's figure right before I was stuffed into a sack and knocked out. When I thought about it carefully, she looked exactly like you did when I woke up.”
Caught red-handed, Wen Li remained entirely unbothered. “How about... you beat Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan back?”
She didn't mention a single word about the slap she herself had dealt him.
“Forget it, I’m not here to settle scores with you guys.”
Li Yangtian let out a snort of laughter. “I just wanted to let you know so that someday you can tell them I figured it out. That way, Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan won't keep giving me so many things. I barely have room to store them all.”
Despite his words, Wen Li saw right through his thoughts. “Do you think they're giving you gifts because they feel guilty, or because they view you as a friend and want to be good to you?”
Wen Li patted his shoulder. “You’re the very first friend either of them has ever had. They don't know how to treat someone well. The clumsiest, most straightforward way they know is to give things away—because like me, they're stingy and hoard wealth like life itself. To them, giving away what they treasure most is the best way to show sincerity.
“They like you and consider you a friend because you’re good enough as a person, not because they owe you anything.”
“...”
Li Yangtian froze.
Wen Li lifted Xie Tinglan up and placed a hand on his head. With a surge of spiritual energy, the nineteen-year-old youth instantly reverted back to a four-year-old child.
She hoisted him onto her shoulder, then picked up Yao Dai, who had begun softly snoring.
“The two of them are from the Western Province. If you can make an appearance at the Western Province's Qingyun Gathering ten years from now, you'll probably meet again. Farewell.”
Li Yangtian watched her receding figure, his eyes burning with moisture. His throat felt choked and dry, and the warm tears blurring his vision blended into the glowing lights of a thousand homes before him.
They treated him well because they saw him as a friend, not out of guilt.
It was because he was good enough.
Even though Yao Dai and Xie Tinglan visited him frequently while Wen Li rarely did, Yao Dai had mentioned that when Wen Li took action against Zhang Yuguang that day, part of her motive was to avenge him.
...
The next day.
Wen Li and her two disciples arrived at Sifang Square in the Zhaixing Sect. Including them, eighteen disciples were gathered in total.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Second Elder Feng Yun waved his hand, summoning two large flying vessels.
“Let us depart.”
“Yes, Elder!”
The group boarded the flying vessels and retired to the cabins, leaving two disciples outside to pilot the ship.
Wen Li, her two disciples, squad leader Wang Xianlin, and Feng Yun occupied one flying vessel.
“According to the information gathered by our sect, the Ziyang Sect has an Early-Stage Golden Core cultivator, while the details on the Wulei Sect remain unclear for now. Do not get separated once you enter. Dangers lurk everywhere inside. Even though Cangling Kingdom sends disciples in every thirty years, the reports we gather are never identical, leaving many unknowns.”
“Everyone will carry a trial token. Plundering and killing are permitted. In the end, the surviving cultivator with the most tokens will take first place, earning rewards from all three sects as well as the qualification to travel to a Fourth-Grade Cultivation Kingdom, the Xuandu Sect, to seek mastership.” Feng Yun sat in the main seat, holding a cup of tea.
Wang Xianlin frowned. “The Xuandu Sect? Master, in the past, we had very little contact with Xuanbing Kingdom. Why was this reward added this time?”
Lazily leaning back with her eyes closed, Wen Li tilted her head slightly.
The Xuandu Sect again.
“The Sect Master only received this news last night. Such an opportunity comes once in a century. The Xuandu Sect is one of the four major sects in the Western Province. Should any of you have the good fortune to be accepted into their ranks, it would be a monumental opportunity for both yourselves and the Zhaixing Sect.” Feng Yun lowered his head and blew on the steam rising from his hot tea, his aged voice steady.
As he spoke, Feng Yun looked up at Xie Tinglan, then glanced across Wen Li and the other new disciples. “Even if you joined our Zhaixing Sect solely to enter the secret realm, as long as you secure victory for the sect, this opportunity will belong to you. However, if you truly enter the Xuandu Sect, you will be considered bound to our Zhaixing Sect and will need to look out for our sect's interests in the future.”
Hearing this, the new disciples showed varied expressions, clearly moved by the terms. They were indeed taking up the Zhaixing Sect’s quota.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
They all nodded in agreement.
“Understood.”
As for Xie Tinglan, he sat quietly beside Wen Li without making a sound, only agreeing after seeing her nod.
Seeing that they agreed, Feng Yun said no more and closed his eyes to rest.
Soon, the flying vessels arrived.
When everyone disembarked, they found themselves facing a desolate mountainous landscape. Hardly a blade of grass grew here—there was only a boundless expanse of white snow.
Two groups of cultivators were already standing atop a cliff.
One group wore purple sect robes and was led by a beautiful female cultivator.
The other group wore light-azure sect robes, led by a pot-bellied, middle-aged cultivator.
Upon seeing them arrive, the young disciples from both groups raised their hands in greeting. “Greetings, Elder Feng Yun.”
“Mhm.” Feng Yun nodded, then raised his hand to introduce them to the Zhaixing Sect group. “This is Elder Fu Yining of the Ziyang Sect, and this is Elder Huang Jue of the Wulei Sect.”
The Zhaixing Sect disciples raised their hands in greeting. “Greetings, Elder Fu Yining, Elder Huang Jue.”
Standing at the back of the crowd, Wen Li glanced up. She couldn't discern the cultivation levels of the two elders, which meant they were likely above the Nascent Soul realm.
Looking over at the Ziyang Sect, there was indeed a man at Early-Stage Golden Core.
Meanwhile, the leading disciple of the Wulei Sect had a cold demeanor with dark circles under his eyes. His cultivation level was imperceptible, suggesting he was wearing something that concealed his power.
The beautiful, exquisite Fu Yining gave a nonchalant “Mhm.”
Huang Jue teased Feng Yun, “Your Zhaixing Sect really pulled out all the stops this time—you even have a Mid-Stage Golden Core. Where on earth did you scrape him up from?”
He was obviously referring to Xie Tinglan in his youth form. Maintaining a four-year-old appearance would have undoubtedly invited unnecessary trouble.
Feng Yun chuckled softly. “You aren't doing too badly yourselves. Who knows, perhaps your team is even stronger than ours. You're both Golden Cores—there's no need to hide it.”
“No matter. Leaving a little suspense makes it more fun. Once the juniors head inside, we'll see their true capabilities.” Huang Jue gave a sly laugh, chuckling off the subject without clarifying whether his lead disciple was at the Golden Core stage or not.
Fu Yining looked coldly at Feng Yun and Huang Jue. “Let us begin. If you keep chatting, it will be nightfall.”
“Hahaha, very well.”
“Sigh, looks like it's the three of us standing guard helplessly again.” Huang Jue sighed as he walked toward the edge of the cliff.
Standing side by side atop the cliff, the three elders raised their hands in synchronized hand seals to cast their spell. Three beams of spiritual energy—purple, yellow, and light-azure—erupted into the sky.
Boom!
Spatial fluctuations suddenly rippled along the edge of the cliff. A black dot emerged and gradually expanded into a swirling vortex doorway filled with mysterious unknowns, seemingly linking to another world altogether.
Rate on N.U.
