The next morning, just after six o'clock, Gu Ningyun stepped out of the transmission hall on Music Peak and arrived at the plaza in front of it.
Previously, the two Martial Uncles had remained tight-lipped about the final two courses. Even Jun Luo, who knew the most about Xiaoyao, had no information regarding them.
Gu Ningyun and the others had even discussed it, guessing they might be practical combat classes or something similar.
To their surprise, the final two mandatory courses for new disciples at Xiaoyao turned out to be Introduction to Music Cultivation and Introduction to Food Cultivation!
Music Peak was one of the seventy-two inner peaks and a sacred ground for music cultivation within Xiaoyao.
It was said that their introductory course this year was being taught personally by the Eldest Senior Sister of Music Peak, Kong Lingyan, a Golden Core stage True Person.
According to Martial Aunt Yang's reminder: "Go early tomorrow to grab a seat. This Eldest Senior Sister of Music Peak is quite popular."
Gu Ningyun looked at the Music Peak plaza, which was ten times larger than the small plaza at Ruiyu Pavilion and so packed with people that there was nowhere to step. She felt a slight pang of distress.
This was what she called "quite popular"?
Was this not more like a massive fan meet!?
Wasn't this supposed to be a mandatory course for new disciples? By her estimate, even with over a hundred groups of formal disciples, each with ten members, there should only be a little over a thousand new disciples at most.
So what was the deal with this crowd gathered in the plaza, most of whom were clearly much taller than her and obviously not from her year?
Had they failed the Music Cultivation course for ten years and were now here for a retake?
And those in white robes and blue belts—they were inner sect disciples, weren't they? She remembered Martial Aunt Yang and Martial Uncle Lu being very busy; how were these people so leisurely that they could come here so early in the morning to chase a star?
From her position, she could only see the backs of a crowd. After trying to squeeze in for a long time without success, she had no choice but to take out her identity jade token and send a message to Wen Xuan.
To her surprise, as soon as she opened the token, a flurry of messages popped up in the "Prosperity and Mutual Support" group.
Gu Ningyun checked the logs; the earliest message was from midnight the previous night.
Wen Xuan: @Gu Ningyun, @Mu Chenze, @Jun Luo, Jiang Yao and I are planning to cultivate at the Music Peak plaza tonight. Do you guys want to join us?
Mu Chenze: ??? Is the Cloud Residence not good enough for you?
Jiang Yao: Wen Xuan is afraid she'll wake up late tomorrow and won't get a seat. I wasn't comfortable letting her stay alone, so I came along.
Wen Xuan: Are you guys coming? The more the merrier.
Mu Chenze: Wait for me, I'm coming now.
Wen Xuan: @Gu Ningyun, @Jun Luo, are you two coming?
Mu Chenze: Jun Luo has been spending every day at the Sword Hall lately. He even packs his meals in advance. He's probably practicing his sword right now and hasn't seen the messages.
Wen Xuan: Fair enough.
...
Wen Xuan: People are starting to arrive! It's only four in the morning!
Jiang Yao: It seems quite a few people have the same idea as you.
Mu Chenze: Why are there people here who don't look like they're from our year?
Wen Xuan: @Gu Ningyun, come quickly and join the chaos!
...
Wen Xuan: I'm stunned~
Jiang Yao: It's a sea of people; the whole place is packed~
Mu Chenze: Wen Xuan, you really had foresight!
Yang Churan: Where are you guys located?
Wen Xuan: Right in front of that half-meter-high platform, third row!
Yang Churan: Nice, great job!
Jiang Yao: You have to tilt your head back to listen in the first two rows; it's uncomfortable for the neck.
...
When Gu Ningyun opened the chat, Wen Xuan was still sending messages.
Wen Xuan: @Gu Ningyun, @Jun Luo, have you two arrived yet? We saved seats for you.
Gu Ningyun: Help, I can't squeeze in...
Mu Chenze: I'll come get you. Where are you?
Gu Ningyun: Near the entrance by the transmission point.
Mu Chenze: Wait there.
After a short while, Gu Ningyun saw the crowd ahead stir. Immediately after, a transparent water sphere pushed its way out.
Through the ripples of water, Gu Ningyun saw Mu Chenze standing inside the sphere. His robes were perfectly neat, though his expression was somewhat anxious.
Before she could speak, Mu Chenze pulled her into the water sphere. "Quick, my spirit energy is low. This water shield won't last long."
Gu Ningyun was protected by him as they squeezed through the crowd of senior brothers, senior sisters, and martial uncles.
The people being pushed aside didn't get angry when they saw it was two new disciples. Instead, they watched the spectacle with grins.
After pushing through the crowd, her vision finally opened up.
In front of the plaza, a large group of youngsters sat in neat rows, whispering to one another.
Mu Chenze dispelled the water sphere and held her forearm through her sleeve. He carefully navigated the gaps between the youngsters and squeezed into the third row.
Right in front of the platform, Wen Xuan was waving at them. "Over here! We saved seats for you, come quickly!"
"Luckily you guys were here, or I wouldn't have been able to get in at all."
Gu Ningyun sat down next to Wen Xuan and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Morning, Ningyun!"
Gu Ningyun was startled by the person who turned around from the front with a beaming smile. "Martial Aunt Yang, why are you here!?"
"I'm a loyal fan of Senior Sister Kong, of course I'm here."
As she spoke, Martial Aunt Yang glanced at Wen Xuan with a smile. "Thanks to Wen Xuan, I managed to snag a seat too."
"I see." At this, Gu Ningyun became curious. "Wen Xuan, you usually like to arrive just in time. Why did you suddenly think of coming to reserve seats last night? That doesn't seem like your style."
Mu Chenze also leaned his head over. "Yeah, I thought it was strange too."
Wen Xuan's voice was crisp. "Martial Uncle Lu told me. He messaged me privately last night and suggested I come to reserve a seat during the night, otherwise it would definitely be too late today."
"Oh, right. He even came to Ruiyu Pavilion to give me a defensive array, saying he was afraid we wouldn't be able to hold our ground if someone tried to steal our seats."
Martial Aunt Yang arched an eyebrow, her voice sounding like she was half-smiling. "Lu Heyun?"
Listening to Wen Xuan and seeing Martial Aunt Yang's expression, something flashed quickly through Gu Ningyun's mind.
Just as she was about to grasp that fleeting thought, Jiang Yao's voice interrupted her train of thought.
"Martial Aunt Yang, isn't the Music Peak Eldest Senior Sister, Kong Lingyan, a Golden Core stage cultivator? Why do you call her 'Senior Sister' instead of 'Martial Aunt'?"
Martial Aunt Yang's voice returned to normal. "Oh, I forgot to tell you this common knowledge."
"In the cultivation world, strength is always respected. Our Xiaoyao is naturally the same."
"Normally, whether one is a handyman disciple, an outer sect disciple, or an inner sect disciple, regardless of status, titles are determined by cultivation level."
"But there are exceptions to everything."
"If a disciple has been officially taken in by a master, their title follows the generation of their master. My master and Senior Sister Kong's master are of the same generation, so she and I address each other as peers."
The four of them nodded in realization. "So that's how it is. We understand now."
As they spoke, the air around them grew slightly cold.
Gu Ningyun looked back and saw that Jun Luo had arrived at the plaza at some point. He was now walking unhurriedly toward them and sat down in the only remaining empty seat next to Gu Ningyun.
Looking at his neat clothes and perfectly tidy hair, Gu Ningyun was amazed. "Jun Luo! How did you squeeze in?"
He couldn't have just happened to learn an ice shield spell as well, could he?
Jun Luo looked at her wide eyes, and his cool brow softened slightly.
He took the peach wood sword from his storage ring and channeled spirit energy into it.
Immediately, a cold, sharp aura emanated from the blade.
"Sword qi!" Martial Aunt Yang's voice held a hint of admiration.
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