2002

At that moment, several disciples who had their qualifications verified entered. Two female disciples brightened their eyes upon seeing Mo Feiyun and exchanged smiles. There was no infatuation at first sight; the two quickly moved to a shaded spot under a tree to chat, simply exchanging names and asking where they came from.

Song Chi stood not far away under the flower shade. Before long, an elegantly refined inner sect disciple in a gray robe arrived, riding a mysterious turtle.

Stopping at the cliff’s edge on the east bank of the council hall, he waved at them.

“Everyone come over, six at a time—that’s just enough. I’m Wen Shuo from the inner sect. I’ll be escorting you to Dongcui Mountain for settlement.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother Wen.”

Song Chi and the others hurried over. Before boarding the mysterious turtle, Wen Shuo checked their inner sect jade badges.

Song Chi and Mo Feiyun were almost the last two. She took out her jade pendant to show Wen Shuo and then boarded the turtle. When it was Mo Feiyun’s turn, he revealed a white jade pendant, causing Wen Shuo to inhale sharply.

“A prodigy disciple!” He glanced around and cursed, “Qi Yu has slacked off again. He was supposed to welcome the prodigy disciple.”

Turning to Song Chi and the others, he said, “You all can go ahead first. I’ll escort Brother Mo to Xuan Yun Peak first and come back for you later.”

Song Chi thought to herself that this was the difference in treatment—the true face of the cultivation world. She was about to get down when Mo Feiyun subtly shifted to block her path and said to Wen Shuo, “Why not go together?”

His voice was not as cold as his frosty eyes; it was like a pearl, very pleasant to hear.

Wen Shuo smiled broadly, and two immortal masters in front of the council hall also looked over in surprise. They couldn’t help but smile and nod, evidently pleased that such a prodigy could be so humble without any arrogance.

“That’s fine. I’ll send these disciples on their way to Dongcui Mountain and then head north to Xuan Yun Peak.”

Mo Feiyun nodded. When he boarded the mysterious turtle, he was last in line, so the others quickly stepped aside, trying to offer him the place.

Wen Shuo just smiled, flashed his spiritual energy, reorganized everyone’s positions, and gently urged the turtle forward.

Thus, Song Chi stood ahead alongside Mo Feiyun and Wen Shuo.

The mysterious turtle soared through mist and clouds, mountains looming ahead, with pavilions faintly visible, and occasionally the sound of reading aloud drifting through the air.

Senior Brother Wen pointed to a magnificent pavilion atop a towering mountain. “That is the Qingxue Palace. Newly admitted inner sect disciples must study there for ten years.”

Song Chi looked intently. This palace was an unattainable dream for her grandfather and parents—only inner sect disciples received such treatment. The outer sect had classrooms too, but they were taught casually by a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and closed after three years.

Unlike the inner sect, where Golden Core cultivators taught.

“The sect invests greatly in your training. When you go to the palace, don’t be lazy. You must diligently follow the immortal teachers in your cultivation.”

Song Chi and the others respectfully cupped their hands toward Qingxue Palace, promising to study hard and not disappoint the sect’s efforts.

Wen Shuo nodded, then saw Mo Feiyun gazing at Qingxue Palace and smiled gently. “Brother Mo doesn’t need to study at the palace.”

The others agreed. A prodigy like Mo Feiyun naturally became a direct disciple of a sect elder and received personalized instruction, so attending the palace lectures was unnecessary.

***

The mysterious turtle carried them through misty valleys, over two mountains to the north, then turned east.

“Look! That’s the Flying Blossom Sword Technique!” Dai Jia pointed to the sky. She was one of the two female disciples; the other was Cheng Yao.

After saying this, Dai Jia blushed deeply, perhaps feeling embarrassed for having never seen such a flamboyant style before.

But it wasn’t really shameful. As they rode the mysterious turtle, many disciples flew past, including sword cultivators riding swords.

However, the flamboyant pink-flower sword technique soaring through the sky was indeed something new.

Song Chi glanced up at the familiar flamboyant blue-clad disciple and turned her face away.

If she had crossed over and encountered events similar to a plot or fate, it would be simply the flamboyant peacock, Ye Qingyu, flying in the sky.

Last spring, the neighboring immortal estate was bought and renovated. In summer, Ye Qingyu came with his aunt to cool off.

At that time, Song Chi was playing the zither in the courtyard when Ye Qingyu jumped onto the wall, crossed his arms, and stared at her with a disdainful gaze, smirking mockingly before jumping down.

Soon after, he inquired about her background next door and learned that her three spiritual roots—metal, water, and wood—were all rated seventy-seven.

That bastard laughed until tears seemed to fall and ever since then called her “Seventy-Seven” whenever he saw her.

Song Chi didn’t dare offend him, as he was from the prestigious Ye family, so she ignored him. Fortunately, he stayed only half a month before returning home.

This summer, he came again, stayed a few days, and when leaving, jumped onto the wall with the same arrogant, disdainful look, asking her:

“Hey, which sect do you plan to join?”

She replied coldly, “Changyun Sect.”

Ye Qingyu gave a strange, mocking laugh and nodded sarcastically. “Well, with your seventy-seven spiritual roots, the best they can do is send you to Changyun Sect with a generous gift. Maybe you’ll luck out and become an inner sect disciple.”

Song Chi ignored him completely.

Ye Qingyu didn’t stay long and returned to the Ye family the same day.

Unexpectedly, that bastard had come to Qingjian Sect. The Ye family was a prestigious southwestern clan, at least tens of thousands of miles from Qingjian Sect. Besides, the Southwest had top sects like Lingxu Immortal Sect. Why would such a prodigy skip Lingxu and travel so far to Qingjian Sect?

Could he be visiting?

But Song Chi clearly saw the white jade pendant in his hand with the Qingjian Sect inscription.

He really had become a disciple of Qingjian Sect.

Though surprised, Song Chi recalled that Ye Qingyu was a peerless prodigy with perfect scores in metal, water, and wood spiritual roots, born with musical talent and possessing the Golden Sword Phantom technique, allowing him to train in swordsmanship simultaneously.

According to her investigation, Qingjian Sect was indeed one of the three major ancient musical sects on the continent.

So it made perfect sense that Ye Qingyu joined Qingjian Sect.

***

“Song Chi?”

Ye Qingyu caught sight of her and suddenly stopped, then shrugged and laughed mockingly.

His handsome face still bore the expression of the “second male lead who can never get the heroine,” full of a teasing, almost tormenting look.

Determined to maintain her image, Song Chi smiled and cupped her hands politely. “So it’s Ye Gongzi!”

“Ye Gongzi?! Humph!” Ye Qingyu let out a muffled chuckle, flicked his sleeve, and followed his clan uncle, flying away on his flamboyant sword technique.

Senior Brother Wen immediately urged the mysterious turtle to speed eastward, glancing at Song Chi.

“The seventh son of the Ye family from Southwest Meiquan, he is a direct disciple of our sect’s Revered Tonghua. Unexpected that Sister Song knows him.”

Revered Tonghua was one of the four great reverents of Qingjian Sect and head of the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, overseeing the musical sect. She was a renowned powerhouse throughout the southern Yuzhu Mountain region.

Song Chi thought to herself, indeed. If not for Revered Tonghua accepting him, Ye Qingyu would never stoop to Qingjian Sect. After all, Qingjian Sect ranked only in the second tier among southwestern sects, behind four extraordinarily powerful great sects.

When Wen Shuo tested the waters with his words, Song Chi smiled. “We met once on the street. I didn’t expect Ye Gongzi, the pearl of the sky, to remember me.” She acted very honored.

Wen Shuo glanced at her and smiled without pressing further. From her modest attire, it was clear she came from a common, moderately wealthy family with little chance to know Ye Gongzi.

Soon they arrived at Dongcui Mountain, where dozens of miles of mountains were inhabited by inner sect disciples.

This year’s new disciples were settled in the southeastern Peach Blossom Mountains, a cluster of about ten peaks with beautiful scenery. The valleys were filled with peach blossoms stretching all the way to the sect’s defensive array at the end, spanning at least several dozen miles.

Such exquisite scenery was assigned to new disciples only because the spiritual energy there was somewhat sparse. The northern Xuan Yun Peak area was richest in spiritual energy, featuring Mingyue Lake, whose waters were said to rival a spiritual spring.

Thus, within the sect, the closer to the central and northern regions, the denser the spiritual energy.

Senior Brother Wen dropped the three of them off at Taorui Peak, where disciples awaited to receive them.

One used spiritual sensing to verify their jade badges, then nodded and led them to a mid-mountain residence composed of four finely crafted lodges—two to the north and one each to the east and west—all enclosed within one courtyard wall.

Senior Brother Zhu explained this arrangement facilitated the formation of a spiritual energy array.

In short, four people shared a courtyard but each lodge was independent, avoiding the hassle of sharing a dorm room. Song Chi breathed a sigh of relief, recalling her college dorm experiences.

She preferred solitude, so this arrangement suited her perfectly. Outer sect disciples, she heard, shared lodges with four people per room.

Thinking this, Song Chi was especially grateful to Senior Brother Zhu Yu and Steward Sun who helped with the qualification tests. If she had the chance, she would definitely repay their kindness.

There was some variation in spiritual energy among the four lodges; the two northern ones were noticeably better than the eastern and western lodges.