Fifteen minutes!
The disciples woke with a start and, without a moment's hesitation, rushed toward the mountaintop where Jiang Sheng waited.
The chill of early morning still lingered in the mountains. Mist drifted through the air, and dew clung to every plant on the mountaintop. The world was filled with freshness. The Nature Spirits, accustomed to peaceful lives, were still asleep, but the Penglai disciples ranked in the top hundred had no attention to spare for them. Only Jiang Sheng sat beneath a pine with sparse branches, admiring the mountain scenery with interest.
Pei Jinglian was the foremost Spirit Transformation Realm disciple, after all. His escape light was swift; he turned into a sword-rainbow and reached the mountaintop in less than two breaths. At the same time, streams of light rose from every corner of the Cave Heaven and converged on the summit like falling stars.
Pei Jinglian arrived first. He spotted Jiang Sheng beneath the pine, respectfully saluted him as a disciple, then sat nearby.
Lu Xin arrived second. The Mountain Gentleman, famed among Spirit Transformation Realm disciples, had chosen a cave dwelling close to Jiang Sheng's, so he came quickly. He had expected to be first, only to find Pei Jinglian already there.
Pei Jinglian's cave dwelling was farther from the summit than his. For someone living farther away to arrive earlier shook Lu Xin. That stark difference in speed was enough to reveal the gap between their cultivation. What startled him most was the question it raised: in the thirty years since the sect competition, how much further had Pei Jinglian advanced?
Despite his surprise, Lu Xin did not slow down. He saluted Jiang Sheng as well, then sat beside Pei Jinglian.
Within a few more breaths, Spirit Transformation Realm disciples Ye Ningchu, Lin Qingnong, Ding Chan,