Deep within the Guishui Institute, water pavilions stood encircled by a misty haze.
Nie Shanshan moved lightly through the covered corridor, holding a sect document as she headed straight for Waterside Pavilion, where her master, Chu Jinyun, was in secluded cultivation.
Inside the pavilion, Chu Jinyun sat cross-legged on a cattail mat, her eyes closed as she regulated her breath.
Faint wisps of Guishui True Gang curled around her body, while her moon-white robes remained spotless.
Nie Shanshan stood respectfully outside the pavilion. Only after her master's aura had completely settled did she report softly:
"Master, the sect's grand celebration is approaching. The lists of Chief Disciples for each institute have been finalized, and the documents have been delivered."
Chu Jinyun slowly opened her eyes. "Read it."
Nie Shanshan unfolded the document and steadily, clearly read out one name after another. When she reached Chen Qing, Chief Disciple of the Qingmu Institute, she paused slightly and instinctively glanced at her master.
Chu Jinyun's face, previously still as an ancient well, tightened ever so slightly when she heard the name Chen Qing.
She repeated it unconsciously. "Chen Qing? The Qingmu Institute's... Chief Disciple?"
"Yes, Master."
Nie Shanshan handed over the document. "The document is here. It bears the Sect Master's seal."
Waves also churned beneath the surface of her heart.
In merely two years, Chen Qing had gone from a Transformation Force disciple to the Chief Disciple of the Wutai Sect's Qingmu Institute.
Had she not witnessed it herself, she truly would not have believed it.
Chu Jinyun accepted the document, her gaze falling upon that familiar yet unfamiliar name.
Only then did she fully believe it.
She looked up at Nie Shanshan, her tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible probing. "He... what is his cultivation now?"
Nie Shanshan answered