Classmates Reunited

Clearwater Bay.

It was also the closest gathering place for cultivators to Green Bamboo Mountain Market, under the jurisdiction of Li Fire Palace.

Master Lu lived here.

Upon learning of Master Lu's passing, Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu immediately set out for Clearwater Bay.

"Big Brother Lin, we'll reach Clearwater Bay soon."

Riding spirit horses day and night, they covered the three-thousand-li journey in only three days.

These spirit horses had been tamed from demonic beasts. As a son-in-law taken into the Beast-Taming Zhou Family, it was no difficult matter for Er Niu to borrow two spirit horses from the clan.

However, because of his status as a son-in-law, Li Erniu still needed to report to the family before leaving the Market.

Early in the morning, while the sky was still gray and dim, crisp hoofbeats rang through the streets.

"Big Brother Lin, we're here."

The two dismounted and beheld Clearwater Bay Market, built along a bend in the river.

The difference was that Clearwater Bay was even more deserted.

Before entering the Market, they first took out their Identity Jade Tokens—the so-called travel permits—and only then passed through the formation.

The familiar sights filled them with nostalgia. Twenty years ago, after they had failed the selection, Master Lu had brought them here. After teaching them for two months, he had recommended them to Green Bamboo Mountain Market.

Travel-worn and dust-covered, the two made their way to Master Lu's former residence.

"Elder Lu!"

There were not many people in the quiet little courtyard draped in mourning white.

Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu entered the courtyard. At the sight of the memorial tablet in the mourning hall, tears streamed down their faces.

"Elder Lu, we came too late."

With solemn expressions, Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu respectfully offered incense, then knelt and kowtowed.

Twenty years had passed in the flick of a finger.

Elder Lu had cultivated the Evergreen Art and lived to the age of one hundred and thirty-eight. He could be said to have passed peacefully at the end of his lifespan—something rare enough in the Cultivation World.

"Brother Lin, Brother Li."

"Brother Shen."

When they saw the newcomer, Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu's eyes lit up. They immediately stepped forward and cupped their hands in greeting.

After the three met, Shen Lie, once the Little Marquis, displayed none of the airs of his former status. Instead, he walked over wistfully, took the two by the arm, and sighed over old times.

"Princess Yun has come as well. She's inside comforting Junior Sister Lu right now."

At Shen Lie's words, Lin Chang'an was taken aback, while Er Niu said in surprise:

"I heard the Little Princess had already become an inner disciple of Li Fire Palace. I never expected her to come too."

Back then, the four of them had been Princess Yun Yao, Little Marquis Shen Lie, Lin Chang'an—the Royal Mansion's swordsmanship expert—and Li Erniu, a farmer's son.

As for the Junior Sister Lu they mentioned, she was Elder Lu's granddaughter.

"Who would have thought that Brother Lin and Brother Li had both reached the Qi Refining Mid-Stage?"

Little Marquis Shen Lie sighed with feeling, without the slightest trace of disdain in his expression. Lin Chang'an merely shook his head and cupped his hands.

"We cannot compare to Brother Shen."

Shen Lie had already reached the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.

By age, Lin Chang'an was the eldest, Er Niu came next, and Shen Lie was the youngest. But in the Cultivation World, strength reigned supreme.

Thus, they addressed him as Brother Shen to show their respect.

"All these years, I only heard that Brother Lin and Brother Er Niu had gone to Green Bamboo Mountain Market. I never expected that when we met again, twenty years would already have passed."

Back then, all three of them had Low-grade Spiritual Roots and had been eliminated. The difference was that Shen Lie had connections, and the cultivation resources at his disposal were naturally beyond anything they could compare with.

After all, the dynasties of the Mortal Realm all had great Sects standing behind them.

As the three quietly spoke of their experiences over the years, the formerly desolate courtyard visibly became bustling with visitors, its gates thronged like a market.

At the sight, Little Marquis Shen Lie lowered his head with a contemptuous smile and sent the two a voice transmission in explanation.

"These people waving the banners of former classmates or beneficiaries of Elder Lu's kindness only came because they heard Princess Yun had arrived."

"So that's how it is."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'an came to a sudden realization. He could not help recalling the little princess from years ago, delicate as carved jade and powdered with rouge, yet always pretending to be an adult.

Yun Yao, an inner disciple of Li Fire Palace.

She possessed a High-Grade Spiritual Root, and her Water-Attribute affinity was said to be just one step short of reaching the aptitude of an Earth Spirit Root.

In a great Sect like Li Fire Palace, she might not count as some peerless prodigy. But in the eyes of low-level cultivators like them, she was unquestionably beyond their reach.

"My condolences."

"Senior Brother Shen, Elder Lu, he..."

One cultivator after another entered. Some stepped forward wistfully to speak of the kindness Master Lu had once shown them, while others shamelessly claimed that Master Lu had also guided them onto the immortal path back then.

That made them classmates as well.

The contempt on Little Marquis Shen Lie's face had long since vanished. In its place was a look of deep sorrow, and he conversed with everyone as smoothly as fish in water.

"Princess Yun is already a Qi Refining Ninth Layer cultivator and has begun preparing for the Sect's internal competition. There is a strong chance she will achieve Foundation Establishment in the future."

After hearing Little Marquis Shen Lie's voice-transmitted explanation, Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu both revealed envious expressions.

A classmate who had entered the immortal path alongside them was already planning for future Foundation Establishment, while they had only just broken through to the Qi Refining Mid-Stage.

That was the gap between Spiritual Roots.

"The Princess and Junior Sister Lu are coming out."

When the door to the rear hall opened, the gathered crowd outside immediately stopped their whispered attempts to build connections.

Lu Qingqing had the appearance of a gentle girl from a modest household. Today, however, she slowly emerged in plain white mourning clothes, grief written across her face. Yet it was the figure beside her that drew everyone's gaze.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to see Elder Lu off on his final journey."

Her voice was cool, yet carried an innate nobility.

Princess Yun Yao wore plain, fitted clothing. Her brows resembled green peaks, her features were clear and beautiful, and beneath her valiant bearing lay a chill that seemed to tell everyone of the grief in her heart.

The delicate little girl of old had changed beyond recognition.

Lin Chang'an could not help sighing at the sight.

"You are too courteous, Fairy."

"You are too courteous, Fellow Daoist Yun."

Everyone had a different way of addressing the former Little Princess.

Among the cultivators who had received Master Lu's guidance, quite a few shamelessly called her Junior Sister Yun.

Those who claimed to have benefited from Elder Lu's kindness addressed Yun Yao as Fairy, while others called her Fellow Daoist.

After all, Yun Yao's cultivation was profound, and because she cultivated a Water-Attribute Cultivation Method, she still looked like a young girl. Not one person called her Senior Sister; Fellow Daoist and Fairy were far more common.

After all, no one present was young. As for the title of Princess, it was merely what the four of them had called her back then.

Everyone wore looks of grief and reflection, but how much was genuine and how much was false, no one could say.

With Yun Yao, a Qi Refining Late Stage inner disciple of Li Fire Palace, presiding over it, what had originally been a lonely funeral became a gathering with throngs at its gates.

Once again, Lin Chang'an witnessed the reality of the Cultivation World.

Only after the burial was complete did the place return to its former desolation.

Lin Chang'an and Li Erniu knew their place. They remained among the crowd until Master Lu had been laid to rest, then prepared to leave. But at that moment, Little Marquis Shen Lie called out to them.

"Brother Lin, Brother Er Niu, the Princess invites you to Gathering Immortal Pavilion."

"A gathering?"

Lin Chang'an looked stunned, while Er Niu was somewhat at a loss. Back then, he had been the lowest in status among them. Now, facing a princess who was already preparing to seek Foundation Establishment—

The disparity in their standing had not narrowed. Instead, it had only grown wider and wider.

"It's simply a gathering of old classmates."

Seeming to notice Er Niu's unease and Lin Chang'an's surprise, Little Marquis Shen Lie explained with a smile.

"The Princess may seem a little cold, but she's actually a good person. Back then, we agreed to gather once every five years, but you two were far away at Green Bamboo Mountain Market.

"And I traveled about with cultivators of the royal line, while Princess Yun remained in her Sect. None of us ever found the time. This is a rare chance for us to reunite."

As Little Marquis Shen Lie explained, the scene after their failed assessment rose in Lin Chang'an's mind.

Newly arrived in the Cultivation World, four youths from entirely different social stations had seemed to cast aside their identities from the Mortal Realm. Reluctant to part, they had made a promise to gather once every five years.

But afterward, the four struggled along their own paths of cultivation. At most, they exchanged letters now and then; that promise to reunite was nothing more than a relic of youthful ignorance.

In the Cultivation World, one could not help oneself, especially when they were scattered beneath different skies.