Another young man joked. Looking at the three before him, Ye Lin finally understood where he was.
He had returned to the starting point—the road to Azure Cloud Sect to take a master.
Everything, everything had returned to the beginning, while he himself had become a cripple without even the strength to truss a chicken, with utterly trash talent.
"I'm here."
Ye Lin gave a soft laugh and waved at the three young men ahead. With that, the four of them linked arms over each other's shoulders and trudged forward through the muddy ground. The earth was slippery, and all four had their feet caked in mud.
Yet it seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the four of them.
Light in their eyes, wind on their homeward path; no matter the hardship, all would scatter away.
The four skirted mountains, swam across great rivers, evaded fierce tigers, and endured countless dangers. When they were hungry, they took out the flatbreads they had brought from home and gnawed on a few bites.
Though the flatbreads were hard to swallow and dry, seeing everyone eat together, talking and laughing together—at such times, even the dry, tough flatbread in their hands had a flavor all its own.
When thirsty, they drank river water and dew.
When sleepy, they found a cave at random to sleep in, or put together a simple tent.
In the blink of an eye, the four had traveled for a month, covering a full thousand li and weathering untold hardships.
The four, once brimming with drive, were now grimy and bedraggled, like savages from the mountains.
Though their appearance was far from presentable, their eyes still shone with a faint light.
"According to the information we've gathered these past few days, Azure Cloud Sect's disciple recruitment assembly will