Profound Heaven Street

Only after he had completely left behind the bitter medicinal scent, the clamor of the arena, and entered the corridors linking the various side halls, where fewer cultivators passed by, did Yun Mufeng begin murmuring to himself in a voice nearly too soft to hear.

"How strange..." His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the chilly ribs of the umbrella. "That Song Zhiyi's aura is upright and peaceful, while his fate and fortune are utterly ordinary. There is nothing exceptional about him. Was I overthinking it?"

His steps paused slightly, and the umbrella's edge lifted a little, revealing contemplative eyes. "Yet Gu Yueyao, who ought to be the female lead, has gathered quite decent fortune around herself by ordinary standards. But if she is a female lead—even one of them—shouldn't it be far stronger?"

"What a complete mess." He gave a quiet scoff, an unfathomably complicated gleam flickering through his eyes.

"...Hmph, close the Chonghua Umbrella? Don't even think about it. I won't give anyone the chance to plot against me."

He was immersed in those tangled thoughts when, the instant he rounded a corner in the corridor, he nearly collided headlong with someone.

Yun Mufeng reacted swiftly. He shifted slightly aside while tilting the umbrella's canopy to dispel the force of the oncoming impact. Looking up, he saw a youth of sixteen or seventeen in the most ordinary Profound Heaven Sect outer disciple robes. His features were refined, his complexion fair. His aura was restrained, making it impossible to gauge his depth.

But that face...

"Yu Xiao True Person?"

Yun Mufeng was first startled, then instinctively looked toward the ceremonial platform suspended high in the air amid swirling clouds and rosy mists. There, upon the seat belonging to Yu Xiao True Person, sat a solemn "true body" with features identical to those