Interested in Giving It Some Thought?

When the Peacock Gate assassins saw the Haoran Bell's glow gradually dim behind them until it disappeared, relief at having escaped death spread across their faces.

"They actually didn't chase us..."

"They probably saw Ji Lianyi's corpse and had no time to bother with us, hahahaha—"

At the word "corpse," the Guardian heaved a heavy sigh.

"That new disciple who stayed behind to cover our retreat probably won't make it."

"Yes. Someone so loyal and honorable is truly rare."

"Nothing to be done. We can only ask the Gate Master to take good care of his family when we return—have you called back the newcomers stationed outside the Cloud Radiance Sect?"

"Reporting to the Guardian, they're already heading this way. They should arrive shortly."

As they spoke, several figures in night clothes darted over like ghosts and bowed to the Guardian in unison.

"Now that everyone's here, let's hurry and leave."

The Guardian took a few steps, but something kept nagging at him. He turned back. "...How many new disciples joined us on this mission again?"

"Eight, Guardian. One, two, three...seven, eight! That's right, Guardian!"

"Right, my ass!" the Guardian snapped, shocked and furious. "What about the fucking kid who stayed behind to cover us?! Did his soul float back here?! How are there still eight new disciples?!"

The assassins froze.

Before they could speak, an ancient bronze bell suddenly descended from the sky, growing several times larger in an instant. Clang—

A deep, resonant toll rang out, and a young woman appeared out of thin air.

"Ning...Ning Weimo!"

Ning Weimo smiled sweetly. "You certainly made yourselves difficult to find."

The Guardian gritted his teeth. "You're His Highness the Third Prince's master. Why are you working for the crown prince now? If you spare us today, Lady Ning, the Peacock Gate will surely repay you generously!"

"I had intended to spare you, but unfortunately..." Ning Weimo turned her hand over, and the Haoran Bell suddenly rose into the air, appearing before the Guardian almost instantaneously.

Bang!

The Guardian collided with the Haoran Bell and flew backward like a bird with broken wings, blood spraying from his mouth.

"Unfortunately, Sect Master Lu came to see me just now...As you know, he's the last person in Great Xia anyone can afford to offend. To keep his beloved disciple's identity from being exposed, I'm afraid I'll have to take your lives."

A few breaths later, more than a dozen corpses lay there.

Every one of them had died with their meridians shattered and blood pouring from their seven orifices.

The Haoran Bell was spattered with blood, but a cleansing spell restored it to pristine condition.

Ji Lianyi drank a bowl of medicinal broth, then, after his customary tantrum and a round of insults directed at several attendants, ordered everyone out of the room.

A moment later, a young attendant who served him by fanning him slipped back in silently.

"Has Your Highness's condition improved?"

Ji Lianyi's eyes went blank for a moment, as though he were recalling something. At the question, he gave a quiet laugh. "I'm fine."

"Who exactly was the Cloud Radiance Sect disciple who rescued Your Highness in the mountains? Might he know a little too much...?"

"What do you suggest?" Ji Lianyi asked with a faint, inscrutable smile.

"In my opinion, if he can serve Your Highness, let him live. If he cannot, kill him."

Ji Lianyi slowly sat up. Traces of still-wet blood seeped through his bandages, and his voice was low and measured. "Then what use are you to me?"

The attendant looked stunned. "Your Highness! Her Majesty the empress sent me to your side..."

"To watch me." Ji Lianyi cut the attendant off. His brown eyes were as devoid of humanity as a wild beast's. "I have my own plans for my affairs. You have no right to tell me what to do—do you really think I won't gouge out your eyes and cut off your limbs?"

The attendant lowered their head, eyes flickering, and dared not answer.

"Leave."

At last, the room fell quiet.

Ji Lianyi leaned back against the bedding with difficulty, coldly watching the blood seep from the reopened wound on his arm.

He murmured to himself, "I really...can't drag you into this."

October arrived in the blink of an eye. The weather grew much cooler, and preparations for the Cloud Radiance Sect's Apprenticeship Ceremony were in full swing.

Every vacant room in the Outer Sect was occupied. An unusually large number of people had come for this year's Apprenticeship Ceremony, forcing the Spirit Perch Pavilion to begin testing applicants' spiritual roots ahead of schedule.

Naturally, Qingli had returned to her Ancient Spirit-Testing Stone form and spent every day working from dawn until late at night in the Spirit Perch Pavilion.

When Shen Leyan occasionally visited her between cultivation sessions, all he saw were lines of people stretching out of sight and Qingli's utterly lifeless expression that said, I can't stand another second of this fucking job.

All he could do was bring her more tasty food to cheer her up.

During this time, he stayed in his quarters almost every day, practicing the Azure Shadow Profound Art by day and meditating to circulate his Spiritual Power by night, without fail.

Senior Brother Zheng Ziheng was still in the capital and had not returned.

Chen Jing had finally reconstructed his meridians and left the Cicada Song Pavilion for the Inner Sect. He was preparing to attend the Apprenticeship Ceremony too. The good news was that although his spiritual root was damaged, he could still cultivate—it was just a little slower than before.

Shen Leyan always felt that although Chen Jing had been a nameless extra in the original novel, he would surely leave a significant mark on the cultivation world.

He couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was intuition, or perhaps he was simply looking at him through the rose-colored lens of affection for his junior brother.

The crown prince, who had previously promised to send someone for him, had actually never contacted him at all.

The assassination attempt passed in silence—at least, it caused no stir in the Cloud Radiance Sect, where only a handful of people knew about it.

Shen Leyan was devoted to cultivating and really had no inclination to go out eating, drinking, and having fun with Ji Lianyi anyway. After wondering about it briefly, he put it out of his mind.

As the line of people waiting outside the Spirit Perch Pavilion to have their spiritual roots tested grew shorter and more disappointed people headed down the mountain, he knew the Apprenticeship Ceremony was truly about to begin.

He still hadn't decided which elder to take as his master.

꒦ິ^꒦ິ

At least several thousand people had come to have their spiritual roots tested, but only a few hundred remained in the end. A large portion of them were disciples from prominent families who had already begun cultivating before coming to the Cloud Radiance Sect and therefore needed no testing.

Regardless of whether they succeeded in becoming someone's disciple, all of them could remain in the Cloud Radiance Sect's Inner Sect—the only difference was that those without a master could only attend the daily group lessons taught by the sect's instructors and elders in rotation.

That evening, Shen Leyan heard a knock outside.

"Junior Brother Shen, the Apprenticeship Ceremony is tomorrow. Please arrive at the Martial Arts Training Ground before five in the morning to attend the sect's Sacrificial Ceremony."

Shen Leyan thanked the Law Enforcement Hall disciple who had brought the message and accepted a Jade Token. His name was engraved on it, and Spiritual Power seemed to circulate within.

The Law Enforcement Hall disciple added, "Be sure to bring this Jade Token. It will be used to record your score during the contests—the elders will announce the specific rules before tomorrow's Apprenticeship Ceremony begins."

"All right. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

The Law Enforcement Hall disciple had just left when Qingli and Chen Jing approached from the distance carrying a jug of wine, waving to him from afar.

Shen Leyan smiled and waited for them at the courtyard gate.

"Qingli, it's only been a few days, but you look so much thinner."

With two pitch-black circles beneath her eyes, Qingli launched into a furious tirade about her lousy job before finally saying, "I really hope that bastard Lu Yuanyi hurries up and tricks...finds another Spirit-Testing Stone to come to the Cloud Radiance Sect and take shifts with me. Otherwise, I'll work myself to death sooner or later!"

"...Spirit stones can die too?"

Qingli shook her fist at him.

Shen Leyan and Chen Jing burst out laughing.

The black markings on Chen Jing's body had completely faded. Perhaps because he had previously used fire-yang divine wood to heal, the aura of fire Spiritual Power around him seemed stronger.

Shen Leyan casually brought it up. "Senior Brother Chen Jing, I remember you said you wanted Senior Brother Zheng as your master, but he seems to still be in the capital—have you thought about what you'll do?"

"If Senior Brother Zheng can't make it back tomorrow, I'll just treat this Apprenticeship Ceremony as a chance to gain experience and wait another five years—what about you, Leyan? Who do you want as your master?"

"I...will take things as they come."

"All right, then let's leave it at that. Here's hoping we both get what we want tomorrow! I brought a jug of Rice Wine from the restaurant. Want some?"

Shen Leyan fetched three porcelain bowls from his room, and they each poured themselves a full bowl.

The Rice Wine tasted sweet and refreshing, but it packed quite a punch.

Shen Leyan sipped slowly, forgetting to remind the other two to pace themselves. By the time he realized it, Chen Jing and Qingli were already flushed and woozy, fast asleep on the courtyard's stone table.

They were still mumbling.

One said, "I want to quit!"

The other said, "Senior Brother Zheng, you have to come back."

Amused, he cleared away the wine bowls and helped both of them inside.

He grabbed some loose silver, planning to buy medicinal herbs at Luoxiang Hall and brew something to sober them up.

When he reached the courtyard gate, he happened to notice someone approaching through the distant sky on a flying sword. Sword Flight was nothing unusual in the Cloud Radiance Sect. What was unusual was the horned, winged white horse following behind that person, with all sorts of things loaded onto its back.

Some cultivators liked keeping Spirit Beasts. One of the Cloud Radiance Sect's main peaks was called Beast Taming Peak, and every disciple there had several Spirit Beasts they could summon to help them fight when trouble arose.

However, Beast Taming Peak had very few disciples, and all of them were homebodies with social anxiety who only liked spending time with animals, so they were hardly ever seen.

He watched the Pegasus curiously for a while. After taking a few steps, he realized it seemed to be heading toward his courtyard.

The person who had arrived by Sword Flight landed outside the courtyard, leading his Pegasus.

He was a middle-aged man with an honest-looking face, dark skin, and plain clothes. He gave the impression of...a zookeeper.

Shen Leyan looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

The man looked back at him.

They stared at each other without speaking, lingering in awkward silence for quite some time.

Shen Leyan noticed the man's fingers constantly kneading the hem of his clothes, as though he were very nervous, and hurriedly greeted him.

"You are...?"

"Ah, well, well...I'm, I'm Yan Shi, an elder of Beast Taming Peak."

Shen Leyan cupped his hands in greeting, somewhat puzzled. "Elder Yan Shi...who are you here to see?"

Beast Taming Peak...he didn't seem to have any connection with it.

Except for the time he had fallen asleep in class and an instructor had punished him by sending him to Beast Taming Peak to clean the Spirit Beasts' enclosures. He had come back reeking of piss and shit, and it had taken two days of washing to get clean.

For some reason, Elder Yan Shi pressed himself tightly against the Pegasus and stammered even more. "Uh...I'm just, just here to see you."

Shen Leyan assumed an attentive posture.

"Well, well, isn't the Apprenticeship Ceremony tomorrow? I thought, I thought perhaps you might be interested in our Beast Taming Peak?"

Having said that, Elder Yan Shi seemed to have exhausted all his courage. He lowered his head and pushed the Pegasus's reins into Shen Leyan's hands.

His dark face seemed a little flushed. "A little gift. Well, you, you take it. I'll be off!"

With that, he rose in Sword Flight and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Shen Leyan: "..."

(⊙o⊙)

Wait, what just happened?

He looked at the beautiful Pegasus beside him, then at the enormous pile of things on its back.

Many seemed to be supplies for caring for the Pegasus, alongside some precious spirit herbs, Pills, books...

Shen Leyan rubbed the Pegasus's fluffy head in bewilderment for a while before he seemed to figure it out.

Elder Yan Shi meant...he wanted me to become his disciple tomorrow?

He asked the Pegasus, "Can you fly back to Beast Taming Peak yourself? I really can't accept these things."

The Pegasus seemed very fond of him. It nuzzled his palm, urging him to keep petting it.

...All right, I'll find a way to return the gifts tomorrow.

He brought the Pegasus into the courtyard and fed it some fruit.

Fortunately, it wasn't raining today. His courtyard had no shelter where the Pegasus could take cover from the rain.

Once he had settled everything, he set off for Luoxiang Hall again.

As he passed along the path outside his courtyard, an old man with white hair and a white beard emerged from the woods beside it, blocking his way. Dressed in a Daoist robe patterned with the eight trigrams, he looked like a star deity from a myth.

With his previous experience, Shen Leyan knew the routine.

"You are...?"

"I am Elder Xuanji of the Nine Stars Pavilion."

"Elder Xuanji...what brings you to see me?"

"Tomorrow is the Apprenticeship Ceremony...are you interested in Divination?"

"I—"

"Here are a few introductory gifts. Take them and have some fun. Come rain or shine, I'll be waiting for you at the Nine Stars Pavilion!"

Shen Leyan: "..."

He stared pensively at the pile of tortoise shells, strings of beads, wooden divination sticks, and other tools in his hands. Hmm...looks like I'll have even more things to return tomorrow.

He temporarily stuffed everything into his sleeves and continued toward Luoxiang Hall.

He reached Luoxiang Hall without further incident, only to find its doors shut. It seemed to be closed for the day.

Not a single disciple was passing nearby.

A potbellied, lavishly dressed middle-aged man sat in a grand armchair outside Luoxiang Hall, turning two jade walnuts in his hand. He smiled kindly at Shen Leyan, revealing a mouthful of gold-capped teeth.

"Shen Leyan, right? I'm Elder Qian Yun, who oversees Luoxiang Hall..."

Right. I knew it!

Shen Leyan went through the motions with a blank expression. "Greetings, Elder Qian Yun."

"Tomorrow is the Apprenticeship Ceremony. Would you be interested in learning business from me...? If you're willing, this entire Luoxiang Hall is the empire I've built for you!"

"...I'll pass on the empire. May I buy something from you, Elder Qian Yun?"

Qian Yun asked, "What?"

"Hangover Soup."