Early the next morning.
Tang Yan enjoyed his breakfast with relish while watching Xiao Jixue supervise Li Mo and the other senior disciples' training in the distance.
"I'm going to Talisman Peak today. Do you want to come with me?" Xiao Jixue walked over and sat down.
Tang Yan answered without a moment's hesitation, "Of course. I'd be so bored at home alone without you."
Hehehe~~ I'll tag along to Talisman Peak and see if there's any juicy gossip to dig up.
Xiao Jixue's thin lips curved slightly. He knew Tang Yan was following him to Talisman Peak to see if there was any drama to watch.
Even so, those words brought an involuntary swell of pleasure to his heart.
[Ding—Xiao Jixue's affection +3. Total affection: 3]
Hearing Tang Yan's thoughts, Feng Sheng stopped practicing her sword moves in the distance and called out.
"Senior Brother, we've been training for six hours already. Can't you let us take a break?"
How could Xiao Jixue not know that they had heard Tang Yan's thoughts and wanted to follow him to Talisman Peak for gossip and drama?
Looking at the eager, pleading gazes of Feng Sheng and the other two, Xiao Jixue finally spoke.
"You'll have to keep training this afternoon."
Feng Sheng nodded like a chick pecking at grain. "Mhm, mhm! Okay!"
After finishing breakfast, Tang Yan followed Xiao Jixue and stepped onto his Trace Snow Sword with practiced ease.
Just after they left Purple Dawn Peak, Xiao Jixue suddenly detected a faint, elusive presence following them.
He glanced back toward the source of the spiritual energy fluctuations and thought to himself.
Master said he would send the martial uncles to protect Yan in secret. That person must be one of them.
Hidden in the void, Fei Zhong watched Xiao Jixue and the others from behind.
He stroked his beard and nodded in satisfaction.
Ji Xue truly was the most gifted of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect's new generation of disciples.
I merely gave my sleeve a casual flick, and Ji Xue, a junior at only the late Nascent Soul stage, noticed it.
Huh? Wait!
Fei Zhong's hand froze on his beard, and he abruptly plucked out several strands.
Ignoring the beard he had painstakingly cared for over hundreds of years, he stared wide-eyed at Xiao Jixue as though he had seen a ghost.
What the hell! When did Ji Xue reach the late Nascent Soul stage?!
Wasn't he only at the middle Nascent Soul stage a few months ago?! Holy crap!
Fei Zhong hurried after him. Only after examining Xiao Jixue from every angle and confirming that his cultivation was extremely stable did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then a powerful sense of pride welled up in his heart.
Hahaha! As expected of the peerless prodigy at the top of the Heavenly Prodigy Rankings! Not only did he advance quickly, but his cultivation and mental state were both rock-solid!
Upon arriving at Talisman Peak, Tang Yan immediately noticed an unusually large crowd.
Not only had a great many direct disciples from the various peaks come, but plenty of ordinary inner disciples had turned up as well.
And in corners Tang Yan knew nothing about, quite a few senior figures—peak masters and elders—were hiding.
The moment Fei Zhong stepped into the void, he nearly collided with Xu You, Jiang Mei, and the others concealed there.
Fei Zhong said, "...Do you all have that much free time?"
Xu You and the others replied, "Just do your job. Why are you so nosy?"
Talisman Peak was holding a small competition that day. Any inner disciple who had studied talisman crafting could participate.
Tang Yan followed Xiao Jixue to one side and leisurely took a seat.
As soon as he sat down, Feng Sheng, Li Mo, and their fellow disciple hurried over to sit, followed by some direct disciples from the other peaks.
At the head of the gathering, Li Rong, the Deputy Peak Master of Talisman Peak, sat in the seat of honor.
He stole a glance at Tang Yan before speaking at an unhurried pace.
"The Peak Master has important business to attend to, so I will preside over today's competition. All right, it's getting late. Let's begin."
As his words fell, the dozen or so disciples taking part in the first round brought out talisman paper and deftly began their preparations.
As Tang Yan watched, he suddenly spotted two familiar faces among the competitors.
Huh? Gu Qingling and Qiu Ziyuan from Pill Peak are here too?
Caught off guard by that familiar inner voice, Gu Qingling and Qiu Ziyuan felt their hearts clench and their legs tremble.
They wailed inwardly, Seriously? Again?!!
The two cursed inwardly. Damn it! If we'd known Tang Yan was coming, we wouldn't have entered this competition!
Everyone else thought, Hmm? Is there gossip about these two?
They struggled to contain the excitement and eagerness on their faces.
Hohoho! Tell us, tell us!
Tang Yan had already heard all their gossip yesterday, so he glanced at the two before looking away.
Gu Qingling and Qiu Ziyuan noticed Tang Yan withdraw his gaze, and that maddening inner voice did not ring out again.
They let out long sighs of relief, as though they had narrowly escaped death.
Qiu Ziyuan even made an exaggerated show of wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
As for the disciples who had not gone to Pill Peak yesterday and had missed that explosive gossip, they were rather bewildered.
Once they realized they might have missed something juicy, their hearts filled with disappointment and regret.
Xu You and the others watching from the void also looked deeply disappointed.
Judging by this, they had missed quite a bit of gossip after leaving yesterday.
The competition proceeded smoothly. Suddenly, Tang Yan saw a handsome man in azure-blue enchanted robes walk in.
It was none other than Ye Sheng, the Peak Master of Artifact Peak.
Ye Sheng walked over and sat beside his friend Li Rong. In addition to sword cultivation, he also practiced artifact forging and talisman crafting.
He had heard that Talisman Peak was holding a small competition, and since he happened to be free that day, he had come to take a look.
Ye Sheng had only just sat down and was about to speak to Li Rong.
The next instant, the smile on his face abruptly froze.
Hmm? Martial Uncle Ye Sheng has some juicy gossip?
The moment those words rang out, the disciples watching the competition in utter boredom snapped upright.
Their eyes lit up with an intense thirst for gossip.
Ahhh! Suddenly, I'm not sleepy anymore!
Junior Brother Tang really is a miracle cure for drowsiness!
Even Li Rong whipped his head around to look at his friend Ye Sheng, an indecently eager grin creeping across his face.
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