As Shi Chun rapidly approached the sects gathered near the ground, he was still weighing how to slip among them without overdoing it. The sudden arrival of Zuo Zisheng's group drew his gaze, and his body instinctively moved with them.
It was a split-second reaction. While the sects' attention was inevitably drawn to the arrival of the Three Great Sects, he darted out as well, brazenly landing right behind them.
The newcomers' formation had some thought behind it. The Heavenforging Sect led the way and covered both flanks, the Treasure-Evolving Sect brought up the rear, and the Summer Path Mountain contingent seemed somewhat surrounded in the middle.
Under normal circumstances, no sect would willingly put itself in such an unfavorable position.
Shi Chun knew the people of Summer Path Mountain all too well, from their clothing to the figures and faces of Gu Liani and the others. After all, they had spent so long together. A quick glance before landing was enough for him to recognize their predicament, even though Gu Liani appeared to be one of the leaders, standing at the very front with Zuo Zisheng and the others.
The last to land, Shi Chun also landed at the very rear, right behind the Treasure-Evolving Sect contingent.
A few people at the rear of the Treasure-Evolving Sect instinctively glanced back. Seeing this masked figure stroll calmly toward another sect's people and nod to them in greeting, they assumed he knew them and stopped paying attention.
In truth, Shi Chun had barely greeted anyone beside him. He merely nodded to the people of a neighboring sect and, with his back to the Treasure-Evolving Sect's watching eyes, made a seemingly casual gesture asking to pass.
Though he appeared composed, his mind was still unsettled by a glance from moments earlier, leaving