The Yikun Sect.
"The Seven Peaks Sword Gathering now officially begins!"
"Will the peak masters please lead their disciples forward to draw their match tokens!"
The resounding voice rang through the valley.
Cultivators kept arriving at the Main Peak from all directions.
A man, an ox, and a cat walked slowly along the mountain path.
With the token Qian He had given them, the disciples did not stop them.
Qian He had even specially arranged for an Outer Sect Disciple to guide Li Ping'an and his companions.
"The Seven Peaks Sword Gathering is a big occasion. It isn't just our Yikun Sect-people from other sects are invited every time..."
As the disciple walked, he introduced the Seven Peaks Sword Gathering to Li Ping'an.
Li Ping'an listened closely, chiming in with a word or two now and then.
Kitten had taken the form of a little girl. The steps wound and twisted all the way down.
The little girl hopped down one step at a time, never seeming to tire.
Once they had grown a little more familiar, the disciple asked curiously.
"Say, it seems Senior Brother Zhang Yuan has some grievance with you, fellow Daoist?"
Li Ping'an smiled. "Just a few trifling matters, nothing worth mentioning."
The man nodded and said, "Senior Brother Zhang Yuan is petty and fiercely competitive.
"His explosive temper is famous throughout the Yikun Sect. You had best be careful."
Li Ping'an asked casually, "I saw that he was quite diligent about slaying demons and vanquishing evil."
The disciple snorted. "Senior Brother Zhang Yuan can't tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes. As Falling Chess Peak's senior disciple, he's always beating and berating the disciples under him.
"They often get a scolding from him over the smallest thing.
"Yet his own conduct is often