"The three places in this trial go to Xiao Qian, ranked first in the Inner Sect; Yun Yang, ranked second; and Yun Yu, ranked third."
Great Elder Yun Leng stood atop the raised platform, straight as a pine, his gaze blazing like a torch as he slowly surveyed the densely packed disciples below. His voice rang out like a great bell, powerful and resonant, echoing across the open grounds and reaching every ear with perfect clarity.
In an instant, everyone's eyes shot like arrows toward the three disciples whose names had been called.
This was also Xiao Qian's first time seeing the legendary Great Elder Yun Leng since entering the Misty Cloud Sect.
Yun Leng wore a long robe embroidered with intricate cloud patterns.
His face was stern and rigid, without a trace of a smile, and his eyes held an authority tempered by the vicissitudes of years.
For some reason, as Xiao Qian stared at him, an odd feeling stirred in his heart. He muttered inwardly, This old bastard doesn't look like a good man.
Perhaps it was because Yun Leng's seemingly mild gaze kept drifting over him, almost imperceptibly, like a cold snake sliding across his skin.
Trusting his sixth sense, Xiao Qian could hardly call his first impression of the man a good one.
"And... Yun Yang? Yun Yu?" Xiao Qian frowned slightly.
He instinctively turned toward the young man and woman standing beside him. They were Yun Yang, ranked second in the Inner Sect, and Yun Yu, ranked third, who had just been announced as the other recipients of the trial places.
The two looked about the same age as Xiao Qian, and both were strikingly attractive.
The young man had sword-like brows and star-bright eyes, his sharp, heroic bearing like an unsheathed blade; the young