Now, in Earth Pass City on the eastern end of Earth Pass Island, walls stood beside the sea as though cast from iron. Its twenty-four gates were like the gaping mouths of great beasts, swallowing and disgorging cultivators in a scene of extraordinary bustle.
That day, at a quarter to eight in the morning, sunlight spilled across the sea, making the waves glitter.
Beneath the easternmost gate, marked "Zhen," a brother and sister struggled toward the entrance amid the jostling crowd.
Formations and cultivators of the Condensed Jade Sect surrounded them, and no one dared complain.
The elder brother was named Chang Qing. He looked to be in his thirties, and a mid-grade Dharma Sword hung at his waist.
His brows were slightly knitted, and a measure of anxiety showed on his face.
His younger sister, Chang Yao, looked no more than fifteen or sixteen. Her brows resembled distant, misty mountains, her eyes autumn waters, and every glance brimmed with lively grace.
Her slender, elegant figure drew repeated backward glances from several rogue cultivators nearby.
Noticing their gazes, Chang Yao timidly shrank behind her brother.
Just then, a Condensed Jade Sect disciple patrolling the wall happened to spot her. His eyes immediately fixed on her, staring so intently that he could not look away.
"Your turn!" The outer sect disciple guarding the formation waved the magical saber in his hand and shouted.
Chang Qing hastily took his sister by the hand and stepped forward.
A beam of five-colored light swept down from above the gate like lightning, landing squarely atop Chang Yao's head.
In an instant, white light flared above Chang Yao's head-a sign marking an unfamiliar face with neither household registration nor property.
The disciple guarding the formation rolled his eyes and jerked his mouth toward the side, saying