There was no suspense at all: Ping Yongjia chose Divine End Peak, and no one had a chance to see his talent for the Sword Dao.
Martial Aunt Mei Li and Lin Wuzhi exchanged smiles again. They had done their best for Qingrong Peak and Heavenly Light Peak; there was nothing more they could do.
Before the Sword Inheritance Assembly had even ended, Yuan Qu led Ping Yongjia away amid those reluctant gazes.
Upon reaching Divine End Peak Summit, Yuan Qu told him to wait there, then hurriedly turned and ran down the mountain, presumably to explain something to Junior Sister Yushan.
The summit was deserted, with patches of snow still lingering.
Ping Yongjia was very nervous, but he did not show it on his face, because he did not know whether the legendary Jing Jiu and Zhao Layue were watching him from somewhere.
Before long, Gu Qing came out of the Dao Hall and said to him, "I went into seclusion in autumn and forgot to notify you. Fortunately, you didn't forget."
Ping Yongjia hurriedly bowed, thinking that it was hardly a matter of not forgetting: all the credit belonged to his own boldness and greed. Naturally, he could not say any of this aloud.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Gu Qing smiled and said, "Are you curious why Master chose you?"
Ping Yongjia nodded repeatedly. Naturally, he now knew that the young man and woman he had met when climbing Sword Peak last year were the two elders of Divine End Peak, but being admitted to Divine End Peak on that basis alone still felt rather strange. He wondered whether he had stumbled upon something he should not have seen.
Gu Qing asked, "Do you know how high up the two elders were cultivating in seclusion on Sword Peak?"