With the First Immortal Sect’s grand ceremony approaching, the busiest were not the prodigies who would appear during the event, but the outer disciples responsible for its preparation.
For the past half month, they had risen in the latter half of the night to head to the side peaks where the ceremony would be held, working under the strict supervision of the instructors. No one dared slack off.
Though the instructors had accepted Ning Suyi’s favors and assigned the two of them lighter tasks, the sort of idle loafing they once managed was no longer possible.
Yu Wei was exhausted every day.
She had always been somewhat nocturnal. The little cat demon liked to read storybooks by lamplight late into the night and make up for sleep in the afternoon. Now everything was in disarray.
She was sleepy by day and sleepy by night. Without Ning Suyi waking her, she likely would not have made it up in the middle of the night at all.
Such days were unbearable. In only half a month, Yu Wei felt herself on the verge of breaking down. Forget turning back into a cat, she could barely sleep properly.
She even began to wonder if stress would make her shed fur. If not for Ning Suyi’s daily barrage of sugary comforts far more than before—the little cat demon might have already run away.
Yet compared to her own half-dead state, Yu Wei could keenly sense that the other outer disciples around her were filled with excitement and pride. Not a single one complained. Instead, they were enthusiastic, as though preparing the grand ceremony was an honor.
The center of the First Immortal Sect was its towering main peak and several subsidiary peaks, surrounded by the six inner sect mountains like stars around the moon. Beyond those lay the twelve outer mountains where outer disciples resided.
Their peaks were the lowest. Aside from performing menial duties, they were not permitted to enter the inner mountains, let alone the main peak.
Many outer disciples would gaze toward the inner mountains and the sect’s center, hoping that one day they might break through the barrier and ascend to the inner sect—drawing closer to the heavens.
Yu Wei naturally could not understand such yearning. In her eyes, everyone else was brimming with energy and resolve. Even after such exhausting labor, they maintained habits of reading and cultivation. Some even trained extra, sleeping only one or two hours a day.
These people were terrifying.
At last, amid the little cat demon’s languishing misery, the day of the grand ceremony arrived.
Before dawn broke, every mountain gate of the First Immortal Sect had already stirred. Tens of thousands of disciples rose in the silent darkness, washed, and stepped into the cool mountain mist.
Clouds drifted, the moon hanging low among the treetops.
Yu Wei, once more alert at night than day had been worn down to the point of perpetual drowsiness. Her mind barely functioned. She rose groggily, knowing only that Ning Suyi held her hand as they merged into the river of disciples.
She trudged forward numbly until the crowd suddenly halted.
Looking up, she realized they had reached the summit. All the outer disciples of their peak had gathered, facing the direction of the main peak.
From outer to inner sect, disciples from eighteen mountains stood in solemn ranks atop their respective summits.
Yu Wei brushed Ning Suyi’s palm, silently asking what was happening. Ning Suyi said nothing, only tightened her grip.
The silence was absolute.
Then a solemn voice rang out, enveloping the entire sect.
“Observe the rites of discipleship, pay homage to the Sword Venerable Patriarch—”
All disciples bent forward in salute.
Yu Wei was still confused when Ning Suyi tugged her sleeve, prompting her to bow as well, lest she attract attention by standing upright.
Only after the outer disciples dispersed for breakfast did Ning Suyi quietly explain, stroking the girl’s head.
“Before any major affair begins, we pay respects to the Sword Venerable Patriarch. It’s tradition.”
Yu Wei kicked a pebble aside and muttered, “I don’t like him.”
“Who?” Ning Suyi blinked before realizing she meant the Sword Venerable Patriarch. “You mustn’t let others hear that.”
Even if Yu Wei never paid attention in class, the name Xie Jianbai had forcefully carved out a portion of her memory.
He was the founder of the First Immortal Sect, and its strict, impersonal rules were said to have been written by him personally, over two hundred sixty pages’ worth.
The sect itself felt like an unbreakable cage.
And its master was Xie Jianbai.
Today, the Sword Venerable—who had ascended nine thousand years ago earned yet another grievance in Yu Wei’s heart.
“What kind of narcissist makes people wake up in the middle of the night just to bow?” she grumbled softly.
From this day onward, the grand ceremony would last half a month, primarily featuring inner sect trials. The chief disciples of various elders would appear in the final days.
Ning Suyi secured errands on the side peak during this period so she could sneak Yu Wei in to watch the matches, hoping to spark her interest in cultivation.
The trials were held at Hundred Refinements Peak, surrounded by viewing pavilions for guests. The best seats belonged to the sect master, elders, and visiting leaders.
They slipped into an empty pavilion, encountering other disciples doing the same.
The third-floor window offered a perfect view.
Yet Yu Wei remained uninterested. The moment the battles began below, her head started nodding in drowsiness.
This continued until the final days, when prodigies from friendly sects arrived for friendly sparring, the highlight of the ceremony.
Today, as Ning Suyi watched Yu Wei begin to yawn, the girl suddenly froze mid-breath. Her eyes widened as she stared at the trial platform.
It was their sect’s chief disciple, Song Xueshen, sparring with another.
When the match ended, cheers erupted.
“Not bad,” Ning Suyi praised, noticing Yu Wei was still watching. “Interested in the Xuantian sword technique?”
“He was the one who brought me here,” Yu Wei said, resting her chin in her hands. “And he’s so handsome. Such a good person.”
Ning Suyi felt a flicker of alarm.
“…You didn’t trust me at first just because I’m pretty, did you?”
“Yes,” Yu Wei replied matter-of-factly.
Ning Suyi: …
As they whispered, another figure stepped onto the platform.
A young man in dark robes stood there, sleeves bound tight. His brows were deep-set, his expression cold as mountain snow—distant, austere, impossibly handsome.
Yu Wei’s heart skipped.
Then something stranger stirred.
As a human, she was dull and forgetful. But as a demon, her instincts were sharper than any beast’s.
From this young man, she felt an inexplicable closeness as though an unseen thread bound them.
At that very moment, Yu Chengyan seemed to sense something as well and lifted his gaze.
Across countless inner disciples and a vast distance, he saw the girl in the pavilion.
Her eyes were clear and beautiful, her pale hand supporting a face he knew better than his own memory, only younger.
Yu Chengyan froze as though struck by lightning.
A sharp buzz filled his mind.