The early morning mist clung to the jagged peaks of the mountains as Ye Che, Su Mingyue, and the others grouped up and assembled at the sect’s western gate.
Gu Changsheng stood beside Dong Mulan, who was now clad in the pristine robes of a personal disciple, the symbolization on her chest gleaming.
"That is Senior Brother Ye?"
Dong Mulan muttered softly, her voice only heard by Gu Changsheng. Just as he was about to nod, she continued without a hitch.
"He’s quite ugly to look at."
He almost stuffed his hand into her mouth at that, hurriedly shutting her up. His eyes were pleading with her not to say anything rude.
Luckily, Ye Che was standing quite a bit away, and as Dong Mulan had said it particularly sotto voce, he hadn’t heard her.
Just then, Elder Ye, whom they had been waiting for, finally arrived, flying toward them.
Gu Changsheng and Dong Mulan were left stunned, as this was their first time seeing someone flying.
Elder Ye, seeing that all of them had arrived, wasted no time as he proclaimed,
"Since all of you are here, then let us depart!"
But this sentence took away all of Gu Changsheng’s daze. He looked around; it was just them, Senior Brother Ye, and the two senior sisters.
Where were the ladies Elder Ye talked about—Wait...
He looked at Elder Ye for confirmation, which Elder Ye understood, giving him a mind message.
"These two little lasses are the ones I was talking about."
Not focusing on such a fascinating power, he instead finally understood just how deeply he had gone.
He knew at this moment, he f*cked up.
He quickly decided to keep his mouth shut. If any of the involved parties knew of his game, he would be slapped by one and kicked by another.
As he pondered how to solve this mess, Elder Ye lifted them all into the sky, enveloping the ground beneath them with his energy before tearing it away from the earth.
Dong Mulan, who was experiencing this for the first time, squeaked in a mixture of fear and excitement, her fingers digging into Gu Changsheng’s arm as she looked down at the world shrinking beneath them.
Gu Changsheng held her close, whispering reassurances in her ear, though he himself was trying to ignore the problem in his face.
Su Mingyue and Ning Rongrong clearly knew of Ye Che’s wrongdoings from the crypt and weren’t thrilled to be on the same expedition.
But it was an opportunity given by Elder Ye, so they couldn’t help but accept it.
The journey was swift, the landscape blurring beneath them. In less than a few hours, the familiar green mountains and valleys of the Cloud Piercing Sect’s territory gave way to a harsher, more rugged landscape.
When they reached the place where the Sword Sect was located, what came into view was a deep canyon. It cut into the earth as if by a celestial blade, so deep that its bottom was lost in shadow.
A waterfall cascaded down one side, its roar a constant, thunderous presence that vibrated through the surroundings.
And at the far end, a massive sword, easily a hundred feet long, was thrust into the canyon wall, its hilt forming a bridge to a set of ornate gates carved directly into the rock.
This was the entrance to the Sword Sect.
As they landed, a group of disciples, dressed in stark bronze robes, were already waiting for them.
They stood in perfect formation, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, their gazes sharp and appraising.
Leading them was a young woman, her hair tied back in a severe topknot. Her face was sharp and angular, with a scar that ran from her left temple to her cheekbone.
She carried an aura of authority, her presence as sharp and cold as the steel sheathed at her waist.
Elder Ye stepped forward, a warm smile on his face, which was not reciprocated.
"Elder Jian," he said, his voice booming. "It’s been too long. I hope the Sword Sect has been well."
"Elder Ye, the Sword Sect is just as sharp and unyielding as it always was."
The woman replied, her voice clipped and devoid of warmth. Her eyes, a piercing shade of grey, swept over his disciples, lingering for a moment on Ye Che before moving on.
Gu Changsheng felt a shiver run down his spine. This Elder Jian was definitely a formidable elder of the Sword Sect.
Elder Ye, however, seemed unfazed by her chilly reception.
"Good, good! That is the spirit of the Sword Sect we all admire!"
He said, clapping his hands together.
"I’ve brought some of my own promising disciples for a friendly exchange, to give them a chance to learn from the Sword Sect disciples!"
Elder Jian’s gaze swept over them again, her expression unimpressed.
"Very well then!"
She said, spitting out only a few words that dripped with condescension, then gestured for them to follow along.
She turned sharply, her robes flaring out behind her as she led them across the sword-hilt bridge and through the ornate gates.
The group couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease and nervousness as they walked behind her.
As they passed through the gates, Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but marvel at the view before him.
The Sword Sect’s grounds were a testament to their philosophy. Everything was sharp and filled with aggressiveness.
Unlike the Cloud Piercing Sect, the Sword Sect was built underground. Going through the gate, they saw multiple cave-like structures that were brightly lit by some unknown crystals.
As they went further down a certain way, the path widened, revealing a large, open-air arena carved into the stone.
It was a circular space, perhaps a hundred feet in diameter, with tiered stone seats rising on all sides.
The ground was smooth, black rock, polished to a mirror shine, though there were quite a few slashes marked across it.
"This is the Sword Arena!"
Elder Jian announced, her voice echoing in the vast space, carrying a bit of pride in it.