Deep in the cold pool, the hornless flood dragon opened its eyes…
“Congratulations on passing the Cloud Ascension Ladder. The third test will begin tomorrow. Rest tonight, five people per room.”
The cultivators in charge of arrangements began assigning rooms: “Yan Mingchuan, Lu Yunqi, Zhong Daochen, Yue Feng, Su Ye…”
Gu Er waited quietly, and soon she heard her name: “Zhao Yao, Shen Xun’an, Zhong Daoxue, Wen Lian, Gu Er…”
The sky was still bright, and the children who had been assigned rooms were already huddled inside, chattering away in lively excitement.
Gu Er lifted her foot and followed the senior sister leading the way to the last room.
The wooden cabin prepared by Lingyun Sect was rustic yet elegant. Inside, rows of wide beds were neatly arranged, each with a small wooden table beside it, a lamp resting steadily on top.
In a corner of the windowsill, incense was burning, wisps of blue smoke rising from the burner, curling and lingering without dispersing, a soothing sight.
The girls sharing the room with Gu Er were all quite famous, having shone brilliantly in the second test.
One was Wen Lian of the Wen family, with a water spiritual root. She was the second daughter of the City Lord of Guxue City, the one who had sat beside Gu Er on the White Crane.
The girl wore light blue robes, the hem embroidered with white butterflies poised for flight, draped in a layer of white gauze. Her ink-black hair was gently pinned up, a silver hairpin slanting through it. Her smile was charming, her eyes bright and alluring.
Another was Zhao Yao, with a fire spiritual root, from unknown origins. She was the girl in red Gu Er had seen during the spiritual root test, radiating an aloofness that kept others at arm’s length.
Her long hair fell straight to her ankles, and she wore a seven-layered brocade gauze robe in a vivid orange, threaded with gold that dazzled the eye. Golden strands traced a phoenix along the hem, and a silver bell hung from her forehead, occasionally letting out a crisp ring.
Gu Er looked at her and felt a strange sense of familiarity, yet no matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t recall where she’d seen her before.
The moment Zhong Daoxue stepped into the room, her eyes sparkled like stars, and she lunged straight for the nearest bed, exclaiming, “Oh my god, this bed is way too comfortable!”
With that, she rolled over twice on the bed, then patted the pillow excitedly, turning her head to shout at Shen Xun’an, “Xun’an, come lie down too!”
Shen Xun’an frowned slightly at the words and chided softly, “Xiao Xue, mind your manners.”
Hearing this, Zhong Daoxue instantly deflated, muttering with a helpless look, “Come on, Sister Xun’an, we’re not at home. Don’t keep that stiff face all day, I’m begging you, alright? Besides, there are little sisters here too!” As she spoke, her gaze landed on Gu Er and Zhao Yao.
Little sister Gu Er: “…”
True enough, right now, she did look pretty young.
Gu Er lifted her eyes to Shen Xun’an. She was the second daughter of the Shen family, one of the three great clans. The Shen family was based in Jinling City, and they were old friends of the Zhong family.
Zhong Daoxue scrambled up from the bed and trotted over to Gu Er with cheerful steps.
Suddenly, the girl’s eyes lit up, and her small, delicate face leaned close to Gu Er as she said enthusiastically, “Little sister, what’s your name? Let’s get to know each other, I’m Zhong Daoxue.”
“My name is Gu Er,” Gu Er said. She had a pair of soulful eyes, and now she gazed directly at Zhong Daoxue, as if the other girl was the only one in her sight, impossible to refuse, easy to drown in.
The latter felt her cheeks flush slightly under the stare, awkwardly averting her gaze and clearing her throat, trying to make her tone sound more natural: “I’m probably older than you. Since we’re sharing a room now, how about you call me Sister Daoxue from now on?”
Gu Er, who was actually nineteen: “…”
“Okay, Sister Daoxue,” she replied obediently anyway, since this body’s age was indeed younger than the other girl’s.
Zhong Daoxue was delighted. She was a total sucker for good looks and couldn’t help gravitating toward anyone pretty.
At home, she was the youngest, with the lowest rank in the family hierarchy. On any given day, she had to respectfully address everyone as elder brother or elder sister.
Now that she’d finally found a younger sister who was both smaller and adorable, she naturally wanted to savor the feeling of being the older one.
If she weren’t afraid of scaring the girl, she’d have planted a kiss on Gu Er’s cheek right then and there.
The girl was still savoring the moment. Her gaze drifted to Zhao Yao beside her, and she asked with a smile, “Little sister, what’s your name?”
Zhao Yao gave her a cold glance and spat out a few words: “Zhao Yao. And don’t call me little sister.”
Zhong Daoxue pouted. Such a pretty sister, but so icy, no fun at all.
Then her gaze turned to the last one: “Sister Wen, long time no see. Why did you come to Lingyun Sect? Don’t the children of your family always go to Qingmiao Sect?”
Guxue City was in Baijin Province, nestled by the highland snow mountains. The Wen family had close ties with Qingmiao Sect, so their children typically entered Qingmiao Sect directly.
“Sister Daoxue, long time no see. Most of my family’s elders cultivate at Qingmiao Sect, but I personally prefer Lingyun Sect,” Wen Lian replied.
A few of them still wanted to chat for a while longer, but since it was already time to sleep, they had no choice but to call it a night.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, another night was over.
Early the next morning, just as the faint light of dawn began to spill over Cangxian Mountain, the senior brothers and sisters hurried from room to room, waking the children in each one.
By early morning, the mountainside of Cangxian was packed with people.
The children all wore tense expressions, filled with anxiety about today’s spirit herb gathering test, unable to stop whispering among themselves.
“Whoa… I’m so scared! I spent the whole night worrying about failing the third trial, so nervous I couldn’t sleep at all!” a small, thin child said in a trembling voice.
“Oh, give it a rest! Last night, you were the one in our room who slept the deepest, snoring and all!”
“…”
“Big brother, I’m scared… What if I don’t pass the test? I don’t want to be separated from you!” a little girl in yellow clothes said, her eyes reddening as she nervously tugged at the hem of the boy beside her.
“Don’t worry, little sis. Once your big brother gets into Lingyun Sect, I’ll send you a letter every month without fail!” the boy vowed, thumping his chest.
“…Get lost.”
The children were of varying heights, a sea of bobbing heads, and Gu Er stood quietly among the crowd, waiting for the cultivators to speak.
“The final trial is to gather spirit herbs in Lingyou Valley. There’s an illusion array set up inside, but as long as you pick the herbs and don’t wander off, there’s not much danger.”
“Five children will form a group to collect spirit herbs. The top four groups with the most herbs will earn the right to enter the inner sect of Lingyun Sect. Remember, herbs cannot be transferred to other groups, and groups cannot provide substantial help to one another, everything depends on you alone!” After Qiao Jiayan finished speaking, she quickly formed hand seals and opened the barrier of Lingyou Valley.
In an instant, a rich fragrance of medicinal herbs and a chill rushed forth, and the children filed into the valley one after another.
Gu Er entered the valley alone.
Senior Sister Qiao’s talk about grouping hadn’t specified who could be in which group, so she needed to find partners herself.
“System, didn’t you say we were going to brave an illusion realm? How did it turn into gathering spirit herbs?” Gu Er asked, puzzled.
[I’m not too sure either, just a different entrance exam. Right now, you need to quickly find others to team up with and gather the herbs together.]
“What if I just team up with the male lead?” Gu Er said eagerly, glancing at Yan Mingchuan standing not far away.
If she latched onto the male lead’s coattails, getting into the inner sect would be a piece of cake.
The Zhong siblings and Shen Xun’an, who had known each other since childhood, naturally formed a group, leaving two spots open.
Zhong Daoxue, sharp-eyed, spotted Zhao Yao not far away and immediately waved enthusiastically, calling out loudly, “Zhao Yao, want to join our group?”
As expected, the child in red didn’t even turn her head, she flicked her long red skirt and walked straight off.
Zhong Daoxue didn’t think much of it. She was about to turn and ask Gu Er when she suddenly felt a light tug on her sleeve.
“Miss Zhong, c-could I join your group?” a timid voice came, laced with deep unease and nervousness.
Zhong Daoxue looked down and saw a small, thin figure.
The child wore tattered clothes splattered with mud. Her arms were bony, her hair was uneven and messy like a bird’s nest, and her small eyes were full of cautious wariness.
The little girl was so nervous that her hand trembled, and she accidentally left a few obvious mud smudges on Zhong Daoxue’s sleeve. Her face went pale with fright, and she hastily let go, hiding her hands behind her back, her voice tinged with tears: “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
Zhong Daoxue was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a bright smile. She casually wiped the mud off her sleeve and laughed, saying, “It’s fine. Since you want to join, come along then.”
The little girl never expected her to actually agree. Her small eyes lit up instantly, her face brimming with surprise, and with a “thud,” she dropped to her knees, her voice trembling with excitement: “Thank you, Miss Zhong!”
Seeing this, the other children, who had been suppressing their own desires, were ignited and quickly crowded around.
“Miss Zhong, can I be in your group too?”
“Miss Zhong, I want to join your group as well, I’m pretty hardworking!”
Some even turned their gaze to Zhong Daochen and called out, “Young Master Zhong, I want in too!”
Zhong Daoxue was flustered by the sudden scene. She had originally planned to save the last spot for Gu Er.
She looked up helplessly at her brother, then turned to Gu Er.
She saw Gu Er sneakily shuffling toward Yan Mingchuan. Noticing Zhong Daoxue’s gaze, Gu Er stopped, turned her head with a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips, and gently shook her head: “It’s alright, Sister Daoxue.”
Just as Gu Er was a single step away from Yan Mingchuan, her fingers about to touch his sleeve, a hand suddenly grabbed her sleeve out of nowhere.
“?” Gu Er was full of confusion. First they grabbed Zhong Daoxue, and now her? She was just a useless nobody.
Gu Er turned her head and saw a child dressed in light purple robes clutching tightly at her. The child’s eyes seemed veiled by a thin layer of gauze, clearly unfocused.
Gu Er understood in an instant, this child had poor eyesight and had probably grabbed the wrong person.
She gently turned the child toward the Zhong siblings and said, “Little one, the Zhong siblings are over there. You grabbed the wrong person, I can’t help you pass the level.”
“I didn’t grab the wrong person. There are too many people over there, and I’m scared,” the child said, biting his lip slightly, looking a bit shy. “Sister, can I be on your team?”
Gu Er suddenly realized: so he’s socially anxious.
Gu Er didn’t want to invite trouble, but seeing the child’s pitiful expression, she somehow softened.
“Alright then.” Gu Er scratched her head, thinking she’d bring the child along and send a team invitation to the male lead, Yan Mingchuan.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness.
Gu Er’s cold roommate, Zhao Yao, also came over, followed by that young man in green robes with a warm, gentle demeanor.
“Together?” Zhao Yao was sparing with her words, her voice cool and crisp.
“Huh?” Wasn’t her good roommate a lone wolf?
“Team up?” Zhao Yao frowned slightly, as if a bit impatient, and repeated herself.
“Oh, oh, sure.” Gu Er rarely meddled in others’ affairs, mainly because she simply wasn’t good at refusing others’ kindness, and she almost instinctively agreed.
“System, it looks like we won’t be able to get close to the male lead this time.” Gu Er silently communicated with the system in her mind.
Glancing around, their side already had four people, while Yan Mingchuan’s side currently had two, so there was no way to form a five-person team.