Coming out from the wooden door of the Medicinal Herb Shop, Ji Wuye stepped back into the bustling street, squinting slightly as the bright midday sun replaced the shop's dim lighting. The cacophony of vendors hawking their wares, disciples milling around, and the murmurs of passersby washed over him.

'The deal is sealed. Now, I just need to wait,' Ji Wuye thought inwardly, while giving one last glance over his shoulder at the shop's sign. It was then that a pang of realization hit him - he had left Mu Lan Rou alone upstairs. His crimson eyes clouded over as memories of the previous timeline flooded back unbidden. He could vividly recall the aching hollowness, the nights spent sleepless as waves of anguish crested within him, just as Mu Lan Rou was suffering now.

'I needed a full 27 years... just to completely erase you from my life,' Ji Wuye's feet began carrying him back towards the Kunlun Sect of their own accord as his mind drifted.

Back on that cursed floor, trapped by the Tower challenge, he had spent his entire youth slipping into middle age, desperately trying to forget her - the betrayal, the way her eyes had softened with affection when gazing at Du Chen, her cheeks flushing like a smitten young maiden.

The memories caused his jaw to tighten - her delicate hands caressing Du Chen's face while Du Chen also shamelessly dallied with other women, flashing that infuriatingly smug smirk as he toyed with their feelings. Ji Wuye had to resist the urge to click his tongue in disgust. Though he shared Du Chen's disarmingly handsome visage, unlike Du Chen, he never wanted to embrace all the women in the world nor play with their feelings.

That was perhaps the starkest difference between them. Where Du Chen used his appearance to pursue fleeting conquests, leaving a trail of broken hearts, Ji Wuye took solace in the fact that he at least possessed an honest heart.

And yet, despite this, Mu Lan Rou had still ultimately chosen the caddish Du Chen over him.

But then, Ji Wuye gave a sardonic laugh to himself as realization dawned. 'When I think about it, it's obvious why she chose him.'

In that previous timeline, he and Du Chen were worlds apart - like clouds gracing the open sky versus mud trampled underfoot by the cruel hand of fate. Du Chen possessed it all - staggering martial power, devastatingly good looks, prodigious talent, fame that spread like wildfire, and wealth beyond measure. He was the quintessential perfect man admired by all.

However, the fact that Du Chen lost, the fact that fate said he was the one who carried the fate of Jianghu, not to mention losing to one man...

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What a joke.

'Forget it,' Ji Wuye shook his head, dismissing the bitter memories. As painful as that entrapment had been, it had also led him to that old man who helped him research how to instantly break the Unbreakable Vajra martial arts.

So lost was he in remembrance that Ji Wuye's feet had carried him up the winding path to the Kunlun Sect's entrance without realizing. He started slightly upon recognizing the guard - a familiar figure.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Wu," Ji Wuye called out, cupping his hands and dipping his head respectfully towards Wu Gao. The man who had once been rough on the exterior yet kindhearted now appraised him with narrowed eyes and a thin, insincere smile.

"Ah-ha, if it isn't Junior Brother Ji," Wu Gao's tone dripped with artificial joviality as discomfort rolled off him in waves. Ji Wuye matched it with a tight smile of his own.

"Where have you been? I rarely see you around these days. Slacking off again?" Wu Gao forced an awkward chuckle, attempting to ease the palpable tension.

"Haha, Senior Brother knows me too well," Ji Wuye replied with a wide grin, his laughter hollow. Inwardly, the false mirth felt like ash in his mouth.

The envious glint in Wu Gao's eyes that day when Elder Xia publicly doubted him had shattered Wu Gao's image in Ji Wuye's mind, not to mention his protest too...

Now, his Senior Brother's forced friendliness only rang hollow - the Wu Gao in this timeline had become an utter stranger in that moment of unveiled jealousy.

"Then, I shall take my leave," Ji Wuye said with a polite smile, cupping his hands once more before turning and walking away, leaving Wu Gao alone at the gate.

'Maybe because the past me in the previous timeline was weak, so...' he concluded inwardly, realizing the truth about his Senior Brother's personality that jealousy had laid bare.

Once out of Wu Gao's line of sight, Ji Wuye checked his surroundings before casually summoning the sack containing the medicinal herbs. He also withdrew the parchment detailing his next task, making his way towards the Hall of Order and Discipline.

...

So preoccupied were his thoughts that Ji Wuye failed to notice the changes to the sect grounds around him. The wild grasses had been neatly trimmed, the white marble pathway underfoot polished to an immaculate sheen. Stray petals, stones, and wooden chairs that usually littered the grounds were now arranged in an orderly fashion.

Even the disciples, mostly Outer Disciples, hurried this way and that, too absorbed in frantic preparations.

It was only when he arrived before the Hall's entrance, straightening his back, that his wandering attention finally returned to the present.

The familiar sight of the towering pillars holding aloft the tilted bamboo roof greeted him. But strangely, no disciples stood guard at the huge entrance doors.

Instead, a steady stream of figures flowed in and out, carrying all manner of items and giving the scene the appearance of a marketplace for a moment.

Outer and Official Disciples alike lugged large sacks, probably containing the same medicinal herbs or other materials akin to Ji Wuye's own, as well as ones carrying hanging creatures' heads, no doubt plundered from the Dungeons.

"The gathering..." Ji Wuye muttered under his breath, pushing open the doors to reveal the vast, vaulted chamber within, its immaculate white marble floors inlaid with the striking image of an inky black mountain at the center.

Wasting no time, he strode toward the long wooden counter extending the length of the wall behind which numerous disciples hunched, meticulously organizing towering stacks of parchments and scrolls.

The scene before Ji Wuye was one of barely controlled chaos. The volume of activity far exceeded anything he had seen before, and he found himself joining the back of a snaking line that seemed to stretch endlessly.

'This will take a long time,' he sighed inwardly, craning his neck to gauge just how many disciples were ahead of him. At a conservative estimate, his position was easily sixtieth in the queue.

As the hours ticked by, the sun's fiery disc slowly sank below the horizon, ushering in the velvety night. Yet the line remained virtually undiminished despite the steady procession of disciples filing through.

Just when it seemed the tedious wait would stretch into the early hours, a clear voice rang out, instantly cutting through the dull roar. "Everyone, we are done for today! Please come back tomorrow!"