The flying sword sliced through the air, creating a whistling wind. Su Shi'er stood at the end, curiously looking down to see the village below quickly turning into a small black dot.

As far as the eye could see, the earth rose and fell, mountains stretched endlessly, and rivers converged, presenting a magnificent view.

Su Shi'er's pupils contracted, realizing for the first time just how vast this world truly was. Thinking of the nameless black-clothed person, his heart filled with anger and a sense of uncertainty about the future.

At the front of the flying sword, Han Yu stood tall and proud, appearing mature and composed. Yet, his clenched fists revealed a hint of nervousness.

In contrast, the other three were in a worse state. Crouching on the flying sword, they huddled together, trembling with fear. After all, they were just young children, and this high-altitude flight, with the wind howling in their ears, terrified them.

Seeing this, the woman smiled and began to talk about the Cloud Song Sect, helping everyone to relieve their stress.

From her words, they learned that the sect they were joining was a cultivation sect on the outskirts of the Azure Mountain range, known as the Cloud Song Sect.

Within the Cloud Song Sect, there were seven peaks: Heavenly Unique, Heavenly Splendor, Heavenly Melody, Cloud Terrace, Rising Sun, Falling Anser, and Luofu. Externally, the Cloud Song Sect was a unified entity, but internally, it was divided into seven factions based on these peaks. Each peak had its own Peak Lord who managed it.

Among them, Heavenly Unique Peak was the main peak and rarely recruited disciples. The other six peaks would recruit disciples with spirit roots from the mortal world every three to five years.

The elder before them was named Lu Mingshi, the Peak Lord of Luofu Peak in the Cloud Song Sect. After entering the sect, they would become his disciples. As for the woman, her name was Xiao Yue, Lu Mingshi's granddaughter and their senior sister.

The content Xiao Yue shared was somewhat difficult for the children, all no older than twelve, to fully grasp, but it clearly helped stabilize their emotions.

Su Shi'er listened intently, silently committing everything Xiao Yue said to memory. He knew his talent was lacking, so he had to work harder and be more diligent than others.

However, he was puzzled by the fact that Xiao Yue and Lu Mingshi, though clearly grandfather and granddaughter, had different surnames.

Could it be... they weren't blood-related?

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With little experience, Su Shi'er could only speculate wildly in his mind!

Time flew by as the flying sword carried them for two full days.

***

On the morning of the third day, the flying sword passed through a dense fog, bringing them back to the Cloud Song Sect.

Looking as far as he could, he saw a vast expanse of mountains below, with countless peaks stretching endlessly.

Each peak was shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing. Among them, the seven tallest peaks were arranged like the Big Dipper.

Atop each of these seven peaks stood a grand and magnificent building, with unknown energies flowing around them, occasionally emitting dazzling brilliance.

Such a sight stirred everyone's emotions, quickly dispelling the sorrow of parting.

Su Shi'er gazed unblinkingly, immediately realizing that these must be the main peaks Xiao Yue had mentioned. However, he couldn't yet tell which peak corresponded to which name.

On the flying sword, Lu Mingshi and Xiao Yue visibly relaxed, smiling. Although they had recruited disciples for many years, each journey out of the mountains brought its own worries.

The world of cultivation was far from peaceful.

With a smile, Lu Mingshi controlled the flying sword, preparing to head towards the farthest peak.

At that moment.

"Senior Sister, what's that?" Su Shi'er pointed to a distant black dot, quickly asking.

As soon as he spoke, the black dot rapidly approached, and in the blink of an eye, a thirty-meter-long crimson ship sped through the sky.

At the bow of the ship stood a lean man in a crimson robe, his gaze sharp. On the deck behind him, a crowd of children, all about the same age as Su Shi'er and the others, could be seen.

There were over a hundred of them!!!

Before Xiao Yue could respond, the figure at the front of the ship spoke to Lu Mingshi.

"Senior Brother, I'm not going to eat you, so why are you in such a hurry to run away when you see me?"

"Run away from you? Fu Boren, who do you think you are? Please, have some dignity!" Lu Mingshi retorted with a smirk.

As he spoke, his eyes quickly scanned the over a hundred figures on the flying boat, his mouth twitching slightly.

Fu Boren was the Peak Lord of Heavenly Splendor Peak, and Heavenly Splendor Peak had always been at odds with Luofu Peak. Now, seeing that the other side had recruited so many disciples at once, Lu Mingshi couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy and jealousy, even if he didn't show it.

For a cultivation sect, disciples were the foundation of development. A faction with many disciples would inevitably see a significant increase in strength over the years.

"Heh, I do care about my dignity, Senior Brother. Whether you deliberately avoided me, I think you know best in your heart."

Fu Boren chuckled, his eyes quickly scanning the flying sword.

"But Senior Brother, your Luofu Peak is really getting worse year by year! How come you've only recruited five people this year? At this rate, I fear Luofu Peak will be extinct within a century!"

Lu Mingshi's face darkened, and he retorted, "Pah~ You can't expect ivory from a dog's mouth. In cultivation, quality is more important than quantity. Even if you recruit five hundred of those misfits, it won't matter."

Lu Mingshi, with his fiery temper, couldn't hold back after hearing this.

For years, Luofu Peak had been the weakest faction, and in the past, he lacked confidence when making such statements.

But this time, with Han Yu, a top-grade dual spirit root genius joining, Lu Mingshi was full of confidence.

"Quality over quantity, you say? So, for the newcomer trial in five years, your Luofu Peak is full of confidence?" Fu Boren eyed Lu Mingshi with a teasing smile.

Lu Mingshi retorted, "Hah, we were just letting you win before, got it?!"

Given Luofu Peak's situation, even with the addition of a genius like Han Yu, Lu Mingshi didn't have high hopes for the newcomer trial.

But no matter what, he couldn't lose face in front of his rival! Moreover, nurturing such a genius could bring him great prestige.

"Oh? It seems Senior Brother has recruited some promising talents this year? Why not share, so I can also learn?" Fu Boren detected the pride in Lu Mingshi's words and lowered his voice, his eyes slyly scanning Su Shi'er and the others.

"Learn? Dream on! Fu Boren, don't think I don't know what you're up to. Trying to poach my talents? No way!"

Lu Mingshi rolled his eyes and, with that, controlled the flying sword to streak towards the farthest peak.

At the bow of the flying boat, Fu Boren watched the sword's shadow disappear into the sky, his eyes reflecting a thoughtful look.

Then, he smiled slightly, steering the flying boat towards the second peak.