“Does Elder He mean... everything on the list?” Sect Leader Dan Juexing revealed a look of surprise as he received the list of adjustments to be made.

“At the Black Tortoise Sect, we trust our disciples to carry out their assignments in the best manner. I’m sure Yunxiao has his reasons for suggesting these changes,” He Luoxuan replied with a smile.

Standing behind him, Zhao Yunxiao had to consciously control his expression to prevent a wide smile from creeping across his face.

So this was how it felt to have an elder backing you up!

It was truly a feeling of invincibility!

“Oh, no, that’s not what I mean at all!” Dan Juexing realised that his emotions had shown and quickly waved his hands. “Since this is Elder He’s wish... Elder Ming, here, tell the kids to make the necessary adjustments.”

“Understood, Sect Leader,” Ming Leishang respectfully received the notes from Dan Juexing.

Even though he did not quite agree with the changes, he was definitely not intending to go against the wishes of both Dan Juexing and He Luoxuan.

Then again, it would be hard to decline anyway.

That one line from He Luoxuan had basically shut everyone up, giving them no other choice but to accept this as a foregone conclusion.

After he made such a clear statement, they could not possibly tell him to reconsider his trust in his disciples, could they?

Thinking up to this point, Ming Leishang could not help but sneak a glance at Zhao Yunxiao.

It was not a look of hostility, but one that was more of curiosity.

Just who was this disciple that He Luoxuan was choosing to defend in such an assertive manner?

Judging from the interaction between Song Xiaoqiao and Zhao Yunxiao, Zhao Yunxiao was obviously treating Song Xiaoqiao with deference.

Because of that, Ming Leishang had assumed that Zhao Yunxiao was just a random outer disciple of the Black Tortoise Sect who was recruited as just an attendant.

But could he be mistaken?

“I appreciate the kind hospitality, Sect Leader Dan,” He Luoxuan said apologetically.

“Not at all! This is your lecture after all, so things naturally should be done according to your wishes,” Dan Juexing shook his head. “Now that we are done with things here, would you like to come with me to pay respects to the Origin Lake Sect ancestors?”

“I should do that indeed,” He Luoxuan agreed. “Xiaoqiao, Yunxiao, I will be going with Sect Leader Dan to a restricted area, so you are not allowed to follow. Stay here and wait for my return.”

“Yes, Elder He!”

“Haha, we will probably spend half a day there, so simply waiting here will be too boring for the kids,” Ming Leishang laughed. “In the meantime, why don’t we have Li Teng show them around instead?”

“Hmm, that does sound like a good idea,” He Luoxuan nodded.

“Be sure to be respectful to both our guests Xiaoqiao and Yunxiao here,” Ming Leishang reminded Li Teng.

“Yes, Elder Ming!”

“Since we have some time right now, Xiaoqiao has a selfish request,” Song Xiaoqiao suddenly said.

“What is it?” He Luoxuan asked.

“Would it be possible for me to visit a friend at the female disciples’ quarters instead?” Song Xiaoqiao asked. “I will definitely be back within two hours.”

“Elder Ming, is there a restriction on outsiders for visiting the disciples’ quarters?” He Luoxuan asked Ming Leishang instead of answering.

“Haha, since our Xiaoqiao has friends in our Origin Lake Sect, there’s no reason to stop them from meeting,” Ming Leishang replied. “It is always a good thing for our disciples to build closer ties.”

“Can’t you see that Elder Ming is specially making an exception for you? Hurry and thank Elder Ming,” He Luoxuan finally nodded after getting Ming Leishang’s permission.

“Thank you, Elder Ming and Elder He,” Song Xiaoqiao respectfully answered.

With that, the inspection of the lecture hall officially came to an end, and the group departed from the lecture hall for their respective destinations.

“Is there anything that you are curious about or wish to see?” Li Teng asked. “Or do you want to go look for the rest of your companions?”

Now that he was left alone with Zhao Yunxiao, Li Teng appeared to be a lot more comfortable than when they first spoke.

“No, we don’t know how much time we have exactly, so let’s not go out of the way to meet up with them when we might have to leave anytime,” Zhao Yunxiao declined. “If it’s possible, I’d love to visit the sect library. But if it is out of bounds to outsiders like me, how about we go take a look at the training grounds?

“Sure, the trainings grounds then!” Li Teng conveniently ignored the comment on the sect library. “Come, I will bring you to take a look at the different trainings grounds we have!”

With Li Teng leading the way, Zhao Yunxiao casually followed along while carrying his bamboo backpack. At the same time, his eyes darted around busily as he meticulously took note of everything in his surroundings.

In his head, Zhao Yunxiao constantly compared what he was seeing to the map that Jun Chuan had passed to him before.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Not bad.

From what he had seen so far, Jun Chuan’s map was rather accurate indeed.

As expected of the famed Importer!

“You seem to understand Elder He very well, Brother Zhao,” Li Teng’s words broke his train of thoughts. “May I ask how long you have been following him?”

“It’s not like that at all,” Zhao Yunxiao shook his head with smile. “In fact, this is my first time acting as Elder He’s attendant.”

“You must be joking, Brother Zhao,” Li Teng let out a wry smile. “If that’s truly the case, you must have been really amazing for Elder He to vouch for you like that just now.”

Hearing those words made Zhao Yunxiao smile once again as he thought back to what happened earlier.

While Zhao Yunxiao was busy taking a trip down memory lane, Li Teng took his silence as a reluctance to continue this conversation, so he did not probe any further either.

“Up ahead will be our first stop – Jade Force Cliff,” Li Teng changed the topic.

“Jade Force Cliff?” Zhao Yunxiao mused. “What kind of training is done there?”

“Jade Force Cliff is where we train our endurance and fortitude,” Li Teng explained. “When we get closer, you will naturally understand how it works.”

Indeed, there was little need for further explanation as what Li Teng mentioned.

A huge jade emblem showed through on the face of a tall stone cliff, seemingly having been inserted deep into the cliff with only one side of it left exposed.

Inscribed on the surface of the jade emblem was a single word – Force.

Zhao Yunxiao did not know if it was coming from the word, the jade emblem, or the cliff itself, but a strong pressure bore down upon a huge square overlooked by the cliff.

The closer one was to the cliff, the stronger the pressure.

With that in mind, the method of training became clear as day.

It was similar to training at the Silver Rain Waterfall back at the Black Tortoise Sect, just that one had to physically get closer to the stone cliff instead of having the luxury of increasing the difficulty with a single tilt of the difficulty switch.

From afar, the square looked pitifully empty at the moment with only two disciples present.

Still, this did not seem to affect the two disciples who sat cross legged not far from each other as they silently endured the heavy pressure.

“There are usually a lot more people here,” Li Teng explained after guessing Zhao Yunxiao’s thoughts. “Everyone probably heard that you guys are coming and thus went to meet with your companions.”

Zhao Yunxiao nodded.

That made sense.

If the Black Tortoise Sect was welcoming special guests, many of the disciples would probably want to go take a look as well.

Considering that Hu Nan and the rest had already been out mingling with the disciples for a while, it was not surprising that most of them would have gone over by now.

On the other hand, these two disciples were probably the more stoic or determined ones – people who cared more about their own training than anything else.

Zhao Yunxiao had felt some pressure even while approaching the square, but this pressure suddenly skyrocketed the moment he took his first step onto the square itself.

Fortunately, it was not at an unbearable level just yet, so he could still continue forward – towards where the two disciples were seated.

With every step he took, Zhao Yunxiao felt the pressure on him increasing significantly.

At the same time, he visually calculated the distance between him and the two disciples.

If each step meant this much increase in pressure, then the pressure that those two disciples were withstanding must be...

The corner of Zhao Yunxiao’s lips curled up slightly.

“Wait, Brother Zhao! Those are...!”

Li Teng had thought that Zhao Yunxiao just wanted to try out the training ground himself, so he did not stop Zhao Yunxiao from entering.

By the time Li Teng realised what Zhao Yunxiao was trying to do and tried to stop him, it was already too late.

The two disciples had already discovered Zhao Yunxiao walking towards them, and slowly opened their eyes to look over.

When they noticed the sect robes on Zhao Yunxiao, their eyes instinctively narrowed.

“Greetings to both of you,” Zhao Yunxiao stopped approaching after seeing that he had gotten the attention of the two, and respectfully clasped his fists towards the two. “Zhao Yunxiao of the Black Tortoise Sect, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The two of them stood up upon receiving Zhao Yunxiao’s greeting, and clasped their fists in return.

“Zhou Qin, Origin Lake Sect.”

“Cui Junhe, Origin Lake Sect.”

Li Teng stood behind Zhao Yunxiao, not knowing what to say.

Or rather, he might have a lot to say, but he dared not say anything right now.

Both Zhou Qin and Cui Junhe were core disciples of the Origin Lake Sect. As an outer disciple, Li Teng would not have the qualifications to even chat with them on usual days!

He had slowly warmed up to Zhao Yunxiao along the way, but seeing Zhao Yunxiao converse with them as equals made Li Teng realise once again just who he had been chatting with all this time.

On the other hand, while Li Teng was feeling awed by Zhao Yunxiao, Zhou Qin and Cui Junhe were not impressed in the slightest.

Yes, the Origin Lake Sect was subordinate to the Black Tortoise Sect.

But as proud core disciples of the sect, they had never been ones to submit to others, and especially not to those who had yet to prove themselves.

Apart from the Smiling Swordsman or some of the other famed disciples, they did not think they were inferior to most of the disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect in any way whatsoever.

In their eyes, most of those disciples who were came from the Black Tortoise Sect were the prime example of people who relied solely on their illustrious background to act all important.

Expecting everyone to gather just because they wished to mingle with the disciples here?

What a joke!

That was the reason why they had remained here when most of the Origin Lake Sect disciples gathered around to meet their guests.

They simply had no interest in getting acquainted with people like that!

Who knew that this young disciple who called himself Zhao Yunxiao would actually end up coming all the way here?

For someone like that to specially approach them in the midst of their training, the duo felt both irritated and apprehensive.

After all, while they were not willing to show deference towards the disciples from the Black Tortoise Sect, they could not afford to blatantly offend them either.

Now then, what did this Black Tortoise Sect disciple want with them?

The duo had responded with a neutral tone, neither overly respectful nor overly deferential. But that alone was enough to tell Zhao Yunxiao everything he needed to know about their current stance.

If they were actually happy to see Zhao Yunxiao, they would surely be acting with a lot more enthusiasm right now.

But Zhao Yunxiao had expected as much.

As someone who would like to consider himself a hard worker, he would have been irritated if he was suddenly disturbed during his training as well.

“The two brothers here have worked hard. You have probably already heard, but we from the Black Tortoise Sect will be staying here for a few days so we will be in your care during this time,” Zhao Yunxiao said with a smile while reaching into his bamboo backpack. “Here, have some tea leaves that I brought. It might not be much, but please accept this as a humble meeting gift from myself.”

“Meeting gift?”

Zhou Qin and Cui Junhe exchanged glances in surprise.

They had expected Zhao Yunxiao to come looking for trouble or something, but the tone that Zhao Yunxiao had taken towards them was actually a deferential one?

This was something that was completely unexpected to both of them.

It would appear that not all disciples from the Black Tortoise Sect were full of themselves after all!