Splash-!

Zhao Yunxiao’s eyes glazed over the moment he broke free of the surface of the Origin Lake and felt the fresh air in his face.

That was because he could clearly see the morning sun starting to peek out from beyond the horizon.

Dawn had already arrived.

The cultivation lecture was supposed to be in the late morning, but it was common practice for attendants to arrive early to do some final checks and make sure that everything was in place.

As the person who actually requested for changes to be made to the venue the day before, there was no way that he could be absent for the final inspection of the venue.

Now, it was just a matter of what time everyone was planning to go for the inspection, and whether he could return before they realised his absence!

The good thing was that Zheng Biru and Yu Hang were there as well.

Even if He Luoxuan had any requests for the outer disciples last night, there was still a chance that they could have handled it themselves so that his absence would not be exposed.

As long as they did not sell him out, that was.

“Are you sure nobody can see me right now?” Zhao Yunxiao could not help but ask while flying through the air.

“Again with that meaningless concern,” Cha answered in an ambiguous manner.

Zhao Yunxiao: “...”

It might be meaningless to you as a sea serpent, but it is very important to me!

With his hair fluttering in the wind, Zhao Yunxiao looked down at the casing of water around his body.

He could clearly see his naked body through it.

It already felt insecure enough flying through the air like that last night.

Now that the sky had been lit up by the morning sun, flying across the skies of the Origin Lake Sect territory in such a state was giving him serious anxiety issues!

“We’re here.”

Zhao Yunxiao did not have time to respond before he started to rapidly descend from the skies, straight towards the courtyard issued to the members of the Black Tortoise Sect.

The speed of descent was so fast that he had to suppress his urge to scream in fright, afraid of drawing attention to himself for various reasons.

Splash-!

He shot straight through the open window of his room and into his bath that had already turned cold by now.

It was an overly exciting freefall that ended with the perfect landing.

Zhao Yunxiao had to take a deep breath to regain his composure.

As he entered the cold water, Zhao Yunxiao also immediately felt the casing of water around him come undone, returning him his freedom.

“Thank you for bringing me back as promised, Senior Cha,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “If there is nothing else, I would have to prepare for my day now.”

“Go ahead,” Cha hovered in front of him and flicked a whisker.

“Ouch!” Zhao Yunxiao felt a ball of energy strike him in the face. “Why- Eh...?”

Zhao Yunxiao was about to complain, but widened his eyes in surprise instead.

After hitting him in the face, the ball of energy actually entered his body and created a revitalising effect, effectively healing him of his fatigue from last night.

Staying up a single night was no issue for most cultivators, but Zhao Yunxiao’s psyche had been worn out from playing on the Benevolent Wave Chessboard.

This surge of energy within him actually managed to chase away all his mental exhaustion and made him feel as fresh as ever, as though he just had the best rest of his life.

In fact, Zhao Yunxiao even felt many of his injuries from the fight with Sun Minhao recovering at the same time.

As expected of a big shot, a single action of theirs was worth more than a miraculous elixir!

“Thank you for the help, Senior Cha!” Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards the sea serpent.

“Look at this kid suddenly acting all polite in the face of benefits,” Cha rolled its eyes. “Hurry up, your friends are going to gather in five minutes time. I will see you later.”

“Five minutes?!” Zhao Yunxiao was startled and rushed out of the bath. “Got it! I really have to get ready then! ...Wait a minute, what do you mean see you later?”

Zhao Yunxiao turned back to look at the sea serpent after realising that there was something amiss.

Did that mean Cha was going to come look for him tonight again?

Unfortunately, by the time Zhao Yunxiao turned around, all he could see was an empty bath.

Cha was no longer anywhere to be seen.

***

“Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Hu, Senior Martial Sister Song, Senior Martial Brother Zheng, Junior Martial Brother Yu!” Zhao Yunxiao cheerfully greeted the quartet as he hurried out of his room into the open courtyard.

Indeed, clothes make the man.

Now that he had clothes on, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel a lot more confident.

But when the other disciples saw him exiting his room, they immediately revealed a look of surprise.

“When did you return, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Hu Nan asked.

That was enough to let Zhao Yunxiao know that his absence had been discovered.

But at the same time, Zhao Yunxiao was relieved to hear that they did not seem to have noticed his return.

After all, he was not exactly in the most presentable state at that time.

“My apologies, Senior Martial Brother Hu. I was trying to look around the vicinity to make sure that nothing is wrong and everything is secure, but got carried away after seeing so many new and fascinating things in the area,” Zhao Yunxiao scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

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This made him sound slightly clumsy and irresponsible, but it could not be helped.

After all, there was no way that he could just say that he got kidnapped by the guardian spirit of the Origin Lake Sect!

That said, in order to reduce suspicions when lying, one could not totally shirk all responsibilities. Only by taking on a bit of the blame himself would his words sound more believable.

Hu Nan shook his head in disapproval, “I guess it is understandable for you guys to feel fascinated by everything on your first visit here, but such actions are unacceptable. Come look for me after the lecture later, I will need to have a serious talk with you about this. For now, apologise to your companions for not even letting them know where you went. They almost got into trouble because of you.”

“Understood, Senior Martial Brother Hu. I apologise again for my mistake,” Zhao Yunxiao accepted the reprimand. “My apologies as well, Senior Martial Sister Song, Senior Martial Brother Zheng, Junior Martial Brother Yu.”

He was actually feeling rather relieved at this moment.

Some inner disciples would have already flipped at him because of his actions, but Hu Nan seemed to be rather calm about it.

Or perhaps he was just holding back because of the important day ahead.

Nevertheless, he would only find out at night.

In the meantime, he would have to think of ways to appease this senior martial brother of his.

Wait a minute...

Talking about the night, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but worry about what Cha said earlier as well.

Surely it would not come kidnap him again?

If he were to go missing even though Hu Nan had already explicitly asked him to visit, there was no way he would be able to get away with it no matter how he tried to make amends!

“All right, let’s forget about that matter for now. The three of you will follow your Senior Martial Sister Song to the lecture venue for a final inspection,” Hu Nan instructed. “I will go over with Elder He when it is time. Move out.”

Zheng Biru was initially thinking of giving Zhao Yunxiao a good talking to for his disappearance last night, but decided to forget about it after hearing Hu Nan say that he would do so himself.

Instead, Zheng Biru actually started to worry for Zhao Yunxiao.

If if was him scolding Zhao Yunxiao, he would definitely keep it within a certain threshold.

But if it were up to Hu Nan, who knew how far the inner disciple would go when meting out punishment?

Regardless, Hu Nan was right in that now was not the time to worry about this matter.

“Understood, Senior Martial Brother Hu!”

With that, the three outer disciples followed Song Xiaoqiao’s lead as they made their way to the lecture venue.

Song Xiaoqiao and Zhao Yunxiao had been to the lecture hall the day before, so they naturally knew the way there.

It did not take long before they arrived at the huge lecture hall.

There was still plenty of time before the appointed time for the lecture, so the hall was still empty except for a few disciples of the Origin Lake Sect who had been specially tasked to tend to their requests before the lecture started.

“Go take a look at the adjustments,” Song Xiaoqiao said to Zhao Yunxiao after arriving. “You two, go look around to see if there are any issues as well.”

“Understood, Senior Martial Sister Song,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded, and so did the other two outer disciples.

This time, it was only natural that Zhao Yunxiao was the one to perform the final inspection on the adjustments.

After all, he was the one who had requested for the various adjustments the day before, so he would surely be the clearest on what to check for.

“Greetings, Senior Zhao,” Li Teng was present as well and stepped forward at this point. “Let me show you the adjustments we made.”

“Sure, Brother Li,” Zhao Yunxiao answered with a smile.

It could be said that the Origin Lake Sect was rather effective.

Despite the long list of items that Zhao Yunxiao had told them to change, they still managed to get everything done within a day.

Then again, perhaps it was to be expected as well.

Even though the Origin Lake Sect was subordinate to the Black Tortoise Sect, they were still quite an influential faction in their own right.

Of course, this also indicated just how powerful the Black Tortoise Sect actually was to be able to bring the entire Origin Lake Sect under their wing!

“Reporting to Senior Martial Sister Song, the adjustments were all completed.”

“Reporting to Senior Martial Sister Song, we didn’t find anything that is of concern as well.”

Song Xiaoqiao nodded. “Take our positions, and tell the Origin Lake Sect disciples to open the hall.”

“Understood,” Zhao Yunxiao answered before turning towards Li Teng. “Brother Li, we can let the attendees in once you are ready.”

“Got it, I will go let the rest know,” Li Teng said before hurrying away.

There was still some time before the appointed time of the lecture, but it was common practice to open the lecture hall early, giving attendees time to take their seats beforehand and wait for the arrival of the lecturer.

The many lectures back at the Black Tortoise Sect were conducted in the same manner as well, especially when the lecturer involved was someone as influential as an elder.

After all, as mere disciples, they could not possibly be letting the elders wait for them to slowly settle down instead!

The moment the doors opened, disciples of the Origin Lake Sect started entering the lecture hall in an orderly manner.

At the same time, Zhao Yunxiao and the three other disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect sat comfortably at the front row as they watched them enter.

Zhao Yunxiao could not help but observe the disciples entering the hall.

From what Li Teng said the day before, only core and inner disciples of the Origin Lake Sect were allowed to join this lecture.

He did recognise some faces, but no one paid any attention to him even though he was looking everyone up and down from his seat at the front row.

That was to be expected as well.

This was the only time each year when they could listen to the lecture of an elder of the Black Tortoise Sect, so each of them surely wanted to make the best out of this opportunity.

Because of that, almost every single one of them started to regulate their breathing and condition their minds after entering the lecture hall.

Seeing this, Zhao Yunxiao stopped looking around and started to regulate his breathing as well.

Just like the disciples of the Origin Lake Sect, he, too, was looking forward to the lecture from He Luoxuan!

“Arrival of Sect Leader Dan, Elder He of the Black Tortoise Sect, and the various elders!” a loud voice reverberated across the lecture hall.

Everyone in the hall immediately stood up out of respect.

Their attention turned towards the door, where a group of people were currently entering from.

Sect Leader Dan Juexing and Elder He Luoxuan led the group from the front, while Elder Ming Leishang and the other elders of the Origin Lake Sect followed right behind.

They did not have to do anything special either.

Just by walking in, the group emanated an aura of invincibility that naturally evoked a sense of awe and admiration from all the disciples gathered within.

Hu Nan entered at the same time as well, walking just slightly behind He Luoxuan with his head held high in pride.

This invincible group parted shortly after entering, with those from the Origin Lake Sect heading to their special seats at the back of the lecture hall while Hu Nan walked over to join Zhao Yunxiao’s group at the first row.

He Luoxuan was the only one who headed up the stage at the front of the lecture hall.

“Greetings, members of the Origin Lake Sect,” He Luoxuan began with an amiable smile. “Some of you may know me, while some of you may not. My name is He Luoxuan, and I am an elder at the Black Tortoise Sect.”

“Greetings, Elder He!”

Everyone called out in unison as they looked at the only person on stage.

“All right, be at ease,” He Luoxuan gestured for everyone to take their seats before sitting down himself.

Oh?

He Luoxuan was slightly surprised the moment he sat down.

The height of the chair and desk was almost exactly like that of his working room back in his heavenly palace.

Pretty comfortable!

Of course, he did not let his emotions show.

“Today, I have the honour of being invited here to share some of my thoughts on cultivation with you, the future leaders of this world,” He Luoxuan continued. “I thought long and hard about what I should share today, and finally decided on something which I think will probably be most relatable to everyone here. Today, I will be talking about the basics of combat.”

And with that, He Luoxuan’s cultivation lecture officially began.