Zhao Yunxiao spent the large part of the night at the Sect Library, going through the records on both the Armed Ape Tower and Elder Feng Wanjia.

That said, he had already done quite a bit of research on these two prominent entities in the past, so this was more of just looking at recent incidents to update his mental library.

The next morning marked the start of the celebratory parties.

While most parties would only begin at night, some of them were deliberately held in the morning to avoid clashing with the others. This would prevent attending participants from having to choose between them and other parties that they might also wish to attend.

At the same time, party organisers who had to do this to encourage participation were usually also the less important figures.

Otherwise, they would not have had to fear clashing with other parties.

Zhao Yunxiao understood that as well, and thus did not place too much emphasis on them. Instead, he took this time to resume his research on the Armed Ape Tower.

The newly expanded tribulation chamber that they wanted Elder Feng Wanjia’s assessment on was actually quite the famous one.

Zodiac Tree – this was a tribulation chamber constructed way back during their progenitor’s time, and had been standing strong in the Armed Ape Tower since ancient times.

Despite its mild-sounding name, the trials within were not to be trifled with. In fact, no one had ever successfully overcome all the trials within the chamber... not even the elders of the Armed Ape Tower!

It was no wonder that they were inviting Elder Feng Wanjia to go take a look at their completed work.

To tinker with something like this, the current sect administrators were truly playing with fire here. If they accidentally screwed up during the expansion of the tribulation chamber, they might just end up losing an ancient inheritance from the progenitor!

But at the same time, Zhao Yunxiao could also guess why they went ahead with this despite the risks.

The Armed Ape Tower had been gaining momentum in recent years, rapidly expanding in scale.

It was likely that due to their growing population of disciples, the Zodiac Tree was starting to prove insufficient in accommodating their needs. And, lacking the ability to construct something similar, the sect administrators probably decided to tap on their existing resources, looking to expand the Zodiac Tree instead.

If that could be achieved, then it would greatly support the expansion of the sect, allowing the Armed Ape Tower to accelerate further in terms of growth!

There had long been rumours of the Armed Ape Tower looking to break free from being subordinate to the Black Tortoise Sect, aiming to be an ally on equal footing instead. From the looks of it, even if the current intention was not that, it might not be entirely impossible for such a reality in the future!

At noon, Zhao Yunxiao finally headed to the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, which was already packed with outer disciples by then.

This was not surprising as well.

The Clear Thoughts Pavilion had always been the go-to location for outer disciples who wanted in on the latest updates from the post-event celebratory parties. After all, this did not only contain gossip. There might also be useful information that could directly concern them in the future!

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao, we are here!” Lu Zhiying immediately turned away from a few male disciples who were trying to chat her up, and waved excitedly at the approaching Zhao Yunxiao.

Zhao Yunxiao gave a slight nod while avoiding the angry gazes from those male disciples. “I see that everyone is already here, but where’s Gu Qiansi?”

Besides Lu Zhiying, Bo Fei and Huang An were there as well. Even Jun Chuan had arrived and was busy mixing around with other disciples, though they were mostly talking about things that they wanted him to bring back from his future trips.

On the other hand, Gu Qiansi was nowhere to be seen.

“Senior Martial Sister Gu said she did not want to drown in the crowd, so she decided to hang out with Senior Martial Sister Chang and Senior Martial Sister Luo instead,” Lu Zhiying explained.

“That does sound like her,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded in understanding.

Chang Min and Luo Ling were Gu Qiansi’s closest friends apart from Zhao Yunxiao’s group. Considering Gu Qiansi’s personality, it was not surprising that she had chosen not to come to the crowded Clear Thoughts Pavilion.

“Did she not ask you along?” Zhao Yunxiao asked.

“She did! But when I thought about it, this place definitely sounded much more interesting!” Lu Zhiying answered frankly.

“You are definitely right about that!” Zhao Yunxiao agreed. “Don’t learn from that antisocial creature.”

“That said, there hasn’t been much going on so far,” Bo Fei interjected. “Perhaps the only interesting news we have heard since morning is the fact that Elder Feng would be returning to the Armed Ape Tower with their entourage tomorrow. Right now, they are looking at recruiting a few attendants to tag along.”

“It’s with Elder Feng though...” Huang An added timidly from the side.

“Hah, exactly! I wonder if there is anyone who would ever sign up for something like this,” Bo Fei scoffed. “That said, if this is a trip to the Flying Swords Hall, I would be the first to sign up just for an opportunity to meet the Yin Yang Sword Sisters!”

“What’s wrong with Elder Feng?” Lu Zhiying asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Having heard of the Yin Yang Sword Sisters, she was not too surprised by Bo Fei’s comment. This was not her first time seeing him display his wolf-like nature, and it certainly would not be the last.

“Apart from being a little strict, nothing’s wrong with her,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “In fact, I will be one of the attendants going with them on this trip.”

“What?!” the three of them exclaimed in unison, though their follow-ups differed slightly.

“You actually signed up for a scolding?”

“You already signed up for this?”

“You are leaving on another trip? How enviable!”

“Haha... it should be fine?” Zhao Yunxiao scratched his cheek awkwardly. “I just have to be careful not to step on Elder Feng’s toes.”

“Well, all I can say is ‘good luck’,” Bo Fei patted him on the shoulder.

“Good luck!” Huang An echoed.

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao sure is amazing,” Lu Zhiying remarked. “We have only just heard about the trip, but you have already joined the entourage!”

“This is why connections are important,” Zhao Yunxiao felt slightly better because of Lu Zhiying’s words. “Well then, if you would excuse me...”

“Didn’t you just arrive? Where are you going again?” Lu Zhiying asked in surprise.

“I am just going to greet the other outer disciples,” Zhao Yunxiao explained. “Don’t worry, I will be right back.”

“That guy is just a social butterfly. You will get used to it,” Bo Fei shrugged.

“Don’t be jealous just because you aren’t as well liked!” Zhao Yunxiao rolled his eyes.

With that, he separated from the group to mix around with the others.

Ever since the closure of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm, he had not had much time for information gathering. Now that most of the well-informed outer disciples were gathered in one spot, it was the perfect opportunity to go squeeze as much information out of them as he could!

As the day progressed and more people started moving from party to party, it created more opportunities for information to be leaked as well.

One by one, insiders came over to either share or sell information.

Depending on each insider, such information could range from something as simple as the participants list of each party to more specific matters like collaborations on future missions, or even previously undisclosed gains in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.

Having such information in hand would allow one to extrapolate the relationships among the top inner disciples and plan their actions accordingly.

That said, while different insiders were privy to different information, there was one thing that they all had in common – none of them would publicly announce such information, for obvious reasons.

Instead, they would quietly sneak into the crowded Clear Thoughts Pavilion, blending into the crowds without anyone noticing.

Only those who were in the know would be able to spot these insiders and approach them in a discrete manner. On the other hand, those who did not know the insiders would be left confused as to where everyone was getting their information.

Naturally, Zhao Yunxiao belonged to the former.

He quickly got busy going around, trying to see which of these insiders had arrived. And when there was some time to spare, he would return to the gang and give a quick update on whatever he had learnt.

If the insider was willing to share the information, then things were straightforward enough. Everyone would eagerly welcome these generous informants.

But if they were here to sell the information, outer disciples at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion had to carefully weigh the costs and benefits before making a decision on whether they wished to buy the information.

At times, some people would pool their sect points together to buy the information as a group.

Zhao Yunxiao, however, chose not to participate in such dealings.

As much as he wanted to be updated on the current affairs, he never had the habit of buying something that he did not explicitly require, and this applied to information as well.

Yes, this could mean that he would be a step behind in certain aspects, having to obtain such information from a secondary source.

However, his sect points were far too precious to essentially gamble on pieces of information that he might not even bring him any value in the end!

When it approached late afternoon, Nie Hanchang finally arrived at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion.

“Senior Mar-!” Lu Zhiying wanted to call out to him, but Zhao Yunxiao quickly put a hand over her mouth to stop her.

Next, he hurried forward to put a hat on Nie Hanchang’s head, topped with a veil that hid his face from the others.

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao?” Nie Hanchang asked in confusion.

“Act natural so you don’t attract attention. We can remove the hat once enough time has passed for others to feel that you have been here all along,” Zhao Yunxiao whispered. “If others find out that you came from one of these celebratory parties, you will be swamped in no time.”

“I-I see, I didn’t think of that,” Nie Hanchang nodded.

Everyone here was seeking out information sources from such celebratory parties. If they were to realise that Nie Hanchang had been a participant at one of these parties, there was no way that they would let him go easily!

Thankfully, most people were too busy to notice Nie Hanchang’s inconspicuous arrival, which allowed him to sneak in and join the others.

After Nie Hanchang, it did not take long before a huge group arrived at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion. But unlike Nie Hanchang, they made absolutely no effort to hide their presence, causing a huge commotion among the outer disciples present.

Then again, it would be difficult even if they wanted to be low-profile.

Tidal Fairy Chen Pingxi of the Origin Lake Sect.

Titan Fist Qie Xing of the Armed Ape Tower.

Along with numerous inner disciples, many of whom being participants in the Four Symbols Mystic Realm.

Given their identities, not to mention the Clear Thoughts Pavilion, their arrival would have caused a commotion even at many of the celebratory parties being held around the sect grounds today!

Faced with such a scene, Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.

He knew that Chen Pingxi would be coming over, but she never mentioned anything about bringing all these inner disciples along with her!

Given the situation, perhaps it would be best if he steered clear of her today.

With so many capable disciples from the Black Tortoise Sect by her side, surely she would not need him to show her around anymore?