“My skin is starting to sting from your intense glare, Senior Martial Brother Zeng,” Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.

“Oh, please don’t misunderstand, Junior Martial Brother Zhao. I was just looking at you casually, but it seems that my presence might be a little too much for you to bear?” Zeng Fan answered with a smirk. “You really need to start working on your mental fortitude, Junior Martial Brother Zhao. If you are interested, perhaps I can give you some guidance on how to train that aspect.”

This is the easiest and most direct way to deal with potential love rivals – by showing them who is boss!

“Thank you for the offer, Senior Martial Brother Zeng,” Zhao Yunxiao said in an unflustered manner. “In that case, I will be seeking your help on this soon.”

He knew exactly what Zeng Fan was doing, but Zhao Yunxiao had no intention to get involved in this messy situation.

Even though he did not know what exactly Lu Zhiying was trying to do, he believed that she was probably more than capable of dealing with things herself without their intervention.

In that case, all they had to do was to try to stay out of her way.

On the other hand, Zeng Fan blinked in confusion.

He was simply trying to taunt Zhao Yunxiao, but who knew that the latter would be so accepting of what he said?

What was he supposed to do now, then?

Was he really supposed to go think of how to help Zhao Yunxiao train his mental fortitude?

Who had the time for that?

“Are you still not done talking, Senior Martial Brother Zeng?” Lu Zhiying interjected.

“Can’t you tell that Junior Martial Sister Lu doesn’t want you here?” another young man joined in at this point. “Why don’t you get the hint and leave already? Don’t disturb the rest of us as we have our discussion.”

Sheng Qi’an.

Just like Zeng Fan, he was one of the first two to approach Lu Zhiying at the celebratory banquet last night.

“Can we just leave, Senior Martial Sister Gu? This place is getting a little too loud,” Lu Zhiying turned towards Gu Qiansi.

The latter was momentarily stunned and failed to find the words to respond.

It was just yesterday that Lu Zhiying said that she would not mind getting to know different people in the sect, so why was she acting like this all of a sudden?

Is this the legendary push-pull technique?

“I-It seems that Junior Martial Sister Lu is busy right now, so I shall not bother you,” Sheng Qi’an forced a smile in response. “In that case, I will come look for you again later.”

Zhao Yunxiao watched on in surprise as Sheng Qi’an took a gracious bow before leaving.

He could not help but admit that Sheng Qi’an was rather suave and decisive in his actions.

If he were to ever land in a similar situation in the future, he definitely had to learn a thing or two from this as well, and not over-obsess over wanting to spend time with the girl he liked.

“In that case, I will come again as well,” Zeng Fan said. “Please enjoy your breakfast, Junior Martial Sister Lu.”

And he left as well.

“That was surprisingly clean,” Zhao Yunxiao remarked.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect them to leave just like that,” Gu Qiansi added.

“Hmm? Why do you think that?” Lu Zhiying tilted her head in confusion. “Of course they have to leave. I already made it so clear for them. If they have stayed and disturbed our conversation any longer, that will only be making things harder for themselves. What’s more, their pride will definitely not allow themselves to look bad in front of others.”

Zhao Yunxiao looked at Lu Zhiying for a few moments before letting out a chuckle in disbelief.

Indeed, his hunch was right.

Lu Zhiying seemed to have a very clear grasp on the situation that she was in, so there should not be a problem just leaving Lu Zhiying to deal with it herself!

On the other hand, Gu Qiansi had completely different thoughts about the situation.

She was thinking that she really had to sit down and have a good talk with Lu Zhiying on how to properly handle such matters in the future!

The group parted ways after they were done with their breakfast.

Nie Hanchang left alone for his training while Gu Qiansi brought Lu Zhiying to take a look at the parade of visitors from the subordinate sects.

As for Zhao Yunxiao, his first destination was the Outer Disciples Hall.

There were two main types of sect missions – one led by the sect administrators, and one led by disciples.

Since Mo Mian was the one leading the sect mission this time, he had to help Zhao Yunxiao register his participation to account for his absence from the sect grounds. And in order to do that, Zhao Yunxiao had to give his consent as well.

That said, Zhao Yunxiao did not have to go down personally for that either.

All he had to do was pass Mo Mian his disciple token, and that would have been enough for Mo Mian to register his participation.

However, Zhao Yunxiao had some other matters to tend to at the Outer Disciples Hall anyway, so he thought that he might as well go down personally this time.

After meeting with Mo Mian to complete the registration for the sect mission, Zhao Yunxiao proceeded to return the cloth pouch for the monthly cultivation pills and collect the sect points that he had earned in the previous month.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

These were all simple matters, so it did not take long before he was done.

After which, Zhao Yunxiao headed straight for his second destination – the Sect Library.

Now that he knew about the identity of the demon they were going to be dealing with, Zhao Yunxiao decided to find out more about the strengths and weaknesses of monkey demons.

He might not have time to conduct a thorough research on the topic due to the lack of time, but every little bit mattered.

After all, information was key.

Without at least a decent understanding of the target, any preparations he made for the upcoming sect mission could just end up being completely irrelevant!

***

While Zhao Yunxiao immersed himself in the world of information, numerous sect disciples had gathered to watch the entrance parade of the visiting subordinate sects.

As Zhao Yunxiao had said earlier, each of the visiting subordinate sects would usually send a grand entourage as a show of their strength and influence.

Considering the number of sects that were subordinate to the Black Tortoise Sect, this made for quite the attraction for the disciples of the sect.

The administrators of the Black Tortoise Sect understood this as well. Therefore, they specially arranged a time and place for each of the visiting subordinate sects to arrive, turning it into some sort of festive parade.

And this, be it intentional or not, set the stage for a different type of war among the subordinate sects.

Understanding that it was now inevitable that they would now be directly compared to the other subordinate sects as they entered one after another, this in turn fueled the subordinate sects’ pride even more.

They then took this even more seriously as they poured greater effort into making sure that their entourage stood out among the rest.

Be it playing their own entrance music or setting up amazing visual effects with precious treasures, they pulled out all the stops as they tried their best to be the standout each year.

The result of that was an amazing spectacle that benefited only the disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect.

Yet even in the huge crowd of disciples, Lu Zhiying could not help but catch the eyes of those around her, many of whom continually tried to strike up conversations with her.

Unlike earlier in the canteen, Lu Zhiying was more receptive towards their advances this time, though she did not forget to include Gu Qiansi in every conversation.

In a way, it actually looked more like Lu Zhiying was the one bringing Gu Qiansi around.

Of course, it was not like the male disciples minded that.

Gu Qiansi was plenty attractive herself, with a figure that many would die for.

It was only when standing beside an anomaly like Lu Zhiying that she would pale in comparison. Otherwise, she was actually someone whom most young men would be attracted to as well!

With her joining the conversations, the many male disciples around them only felt even more eager to impress.

One by one, the entourages of the subordinate sects entered.

And one by one, the young men around them eagerly introduced the groups to the two young ladies.

“Look at that flying ship! Do you see the mark that bears the look of curved swords? That’s the insignia of the Flying Swords Hall,” one of the surrounding disciples explained.

“That ship is huge!” Lu Zhiying exclaimed. “Are they stronger than the Armed Ape Tower from earlier?”

“This... it’s hard to tell for sure,” the disciple was stumped for a moment. “It’s difficult for us to really know much about them unless we spend a significant amount of time looking into them in detail. And even then, each sect has their own secrets, so it’s almost impossible to know for sure.”

“Is that so?” Lu Zhiying was obviously dissatisfied with that answer and turned towards Gu Qiansi instead. “Do you know, Senior Martial Sister Gu?”

“I’m not too sure myself, but Zhao Yunxiao once mentioned that the leader of the Flying Swords Hall is all about appearances,” Gu Qiansi tried to recall. “He has also said before that the Armed Ape Tower is one of our strongest subordinate sects, having inherited some technique from some ancient cultivator. Considering that, the Armed Ape Tower is probably stronger?”

“So that’s it...” Lu Zhiying nodded in understanding. “But Senior Martial Brother Zhao really is amazing! How does he know these things? Isn’t it really difficult to find out much about the other sects?”

“This...” Gu Qiansi shot a guilty glance towards the disciple from before.

“Junior Martial Brother Zhao was probably just sharing his opinions,” the disciple quickly chimed in. “We have to be wary of taking opinions as facts since the two are fundamentally different.”

“Okay,” Lu Zhiying answered curtly.

Gu Qiansi could not help but let out a wry smile as she noticed the awkward look on the disciple’s face.

Seems like one person has just dropped out of the race...

The subordinate sects of the Black Tortoise Sect were naturally not limited to just the Flying Swords Hall and the Armed Ape Tower, with the rest of them lighting up the parade as they arrived one by one.

They put on as grand of a show as they could while following the assigned path, eventually gathering at an elaborately decorated hall where they were welcomed by the administrators of the Black Tortoise Sect.

Sect Leader Zhi Ming of the Black Tortoise Sect might not be present, but the various elders, protectors, and deacons were. Several core and inner disciples were there as well.

The representatives of the various subordinate sects’ entourages greeted them upon arrival, then started mixing around in an informal setting as they waited for everyone to gather.

If Zhao Yunxiao was here, he would have recognised the group that was just arriving at the main hall.

It was an entourage led by Elder Ming Leishang – the entourage of the Origin Lake Sect.

Joining him were a few notable characters of the Origin Lake Sect, including their prime disciple – Chen Pingxi.

“Greetings, Elder He, Elder Wei, Elder Mo, Elder Feng,” Ming Leishang recognised them immediately, addressing each of them by name.

“Thank you for coming,” Elder Wei Huolun nodded in response. “The Black Tortoise Sect appreciates the effort. Please make yourself comfortable.”

“This is the least that we could do,” Ming Leishang answered with a warm smile.

He knew that Elder Wei of the Black Tortoise was a man of few words, so he did not try to expand on the conversation just in case it irritated the latter.

Instead, he shifted his focus to the more amiable He Luoxuan.

“We meet again after a few short days, Elder He,” Ming Leishang said. “Pingxi, come greet Elder He.”

“Chen Pingxi pays my respect to Elder He,” Chen Pingxi did not hesitate to do as she was told, clasping her fists towards the senior in respect.

“Mm,” He Luoxuan nodded in approval. “It’s only been a few short days, but it seems that you have already made some improvements with your cultivation. What a talented girl. You definitely are not letting down your title of being the prime disciple!”

“This is all thanks to the generous tips from Elder He and Brother Zhao,” Chen Pingxi replied, after which she started scanning the main hall as though looking for someone.

“Pingxi is right,” Ming Leishang agreed. “In fact, it is not just her. I, as well as Sect Leader Dan and the rest of the Origin Lake Sect have also benefited greatly, thanks to the guidance from both you and Little Brother Zhao. Speaking of Little Brother Zhao, why don’t I see him around? Is he busy handling something elsewhere?”

“This...” He Luoxuan let out an awkward smile.

Zhao Yunxiao was just an outer disciple of the sect, so of course he would not be here!

However, he also understood that some sort of misunderstanding had formed regarding Zhao Yunxiao’s status.

Just as He Luoxuan was wondering how he should shift the topic away, another elder of the Black Tortoise Sect approached them.

“This sounds like an interesting conversation, Elder He,” Ying Qingmu seemed to have come over after overhearing what they said.

“Chen Pingxi greets Elder Ying,” Chen Pingxi immediately repeated the greeting.

“Dispense with the formalities,” Ying Qingmu waved her off nonchalantly. “I’m disappointed in you, Elder He. It seems that you made quite the impact when you visited the Origin Lake Sect this time around, so why didn’t you share the good news with everyone?”

“It’s nothing really,” He Luoxuan shook his head with a smile. “Elder Ming was just being courteous earlier.”

“Or perhaps you are the one who is being humble here,” Ying Qingmu replied. “I’m curious about one thing though, so please indulge me for once. Who is this Little Brother Zhao that you speak of?”