Upon seeing Ling Xue once again, Li Lang frowned while Long Yi was taken aback. Seeing his friends’ expressions, Wei Ping placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

“What’s w-wrong?”

“That girl…” Li Lang let out a sigh. “She’s that Ling Xue I told you about. The one who was in Spirit Grove and got me banished. I suspected we may have a chance to see her now that we’re in the Luminescent Domain, but still…”

The trio each had their own thoughts on the matter, but they were forced to keep walking. They had to keep up with the others from The Orchid Covenant.

However, their eyes never wandered from the girl. It made it hard for the other party not to notice.

Ling Xue and Jiang Beiyun both felt their gaze and quickly ended their conversation with their peers. They then headed straight toward the trio.

Jiang Beiyun amiably nodded their way before steering over toward the Head Councilman of The Orchid Covenant. They exchanged a few words with the old man before finally heading to Li Lang.

“It’s been a while, you three. I’m surprised to see you here, but your Head Councilman explained to me how you performed admirably and earned yourself a ticket to the pocket realm.”

The three faltered for a moment as they struggled with how to respond. Jian Beiyun had always been friendly with them. However, standing beside him was someone who had a complicated history with them.

Before the three boys could respond, Ling Xue interjected.

“Big head kid! So you’ve decided to come to the Luminescent Domain! Good for you!” the girl cheered with a smile. “Welcome! I’m sure you’ll find a much brighter future here!”

Her sudden antics had entirely stunned Li Lang into silence. The present Ling Xue was unreconcilable from the one in his memories.

He had remembered her to be the silent, cool beauty type. She never bothered talking with him more than needed. While it made her unapproachable, it gave her a sense of mystery and intellect.

The girl before him was now entirely the opposite. She was cheerful and expressive. Worse of all, she reunited with Li Lang as if she hadn’t wronged him in the past at all.

Seeing how Li Lang didn’t respond, Jiang Beiyun stepped in to diffuse the awkward silence.

“So you know these boys here, Junior Sister?”

“Hmm, just big head boy, here. We were fellow disciples during my time in Spirit Grove.”

“Junior Sister… have we spoiled you too much?”

“Hmm? What do you mean, Senior Brother?”

Hearing her side of the story and the obliviousness of his junior sister, Jiang Beiyun face palmed as he stared up at the sky.

“Where do I even start?” the young man sighed. “First, don’t call people by their features. It’s rude. His name is Li Lang.”

The boy in question blinked blankly as the spectacle unfolded before him. He chose to remain silent to gather more information and allow his brain to process everything.

“Besides that, you last saw him was during your time in the righteous sect, right?”

Ling Xue nodded.

“Then you’re still a traitor in their eyes. A hostile party. You can’t just be friendly with them all of a sudden without an explanation.” Shaking his head as he sighed, Jian Beiyun looked over at the trio. “Apologies about my Junior Sister. She may have wronged you, but I ask that you give her the chance to explain herself.”

Jian Beiyun then whispered a few things to his junior sister. Then, at his urging, Ling Xue stepped forward and bowed.

“Sorry! Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Sima Xue, a disciple of the Nightmoon Valley. I was previously undercover, so I ended up acting cold to everyone, including you. I hope you won’t hate me for it.”

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“...Sima Xue?” Li Lang managed to squeak out.

“Hmm? That’s right. Ling Xue was just an alias I used while undercover. My real name is Sima Xue.”

Seeing Li Lang’s frown, the girl continued.

“Are you still holding a grudge at how I threatened you? I couldn’t help it. One misstep and I’d be trapped in enemy territory. I couldn’t risk having you tell someone about my whereabouts. I would’ve brought you along as well if I could…but I had my hands full with Liu Xing. I figured you’d be fine since you didn’t have high aptitude.”

It only took a moment for Li Lang to internalize what had happened once more. The girl before him had been an undercover plant. He had coincidentally caught her in the act of ‘rescuing’ Liu Xing and was forced to tag along with them until they escaped. As a result, he was blamed for assisting the enemy and banished.

“...What was the deal with Liu Xing anyway? I thought you guys didn’t bother the orthodox sects and stayed in your territories?”

“Oh, it’s the mission I was assigned. To infiltrate a sect and rescue a talented young cultivator in need.”

“That’s quite a dangerous mission for someone of your age.”

It was here that Jian Beiyun decided to interject.

“The danger level is somewhat limited owing to her young age. Few righteous sects would bother monitoring someone so young. It was also a great experience to temper my Junior Sister as well. As you can see, she still needs some work.”

“What?! What do you mean by that? I’m perfectly fine the way I am!” Sima Xue cried.

As the pair bantered with each other, more and more organizations arrived one after the other.

The entire area began to fill up, forcing the pair of Nightmoon Valley disciples to return to their spot.

“You’re heading into the pocket realm too, right? We can chat more inside!”

“Farewell, you three. I hope you get along with my Junior Sister during your time inside the pocket realm.”

While the pair left, it didn’t change the fact that Li Lang’s group had drawn the attention of everyone around them. They whispered about how they knew the esteemed disciples of Nightmoon Valley and their close relationship.

The trio didn’t pay it any mind, and the time to enter into the pocket realm soon arrived.

“Everyone!” a strong voice silenced the entire area. “I am Sima Kong. As the leader of Nightmoon Valley, I declare the opening of The Great Trial of Water Crest! We will now be having the promising youths from each organization enter. Please follow our instructions in an orderly fashion.”

The voice seemed to come from above, and when Li Lang looked up, he gasped. He saw a giant projection of a person hovering in the sky. It was so large that there was enough room for several buildings to replace the space it occupied. It was something he believed was only possible with a holographic projector from his world, but it was apparent that it wasn’t the case.

Unfortunately, the image of the man quickly faded as he was done talking.

Numerous people in dull grey robes then spread out across the crowd. They wore the same clothing as Jian Beiyun, so Li Lang knew they were members of the Nightmoon Valley.

Under their instructions, orderly lines formed to enter into the pocket realm.

Li Lang’s group took the time to double-check their belongings. They planned to stay inside for years, so they couldn’t forget the vital Nourishment Pills that would be keeping them fed. After half a year of refining, Li Lang had built up quite a batch.

It wasn’t long before Head Councilman Liu commanded them to step forth. He had already spoken all the words he wanted before setting off, so the process was fast.

Li Lang found himself in the middle of a line, slowly inching toward the four colossal stone pillars at the center of the place. He soon spotted the people ahead disappearing the moment they stepped into the center. There were three other lines coming from the other directions, all heading toward the center of the four pillars.

This is a lot more people than I imagined…

The lines moved at a consistent pace. Every young disciple was able to enter, as their organization thoroughly vetted them already. Otherwise, it would only embarrass their entire organization if someone older managed to sneak by them.

The trio could only let the flow of the crowd sweep them away, and before they knew it, their vision changed.

It was almost like their experience with the Grand Elder’s artifact space. In the blink of an eye, Li Lang found himself standing on clouds. There was nothing else, but the other young disciples in the same situation.

They glanced up at the bright blue sky. It was empty, with nothing in sight.

Li Lang had found himself separated from his two companions, despite having held onto each other’s robes. The pocket realm didn’t seem to care and teleported them randomly.

However, that didn’t mean Li Lang didn’t recognize anyone around him. It was the opposite. He quickly found himself face-to-face with a familiar face.

“Li Lang, I knew we would see each other sooner or later.”

“Huang Si, it is good to see you too. I don’t suppose you’ve seen my companions?”

The young man shook his head.

“I’ve separated from my fellow disciples as well. What do you say? Shall we proceed together for the time being?”

After taking another brief glance at his surroundings, Li Lang nodded.

Time to see what this pocket realm has to offer.