“What is this?!” More and more cultivators had returned to the grassland, their attention immediately drawn upward by the spectacle in the sky. A faintly visible rainbow bridge shimmered in the sky. Sikong Xing, her eyes wide open in astonishment, pointed upwards and exclaimed, “Huh?! Look at that! It’s not Meng Qiqi, it’s just a projection.”
“There’s another!” The fox girl suddenly pointed at the sky again.
Everyone looked up and saw another figure slowly appearing next to Meng Qi’s. A tall young man in a black robe stood in the high sky, sharp and cold just like a sword ready to unsheathe, and yet the distance did not diminish his handsome features.
All eyes immediately turned to the actual person of the black-robed youth — Pei Mufeng, the young Pavilion Master of the Xingluo Pavilion.
However, before anyone could say a word, a third figure appeared in the sky. With the vast azure as the background, another man in a black robe had a slightly somber expression, standing upright. In terms of handsomeness, he was certainly no less than Pei Mufeng.
“Ju-junior Brother Qin…” someone murmured his name.
Qin Xiumo took a deep breath and silently turned to give the person a calm look.
Sikong Xing’s eyes widened once again. She stared at the sky, then at Pei Mufeng, and then at Qin Xiumo, finally murmuring, “What on earth is going on?”
“Yes, what is going on?!” Chu Tianfeng was no less baffled, “Why are you two also…” Before he could finish, the fourth figure appeared in the sky.
“Yan Xuan?!” No one here did not recognize this young master of Jingyuetian, and voices blurting out his name echoed almost simultaneously from all directions across the grassland. Of course, most of them knew how he had once been a top talent among the young generation of the Three Thousand World, a revered genius that had since fallen from grace and became the pathetic figure he was now.
“You guys…” Sikong Xing looked up at the scene, her eyes full of astonishment. At that moment, the fifth figure finally appeared in the sky, clearly Xue Chengxuan.
“Brother!” Xue Zichen exclaimed in surprise, “You’re there too!”
Xue Chengxuan’s reputation did not lose to that of Pei Mufeng. As the designated future leader of the Feng Alliance, he stood out as the most exceptional medical cultivator of his generation. With his wide connections and status in the medical community, he was quite popular among the young cultivators.
Sikong Xing and Chu Tianfeng exchanged glances and hurriedly looked back at Qin Xiumo, who must know something since he was also among the figures projected in the sky.
But the black-robed youth remained silent, his face solemn.
“What is going on with you guys?!” Chu Tianfeng grew impatient. This guy’s silence was sometimes very annoying — didn’t he realize this was Ten Absolutes Mountain?! Since Meng Qi was involved, the matter had to be taken extremely seriously.
Shortly afterward, the sixth figure appeared in the sky, this time someone Sikong Xing and her friends didn’t recognize. However, it was clear that many in the crowd recognized this person and cried out, “It’s Qiao Ran from Duankong Sect!”
While she didn’t know this Qiao Ran guy, Sikong Xing was familiar with the name Duankong Sect, as they had been searching for Meng Qi for quite a while.
Whispers spread across the grassland. Regardless of who Qiao Ran was, just the name ‘Duankong Sect’ was enough to command respect. Especially since the disciples who could be here were from the ten major sects of the four realms of the Three Thousand Worlds and thus were all very well-informed. This Qiao Ran was the personal disciple of Ling Ji, the man who had just forcibly taken over as Duankong’s sect leader. Furthermore, Qiao Ran was also reputed to be Ling Ji’s most proud and talented disciple.
Now, people no longer had any doubt; the six figures appearing in the sky, with the exception of Meng Qi, were all genius disciples from major sects. Furthermore, although Meng Qi was a wandering cultivator with no affiliation to a sect or other major power, she was recognized as a friend by the legendary great healer Lin Yan. Just this identity alone far surpassed those of ordinary medical sect disciples.
Li Che stood near to Sikong Xing, quietly observing the projection of Meng Qi’s elegant face. “Senior Brother, do you know what’s going on?” his fellow disciple asked in a low voice.
“I’m not sure either,” Li Che gently shook his head. Xue Chengxuan and Meng Qi were also here, and like him, they were medical cultivators… His hands clenched slightly; they had just fought side by side to detoxify the cultivators here.
Seeing his junior brother’s puzzled gaze, he smiled apologetically. “I really don’t know what’s happening.”
“Brother!” On the other side, Xue Zichen was also anxiously inquiring, “What’s going on?”
Xue Chengxuan didn’t immediately answer his younger sister, turning his eyes towards Pei Mufeng and Qin Xiumo instead. They had fought alongside each other in the Starfallen Sea, sharing life-and-death experiences, which perhaps made their bonds, unlike the normal friendship he had known so far. He also wanted to know if the reasons for their simultaneous appearance were the same.
“Brother!” Xue Zichen’s frown deepened, “What in the world is going on? Say something!” She stamped her foot in frustration, “Why is Meng Qi there too?”
Xue Zichen pouted slightly, somewhat displeased. Ever since the event at the Apricot Forest, where Meng Qi had shone so brilliantly in front of the entire Three Thousand World medical cultivators and received the recognition of the legendary Lin Yan, her life changed. Whether it was her family elders or acquaintances, they seemed to enjoy comparing her with Meng Qi. In the past, she had been the darling of heaven — as the most talented among the girls of her generation in the Feng Alliance, she had always been her family’s most pampered and beloved daughter, outmatching even her two elder sisters.
Xue Zichen was young, beautiful, nobly born, and extremely talented, making her a favored marriage prospect among the disciples of the Feng Alliance and beyond, across the Western Realm and even the Three Thousand Worlds. She was used to being the center of attention, but since Meng Qi’s emergence, people liked to compare the two of them. Although she remained the beloved jewel of the Xue clan head and the younger sister of the strongest candidate of the future Feng Alliance’s leader, things were no longer the same. Everyone still respected her, doted on her, indulged her, but something seemed to have changed.
Xue Zichen couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different. Her elders still looked at her with affection, and her peers still indulged and admired her. Yet there were always those brief moments when her name came up alongside Meng Qi’s.
Perhaps it was because they were of a similar age, or perhaps before Meng Qi’s appearance, she was regarded as the most eagerly awaited talent among the younger generation of female medical cultivators. People would often jokingly mention the event in the Apricot Forest, saying with regret how happy her father would have been if it was she who passed the test that day.
To add insult to injury, some young men who used to follow her around, courted her and adored her, would occasionally mention Meng Qi in a teasing tone, noting that their elders had subtly instructed them to seize any opportunity to form a relationship with Meng Qi.
Remember, these young men’s families had once regarded her as the best prospective bride!
Furthermore, a few of her close friends who secretly had a crush on her elder brother came to ask if the Xue clan really intended for her brother Xue Chengxuan to marry Meng Qi.
Remembering this caused Xue Zichen to become so frustrated that she stamped her foot once more.
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