Chapter 14: The Morning Departure

The temperature at dawn was biting cold, the air thick with moisture.

Song Qingyao stood at the mouth of an alley, a bundle on her back, shivering as the damp chill seeped into her bones.

She was still dazed.

Song Zhiyou had said that the Qingzhou Sect Recruitment was opening today and wanted to take her along.

And somehow, she had followed like a ghost in a trance.

Song Zhiyou told her to wait there while she ran an errand.

So she stood there, alone, feeling like a fool.

Song Qingyao clawed at her tangled, unbrushed hair, on the verge of losing her mind.

It was just a single question—”Do you dare to come with me?”—and she… she had actually followed Song Xiaoliu out!

No deliberation, no discussion with family. She had crept out of the Song residence like a thief, following Song Zhiyou without a word.

Song Qingyao was certain she had lost her mind.

Especially now, standing stupidly at the alley entrance, the feeling only intensified.

She wanted to go back.

But that felt like fleeing in defeat, a blow to her pride.

She paced back and forth, unable to make a decision, when Song Zhiyou returned.

Song Zhiyou had made another trip to the Green Wood Hall, banging on the door to wake the Shopkeeper and handing over three bottles of pills.

When the Shopkeeper learned Song Zhiyou was leaving immediately, it felt like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

Eventually, with great reluctance, she handed over a small teleportation sub-array, saying it could carry about a cubic meter of spatial teleportation, so Song Zhiyou could send back the refined pills whenever she had time…

Song Qingyao took a deep breath, waiting for Song Zhiyou to say something.

Instead, Song Zhiyou grabbed her sleeve and dragged her headlong out of the city.

Song Qingyao couldn’t hold back any longer: “Song Xiaoliu! We left without telling the elders.”

Song Zhiyou curled her lip. “I’m not familiar with them.”

Song Zhiyou had made up her mind.

She was taking Song Qingyao to the sect recruitment.

She didn’t know why the entire Song family was so still, but it didn’t matter anymore.

Since Song Qingyao’s spirit root might go berserk, she would take her to a major sect to fix the problem.

Since Song Qingyao might become a blood bag and stepping stone for Song Lingtian’s cultivation, she would make Song Qingyao strong—strong enough that Song Lingtian would be helpless, or even crippled.

If… that still didn’t work, then she would let Song Qingyao sleep forever before Song Lingtian could act.

And then cremate her, of course.

Song Qingyao had no idea what was going through Song Zhiyou’s mind. Hearing Song Zhiyou’s words, she choked up, lips moving but ultimately saying nothing.

Forget it. She would send word back when the time came.

Immortal sects—Song Qingyao had always yearned for them.

Originally, the Song family had ties with the major sect Cloud Water Sect. Family juniors never participated in the general recruitment; instead, talented members were handpicked and sent to Cloud Water Sect.

After Song Lingtian revealed his talent, the Song family sought to secure a marriage alliance with Cloud Water Sect and proactively brought it up.

The Cloud Water Sect’s sect master agreed to betroth his daughter to Song Lingtian.

But in the years following his display of talent, Song Lingtian became a complete waste. Feeling deceived, Cloud Water Sect came to break off the engagement.

At first, Cloud Water Sect didn’t intend to take it out on the Song family, but Song Lingtian felt insulted and publicly claimed that he was the one who rejected the sect master’s daughter, not the other way around.

Enraged, the Cloud Water Sect master distanced himself from the Song family.

Losing their backing sect, the Song family began to decline, and the batch of juniors who were supposed to enter Cloud Water Sect that year saw their chance vanish.

By then, the general recruitment had already passed, and those juniors missed even the opportunity to join other sects.

Song Qingyao had been among that batch. So had Song Zhiyou.

Song Qingyao had thought she would never have anything to do with immortal sects again.

But then Song Zhiyou suddenly told her that the recruitment, normally held every five years, had been moved up, and the age limit lowered to twelve.

Still… after leaving the city and walking for a long, long time, Song Qingyao finally couldn’t help asking: “Song Xiaoliu, where exactly are we going?”

“To Maple Forest Training Ground. The enrollment recruitment is being held there.”

Maple Forest Training Ground was the only training ground located between Heyang City and several surrounding cities.

It was a gathering place for cultivators in the area, where powerful experts occasionally came to give lectures.

Song Zhiyou had even bought a map to make sure they wouldn’t get lost.

Hearing this, Song Qingyao abruptly stopped.

“Isn’t there a teleportation array in the city? Why are we walking?”

Song Zhiyou’s body stiffened, then she stared at Song Qingyao, her small face turning serious.

“Song Xiaoqi, as cultivators, we must constantly strive to improve ourselves, forging ahead with determination. How can we cut corners or take shortcuts on the path of the Great Dao?!”

We’re already halfway there—no turning back!

Song Qingyao was clearly stunned by Song Zhiyou’s words.

She felt something was off, but facing Song Zhiyou’s sheer righteousness, she couldn’t pinpoint what.

Fuming, Song Qingyao lowered her head and trudged forward, deciding to give Song Zhiyou a silent, crushing response.

And after the two had left, a murmur sounded.

“As cultivators, we must constantly strive to improve ourselves, forging ahead with determination… Excellent! A fine phrase indeed!”

Behind the bushes the two had passed, the air rippled like water, revealing the figures of a group of people.

At the front stood a straight-backed man. Around him sat a circle of children in uniform moon-white robes.

The children, around ten years old, were naturally chattering, but their voices were all sealed off by a protective formation, unheard by the outside world.

The man’s eyes shone with deep admiration. He turned to the children behind him, his voice suddenly stern.

“Did you hear that? That little cultivator is about your age, yet she could speak such words: ‘as cultivators, we must constantly strive to improve ourselves, forging ahead with determination.’ And what about you? A mere few dozen li, and you had to stop halfway on a flying artifact to catch your breath. With such a mindset, even if you enter a sect, how far can you go?”

The children, the oldest no more than eleven or twelve and the youngest just eight, hung their heads in shame, not daring to speak.

Only one boy, about ten years old with a slightly arrogant look, curled his lip in disdain: “She’s just a brat at the sixth level of Qi Refining. What’s so great about that?”

“Lin Yue!”

The man’s brows knitted, his gaze sharp as lightning. The boy named Lin Yue still stuck out his neck stubbornly.

“If she’s really that amazing, why is her cultivation lower than mine? Third Uncle, don’t boost others’ morale at the expense of our own!”

Hearing this, the children who had been feeling guilty puffed out their chests again, looking as if Lin Yue was right.

The man was furious. Seeing his juniors start complaining again about how tiring the flying artifact was, he steeled his heart. He put away the Cloud Boat and said coldly: “From this moment on, we walk to Maple Forest Training Ground! Anyone who complains or slacks off can get out of the Lin family!”

The children trembled and fell silent, their faces bitter but not daring to disobey.

Even Lin Yue, not daring to confront the grim-faced man, walked at the front of the line, fuming inwardly.

But the Lin family juniors were used to a life of luxury; they had never walked such a long distance.

Soon, some began to drag their feet, their breathing uneven.

Yet the man seemed determined to temper their spirit, ignoring their pitiful pleas for mercy…

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