“Third, Third Grandmaster!”

Everyone, old and new disciples alike, swiftly stood at attention. They lowered their heads and saluted to show their respect. Only a few of the more courageous disciples were standing in a corner, secretly laughing and engaging in an inaudible conversation.

Xiao Chen turned around and saw a woman dressed in white gradually getting closer. Right then, it felt like his vision was being enveloped by a fog so thick it could only have appeared in winter. It was only after he peeled away the layers of fog that he could finally see her face.

“Ma-master…” an emotional Xiao Chen muttered.

The woman in white glanced at him and chuckled. “You’re quite an interesting kid. The worshipping ceremony hasn’t even started yet, but you’re already calling me your master?”

Xiao Chen was startled. He then trembled, as if there was a jolt of electricity running through his body. Only now did he see that this woman wasn’t Bai Ying. She just looked and sounded like her. Even the way she spoke resembled Bai Ying.

Elder Wu coughed once to dispel the awkward air. He smoothened his beard and said, “Told you, didn’t I? She can take the soul of a person even 400 kilometers away.” Elder Wu coughed once and smoothed his beard to dispel the awkward air.

The woman in white walked up to Elder Wu and smiled sweetly at him. “Elder Wu, you must be really free. Why don’t you help me remove weeds and harmful bugs at the back of my Wind-heeding Pavilion?”

The old man immediately changed the topic and told everyone, “Um, this is your Third Grandmaster, Shui Yue. What are you waiting for? Greet her.”

Only then did the crowd snap back to their senses. They said in unison, “Greetings from your disciples, Third Grandmaster!”

“You may drop the courtesy.” Shui Yue waved her hand and said lazily, “You’re my disciples from now on. Come on, follow your big sister.”

Everyone looked at each other. The Third Grandmaster didn’t quite match up to their imagination. Did she just skip the worshipping ceremony altogether?

Elder Wu smoothened out his beard, daring only to sigh but not to speak. The other three grandmasters demanded a long, complicated worshipping ceremony, but all the steps could be omitted when it came to Shui Yue.

Xiao Chen’s gaze continued to linger on Shui Yue, as if he had truly lost his soul to her. She really resembled Bai Ying, even the way she spoke without reverence.

Some of the older disciples were wearing strange expressions. A few looked like they could no longer smile. The group of courageous disciples was whispering, “Pfft! These kids are so unlucky. The grandmasters even skip the sorting and just leave them all to the Third Grandmaster!”

“Puff!”! If I remember correctly, the Third Grandmaster hasn’t had any disciple who entered the Earth Ranking so far?”

“Who said that? She has one now, doesn’t she? Number 69th! “Puff!”!”

Their conversation reached Shui Yue’s ears as clear as day, but she didn’t pay them any mind. She waved at the disciples behind her. “Come with me.”

“Wait!” a panicked voice rang out. Baili Xiaohualuo ran out of the teleportation formation, looking like he was in a rush.

“Third Grandmaster.” He walked up to Shui Yue and saluted her.

“What’s wrong?” Shui Yue asked flatly.

“Well…” Baili Xiaohualuo had already come up with the lines in his head. He had to properly express the First Grandmaster’s intentions while taking care not to offend Shui Yue. “Junior Sister Jiang is an old friend of mine. Please allow me to take her to the First Grandmaster so that it’ll be easier for us to exchange notes in the future.”

Shui Yue frowned. Naturally, she could tell that Jiang Qianqian was quite talented. She shook her hand and said, “So be it.”

Baili Xiaohualuo smiled and saluted her again. “Thank you, Third Preceptor.” He then turned to Jiang Qianqian and gave her a look.

Jiang Qianqian might not like him, but this concerned her future. Having a good teacher in the Cloud Mist Academy triumphed everything. Without even thinking about it, she walked to his side. Then, Baili Xiaohualuo added, “There are a few of my acquaintances here as well. I hope that…”

Shui Yue was truly frowning this time. How could she not tell what Baili Xiaohualuo was doing? It took just one glance at the Mystic Sky Rankings for her to understand everything. She laughed and said indifferently, “Do whatever you want.”

“Thank you, Third Grandmaster.” Baili Xiaohualuo saluted her and then walked over to the group of newcomers. He went up to Yumu Shishan and whispered, “Junior Brother Yumu, come with me.”

Yumu Shishan hesitated for a beat before nodding and joining him. Baili Xiaohualuo then came up to Xiao Chen and Chu Qi. “Junior Brother Xiao, Junior Sister Chu Qi, why don’t you join me at the First Grandmaster’s place?”

This time, even the older disciples in the distance could see through Baili Xiaohualuo’s little tricks. It was obvious that the First Grandmaster was trying to get the more talented newcomers to his side. Many shook their head with a smile, not saying anything. These chosen newcomers were quite lucky. As expected, someone with good aptitude was also born with good luck. There was nothing to be argued about. The First Grandmaster had more than ten disciples on the Heaven Ranking. The other three grandmasters couldn’t even hope to compare.

Chu Qi remained expressionless. When her foot was about to move, Xiao Chen immediately pressed down on her hand. He smiled at Baili Xiaohualuo and said, “Thank you for your offer, Senior Baili. It’s all right. It’s the same wherever we are.”

“What?” The older disciples weren’t the only ones shocked this time. So was Baili Xiaohualuo.

Elder Wu smoothened his beard without commenting. It wasn’t his place to interrupt. Shui Yue glanced at the Earth Ranking and also chose not to say anything.

Xiao Chen chuckled and turned to look at the dozen or so of youngsters behind him. They stared back at him. They were just inexperienced newcomers, so they didn’t understand the politics behind this. They were merely hoping that Xiao Chen would just stay here with them.

A frowning Baili Xiaohualuo pulled Xiao Chen aside and whispered into his ear, “These people are very mediocre cultivators. You don’t have to pay them any mind. You, on the other hand, have been personally selected by the First Grandmaster. I know you understand that not every place is the same. The First Grandmaster has more than ten disciples who are on the Heaven Ranking. If you make it to the Mystic Sky Rankings in the future, your seniors will watch over you and no one will dare to challenge you either.”

“Are you guys done? If yes, I’m going to take my disciples away.” Shui Yue’s ice-cold voice entered their ears.

Xiao Chen took a deep breath. It wasn’t easy to make a choice sometimes. He could tell that the four grandmasters were different. Logically, he should join the First Grandmaster for a bright future. He might even make the Heaven Ranking before long. But, his heart was steering him toward Shui Yue.

“Sorry, Senior Brother Baili. I’m going to stay with the Third Grandmaster.”

Even Shui Yue’s expression changed this time. Emotions rippled in the depth of her pupils. She looked at Xiao Chen as if she could see the traces of a person very similar to him from many years ago.

The older disciples started talking without care. Not anyone could learn under the First Grandmaster. They couldn’t even go even if they wanted to. Did this guy damage his brain somewhere? Even they were starting to get angry. This guy didn’t know what was good for him. He would soon regret it.

Xiao Chen laughed and pulled Chu Qi to Shui Yue’s side. The group of several ten youngsters happily followed him when they saw that he wasn’t leaving.

“Let’s go.” Shui Yue was so indifferent that she didn’t even look at Xiao Chen. She just led the hundreds of newcomers to the teleportation formation.

Baili Xiaohualuo’s brows were still furrowed, but he led Jiang Qianqian and Yumu Shishan away. The dozen or so older disciples scattered as well, leaving behind Elder Wu standing in place by himself. He let out a long sigh.

Twilight was inching closer and the glow of the setting sun was lighting up the horizon. The entire Mist Mountain seemed to be covered in a layer of muslin. The group went through several teleportation formations in succession. Shui Yue remained silent throughout the journey. Even though she didn’t say anything about the incident earlier, it was clear that it made her unhappy.

She wasn’t terribly concerned about it, but still. Not only did they dump the worst disciples on her, but they even tried to take away the few good ones. She told herself that it wasn’t a big deal, but she was still upset about it.

“Third Grandmaster… Why aren’t you saying anything?” a petite girl behind her cautiously asked.

Shui Yue turned her head and smiled. “It’s nothing. It’s already dark. Let’s get to the Wind-heeding Pavilion first, where I’ll arrange for your accommodation. We can talk about the rest tomorrow.”

The so-called Wind-heeding Pavilion was a floating island similar to the Mystic Sky Pavilion, except it was countless times larger. The island was so big that it seemed boundless. Unless one was standing on the edge of the island, there was no way one could tell that this was a floating island.

The twilight glow enveloped the running stream, little kiosks, pavilions over the water, the bed of flowers, towering mountains in the distance, dense forest, and halls and buildings that they could barely make out. It was a lot more impressive than Bai Ying’s Moon-watch Peak. After all, one was in the Human World, the other in the Violet Manor.

There were existing disciples at the Wind-heeding Pavilion, though not a lot. Their cultivation progress was different from newcomers too, so their dormitories were in different places. The hundreds of newcomers were temporarily housed in a make-shift dorm for the night before getting assigned to their new rooms tomorrow. After all, the boys and girls must be separated.

Today was an exception. Several hundreds of newcomers, equally divided in genders, squeezed into a large courtyard. Their non-stop chattering filled the night, adding a touch of liveliness to the typically quiet Wind-heeding Pavilion by the time the final ray of the sunshine hit the earth.

Xiao Chen returned to his room at night and closed the doors. He lay down a soundproofing barrier, closed his eyes, and sank into contemplation. It was only after coming to the Cloud Mist Academy today that he realized how inadequate he was. He still had a lot to learn compared to the truly powerful experts.

He was quite relaxed as Yang Qing and the rest were tracking down Ren Tianxing. They would update him with a jade note as soon as they learned anything. His biggest concern now was advancing his cultivation grade.

But, the Cloud Mist Academy wasn’t the only problem he had to consider. He couldn’t hastily use the Wisdom-forsaking Technique and he didn’t have enough Mystic Stones either.

He sighed. The night seemed to have gotten a little darker. In the sky, a half-moon hung there by its lonesome.

Meanwhile, a cyan-clothed woman was walking down a certain quiet path, her every step appearing laborious. Under the faint moonlight, one could barely make out her face. Her brows were furrowed and she was biting hard on her lower lip.

She finally stopped in front of a cave house. She lowered her voice and her voice shook as she said, “Why, why are you looking for me, Senior Brother?”

No reply came from inside the cave house. It was pitch-black inside as if the darkness would swallow everything that entered it, not allowing any escape.

A long time later, the woman heard the rustling of the wind and then a sinister voice. “Why do you think…”

The voice was so low that it struck inexplicable fear in its listeners in the cold night. One couldn’t distinguish who the voice belonged to either.