A peaceful night passed without dreams.

The next morning, Bai Tu woke up very early.

Perhaps he had been exhausted the day before, but Bai Tu slept more soundly than he had in recent days. He stretched lazily when his fingers brushed against something warm.

Bai Tu opened his eyes, and Yun Ye’s face, magnified several times appeared right in front of him.

—!!!

Years of maintaining the stoic composure of a cold, aloof immortal lord almost failed him in this moment. His reflexes kicked in, and he tried to pull away, only to be stopped by an arm wrapped around his waist.

Fortunately, Bai Tu quickly snapped back to his senses and covered his mouth, managing to suppress a shout.

It was then that Bai Tu realized the light barrier he had set up the night before had somehow been broken, and he was now lying in Yun Ye’s arms. Judging by the situation, it seemed he had spent the entire night like this.

Once his mind cleared, Bai Tu felt a chill run down his spine. He carefully glanced at Yun Ye, holding his breath as he did so.

Yun Ye’s eyes were slightly closed, his breathing steady and deep, still asleep.

Bai Tu managed to calm himself down a little.

Yun Ye’s sleep was usually deep, and recently he had been working hard to practice, so he was likely sleeping even more soundly than Bai Tu, completely unaware of what had happened the previous night. Bai Tu comforted himself with this thought as he slowly pushed Yun Ye’s arm away and slipped out of his embrace.

Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Bai Tu hadn’t fully caught his breath when he looked up and was met by Yun Ye’s half-lidded, sleepy eyes.

Bai Tu was so startled he almost jumped again, forcing himself to stay calm as his heart raced to the point of almost leaping into his throat.

Yun Ye rubbed his eyes and smiled at him, tilting his head. “Good morning, Master.”

“Good morning…” Bai Tu answered, forcing the words out.

Yun Ye asked. “Did you sleep well last night, Master?”

Bai Tu hesitated before giving a small nod.

“I slept very well too,” Yun Ye said, sitting up and teasing him with a smile. “But, if Master hadn’t kept crawling into my arms and changing positions several times, maybe I would’ve slept even better.”

Bai Tu froze for a moment, and his face turned bright red. “R-Really?”

Yun Ye’s eyes curved into a smile. “Yes, really.”

Bai Tu turned his head, pressing his back hard against the cold wall, forcing himself to calm down… but how could he calm down?!

How could he be so embarrassing—ahh!

“However, it’s no big deal.” Yun Ye leaned in closer, his voice a little hoarse, adding. “Master was very cute last night.”

He wished he could just disappear.

Yun Ye watched with satisfaction as his normally expressionless Master’s face shifted between awkwardness and embarrassment, enjoying the sight.

After a moment, he finally admitted. “Just kidding. Master slept very peacefully last night.”

Aside from initially being restless, Bai Tu had eventually stayed quietly in Yun Ye’s arms, so obediently that it drove Yun Ye’s suppressed desires wild, only managing to fall asleep much later in the night,

It wasn’t until this moment that Bai Tu realized he’d been tricked. He ground his teeth lightly. “Yun Ye…”

“Yes.”

Bai Tu: “Go and practice the swordsmanship I asked you to do yesterday—another four hundred times. Don’t eat until you’re done.”

Yun Ye: “…”

Without waiting for Yun Ye to throw another tantrum, Bai Tu raised his hand and summoned a gust of wind that swiftly carried Yun Ye out of the room.

Once the door shut, Bai Tu sulked as he sat on the bed, the heat on his face lingering for quite a while.

In the following days, Bai Tu rarely saw Yun Ye again, until the day of the trial.

That morning, Bai Tu arrived early at the main peak of Tianyan Sect, accompanied by the Sect Leader. The training grounds were filled with a bustling crowd with many disciples from Tianyan Sect joining in just to see what was going on.

They weren’t there for the new disciples.

The news of Yun Ye’s participation in the trial spread quickly within the Sect. Tianyan Sect officially claimed that it was the will of Immortal Zhaohua for Yun Ye to make up the trial. However, to the outsiders, it seemed more like proof that Immortal Zhaohua was eager to rid himself of the young man.

After all, if Yun Ye couldn’t even make it out of the Primordial Secret Realm, what face would he have left to remain Immortal Zhaohua’s disciple?

No matter how the outside world speculated, both Bai Tu and Yun Ye, the parties involved, paid no attention.

Bai Tu sat bored on the high platform, his gaze sweeping over the disciples below who were about to enter the secret realm. His eyes quickly landed on a familiar face in the crowd.

Tianyan Sect did not restrict disciples from bringing magical tools into the secret realm, so most of them carried a fair amount of luggage. In contrast, Yun Ye stood at the back of the crowd, carrying only an ordinary long sword—used by inner disciples for practice. He looked indifferent, feeling somewhat out of place among the others.

As if sensing Bai Tu’s gaze, Yun Ye lifted his eyes and met his.

Bai Tu hurriedly shifted his gaze away.

What he didn’t see was that after he looked away, Yun Ye’s expression darkened slightly.

The elder responsible for the trial began announcing the rules for entering the secret realm, but Yun Ye only kept his focus on the white-clad figure on the platform, a sense of disappointment swelling in his chest.

He had thought that his master would enter the secret realm with him.

Just like in his past life.

In his past life, Bai Tu had disguised himself as an ordinary new disciple and entered the Primordial Secret Realm with Yun Ye, helping him a great deal during the trial.

Now, standing on the training field and seeing that person sitting perfectly on the high platform, Yun Ye couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment rise in his chest.

He clicked his tongue, lowering his eyes.

Getting distracted by such a small thing—he truly was becoming more and more useless.

Once the elder finished explaining the precautions, Ling Weijun officially opened the secret realm.

A gust of wind swept across the vast training field, and a crack slowly formed in the center of the windstorm. The crack widened, and a blinding white light emerged from it, so bright that it nearly blinded anyone who looked at it.

“Secret realm—open!”

As the declaration rang out, the white light blossomed, enveloping all the new disciples gathered on the field. When the light faded, the disciples were no longer there.

At the same time, several light screens appeared above the training field, displaying the current state of the Primordial Secret Realm.

Bai Tu let out a soft sigh, leaning back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the scene around him had completely changed.

Before him lay a dim, misty forest, thick with fog, its somber atmosphere tinged with an eerie sense of unease. Bai Tu blinked and looked down, inspecting his current appearance.

He had promised the sect leader that he would participate in the trial, so he couldn’t simply vanish in front of everyone. Reluctantly, he had to split off a third of his soul and form an avatar, entering the secret realm along with the other disciples.

Now, he wore the same robes as the other new disciples of Tianyan Sect. His figure was slightly shorter and more frail than before, with a small cloth bag slung over his back, making him appear especially delicate and fragile.

This face was not the same one he had used in his past life.

Bai Tu clutched the cloth bag tighter. Before he could locate Yun Ye, he heard a voice. “Is this the Primordial Secret Realm? It doesn’t seem like much.”

The person speaking appeared to be in his twenties, tall and handsome, with a long knife at his waist, its blade faintly glowing with spiritual pressure.

Bai Tu glanced over briefly, noting that this person’s cultivation level seemed quite high.

Due to Ling Weijun’s announcement that Immortal Zhaohua intended to take a disciple from among the new recruits, half of this year’s entrants came from different sects, many with solid cultivation backgrounds.

For them, passing through the Primordial Secret Realm was an easy task.

The young, baby-faced disciple next to him tugged at his sleeve and whispered. “Senior Brother Yin, it’s better to be cautious.”

“Yes,” someone replied. “As the Elder just mentioned, there will be occasional demon attacks in the secret realm. We must remain vigilant.”

“Are the demons very powerful? How should we defend ourselves?”

“Personally, I think we should avoid acting alone for the next few days. We should support each other and make it through the seven days together.”

“Right, let’s do that.”

…

The trial lasts for seven days. All new disciples enter the secret realm together and spend seven days within it. After those seven days, they must find the exit to the realm and leave safely. Those who succeed were considered to have passed the trial and can officially become disciples of Tianyan Sect.

If a disciple fails to leave the secret realm safely or encounters danger and fails during the trial, they will be teleported out of the Primordial Secret Realm and lose their qualification to stay in Tianyan Sect.

Therefore, for trial participants, as long as they can safely get through the seven days, they will successfully pass the trial.

Staying together as a group would ensure they wouldn’t be afraid of the demon beasts.

The disciples quickly settled on a plan, exchanging a few words. The first person to speak, however, seemed uninterested in their discussion. He took a step forward and asked. “I’ve heard that Immortal Lord Zhaohua’s disciple is here as well. Would it be possible for Senior Brother to step forward and let us meet him?”

The crowd immediately began to murmur.

Since arriving at Tianyan Sect, Yun Ye had never shown himself in front of others, so the new disciples naturally didn’t know who he was.

At the back of the crowd, Yun Ye silently sneered and then turned, walking into the forest. Bai Tu glanced at Yun Ye’s departing figure, subtly furrowing his brow, and quickly grabbed his small bundle to follow.

The crowd, lost in conversation, didn’t notice that two people were missing from the group.

The fog in the forest was thick, making it difficult to see. Bai Tu didn’t dare to use magic to sense Yun Ye’s location and could only follow his memory. After walking for a while, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him. “Why are you following me?”

Bai Tu turned around and saw Yun Ye leaning against a tree, his eyes lifting slightly to look at him. His expression was so cold it sent a chill down Bai Tu’s spine.

Yun Ye had always been obedient in front of Bai Tu and had never spoken to him in this tone before. Bai Tu was momentarily taken aback. Realizing the role he was playing now, he took two steps forward, lowered his head, and softly said. “They just said we shouldn’t act alone.”

Yun Ye didn’t respond. After a brief pause, a faint mocking sound came from above Bai Tu’s head.

“What does that have to do with you?” Yun Ye stopped for a moment, his eyes filled with obvious disdain. “Besides, aren’t you acting alone now?”

Yun Ye’s tone was far from polite.

Bai Tu didn’t get angry, patiently replying. “I’m worried about your safety.”

“Worried about me?”

Yun Ye walked up to Bai Tu, lifted his chin, and narrowed his eyes, sizing him up like prey.

At that moment, Bai Tu looked like a delicate young man, much shorter than Yun Ye. His eyes were clear and harmless, resembling a small, defenseless animal that could only be squeezed and molded by others.

No matter how you looked at it, he seemed to be the one who needed protection.

After a moment, Yun Ye sneered. “With you, this little fool?”

Bai Tu: “…”

=^_^=

Author has something to say: Bai Tu: I’ll give you three seconds to kneel and apologize to me!!