The weather today is quite nice. Fireworks are floating in the air, and light snow is gently falling.

Zhong Yinyue is leading Bai Rendong around the venue, taking in the sights of the grand ceremony. Some disciples are grilling meat at a stall, and a long line has formed in front of it. The aroma of the meat wafts through the mist, creating a lively atmosphere. This kind of liveliness is something rarely seen during their usual training.

Zhong Yinyue buys a skewer of meat for Bai Rendong and affectionately ruffles his hair. The child is still small, and at this moment, he is literally two heads shorter than Zhong Yinyue.

“Senior Brother Qiu from Qianyao Palace is over there performing fire breathing!” someone suddenly shouts from the crowd. “He’s with Senior Sister Dou! Let’s go take a look!”

The crowd erupts into even more noise, and many people quickly put down what they were doing and rush over in that direction. For this grand ceremony, Zhong Yinyue had specifically set aside a space and invited disciples who were willing to showcase some tricks they had learned during their training to celebrate the occasion.

As he watches the crowd rush over, Zhong Yinyue, who had been lost in thought about Shen Changxue, slowly comes back to his senses. He suddenly remembers that it was the disciples from Lingze Palace who had arranged for the performances.

Zhong Yinyue had only glanced at the list of performers. There were too many other matters to attend to, so he just skimmed through it and didn’t pay much attention to who was on it.

To his surprise, it’s Qiu Ge and Dou Xian?

These two are also major supporting characters in the story, and they became Bai Rendong’s senior brother and sister after he arrived at Qianyao Palace. They have always looked down on Shen Changxue, frequently speaking ill of him to Bai Rendong and subtly suggesting he keep his distance.

Thinking of this, Zhong Yinyue furrows his brow again.

It seems that everyone in Qianyao Palace looks down on Shen Changxue. Could it be that they all know Shen Changxue isn’t human, which is why they treat him so strangely?

Did Geng Mingji let it slip?

No, if he were so open about it, he wouldn’t care if it got out that Shen Changxue is a spirit cultivator. But Zhong Yinyue had treated Shen Changxue’s wounds and seen most of his upper body, and he didn’t see any marks of the life lock.

If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t be trying to control the situation so much; he would have left the mark in a conspicuous place.

The fact that he didn’t do that shows he doesn’t want people to know Shen Changxue is a spirit cultivator.

Moreover, Elder Guanghan had also been anxious, pulling him into a corner to talk. They both seemed to think this matter shouldn’t be made public.

But why do they think it shouldn’t be public?

The more Zhong Yinyue thinks about it, the more he feels something is off.

In this worldview, spirit cultivators are treated similarly to those of low status. Although their status is lowly, it’s not to the point where having one in the family would bring disgrace to the whole family. His lowly status is just due to his own background, unrelated to his sect.

So why keep it hidden?

If Geng Mingji doesn’t like Shen Changxue being the chief disciple, even though he’s clearly a monster, but still appears impressive to outsiders, then there’s even less reason to hide it.

If the fact that he’s a spirit cultivator were to come out, he would appear very lowly to outsiders, and they wouldn’t even need to waste time belittling him verbally.

Why hide it?

From Guanghan’s words, it seems that not many people within Tianjue Sect know about this.

The more Zhong Yinyue thinks about it, the more he feels something is wrong.

They’re hiding him… From Guanghan’s tone, it seems more like they’re afraid of him and Zhong Yinyue causing trouble rather than being afraid of the situation escalating.

Is there a reason they must keep him hidden?

It seems that the situation is far more complicated than Zhong Yinyue initially thought.

It’s as if there’s a swirling vortex secretly stirring, quietly consuming all unknown things.

Zhong Yinyue feels a chill creeping down his back.

It seems that getting Shen Changxue to join his sect isn’t going to be a simple matter.

Geng Mingji might not let go easily.

The reason he’s keeping Shen Changxue around is likely much deeper than Zhong Yinyue realizes.

“Who is Senior Brother Qiu, Master?” Bai Rendong asks curiously.

Zhong Yinyue snaps back to reality.

In front of him, the crowd is bustling, and he and Bai Rendong are standing at the edge.

With the noise of the crowd, Zhong Yinyue didn’t catch what Bai Rendong said and turned back to ask, “What did you say?”

“Oh, I was asking who Senior Brother Qiu and Senior Sister Dou are,” Bai Rendong replies. “Why are all these senior brothers and sisters going to watch?”

He looks at the crowd in front of him.

Ever since someone shouted that Qiu Ge and Dou Xian were performing in that open space, the crowd has gone wild. It’s like a concert, with disciples packed together, and every now and then, a few screams can be heard from the front. Those in the back can’t see and are getting anxious, with many shouting for others to make way.

Zhong Yinyue pulls Bai Rendong back a few steps to avoid being squeezed by the excited crowd.

This scene feels so familiar; it’s something that often happens in the original story.

“Qiu Ge and Dou Xian are both disciples under Elder Qianyao, and they are both highly regarded by the elder,” Zhong Yinyue explains. “Qiu Ge is also the chief disciple, while Dou Xian is a closed-door disciple. They are exceptionally talented and among the top disciples in Qianyao Palace. Both of them are handsome and skilled, making them quite popular in the sect.”

“Also a chief disciple?” Bai Rendong asks in surprise. “But… isn’t there usually only one chief disciple?”

In this story, each elder typically has only one chief disciple, who is usually the elder’s eldest disciple, hence referred to as the chief elder disciple.

The chief disciple is the one who has been personally taught by the elder, trained to be the successor.

When the master ascends to immortality and receives a celestial title, never to return to the mortal realm, the disciple inherits the master’s title and becomes the elder.

There can only be one successor.

Zhong Yinyue sighs, “I’m not quite sure about that. It’s indeed rare to have two chief disciples, and I don’t know what Elder Qianyao is planning.”

“Could it be that he doesn’t intend to give the celestial title to Senior Brother Shen?” Bai Rendong whispers, “Elder Qianyao seems like that kind of person, with bad intentions, quite annoying.”

Zhong Yinyue is thinking the same thing.

“Maybe it’s… no, it definitely is,” he whispers. “Looking at him, it seems he has no intention of giving that celestial title to Shen Changxue… but if that’s the case… wait?”

After pondering Shen Changxue’s situation for a moment, Zhong Yinyue suddenly realizes that Bai Rendong’s words don’t quite add up.

He suddenly lowers his head, “What did you just say?”

“Hmm?” Bai Rendong looks up, “I said… could it be that Elder Qianyao doesn’t intend to give the celestial title to Senior Brother Shen?”

“No,” Zhong Yinyue interrupts, “the part after that.”

“The part after that?” Bai Rendong says, “I said… Elder Qianyao seems like that kind of person, with bad intentions, quite annoying.”

Huh?

Zhong Yinyue’s expression goes blank.

Zhong Yinyue’s mind gradually goes blank.

The crowd is still buzzing with excitement. Qiu Ge and Dou Xian seem to be performing something else, and more waves of screams come from the crowd.

Zhong Yinyue is grateful for their popularity. Thankfully, they have the disciples going wild over them, only focused on screaming and pushing, making it so loud that he can’t hear Bai Rendong’s potentially dangerous words.

Zhong Yinyue is dazed for a long time before finally squeezing out a sound from his throat: “Huh?”

Bai Rendong is also confused. After a moment, he suddenly shows a panicked expression.

“Master, forgive me!” he quickly bows and says, “I didn’t mean to speak ill of Elder Qianyao! I… I know I was wrong!”

Zhong Yinyue stares at him, still in a daze, as he apologizes.

Zhong Yinyue takes a while to come back to his senses.

What did this kid just say?

He dislikes Qianyao?

“Wait a minute.”

Zhong Yinyue grabs him and, glancing at the crowd, quickly pulls him away.

He leads Bai Rendong back to the corner where they started.

Zhong Yinyue asks the flustered Bai Rendong, “I’m not angry with you. Just talk to me honestly. Don’t lie; this is just speaking the truth, it doesn’t count as speaking ill of someone.”

Bai Rendong seems to be struggling to understand the situation, nodding blankly.

Zhong Yinyue asks him, “Was what you said just now true? Do you really think Qianyao is annoying?”

Bai Rendong shrugs his shoulders and weakly nods.

“Why?”

“Because… he’s not a good person,” Bai Rendong replies. “He severely punished Senior Brother Shen and even accused him of stealing in front of all the elders… he frequently makes things difficult for Master, causing chaos in our Yuluan Palace. Today at the elder meeting, he deliberately tried to embarrass Master, speaking so harshly, and when Master countered him, he even blamed Master for it… From what I see, Elder Qianyao is arrogant and self-righteous, not as good as the legends say.”

Zhong Yinyue is stunned.

Does he even realize what he’s saying!?

Zhong Yinyue’s brain malfunctions, and various fragments of the original text flash through his mind—

[Bai Rendong’s vision blurred for a moment, and he nodded vigorously at Elder Qianyao, who had invited him. He suddenly knelt down and performed the bowing ceremony: “Elder Qianyao, please accept my bow!”]

[Elder Qianyao—Geng Mingji is his true good master. Just a few days after arriving, Bai Rendong couldn’t help but think this way.]

[He left that sorrowful place—Yuluan Mountain—without looking back. Heaven knows how much he hated that sycophant Yuluan; he didn’t deserve to be a teacher at all!]

[Elder Qianyao had completely taken him away from that cold hell, leading him toward a truly bright future.]

[Elder Qianyao is his light.]

[Elder Qianyao is completely different from Elder Yuluan!]

[Although Geng Mingji is strict, his swordsmanship is genuine. Bai Rendong truly regrets not meeting him sooner; he only regrets not going to Lingji Pavilion earlier and awakening his extraordinary spirit root sooner. He wasted over a year with that sycophant Yuluan! He should have come here earlier; Geng Mingji is the master he respects the most!]

[Elder Qianyao… truly is his sun!]

Zhong Yinyue stares blankly into Bai Rendong’s eyes.

This kid has been raised in Yuluan Palace, living like a wild dog down the mountain, and has never learned to read people or understand social nuances; all his emotions are written on his face and in his eyes.

Wow, this dislike is genuine.

Zhong Yinyue hasn’t seen such raw disdain in someone’s eyes for a long time.

Zhong Yinyue wipes his face.

What’s going on?

Isn’t the protagonist supposed to love Geng Mingji from start to finish? In the original text, he called him “light” and “sun,” almost writing it as a forbidden teacher-student romance redemption story!

Why does he dislike him now?

Why??