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墨書 Inktalez
That night, Ye Tian was arranged to stay in a disciple's hut located to the east of Fence Courtyard.
The hut was small, comparable to the dilapidated little house Ye Tian had in Spirit Martial Town back in the day. However, despite its simplicity, the atmosphere was quite peaceful, as there were no other huts or disciples' residences nearby in Square Area.
This arrangement was made by Xuanyuan Changfeng at Ye Tian's request. Although Ye Tian did not dislike lively environments, he inherently preferred tranquility.
The next morning, a melodious bell rang through the mountains. Ye Tian had heard it before at Azure Cloud Pavilion and knew it was a call for disciples to gather.
Dong dong dong...
Ye Tian listened carefully; the bell rang nine times. According to what Xuanyuan Changfeng had said the previous night, the number of bell tolls corresponded to various commands, and these nine rings indicated a gathering. The Cloud Rolling Sect was relatively loose and would not convene unless there was something significant happening.
"Could something have happened?" Ye Tian frowned, his first thought being that Yun'er had been discovered. Apart from that, he couldn't think of anything else that could occur within Cloud Sea Sect.
He quickly got up, dressed, groomed himself, and changed into the attire he received from Cloudscroll Pavilion last night. Then he hurriedly made his way to the gathering location.
The gathering point was not far; about ten miles north of his residence stood a high peak. At the summit was an open Stone Platform, which served as the assembly area.
The Stone Platform extended wide into Square Area for hundreds of zhang, its color a dark greenish-black that did not resemble earthly stone and likely originated from beyond this world.
The Stone Platform was very flat and had been artificially modified and decorated. At that moment, it resembled a massive training ground.
On the eastern edge of the Stone Platform was a viewing stand. It was neither high nor large, only about ten feet tall and three feet off the ground. In the center of the stand were three thrones; the largest one in the middle was meant for the Lord, while the other two were slightly smaller and prepared for Elder Stewards.
Behind the thrones fluttered a large flag in the wind. The flag was still the Cloud Banner but looked slightly different from what Ye Tian had seen before. The golden thread used for stitching patterns had been replaced with a dark silken thread that shimmered silver, embroidered with designs of Clouds Rolling and Unrolling.
At this moment, the sky had not yet brightened significantly; it was merely the time when the first light of dawn began to break. The illumination was not very strong, and thus the image on the Cloud Banner gave a sense of oppression. However, this feeling transformed into an aura of solemnity under the backdrop of the three characters that emerged from the cloud patterns.
"Cloudscroll Pavilion." A young woman gently read out the three characters on the banner, her eyes flashing with a complex light.
When Ye Tian arrived, many disciples had already gathered here, numbering over a hundred, which accounted for a quarter of the total members of Cloud Rolling Sect. Looking around, he could see streams of people continuously flowing in from all directions, converging towards this place.
After conversing with a slightly older disciple, Ye Tian learned that this place was called the Cloud Viewing Stone Platform. As for its purpose, there was no need to ask; whether for appreciation, punishment, competition, or training, any collective activity of Cloud Rolling Sect would be held here.
"You must be new here?" The speaker appeared to be around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with an ordinary appearance but a somewhat fatigued expression.
"Yes, I hope Senior Brother can offer guidance," Ye Tian replied politely with a cupped fist gesture.
"Guidance is too much to say, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I can try my best to help you," the older disciple said.
Hearing this, Ye Tian felt warmth in his heart. From his perception, the other party's strength was around that of a Four-Stage Martial Artist, only one level higher than himself. In truth, he could not provide much guidance to Ye Tian; conversely, his understanding of martial arts might not surpass Ye Tian's.
"Thank you very much, Senior Brother," Ye Tian cupped his fists again. Although this person's strength could not offer him much help, just his words were enough to warm one's heart.
"No need to be polite," the man waved his hand casually.
"May I ask your surname, Senior Brother?" Ye Tian felt a good rapport with him and wanted to chat a bit more.
"My surname is Zhang," Brother Zhang replied somewhat rudely. This was a common flaw among many people; when interacting with newcomers, they often liked to view themselves as superior, which inadvertently revealed a hint of arrogance and condescension in their speech or behavior.
Though rude, Ye Tian did not mind and smiled as he said, "Then I shall call you Brother Zhang."
Brother Zhang, whose full name is Zhang Bin, is currently staring into the distance as if searching for someone. After hearing Ye Tian's words, he merely nodded in a perfunctory manner.
Following his gaze, Ye Tian took a glance and then waited for him to finish before asking, "Brother Zhang, do you know why the disciples were summoned today?"
Zhang Bin pondered for a moment and replied uncertainly, "It seems that the Lord is going to hold a formal apprenticeship ceremony for that Wine Kid."
"Oh..." Upon hearing Zhang Bin's words, the heavy stone in Ye Tian's heart was finally set down. In fact, when he first arrived here, he noticed that there was no serious or puzzled expression on the faces of the crowd. The absence of seriousness and tension indicated that the purpose of this gathering was not a bad thing, and the lack of confusion suggested that most people could guess what it was about. Since that was the case, the situation regarding Yun'er's identity being exposed could basically be ruled out.
"The Wine Kid hasn't undergone the Apprenticeship Ceremony yet?" With his worries alleviated, Ye Tian relaxed significantly and began to chat with Zhang Bin.
"No, that kid is particularly stubborn. I heard that the Lord has long intended to hold this personal apprenticeship ceremony, but he has been delaying it because he wants the Wine Kid to ask him for it. However, the Wine Kid is as stubborn as a mule, and that's why it's been postponed until now." When Zhang Bin said this, there was a hint of jealousy in his tone because they all wished to become personal disciples, while the Wine Kid treated such a precious opportunity so carelessly. Moreover, what frustrated everyone even more was that the Wine Kid's behavior did not deter Xuanyuan Changfeng from wanting to take him as a personal disciple.
Just as Ye Tian was about to speak, Zhang Bin continued, "I heard that about a year ago there was another person like this called Tian Lai. Even when personally invited by the Lord, he didn't come."
After saying this, Zhang Bin wore a complex expression and patted Ye Tian on the shoulder, saying, "Little brother, do you know what it means to be personally invited? It means the Lord traveled a great distance just to invite him!"
Ye Tian awkwardly nodded with a flushed face.
"Damn it, I really don't understand what they are thinking!" Zhang Bin spat out in frustration, his expression perfectly embodying envy and resentment.
"Hehe, Brother Zhang, I have something to attend to over there. Let's chat again when we have the chance." Ye Tian felt extremely awkward and could only find an excuse to slip away.
"Go ahead! If you have any questions, remember to come ask me!" Zhang Bin called out after him.
As Ye Tian turned back and waved goodbye, he finally understood why Zhang Bin was so enthusiastic; it turned out he was just trying to find some confidence through the Newly Accepted Disciple.
Passing through the crowd, Ye Tian arrived at the eastern edge of the Stone Platform, which was relatively quiet, and for some reason, no one had gathered here.
As he stood still, Ye Tian suddenly felt several gazes fixed on him. Turning his head to look, he found that at a distance of ten zhang from his position, the disciples surrounding the area were all staring at him with complex expressions in their eyes.
Ye Tian's heart raced; he saw too many emotions reflected in those gazes—surprise, envy, mockery, jealousy, disdain, and even flattery. In short, there was a mix of everything.
Ye Tian shook his head and rubbed his face, ultimately inspecting himself from head to toe but finding nothing unusual.
"What is going on..." Ye Tian muttered quietly to himself, and his face instantly flushed.
It wasn't terrifying to be looked at like a monster by a group of people; what was frightening was that he didn't even know why.
Ye Tian focused intently, trying to use his strong perception to hear what they were saying in order to analyze some clues. However, due to the large number of people and the chaotic discussions, all he could hear was a buzzing sound, akin to flies buzzing around.
"Ye Tian."
Just when Ye Tian was feeling overwhelmed, a clear voice suddenly reached his ears.
Upon hearing the voice, Ye Tian looked up in surprise and thought, "Why is it her again..."
Sure enough, the first thing he saw upon looking up was a graceful and beautiful young girl approaching him.
"Yun'er..." Ye Tian braced himself and walked forward to meet her.
"You really are here," Yun'er said with a bright smile as she stood less than a foot away from Ye Tian.
Ye Tian quickly took a step back and awkwardly smiled, "What brings you here?"
"I'm here to see you," Yun'er said, her beautiful eyes blinking charmingly, captivating anyone who looked.
However, this charm felt somewhat alarming to Ye Tian, as such beauty was right in front of him. The sound of her breathing was audible, and any man would find it hard to avoid inappropriate thoughts. But as those thoughts arose, they were accompanied by an overwhelming sense of guilt towards Cold Frost, making Ye Tian feel quite uncomfortable.
"How did you know I was here?" Ye Tian asked again, deliberately cooling his tone.
"I heard it from Wine Kid. He came to Azure Cloud Pavilion last night looking for Sister Ningyue and mentioned that you were holding some kind of personal apprenticeship ceremony today," Yun'er replied, unfazed by Ye Tian's tone. She could tell that his coldness was merely a way to create distance between them.
"Sister Ningyue?" Ye Tian looked at Yun'er in surprise. He really didn't understand women; the way Yun'er referred to Sister Ningyue sounded even more affectionate than he did. What was going on?
"Yes, what's wrong? If you call her Sister Ningyue, I can't just call her by her name," Yun'er said with a playful smile.
"..." Ye Tian was left speechless.
"And we had a great chat too."
"You two chatted? About what?" Ye Tian was utterly shocked, feeling as if the world was about to collapse around him.
"We talked about you!" Yun'er said before bursting into a fit of giggles.
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