I Just Won't Play By The Book

At noon, all the disciples climbed to the top of Qiyun Peak. For Jiang Beiran, who rarely participated in group activities, found that climbing the mountain was very exhausting.

“As expected, no matter which world I stay in, being alone is the most comfortable choice.” Sighing in his heart, Jiang Beiran quietly returned to group of Order of Blue Heart.

Under the reprimands of the various Order Masters, the disciples of the 24 orders lined up in front of the Order of Blue Heart.

“Clang!”

As the bell rang in the hall, a middle-aged man wearing a dark gray robe with cloud patterns walked out. “Greetings, Incense Master Qin!”

All the Order Master, Law Protector, and disciples shouted in unison.

Nodding at the crowd, Qin Yuan waved his long sleeves and faced the Hall of Blue Heart and shouted, “Bow!” All the Order Masters and disciples knelt down and bowed three times to the Hall of Returning Hearts.

“Enter the hall!”

After the ceremony was completed, the disciples of the 24 orders walked into the Hall of Returning Hearts in an orderly manner.

As the landmark building of the Sect of Returning Hearts, the Hall of Returning Hearts was a magnificent and grand building. It was 56 meters long, 34 meters wide, and 26 meters tall. Its total area was close to 2,000 square meters, enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

There were 16 different types of bronze cauldrons in the hall. In the middle of the hall, there was a nine-beast golden-lacquered throne. On both sides of the throne, there were four statues, which were respectively the Luo Fish, the White Bull, the Feathered Crane, and the Water Qilin. The Luo Fish symbolized the stability of the sect, the White Bull was an auspicious beast, the Feathered Crane represented motivation, and the Water Qilin represented the inheritance.

Around the four statues, there were nine huge pillars carved with nine kinds of ancient strange beasts. Each of them was vivid and lifelike, giving people to feel a sense of reverence.

Jiang Beiran had been in the Sect of Returning Hearts for five years. He had only come to pay respects to his grandmaster once when he had just entered the sect. At that time, he had been shocked speechless by the luxurious atmosphere in the hall.

Now that he had returned to this place, he was still amazed by the grand atmosphere. When the disciples of the 24 orders lined up in front of the nine beasts gold-lacquered thrones, Incense Master Qin Yuan shouted loudly, “Welcome, Sect Master!”

All the Order Masters and disciples immediately bowed their heads and cupped their hands. They shouted in unison, “Welcome, Sect Master!”

When they raised their heads again, a middle-aged man dressed in an azure qilin-colored embroidered python robe descended from the sky and landed in front of the nine beasts golden-lacquered throne. It was the Sect Master of the Sect of Returning Hearts, Lu Yinlong.

“Greetings, Sect Master!”

Everyone in the hall shouted in unison.

“Hahahaha, good! Today, the most outstanding disciples of our Sect of Returning Hearts are gathered here. I am very happy.” After saying that, Lu Yinlong sat on the nine beasts golden-lacquered throne.

After sweeping his gaze across all the disciples, Lu Yinlong continued to say with a smile.

“This time, our sect has nurtured an outstanding disciple. He is only nineteen years old, but his cultivation has already reached the great mystic practitioner level. He can be said to be the number one disciple of our Sect of Returning Hearts in the past thirty years!”

Just as Lu Yinlong finished speaking, everyone’s gaze turned towards Wu Qingce’s direction.

The last time Wu Qingce won the title of the champion of the martial arts competition in the Rivernorth District, his reputation had already spread throughout the sect. Now, he had broken through to the great mystic practitioner level at the age of nineteen. Many disciples, who were still stuck at the fifth level of the mystic level, were so shocked that they could not close their mouths.

“Wu Qingce, step forward.”

Hearing the Sect Master suddenly call out his name, Wu Qingce immediately stepped forward and shouted, “Yes!”

“For this trip to the Sect of Masked Moon, I will appoint you as the leader of all the disciples. Take this Qing Gang Token. During this period of time, all the disciples will be under your jurisdiction.”

“I accept your orders!”

Wu Qingce had long known that he would be chosen as the team leader. Now, he was just going through the motions, so he was not too surprised or excited.

After Wu Qingce finished saluting, Qin Yuan walked over with a purple-gold token.

“Wu Qingce, receive the order.”

“Yes!” Wu Qingce respectfully stretched out his hands and took the Qing Gang Token.

In the Sect of Returning Hearts, above the Iron Seal was the Flower Crown, and above the Flower Crown was Qing Gang, which was the highest position among the disciples. In order to become Qing Gang, one required sufficient reputation and powerful strength. Although Wu Qingce’s talent was high, his reputation and strength were not considered top-notch, so this was only a temporary appointment.

But even if it was a temporary appointment, it also represented the Sect Master’s expectations of him.

When Wu Qingce received the Qing Gang Token, Jiang Beiran used his mind power to scan the expressions of the disciples without batting an eyelid. He found that most of the female disciples’ faces were filled with admiration, and a small number of the male disciples were filled with admiration and envy. However, most of them were still unconvinced and jealous. Although these expressions only flashed by for a moment, Jiang Beiran still remembered the disciples who showed those expressions in his heart.

“Salute!”

When Wu Qingce turned around to face the disciples with the Qing Gang Token in his hand, Xiang Master Qin looked at the disciples and shouted.

“Greetings, Qing Gang!”

Seeing that everyone was bowing to him, Wu Qingce resisted the urge to avoid the gazes of senior brothers. He replied nervously, “Since I have accepted this mission, I will do my best to protect all of you from harm!”

“What else?” Qin Yuan reminded him with a smile.

Wu Qingce instantly reacted and said confidently, “I will definitely live up to the Sect Master’s expectations and win first place in this gathering of young heroes!” “Well said!” Lu Yinlong laughed loudly and clapped his hands as he stood up, “I hope that every disciple in the hall will remember your mission. This time, we are not only going to celebrate the birthday of the Sect Master of Sect of Masked Moon. Winning first place in the competition is our main goal. We cannot let the Sect of Masked Moon look down on us. Do you understand?!”

“Yes!” All the disciples replied in unison.

“Very good! Keep momentum! Let’s go!”

“Sigh, Sect Master’s competitive spirit is still so strong.” Jiang Beiran had always known that Lu Yinlong did not know what modesty was. Ordinary people would say that friendship came first, and competition came second. However, Lu Yinlong felt that it was too hypocritical. Since it was a competition, then they had to go all out. Winning was always a priority before friendship to him.

After leaving the Hall of Returning Heats, the Sect Master and the Order Masters and the Law Protectors went down the mountain first. The disciples finally had a chance to catch their breath. After all, it was a little stressful in the main hall just now.

After relaxing for a while, all the disciples began to walk down the mountain. Ye Xincai looked around and soon found Jiang Beiran who was about to go down the mountain. Just as she was about to follow him, she suddenly felt her whole-body tremble, goosebumps all over her body stood up.

Gulp…

Swallowing her saliva, Ye Xincai trembled and looked behind her. She saw Lin Yuyan staring at her with an extremely terrifying expression, and the smile on her face seemed to be about to devour her.

Ye Xincai almost cried out in fear. She quickly turned her head, and bean-sized beads of sweat kept dripping down from her forehead.

“Who is that!? Senior… Senior Sister Lin? That’s impossible… she is usually very friendly. I must have seen wrongly… Yes, I must have seen wrongly.”

Turning her head around again, Ye Xincai found that Lin Yuyan had already left the mountain with a few female disciples while chatting and laughing. The temperament she displayed was the same as usual, she was a very gentle big sister.

“Junior Sister Ye?”

Just as Ye Xincai was thinking whether what she saw just now was an illusion or not, a voice suddenly sounded beside her. Ye Xincai was frightened and cried out.

“Junior Sister Ye, what’s wrong?” Senior Brother Lin asked nervously.

Ye Xincai, who had just recovered, patted her chest and smiled again. “Nothing. I saw a caterpillar just now… it scared me to death.” “Ah? Caterpillar?” Senior Brother Lin hurriedly stood in front of Ye Xincai. “It’s nothing. I’ll help you deal with it if I see it again.”

“Thank you, Brother Lin. Fortunately, you’re here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Hehe, it’s just a small matter. Come, I’ll walk in front. You just have to follow me slowly.”

“Okay.”

She followed Bother Lin down the mountain slowly, but the extremely horrifying scene from earlier still kept replaying in her mind.

“An illusion? It must be an illusion…”