Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Before Ye Yuchan could reveal her true thoughts, Yunping gave the greedy man a sharp rap on the head.

With a helpless look in his dead fish eyes, he stared at the maid who was crouching with her head in her hands, and complained irritably, "Can't you be a little more ambitious? Can money help you cultivate to become an immortal? Can it help you attain enlightenment?"

"Waaah—"

But one of the maids, who was holding her head, blurted out, "Not necessarily. Maybe I can use money to prove my Dao and become a Money Saint or something. I'll be walking around with jewels gleaming in the street, and a few gold ingots will fall down every few steps. That would be pretty awesome."

Everyone: "..."

Old Yun is now starting to wonder if his female apprentice never touched money in her past life, or if she was smothered by money and then transmigrated.

How much must a person love money to want to use it to prove their faith?

It's understandable, though, since they're about to move into the palace, something most people never get to experience in their entire lives.

As for why—

It's all because of a guy named Xiao Yan... no, Fang Yan.

As Yun Ping walked along the luxurious corridor, he looked at Fang Yan, who was leading the way, and couldn't help but ask.

"By the way, what exactly does your master want with us? It can't be about what happened last time, can it?"

Mentioning the previous incident, Fang Yan unconsciously recalled the dreamlike scene in the Blackwater Abyss.

He tried more than once to confirm whether that experience was a hallucination, but his real memories kept telling him that it was real.

They did indeed see the legendary Black Dragon King and learned the origin of the Dragonbone Wasteland.

Of course, they still had a lot to say to Yunping and were eager to know his true identity.

However, Fang Yan refuted Yun Ping's conjecture—

"No, although my teacher and I both wanted to thank you, it seems that my teacher wanted to ask you more than just about the Dragonbone Wasteland."

"I think that makes sense. I should have explained things very clearly to Xiao Heizi last time."

Zhang Ruoxue interjected at this moment: "So, your teacher came to us because..."

Fang Yan paused for a moment before responding to Zhang Ruoxue: "Actually, I don't know much about this matter either. You should know when you see the teacher."

—So, it's something that can't be told to outsiders?

Almost subconsciously, a familiar figure popped into Yunping's mind, but he quickly shook his head, banishing the image from his consciousness.

Meanwhile, a maid, still marveling at the palace's opulent decorations, remarked, "So, we can stay here until we meet your teacher?"

Fang Yan paused for a moment, then smiled faintly: "Ah...yes, it's fine to stay as long as you like."

"Hmm, won't this cause you any trouble?"

The girl, as delicate as a porcelain doll, raised her head and stared at Fang Yan with her bright eyes, while holding a small dog with azure fur in her arms.

Upon seeing the girl's fiery red hair, which was exactly the same as his teacher's, Fang Yan was stunned for half a second.

Speaking of which, the last time in the Far East Snowfield, this red-haired girl named Lin Yuan was unconscious, so he didn't have much of a chance to talk to her.

Lin Yuan's petite and adorable appearance has indeed won Fang Yan's favor.

He smiled slightly and explained to Lin Yuan, "I am also considered a member of the royal family, so it's no problem for me to invite you into the palace in my personal capacity."

"Yes, after all, you are a member of royalty."

Unpleasant words were uttered in a sarcastic tone and reached the ears of everyone.

Although the voice came from behind him, Fang Yan didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to.

"Senior Brother Li, I didn't expect to see you here too."

He slowly turned around and, as expected, met those eyes that were narrowed to slits.

Everyone turned their gazes over, and what appeared before them was a young man with a cold, faint smile, narrowed eyes, and arms crossed.

He was dressed in the same luxurious gold and white royal attire as Fang Yan, with a deep blue rose brooch pinned to his chest, making him appear to be a member of the royal family as well.

The instant he saw Fang Yan, he also saw Yun Ping and the others. In an instant, the indifference and arrogance on his face vanished, replaced by anger and resentment.

"You guys are here too?!"

He pointed at Yunping instinctively, his anger making no attempt to conceal it.

However, in response to his anger, Yunping and his female disciples exchanged glances and saw the confusion in each other's eyes.

Finally, Ye Yuchan pointed to the young man who was called Senior Brother Li and asked calmly.

"Who are you? Do we know each other?"

"you……!"

Li Junpeng was so angry at Ye Yuchan's words that he almost fainted.

Who are you?

What the hell?!

"You've actually forgotten me? We traveled together all the way in the snowy plains of the Far East that day!"

This time it was Zhang Ruoxue's turn to scratch her head. She looked at Li Junpeng repeatedly, "Why don't I remember you? Do you even exist?"

Ye Yuchan shook her head. "I don't remember either."

Yunping suddenly slapped his forehead, revealing an expression of sudden realization.

Just as Li Junpeng was feeling relieved that he was finally being remembered, Yunping slapped him hard with the facts.

"I know! This is a typical scam, the kind where they say, 'Hey, do you know who I am? Listen to my voice, yes, yes, I am so-and-so,' and then use that method to scam people!"

……

"you……"

What a fucking liar!

Li Junpeng glared fiercely at Yun Ping, his eyes blazing with malice, as if he wanted to devour Yun Ping alive.

His cheeks flushed red, and he wanted to say something, but no curse words came out. In the end, he could only coldly flick his sleeve and say in a stern tone, "Hmph, I don't want to have a verbal argument with people like you!"

Yunping shrugged, having no intention of continuing to pay him any attention.

As for Li Junpeng, he certainly hadn't forgotten him. This kid was the idiot who tried to touch the secret realm's magic array with his face and ended up being slapped unconscious by him.

I never expected to run into him here.

It's worth mentioning that Ye Yuchan actually remembered him, but she was annoyed by his sarcastic tone, so she just wanted to tease him a little.

—Only Zhang Ruoxue, that girl has truly forgotten about this person.

"Senior Brother Li, what brings you here?"

After Yun Ping and the others had spoken for a while, Fang Yan finally stepped forward.

As the guide for Yunping and the others, he did not want Li Junpeng to cause any conflict between Yuntian Academy and the capital, which would be a huge loss for the capital and even the entire empire.

What's more, their own teacher, Chu Xin, is waiting to see them.

Li Junpeng glanced at Fang Yan disdainfully and sneered, "I just had nothing better to do, so I brought my distinguished guests out for a stroll."

"Distinguished guest?"

Fang Yan frowned. He seemed to have heard about these so-called distinguished guests.

It was at this moment that several unfamiliar figures appeared from around the corner—and bumped right into Yun Ping and his companions.

In an instant.

Several sharp beams of light, sharp enough to pierce through everything, pierced towards the crowd.

There were six cultivators, three men and three women, all dressed in royal robes, with different builds. The pressure emanating from them was enough to make ordinary people feel breathless, and each of them had a cold hostility on their face.

They all wore the same wooden plaques hanging from their waists, in other words—

These people are all contestants in the fierce competition among all factions.

"..."

It's not really surprising to run into contestants from all factions here.

Even members of the imperial royal family participate in the Battle of Ten Thousand Factions in order to demonstrate their strength before the King of Lantian. This involves intrigue and power struggles among the heirs.

But this seemingly mundane event greatly surprised one of the disciples among them.

"What a coincidence."

She had long, light blue hair, a beautiful figure, and a pair of ghostly purple eyes. She slightly raised her jade-like chin, and the blue rose on her chest swayed gently.

She stared at a figure ahead, her tone filled with endless laughter.

"I didn't expect to meet you here, Second Brother."

The woman's sharp gaze disappeared into the figures in front of her without exception.

Passing through Ye Yuchan, bypassing Zhang Ruoxue, and finally settling on him—

Jiang Yuetian.

He suddenly fell silent, lowered his head, and had no idea what to say to the woman.

Fang Yan noticed that Jiang Yuetian's arms were trembling slightly, and an indescribable fear was spreading rapidly from the body of this seemingly beautiful woman.

—Wait…Second Brother?

Such a beautiful fairy... is she a man?

Surprised that Jiang Yuetian was a man, Fang Yan was speechless for a moment.

Jiang Yuetian herself bit her lower lip tightly, letting cold sweat drip down her forehead.

"Oh--"

Seeing that Jiang Yuetian remained silent, the blue-haired woman tossed her head dismissively. "You're still the same as before. Whether you're facing me or my brother, you don't dare to say a single word."

"I heard about the bet between your teacher and your mother. I have to admit, your teacher did have some backbone, but it was just a foolish kind of backbone. If you hadn't left the Jiang family, you might have had a chance of winning, but you made the stupidest decision of your life..."

"Second Brother." The blue-haired woman looked at Jiang Yuetian again, but this time, her eyes flashed with disgust. "You really shouldn't be so willful."

"I……"

Jiang Yuetian seemed to want to say something, but the words were overwhelmed by the panic surging within her.