"What do you mean by 'woman'?"
"Didn't you see? That's no ordinary woman; that's a celestial fairy descending from the heavens!"
"That's none other than the famous Fairy Qinglian of Xuantian Sect! It's said that she is one of the few celestial fairies in Zhao Kingdom, and among them, she's renowned as the most beautiful! Seeing her today, she truly lives up to her reputation!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you not realize who you are? We are just mere mortals. How can we dare to covet Fairy Qinglian? If she finds out, a mere breath from her would be enough to end our lives without her even lifting a finger!"
"Ah! You're right. That was careless of me!"
The crowd buzzed with excitement, but to their surprise, Fairy Qinglian did not enter the pavilion built by the wood-element cultivators. Instead, she gracefully bypassed the pavilion and flew over the crowd on her lotus, her celestial aura enveloping her.
This scene instantly caused the hearts of countless men to race, their eyes wide, as though they were witnessing a dream!
"She's... coming here?!"
"How can this be?"
As everyone stared in shock, a sweet and alluring voice, soft enough to make their knees weak, echoed through the air, "Oh? It's you two little ones again! Hehe, it seems we are fated to meet. As the main characters of today's sect assembly, how can you mingle among the mortals?"
As she spoke, a rosy silk ribbon shot out from Fairy Qinglian's pale pink sleeve.
In the blink of an eye, the ribbon extended several dozen meters!
The crowd gasped in shock and quickly moved aside.
Lin Li and Junior Brother Liu exchanged a glance, but neither panicked.
They knew that Fairy Qinglian would not harm them.
The rosy ribbon wrapped around the two of them, gently lifting them up.
In the envious gazes of the onlookers, they were swept away.
The scenery around them blurred and changed.
Within moments, Lin Li found himself and Junior Brother Liu standing beside Fairy Qinglian, inside the center of her celestial lotus.
A faint fragrance filled the air.
Previously, when Lin Li had seen Fairy Qinglian from afar, he thought her to be beautiful, but there had been no other feeling. Now, within this confined space, he found himself less than five inches away from her!
He could see the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, smell her intoxicating scent, and see her flawless skin, smooth as jade...
Standing next to her, Lin Li realized that Fairy Qinglian only reached his shoulder in height.
Her icy, delicate beauty caused an image to flash in Lin Li's mind of her resting her head on his shoulder.
His heart raced, and he quickly pinched himself, reminding himself sternly: "I must not think like that! If Fairy Qinglian notices anything wrong..."
Realizing the vast difference between them, Lin Li knew that such thoughts were not only improper but could also bring disastrous consequences if revealed.
"Little one~"
Fairy Qinglian's allure needed no illusions or enchantments; her natural charm was enough to make any man feel uneasy.
"Today's sect assembly is all about you!"
Fairy Qinglian smiled sweetly. "Come, let's rest in the pavilion until the Sect Master calls for you. Otherwise, you might be called up all disheveled, climbing up the stairs, and that would be embarrassing for our Xuantian Sect!"
With that, she guided the lotus back toward the most populated section of the pavilion.
As they approached, the wooden door of the side room opened automatically.
Upon entering, Lin Li saw that five elders were already resting inside on wooden chairs.
When the elders saw Lin Li, Junior Brother Liu, and Fairy Qinglian enter, one of the elders, an older man with gray hair, frowned and scolded, "Qinglian! What do you think you're doing? Don't you know that only Core Formation elders are allowed in this pavilion? How dare you bring two Qi Refining outer disciples here? Have the praises of others gone to your head, making you arrogant enough to disregard the sect's rules?!"
"Tch~"
Fairy Qinglian was unimpressed.
This elder was the fifth elder of the Qi branch.
Although he had reached Core Formation long before her, he was only at the third layer of Core Formation, lower than Fairy Qinglian, who was already at the fifth layer.
Fairy Qinglian rolled her eyes at the fifth elder and said, "And yet, your maid and that junior beside you—one who hasn't even stepped into the path of cultivation and the other who is only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment—are both here. Doesn't that break the rules too?"
"You!"
The fifth elder glared at her. "One is my maid, and the other is my grandson! They are close to me, so bringing them is natural!"
"But I just saw these two boys among the crowd. Why did you bring them in?"
"Hehe! Are you trying to say these two are also your grandsons or... perhaps your servants?"
By now, the fifth elder's tone had turned mocking and sarcastic.
"You!"
Fairy Qinglian's face flushed with anger. "Is this because I rejected your advances? You're targeting me now? How on earth did someone with your pettiness ever reach Core Formation?"
"You slander me!"
The fifth elder sneered, "Who would've thought that the renowned Fairy Qinglian would stoop so low as to keep two little boys, barely even a fraction of your age, as playthings..."
"Enough!"
At that moment, the Sect Master, seated at the head of the room, shouted angrily, "Fifth elder! How dare you speak so disrespectfully?"
"Unless you want to be caught—" the fifth elder began to retort but was cut off.
"The purpose of this sect assembly," the Sect Master interrupted, "is, among other things, to recognize the two people brought here by Junior Sister Qinglian! And let me clarify: this is only the second time she has ever met them."
"Fifth elder, I am truly disappointed in you!"
After reprimanding the elder, the Sect Master's expression softened as he turned to Lin Li and said, "I apologize for what you just witnessed. Please don't take it to heart. The fifth elder is simply like that."
"No harm done, Sect Master!" Lin Li quickly replied, bowing in respect.
"Junior Sister Qinglian, please take a seat," the Sect Master gestured toward an empty chair, then performed a spell. In the space beside the chair, two small wooden shoots sprouted, and within a few breaths, they grew into two modest chairs.
"Young ones, you can sit for a while. The assembly will begin shortly, once everyone has arrived, and then you will be honored."
"Thank you, Sect Master!"
Lin Li clasped his fists and bowed again, not rushing to sit down.
After Fairy Qinglian took her seat, Lin Li and Junior Brother Liu politely allowed each other to sit first before taking their places.
From their vantage point in the pavilion, Lin Li could see the entire mountain gate square, filled with thousands of mortals who had come to witness the event.
In front of the platform, hundreds, nearly a thousand, Foundation Establishment inner disciples of Xuantian Sect were already gathered.
As for the Core Formation cultivators from the five peaks, aside from the six Core Formation elders from Tongtian Peak, including Fairy Qinglian and the Sect Master, Lin Li couldn't see any others from the four peaks.
Nevertheless, Lin Li knew...
There were surely many Core Formation cultivators present today.
Thousands of mortals had gathered, along with over a thousand fellow Qi Refining disciples, several hundred Foundation Establishment senior brothers, and numerous Core Formation elders—all gathered for the purpose of announcing the news about the disciples who had died in the back mountain trial and to honor Lin Li and Luo Zhiyuan.
As the center of attention, sitting in this elevated pavilion seat, Lin Li's heart swelled with anticipation and excitement.
He could feel a thin layer of sweat forming on his palms...