Chapter 65 (1/2)

Raising his guard, Xiao Chen put on a smile. “Senior Brother, is there a problem?”

“Are you the Han brothers?”

“Yes. I’m Han Chen. This is my brother, Han Feng,” Xiao Chen replied with a smile as he pointed to Xiao Han next to him.

“Hm, not bad. Go on in.”

The three people successfully entered the cabin. The cold sea wind assailed their noses with the pungent fishy smell. It wasn’t until dawn that the ship left the shore and sailed into the endless sea. There were about four to five hundred people on board. Besides the sailors and some seniors of the Skygale Sect, the rest of them were this year’s new disciples.

This wasn’t like the recruitment of the Three Pure Sect. Most of the recruits were outstanding ones from smaller sects. They had more or less some foundation in cultivation, with some even reaching the middle-stage of the Qi Refining Realm. This caused everyone to look at one another with some arrogance.

The ship sailed on the sea for an entire day and night. The wind was calm and the waves were quiet. The Senior Brothers of the Skygale Sect were constantly talking to the recruits, either telling them the deeds of their sect and the Purple Manor or teaching them some basic training methods. They didn’t put on airs and were rather easy-going.

When dusk fell, the hull suddenly shook violently. Everyone became a little uneasy. Then, a dozen senior brothers stood up to maintain order. “Don’t panic, everyone. Please remain on your seats and don’t run around.”

“Roar!” Suddenly, there was a deafening roar and the whole ship shook even more violently. The sea that was calm only minutes before had given rise to tall waves that rose hundreds of feet high. It was as if the sea was demonstrating that the heavenly power of nature shouldn’t be easily violated.

Just as everyone was alarmed, a shadow of lightning in the water swam toward the ship. There was a loud bang and the whole ship was nearly overturned by the unknown creature. Everyone screamed and began fleeing in a panic.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash and a legendary weather-controlling dragon came out of the water. The dragon was twenty feet long, with green scales, five claws, and a bearded horn on its head. No one had ever seen such a fierce beast before. For a moment, they were completely petrified.

Xiao Chen noticed that than the dozen of Skygale Sect disciples weren’t in a hurry and presumed that this rain-summoning dragon to be a sort of mythological animal that was responsible for protecting the mountain. It wouldn’t truly hurt anyone. It seemed like they were about to reach the Skygale Sect.

“Roar!” Following yet another roar, a column of water of dozens of feet high crashed on them. The impact shook the hull and nearly overturned the ship again. Water columns attacked one after another. Before long, a foot-deep of water had accumulated inside the cabin. If this continued, the ship would soon sink.

Everyone had been deathly terrified since the beginning. The dozens of Senior Brothers realized that something seemed to be wrong. One of the more courageous ones ran up to the deck and saluted the dragon. “Please calm down, Dragon Lord! The ship is full of new disciples of our sect this year.”

With a loud bellow, the dragon finally stopped attacking. It swam to the front of the ship quickly and looked at the new disciples inside one by one through the porthole. The disciples were so terrified to see such a large dragon head that they didn’t even dare to breathe. After a long time, the dragon appeared to not to have noticed anything and returned to the bottom of the water with a roar.

With calm restored in the sea, the crowd was finally relieved. The dozens of Senior Brothers had been so nervous that they were sweating, unable to comprehend why the Dragon Lord would act so abnormally today.

“Don’t be afraid, everyone. That was the divine beast of the Skygale Sect earlier. It’s welcoming all of you Junior Brothers.”

A young man exhaled slowly. “Er… It’s better to have less of such welcomes.” Everyone burst into laughter. It seemed like they didn’t realize that they had almost died in the sea.

The ship sailed for a little longer before they saw an island. At first, it was only the size of a millstone. It wasn’t until the ship got near that Xiao Chen discovered that the island was as big as Cloud City.

Hundreds of people set foot on the island one after another. The scenic island was covered in lush greenery. In the center was a large mountain. Some buildings on the mountain were hidden in the clouds. That was probably where the Skygale Sect was located.

Looking at the looming buildings amidst the clouds, Xiao Chen’s frown gradually deepened. Was Huangfu Xin’er up there? He hadn’t seen her for more than two years. He had no idea how she was doing. whether she had entered the Foundation Building Realm, whether she still remembered what she once said…

He shook his head and put aside these emotions. His main purpose this time was rescuing Senior Sister Luo and Xian’er.

One of the Senior Brothers stepped forward. “Be quiet, everyone. We must ascend the mountain before dark. There are various Barrier formations placed along the way. Stay close and don’t leave the team.”

Thus, under the leadership of more than a dozen of Senior Brothers, hundreds of people marched up the mountain. Xiao Chen couldn’t help wondering whether the Skygale Sect was really so desperate for disciples that they would omit the examination.

At the same time, the faint sound of zither resounded in a certain courtyard on the mountain.

“Today I long to part with the willow trees; my words are accompanied by tears. He meets a stranger by a chance but doesn’t get to know her. There are no affectionless people in this world, only those who have no feelings for you…”

Every line of the song was sung in such a broken-hearted way as the melody drifted far away. Under a tree, a young woman in a green dress played the zither with rapt attention. The gentle breeze caressed her sorrowful brows.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard. A red-clothed young woman of seventeen or eighteen, with a green frosted sword hanging from her waist, came in. Behind her was another five or six young men and women.

The sound of zither stopped.

“Huangfu Xin’er! Who allowed you to play zither here?” the red-clothed woman shouted.

“Su Wan, I’m playing zither in my own courtyard. What does it have to do with you?” the young woman replied placidly as she raised her head. She was none other than Huangfu Xin’er.

Su Wan sneered, “Your courtyard? Don’t you know your name isn’t on next month’s entrance list for the Violet Manor?”

“What did you say?”