“Smoke curls from ancient graves along the old road, dare I ask what year this is now.
Would you care to join me in a dream, to journey together to Yanmen Pass?
To question the courts of the underworld, blame my reckless tongue and wild boasts, oh ruler, do you not see my shattered jade and severed strings…”
On the griffin’s back, Qin Jue sang at the top of his lungs, as if no one else were around.
Several of the instructors seemed long accustomed to this sight, maintaining an air of nonchalance.
Qin Jue’s singing voice could not be called heavenly, but it was exceedingly pleasant to hear.
Coupled with that unrestrained, wild abandon, it merged perfectly with the song, intoxicating to the point of catching the attention of disciples on the other griffins.
“Who is that? They sing so beautifully.”
“What song is that? I’ve never heard it before.”
“Didn’t you notice? That person isn’t just a good singer, they’re also very handsome!”
“That’s right! Absolutely stunning!”
“…”.
Hearing the excited chatter of the female disciples around her, Luo Weiwei remained quite composed.
She had heard Qin Jue sing before and was therefore not surprised.
But now she could also be sure that person was indeed Qin Jue.
Once the song ended, Qin Jue tilted his head back and drained the spirit wine from his gourd.
Then, he immediately lay flat on the griffin and fell asleep.
Everyone: “…”
The disciples selected to join the Mystic Unity Sect all possessed reasonably good aptitude and talent.
As the griffins flew onward, many disciples entered a state of cultivation.
Otherwise, although a day wasn’t considered long, it would still be quite difficult to endure, especially atop these griffins.
Naturally, Luo Weiwei was no exception.
Through her utmost efforts in imitation, the “Pure Yang True Art” had become almost indistinguishable from the “Clear Void Scripture.”
Even instructors couldn’t tell the difference.
This was also the main reason she had managed to blend into the Mystic Unity Sect smoothly for over a month.
In the blink of an eye, a day passed, and the griffins finally arrived at the Black Forest.
Qin Jue stretched lazily and woke up.
In the distance, a boundless stretch of mountainous forest appeared at the edge of their vision.
Faint roars of beasts could be heard, striking awe into one’s heart.
Because new disciples trained in the Black Forest every year, the Mystic Unity Sect had specially established an outpost here.
Under the instructors’ control, the griffins slowly descended outside the outpost.
Several Mystic Unity Sect guards stationed at the outpost immediately came forward to greet them.
“Stop!”
Qin Jue detested dealing with such formalities the most.
He simply leaped past several of the Mystic Unity Sect guards and arrogantly strode into the outpost by himself.
He left behind a crowd of dumbfounded disciples and instructors.
“Just now… did something go by?”
A guard stationed at the outpost blinked, looking bewildered.
“I didn’t see clearly. It seemed like a person?”
Another outpost guard said uncertainly.
“It was the Arch-Elder.”
Instructor Chen, who had been on the same griffin as Qin Jue, jumped down and said.
Hearing this, the several outpost guards suddenly understood. “So that’s what happened.”
They were all guards who had come from the Mystic Unity Sect and naturally knew of Qin Jue.
Immediately, they said no more.
After all, who would dare question the Sect Master’s martial uncle?
“By the way, where is Elder Wu?”
The leader of the group of outpost guards asked.
His name was Zhang Yue, the hall master of this outpost, responsible for receiving the Mystic Unity Sect instructors and disciples who came here for training.
“Elder Wu did not come.”
Instructor Chen said with a bitter smile. “Due to some physical reasons, Elder Wu was unable to participate in this training expedition, so someone had to be substituted.”
“Substituted? By whom?”
Zhang Yue was taken aback.
“You just saw him.”
“Could it be… the Arch-Elder?”
Zhang Yue’s eyelid twitched slightly.
“Correct.”
Instructor Chen nodded.
“…”
Okay, here’s the localized English translation, broken into paragraphs as requested:
It wasn’t that Zhang Yue had anything against Qin Jue. In his impression, Qin Jue didn’t care about anything and loved drinking. Could such an unreliable Arch-Elder really ensure the safety of his disciples?
Zhang Yue felt a headache coming on; it seemed this training session would require more effort.
“Hall Master Zhang, let’s arrange these disciples first,” reminded Instructor Chen, seeing Zhang Yue’s prolonged silence.
“You’re right!”
Zhang Yue snapped to attention. “Hurry and arrange lodgings for these disciples. Also, a few instructors, please follow me.”
“Thank you, Hall Master Zhang.”
“Hahaha, no need for formalities, we’re all fellow sect members.”
Zhang Yue forced a smile, trying to maintain face.
The branch hall was established outside the Black Forest. Though not vast, it comfortably housed several instructors and over two hundred new disciples. As for Qin Jue, he lay idly on a rooftop at that moment, taking large swigs from a jug of Spirit Wine he’d taken from his storage ring.
“From here, the view seems quite nice,” Qin Jue remarked with interest.
The Black Forest was called so not because its trees were black. On the contrary, every tree there was lush green, brimming with vitality.
But at night, the Black Forest became like a place cut off from the world, extremely cold, unbearable for ordinary people.
Thus, any living beings able to survive long in the Black Forest, even if not demon beasts, were incredibly tough. Deep within the Black Forest, some demon beasts had even reached the Heaven rank.
The new disciples of the Mystic Unity Sect trained in the outermost part of the Black Forest. After screening, only low-level Yellow Rank demon beasts were generally active there. Still, for insurance, high-ranking martial artists were needed for protection. This was the job of the instructors and Qin Jue.
“Hey! Who the hell are you? Get down here!” a young man shouted angrily from below, directing his fury at Qin Jue.
“What for?” Qin Jue remained unmoved.
“This is the Branch Hall Master’s pavilion!”
The young man bellowed.
“Oh.” Qin Jue took another swig of wine, choosing to blatantly ignore him.
“Are you looking for death?!” The young man flew into a rage and was about to leap up to fight Qin Jue when Zhang Yue suddenly arrived with several instructors.
“What’s going on, Ruocheng?”
Zhang Yue frowned slightly.
“Hall Master.”
The young man clenched his teeth, pointing at Qin Jue on the rooftop. “Who the hell does this guy think he is, drinking on the Branch Hall Master’s pavilion? He clearly doesn’t respect us at all!”
Zhang Yue glanced over, immediately recognizing Qin Jue. He chuckled and said, “Forget it, don’t mind him.”
Upon hearing this, the young man thought he had misheard. However, Zhang Yue’s next words left him utterly stunned: “He’s the sect master’s martial junior. According to seniority, we should call him Arch-Elder.”
“Is… is it really that Arch-Elder who’s only a teenager?!”
The young man gaped, finding it hard to believe.
“Who else could it be?”
Young Man: “…”
Although the young man had never met Qin Jue, he had long heard about the sect master’s martial junior being a teenager. He just never imagined the other party would truly be so young!
“Never mind him, let’s go in.” Zhang Yue said indifferently.
The other instructors exchanged glances, all adopting an understanding look of feigned ignorance. After all, they were used to it. Who dared to reprimand the sect master’s martial junior?
