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Around midnight, Ye Tian returned to the inn. To his surprise, there were still two tables of diners inside, while the waiter had already fallen asleep with his head resting on the counter.
Seeing this, Ye Tian let out a sigh of relief; otherwise, he would have had to knock on the door and explain himself to Thunderstorm.
He quietly made his way up to the second floor. Thunderstorm's room was still dark, and his breathing remained steady, indicating that he had not woken up at all.
After pushing open the door and lighting a candle, Ye Tian did not go to sleep immediately. Instead, he sat by the window and began to think about Yun'er.
This woman had feelings for him and had expressed them clearly, which left Ye Tian feeling quite troubled.
The next day, Ye Tian would join Mountain Gate and become a part of Cloud Sea Sect. However, as a disciple of Cloud Sea Sect, knowing that someone intended to plot against an elder of the sect without reporting it would make Ye Tian feel disloyal.
But if he were to reveal Yun'er and the others' situation, it would undoubtedly put them in grave danger—something Ye Tian wanted to avoid at all costs.
Thus, he found himself in a deep conflict.
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a perfect solution, he decided to stop pondering and simply turned over in bed, falling asleep fully clothed.
The next morning, Thunderstorm knocked on the door. Ye Tian got up and opened it to greet him.
"Ye Tian, did you sleep well last night?" Thunderstorm stepped into the room. Being younger than him and somewhat proud of his status, Thunderstorm always called him by his full name.
Ye Tian didn't feel awkward about it and smiled, "Not bad. Are we setting off right away?"
"Not in a hurry. Let's have breakfast first before we hit the road," Thunderstorm said as he poured himself a cup of tea. Then he looked Ye Tian up and down with a smile, "Besides, joining Mountain Gate is a big deal; you look like this..."
Ye Tian could only smile wryly and replied, "Brother Lei, I must confess that I am currently broke."
"Ha ha, Ye Tian, you have gotten used to living like a carefree wanderer," Thunderstorm laughed heartily, patting Ye Tian on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll go back together, and for the sake of my reputation, I can't let you dress like this."
"Ha ha, then I suppose I'll have to accept your kindness?" Ye Tian also laughed. In his eyes, wealth was always useless, so he didn't care much about it himself or how valuable it was to others. He only thought about having enough money to pay off his debts.
After their laughter, the two went downstairs for breakfast. Thunderstorm gave the waiter a hundred taels of silver and instructed him to buy Ye Tian some decent clothes.
Before long, the waiter returned with a bundle containing three pieces of clothing, all made from high-quality fabric.
"This young master, please choose one piece; I will return the rest," the waiter said, panting.
Ye Tian intended to casually pick one, but Thunderstorm interrupted him and said generously, "No need to return them; keep all three. Is there any silver left?"
The waiter's face turned red at those words, his eyes darting around as he hesitated before finally saying, "There is some left."
"What a waste of thought! If you only take one piece, I will reward you with the rest," Thunderstorm said dismissively. He could see through the waiter's intentions; he took all three pieces of clothing to minimize the leftover silver. Knowing Thunderstorm was generous, he thought this would reduce the amount of silver left after buying the clothes. However, what he didn't expect was that his cleverness would backfire. The total for the three pieces was ninety-seven taels, leaving three taels remaining. Following Thunderstorm's suggestion would mean he would end up losing nearly sixty taels of silver.
"Ha ha ha!" Thunderstorm laughed loudly and then turned to go back upstairs.
Ye Tian couldn't help but smile as well but simultaneously realized a significant trait of Thunderstorm. Although this person was proud and arrogant, when interacting with him, one had to accept his favors and not appear smarter or more capable than him; otherwise, it would be difficult to find peace.
After a moment, Ye Tian changed into his new clothes and groomed himself. Immediately, he radiated a sharp and spirited aura. Ye Tian was already quite handsome; after changing into the Crimson Dragon Golden Blood, he unconsciously exuded a bit of authority, making him appear even more impressive.
After paying for their room, Thunderstorm and Ye Tian walked along the street toward Cloudscar Peak.
The weather today was excellent; the sun was warm, the breeze gentle, and the sky was clear with no clouds in sight.
On such a beautiful day, it was natural for many visitors to be out and about, filling the streets and alleys with lively chatter.
Thunderstorm was known as a handsome man from the Cloud Sea Sect. The grace and arrogance he exuded in his every move captivated many young women of his age, making him the center of attention whenever he went out.
However, today was different. The two of them attracted a lot of glances, but most of the attention was focused on Ye Tian. Those who looked at Ye Tian did not merely find him handsome; they could faintly sense an unusual aura about him. This aura was weak yet distinctly clear.
Thunderstorm glanced sideways, a hint of jealousy flashing in his eyes that was barely noticeable.
Ye Tian pretended not to notice and quickened his pace slightly.
About half an hour later, they left the bustling city and entered the forest.
Thanks to the good weather, the forest today was deep and tranquil, bringing a sense of peace.
At this moment, Thunderstorm walked ahead while Ye Tian followed behind. They hardly spoke to each other and continued on in silence. After walking for a while, Ye Tian felt that this place was where they had been the previous night. He looked around, hoping to find some information about the Juggling Troupe.
"What are you looking at?" Thunderstorm asked curiously as he noticed Ye Tian's footsteps slowing down.
"Nothing," Ye Tian replied dismissively, shaking his head.
Seeing this, Thunderstorm felt a renewed sense of displeasure but said nothing more; instead, he deliberately quickened his pace.
Ye Tian could only smile wryly to himself, thinking, "Thunderstorm is indeed hard to get along with. Just this little thing can make him feel dissatisfied. I really don't know how Sister Ningyue manages to get along with him."
"Brother Lei, I wonder how Sister Ningyue is doing now?" Ye Tian used his skills to catch up with Thunderstorm. This action served two purposes: first, to give Thunderstorm the illusion that he couldn't catch up without using Skyward Martial Arts, and second, to ease the atmosphere since Thunderstorm was Cold Moon's partner, and they would need to spend a lot of time together in the future.
"Ningyue is doing well. Can you guess her current strength?" As soon as Cold Moon was mentioned, Thunderstorm seemed to perk up instantly, shaking off any previous feelings of restraint.
"I remember she was a Sixth-Stage Warrior when she left." Ye Tian frowned in thought. Cold Moon's talent was above average, and with such talent, her breakthrough speed wouldn't be too fast. Under normal circumstances, it should have taken nearly two years for her to just reach Martial Mastery. However, from Thunderstorm's words, it seemed Cold Moon had made significant progress, which made things uncertain.
"That's right, when she first arrived at Cloud Sea Sect, she was just a Sixth-Stage Warrior." Thunderstorm's face showed delight; clearly, Cold Moon's improvement had a lot to do with him, or at least that was how he perceived it.
"A Three-Stage Martial Artist?" Ye Tian guessed casually, relying solely on intuition.
"Hehe." Thunderstorm smiled proudly and held up four fingers.
"Really? Sister Ningyue has actually reached the level of a Four-Stage Martial Artist!" Ye Tian was slightly surprised; he hadn't expected Cold Moon's progress to be so rapid.
Upon hearing this, Thunderstorm's expression brightened even more. He laughed heartily and said, "Not only that, but when you see the others later, just prepare to be amazed."
Ye Tian smiled back, feeling a bit more anticipation in his heart.
...
Around noon, the two arrived at the foot of Cloudscar Peak. Looking up from below, an endless stone path wound its way upward, twisting and turning like a coiling dragon.
Nearby stood a massive Mountain Gate that was a hundred zhang long and nearly ten zhang high. The plaque above the gate was intricately carved with three ancient characters: Cloudscar Peak!
Due to the towering height of Cloudscar Peak, Ye Tian stood at the foot of the mountain and couldn't even see halfway up; all he could see was drifting clouds at the horizon. Occasionally, the sounds of birds echoed through the sea of clouds, reminiscent of celestial cranes calling out.
"Cloudscar Peak truly lives up to its reputation," Ye Tian remarked as he gazed up at the summit. All he could see were white clouds floating by, and he couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Seeing this, Thunderstorm smiled lightly as if accustomed to such sights. He then took the lead toward the Mountain Gate. Ye Tian quickly followed suit and walked alongside him.
In front of the Mountain Gate stood two rows of guards totaling twenty people. They seemed to lack a leader and their status and strength were not particularly high. It wasn't until Ye Tian and Thunderstorm were within a hundred zhang of them that they noticed their presence.
"Who goes there?" the guards shouted in unison, their voices echoing without any discernible order.
"Thunderstorm!" Thunderstorm replied with a resounding tone, as if this name held significant weight at Cloudscar Peak.
"Please." The guards responded again loudly, devoid of any inflection.
"Brother Lei, do I need to?" Ye Tian gestured to indicate he was an outsider, questioning whether he needed to be searched or anything else.
"Of course not. This is our sect's rule; those who possess the Cloud Token may freely bring others in and out of Cloudscar Peak," Thunderstorm said as he took out an item from his pocket and handed it to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian accepted it and noticed that this item resembled the token Thunderstorm had given him when he joined the Cloud Sea Sect, both being cloud-shaped jade pendants. However, Thunderstorm's jade was evidently more lustrous, and it had many small inscriptions proving his identity.
"This item is quite rare, isn't it?" Ye Tian casually asked as he returned the Cloud Token to Thunderstorm.
"Naturally. It must be personally approved by the Lord; each pavilion only has four of them," Thunderstorm replied proudly.
"Oh, Brother Lei indeed..." At this point, Ye Tian suddenly recalled something. With a Cloud Token, one could freely bring strangers into Cloudscar Peak. This meant that when Wang Weiyang brought in assassins back then, Wang Weiyang must have been a Rising Star at the Cloud Sea Sect.
Not to mention his strength, his innate talent was certainly not much weaker than Thunderstorm's. Moreover, they were around the same age; Thunderstorm should have known Wang Weiyang. Why then did Thunderstorm not take action to capture the traitor Wang Weiyang during the Martial Arts Selection Tournament? It would not be an exaggeration to say that he deliberately concealed his acquaintance with Wang Weiyang.
With this thought in mind, Ye Tian furrowed his brow deeply. After hesitating for a moment, he decisively spoke up: "Brother Lei, I have something I want to ask you."
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