Three days later…..
At the edge of the Eastern Spirit Continent, several figures filled with spiritual power slowly descended outside the mountain gate of the Proud Sword Sect.
Among the two figures guarding the mountain gate, one suddenly spoke up.
“Come forward and present your sect token.”
Upon hearing these words, Song Yang and the others extended their palms.
A token emitting white light appeared in their hands and began to flicker and spin continuously.
The two gate-guarding disciples slowly walked forward and carefully examined the tokens in Song Yang and the others’ palms.
Before long, they arrived beside Luo Shuiling and Yun Hao.
Yun Hao watched the approaching gate disciple, feeling somewhat at a loss.
He didn’t have a token like the others, and after their inspection, Song Yang and the rest simply stood on the steps without moving.
Did he need to explain things himself to the gate disciples?
While Yun Hao was still feeling uncertain, one of the gate disciples walked toward Luo Shuiling.
Seeing that she had not presented a token, he frowned slightly and was about to ask about it when the other gate disciple pulled him aside.
The disciple who had been pulled over now had a smile covering his face as he looked at Luo Shuiling and said,
“Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling, you don’t need to show your token. Please go right in.”
Luo Shuiling said nothing.
She merely gave the disciple a faint glance before walking straight into the mountain gate without looking back.
Seeing this, Yun Hao decided to boldly follow behind Luo Shuiling.
He had only taken a few steps when the two gate disciples grabbed hold of him and asked,
“Where is your sect token?”
Yun Hao saw that Luo Shuiling was walking farther and farther away.
Knowing he couldn’t force his way through, he quickly cupped his hands respectfully toward the two disciples.
“Two Senior Brothers, I came with Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling to cultivate at the sect. This is my first time here, and I don’t have a sect token yet. I hope the two Senior Brothers can accommodate me this once. Yun Hao will definitely repay this kindness in the future.”
The two gate disciples exchanged a glance before looking directly at Yun Hao.
His clothes were neat and proper.
Though young, his handsome features were already apparent, making him look like a frail scholar rather than someone with ill intentions.
However, judging a person by appearance alone wasn’t enough.
After a moment of thought, they shook their heads.
“Without a sect token, entry is not permitted.”
Faced with this situation, Yun Hao began to panic.
Suddenly, he remembered that over the past three days, he had gotten to know more than just Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling.
There were also Senior Brother Song Yang and Senior Brother Bai Shengxiao.
During the three days of travel, Yun Hao had been quite bored and frequently chatted with Song Yang.
In that time, he had learned about Bai Shengxiao and the other senior sisters, and he could now naturally and respectfully call out their names.
“Two Senior Brothers, I don’t only know Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling. I also know Senior Brother Song Yang and Senior Brother Bai Shengxiao. I truly was brought here by Eldest Senior Sister Luo Shuiling to cultivate. Please believe me.”
After speaking, Yun Hao deliberately revealed his slender wrist, displaying the Wind-Riding Talisman inscribed upon it.
This Wind-Riding Talisman had actually been created by Song Yang to prevent Yun Hao, a mere mortal, from being unable to withstand the wind pressure generated by a Core Formation cultivator flying at full power.
It now served as perfect proof of his identity.
The two gate disciples looked at the Wind-Riding Talisman on Yun Hao’s slender wrist.
With just one glance, they confirmed it was indeed inscribed by a Proud Sword Sect cultivator and carried the sect’s unique sword intent.
They also recalled that Yun Hao had indeed arrived together with Luo Shuiling and the others, and he had correctly named the two inner sect disciples.
After hesitating briefly, they glanced back at Luo Shuiling, who was gradually walking away, and at Song Yang, who remained standing on the steps.
Weighing their options, they released their grip on Yun Hao’s sleeve.
“Just this once. If you come again without a token, we will not let you in.”
Yun Hao’s face brightened with joy.
He let out a long breath and cupped his hands toward the two disciples once more.
“Thank you, two Senior Brothers. Yun Hao will definitely repay this favor in the future.”
He then ran toward Luo Shuiling, who had already moved quite far ahead.
After a short while, he caught up and positioned himself behind her.
From then on, Yun Hao no longer ran but walked slowly following Luo Shuiling, observing the interior of the Proud Sword Sect as they went.
Several islands of varying sizes floated in the sky, linked to one another by thick iron chains.
It was impossible to imagine how much spiritual power was required to support such enormous stone masses.
The area inside the mountain gate was lush with vegetation, some plants emitting faint glows that complemented the floating islands above, creating a scene like a celestial paradise on earth.
Ahead stretched an endless flight of stairs, while in the distance stood several towering mountain peaks that reached into the clouds, their summits out of sight.
Luo Shuiling glanced sideways at Yun Hao, who was completely absorbed in observing the Proud Sword Sect.
He had originally been following behind her, but he had become so engrossed in the scenery that he didn’t even realize he had walked up beside her.
“Not too stupid. At least you knew to explain yourself to the gate disciples. The Yuan Sheng Empire hasn’t kept you locked up long enough to dull your wits.”
Luo Shuiling suddenly spoke.
Yun Hao had been admiring the scenery of Proud Sword Peak when her sudden words startled him.
He realized he had unconsciously walked ahead of Luo Shuiling.
He stopped at the edge of the steps and waited quietly until she caught up before speaking.
“It was Senior Sister and the Senior Brothers who brought me here. When questioned, I could only mention their names. Being able to enter the sect is thanks to Senior Sister and Senior Brothers.”
Hearing Yun Hao’s response, Luo Shuiling said nothing further and did not look at him, simply continuing to walk quietly.
Seeing this, Yun Hao stopped observing the surroundings and slowly followed Luo Shuiling up the stairs.
Unknowingly, two hours had already passed.
The scorching sun beat down fiercely on Yun Hao.
He wiped the sweat covering his forehead and panted as he looked ahead.
The end was still nowhere in sight—only endless winding stairs spiraling upward.
During their journey, quite a few Proud Sword Sect disciples passed by the pair.
Most would leap hundreds or even thousands of steps at a time, far faster than Yun Hao’s walking pace.
The majority jumped past quickly without stopping near them.
Only a few who happened to land near Luo Shuiling and Yun Hao would glance over, spot Luo Shuiling, and show expressions of pleasant surprise.
They would respectfully greet her with “Greetings, Senior Sister.”
Luo Shuiling would nod lightly in response, and the disciples would depart with faces full of ecstasy.
Each time a disciple came to greet Luo Shuiling, Yun Hao felt that his Senior Sister’s prestige was truly high.
A wave of inferiority and unease would surge in his heart.
He wondered if he would ever be able to repay Luo Shuiling for her kindness.
Moreover, seeing those male disciples always caused a trace of irritation to rise within him.
He didn’t understand why, so he could only silently continue climbing the stairs, striving not to trouble his Senior Sister.
Time continued to flow.
In the blink of an eye, another two and a half hours passed.
Luo Shuiling kept walking at a slow, steady pace, while Yun Hao remained silent, following closely behind her.
But he was, after all, a mortal of flesh and blood who had been malnourished since childhood.
Although he had taken a few Fasting Pills with Luo Shuiling and the others over the past three days, he could not endure walking continuously for four and a half hours, from morning until evening.
With every step Yun Hao took now, his legs felt as if they were about to fall apart, throbbing with unbearable soreness.
His head felt swollen and dizzy.
Sweat had long soaked through all his clothes, clinging tightly to his body.
The white garment, dampened by sweat, had turned somewhat transparent, no longer able to fully conceal the youth’s slender frame.
His faintly visible collarbones told of the frailty of their owner.
Yun Hao could sense that his Senior Sister was still ahead of him.
His speed had slowed considerably compared to the start.
That he could still keep up was obviously because she was deliberately waiting for him and matching his pace.
Therefore, he refused to stop no matter what.
If he couldn’t even handle this, how could he talk about cultivating immortality or repaying her kindness in the future?
Gritting his teeth, Yun Hao relied on pure willpower to keep climbing upward.
After another hour, he finally could no longer hold on.
The taut string in his mind snapped completely after straining for so long.
His body fell heavily onto the stone steps, and he sank into unconsciousness.
In the final moment of awareness, Yun Hao felt as if he had not landed on the hard stone stairs but had fallen into a soft embrace instead.
Luo Shuiling looked down at Yun Hao, who had fainted in her arms.
The corners of her mouth curved upward slightly.
She examined the youth carefully.
After a moment, she had to admit that this boy was indeed very handsome.
Although he was only sixteen years old, his youthful face already possessed a trace of elegance and charm.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, his innate allure remained undiminished.
Perhaps because of her constitution, Luo Shuiling did not mind the physical contact with the youth in her arms.
On the contrary, since she had taken him into her embrace, her Ice Jade Physique had remained in an excited state, as if clamoring for more.
The spiritual power within her body began circulating faster of its own accord, and a cold aura started to spread through the surrounding air.
Luo Shuiling gently shook her head, suppressing the restlessness of her Ice Jade Physique.
She glanced at the still-distant top of the stairs and thought,
He hasn’t even walked a quarter of the way yet? This boy’s body really is too weak. Even reaching this point relied entirely on willpower.
She then recalled the somewhat anxious expression the youth had shown whenever other disciples greeted her.
It had seemed well concealed, but it was easily seen through in her eyes.
Thinking of this, a sense of delight rose within Luo Shuiling.
She then lifted Yun Hao with her spiritual power and flew straight to the peak on her sword.