Su Zhan and the others departed at dawn on the sixth day.
At that time the sky was still dimly lit, and most people in the sect had not yet woken up.
Yun Li was very excited.
She kept gazing at the scenery outside the window, her smile overflowing on her face.
Yun Zhao was responsible for piloting the Cloud Boat.
Su Zhan sat to the side with her eyes closed, taking a light nap.
Ning Yao and Xia Liu were yawning.
Xu Yanrou held an unlit pipe in her hand, merely holding the mouthpiece in her mouth for comfort.
For Yun Li, she had finally been freed from her sea of suffering.
If she had not been notified by her senior sisters that they would depart tonight, she would still have been lying at her desk rushing through coursework.
She really did not want to copy any more lecture notes or notes.
Those ghostly scribbles of coursework had nearly cost her half her life.
Just thinking about them made her have nightmares one after another at night.
The Immortal Alliance headquarters was located in the northwest of Central Province, right next to the perilous northern mountain range.
That endless chain of peaks stretched for tens of thousands of miles, yet still left a single gap.
On the topographic map, that gap did not look large, but in reality it was about a thousand meters wide.
Legend had it that during the ancient chaotic wilderness era, a sword cultivator and a ten-thousand-zhang giant python had fought here and left this mark.
The mortal commoners of the cities in North County called it Heaven’s Gate.
It was said that every full moon night, the faint moonlight shining through that gap was like a ten-thousand-mile heavenly ladder cast down from the celestial palace.
As for whether that Heaven’s Gate was crashed open by the python demon or cut open by that sword cultivator, opinions varied.
However, ever since Heaven’s Gate appeared, some ancient aristocratic families and sects had joined forces to establish the North County Alliance near Heaven’s Gate.
Because immortal sects flourished everywhere in Central Province and the need for coordination grew, embryonic alliances gradually appeared in regions such as the Western Domain, Southern Wilderness, Eastern Yi, and Central Plains.
After a long period of adjustment, the various regional alliances merged hundreds of years ago, exchanging what they had and what they lacked.
They eventually evolved into the current Immortal Alliance.
The original North County Alliance became the headquarters of the Immortal Alliance.
“According to geographical division, should the Central Plains Alliance not be the most suitable to serve as headquarters?”
On the Cloud Boat, after listening to Xu Yanrou telling the history of the Immortal Alliance to keep them from getting bored, Xia Liu could not help but ask in confusion.
“It cannot be because the people of the North County Alliance have thick skin and do not reason, and simply relied on having bigger fists to snatch it by force, right?”
Ning Yao sat to the side, munching on snacks while guessing wildly.
“Although the words are crude, it is more or less like that.” Xu Yanrou covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, agreeing with Ning Yao.
“The five major alliances initially negotiated through envoys, but unfortunately the results were minimal and it came to nothing. After that, the North County Alliance proposed to resolve the matter by force.”
“The cultivation world has always respected strength above all else. Therefore this proposal received the approval of most sects. After several months of various competitions, the North County Alliance ended with a complete victory in a dominant posture.”
“The older generation being strong does not mean the current generation is strong.” Ning Yao muttered, unconvinced. She snorted disdainfully and grabbed another snack to stuff into her mouth.
Winning was winning, but to still act in a dominant posture… If one day she defeated Su Zhan and pinned her to the ground, she could also say she had done so in a dominant posture, and let the passing senior and junior sisters see it.
Xu Yanrou pondered for a moment, not knowing how to describe it.
After thinking for a long while, she casually glanced at Su Zhan, who was leaning to the side with her eyes closed in a light nap, before continuing.
“Well… As far as I know, the strongest prodigy in the North County Alliance right now possesses the strength of ten Su Junior Sisters combined into one.”
“Pfft, what!?”
Ning Yao almost choked on the snack in her mouth.
If it had been any other comparison, she would not have felt anything. It would have just been boasting.
But when Su Zhan was used as the example, she understood.
After all, within the entire sect, she was currently the one who had sparred with Su Zhan the most times.
Although she had always been the one initiating the challenges, and in front of Su Zhan she always acted boastful and fearless.
Deep down she had always been clear that in actual combat, she would only be subdued by Su Zhan in a single move.
Although it seemed that in sparring she was also mostly defeated in a single move.
In her heart, Su Zhan could already be considered outstanding among the new generation of prodigies.
There were very few who could surpass her.
She even counted herself among the prodigies.
“I only have one-tenth of Su Wood’s strength. Does that not mean I am only one percent of that whatever-it-is prodigy!?”
Ning Yao gasped in disbelief.
“Anyone stronger than Su Senior Sister is at least at the Nascent Soul stage. How can you, a Golden Core stage cultivator, compare to a Nascent Soul stage cultivator? Do not tell me ten of you could defeat Su Senior Sister?”
Xia Liu sighed.
Hearing Ning Yao’s exaggerated reaction, she could not help but complain.
“And why did Su Senior Sister suddenly become a unit of measurement?”
“Why not? Do you not know that two fists are no match for four hands? If I could split myself, how could Su Wood possibly be my opponent?” Ning Yao retorted, unconvinced.
“Even if ten of me only used some to hug Su Wood’s legs and arms, there would still be six more of me who could do whatever they wanted to Su Wood. At that time she would not even be able to resist.”
“Actually, compared to that… I am more curious why Ning Junior Sister thinks she has one-tenth of Su Senior Sister’s strength?”
Yun Li blinked and also joined the conversation.
“These past few days in the sect, everyone has been saying that Ning Junior Sister was bullied terribly by Su Senior Sister and hides in her room crying alone at night.”
“What do you mean I was bullied terribly!? Who is spreading these rumors blindly!?” Ning Yao exploded in anger.
Although she really had shed tears that night, it was because she cried from the pain while applying medicine to herself.
It was not because she was bullied into crying.
There was a huge difference between the two!
Moreover, she had not cried out loud.
She had only been sobbing very quietly, very quietly.
The kind of sound you could only hear if you got close!
“Aiyo, I did not expect that. Ning Junior Sister actually has this side to her. Do you want a hug for comfort?”
Xia Liu teased and joked, then turned to look at Yun Li.
“Sixth Junior Sister, how exactly was she crying? Demonstrate it for Senior Sister?”
“Xia Lao Si!” Ning Yao shouted angrily.
She looked like she was about to erupt and pounce on Xia Liu to fight for her life.
“Hm? What happened? Have we arrived already?”
Su Zhan was woken by the loud shout.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight.
They had already been on the Cloud Boat for several hours.
Sunlight was shining in through the porthole.
She was still a little dazed.
“Not yet… We were just chatting earlier and accidentally got a little loud…”
Yun Li smiled apologetically at Su Zhan.
After all, the one who ultimately caused Su Zhan to be woken up was her.
“But we really are almost there. Being able to see the snowy peaks of the distant heavenly mountains proves we are not far from North County.”
Xu Yanrou glanced at the snowy scenery of the heavenly mountains in the distance.
The Cloud Boat’s speed increased a little more.
She estimated that they would reach their destination in another one or two hours.
“Ah…”
Su Zhan shook her head, becoming a little more awake.
“What were you all talking about just now?”
“We were talking about some matters regarding the Immortal Alliance. Although the topic quickly went off track.” Xia Liu answered honestly.
“Ning Junior Sister said that if ten of her went at you together, they could definitely defeat you and then do whatever they wanted to you.”
“Xia Lao Si, what nonsense are you spouting! Do not take things out of context! I did not say that!” Ning Yao’s face turned red with anxiety.
“That was just an analogy! Do you understand what ‘if’ means or not!”
“Pfft…”
Su Zhan looked completely bewildered.
Following the sound, she looked to Xu Yanrou for help.
The girl avoided her gaze, her shoulders trembling slightly as she tightly bit her lips.
It was obvious she was holding back laughter.