Junior Sister must ascend this time!

Si Mingche flew closer on his sword, examining the unidentified object beneath Yun Qing's feet. "Junior Sister, what is this strange thing?"

During the last outer disciple competition, Si Mingche had Jiang Mian testify for her, so Yun Qing had a very good impression of him.

She returned a sweet smile, "Third Senior Brother, this is a flying artifact given to me by Master Yan Li."

At this moment, "Chatterbox" snorted coldly, "You've never seen such a cool flying artifact before, you're really ignorant."

Yun Qing warned the "gossip" in her mind: "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll hand you over to my second senior sister and have her refine you!"

The "chatterbox" has stopped talking, not for any other reason than that he suddenly wanted some peace and quiet.

Since it was inconvenient to talk in the air, the two decided to go to the nearest Tianxuan Peak first, just in time for Yun Qing to go to Master Xuanwei to ask for the apprenticeship gift.

Yun Qing got off the "chatterbox" and asked Si Mingche, "By the way, did Third Senior Brother need something from me?"

Si Mingche then remembered the purpose of his visit. "I prepared some gifts for you. I originally intended to give them to you as soon as possible, but there were some problems with the sect's protective formation, so I had to go and help repair them first."

"When I came back, I found you weren't at Qingyun Peak, so I came out to look for you."

He took out a stack of talismans from his storage bag and handed them to Yun Qing. "These are 'protective talismans,' 'speed talismans,' 'spiritual energy retention talismans,' and 'crying talismans'... Your cultivation level is still low, so carrying them when you go out will always be useful."

Yun Qing was a little confused. "What are these 'Spiritual Energy Preservation Talisman' and 'Crying Talisman'? I've never seen them before."

Si Mingche puffed out his chest with some pride, "These are all talismans I created myself. When I have time, I'll stick them on Jiang Mian and let him try them out for you."

There are some more powerful ones, I'll give them to you when your cultivation is more stable."

Jiang Mian: ...You're so high and mighty, yet you're using me as an experiment!

Yun Qing smiled and said, "Third Senior Brother is truly amazing! Thank you so much, Third Senior Brother!"

She also handed a Condensing Essence Fruit to Si Mingche.

Si Mingche's lips were practically curled up to the sky. His junior sister and junior brother were just different; she was sweet-talking and sensible. He no longer wanted to talk to anyone who didn't have a junior sister.

The two walked until they reached Xuanwei's courtyard, where he was watering the flowers. Hearing footsteps, he raised an eyebrow. "My little disciple, have you had breakfast yet?"

Yun Qing, with great tact, took the water bottle from Xuan Wei's hand. "I haven't eaten yet. I got up early this morning and was eager to pay my respects to Master. I was the first one to arrive at Tianxuan Peak."

Xuanwei was very pleased with this statement, as it meant that he ranked first among all his masters, while the others were merely incidental.

This junior apprentice is no better than the senior apprentice who pretends to be serious every day.

Si Mingche stood to the side, his lips twitching. Didn't his junior sister just come from the direction of Tianji Peak? But then he thought about it, Uncle-Master Yan Li wasn't exactly an elder, hmm... that makes sense.

Furthermore, it's not a good time to undermine them now, otherwise Master Xuanwei might kick them off the mountain.

Xuanwei pointed to the table in the room, "Don't bother. There are some pastries on the table, go and have a bite."

He was in a good mood now, and even Si Mingche seemed much more agreeable to him. "You should go too."

The two sat down on the stools, each munching on a piece of pastry.

"Third Senior Brother, you just said that the sect's protective formation is malfunctioning again? We are one of the Seven Sects, after all. Logically speaking, the sect's protective formation should not be so weak."

"Who says otherwise?" Si Mingche ate a little too quickly, then pounded his chest twice and said:

"This protective formation has been very stable for thousands of years, but in recent years, for some reason, cracks have been appearing. The sect leader and the formation hall have been investigating for a long time without any results. There's nothing we can do now but increase patrols and maintain it more frequently."

Yun Qing frowned. First, the formation on the ascension platform was altered, and then the sect's protective formation malfunctioned. It was hard not to connect these two events.

Could the person behind this be the same person?

Anyone who can access the formations in both locations simultaneously must be a high-ranking member of the Chengtian Sect.

The lingering demonic energy on the ascension platform—is it a result of collusion between the mastermind and the demons, or internal and external troubles?

Seeing that Yun Qing didn't speak, Si Mingche waved his hand in front of her face. "Junior Sister, what's wrong? Are the pastries too awful?"

Yun Qing shook her head, then changed the subject, "Third Senior Brother, who in our sect is currently proficient in formations?"

"What's wrong?" Xuanwei walked over, sat down opposite the two, and picked up his teacup.

"Six masters aren't enough? You want to take other masters as your disciples?"

"Of course not, Master Xuanwei."

Yun Qing quickly waved her hand, "I was just thinking about whether it's possible to combine swordsmanship and formations. Would the attack power be much stronger if we swung the same sword? So I wanted to ask if such a possibility exists."

Xuanwei put down his teacup, pondered for a moment, and slowly nodded. How come he hadn't thought of that before?

"When it comes to the mastery of formations, it has to be your late Uncle-Master Fushu, it's just a pity..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Currently, the only people in the sect who have a thorough understanding of formations are Elder Ji, the formation steward, and Hall Master Zhou of the Formation Hall. I can write to them and ask them to give you some guidance."

Yun Qing's heart tightened, and she quickly stopped her. They couldn't alert the enemy now.

"Master Xuanwei, you don't need to trouble yourself with such a small matter. You just need to have breakfast with me, okay?"

Xuanwei had long since abstained from grains and had forgotten what spiritual food tasted like.

But seeing his little apprentice's obedient face, he couldn't bear to refuse, and smiled, saying, "Okay, of course."

Si Mingche, who was standing to the side, found the meal very uncomfortable. He had never seen his senior uncle Xuanwei treat people so gently before. He was not used to it, not used to it at all!

Fortunately, the three of them didn't eat for long before Xuanwei had to leave.

Of course, he didn't forget to give Yun Qing the apprenticeship ceremony.

Yun Qing probed with her divine sense and exclaimed in surprise once again. She knew her decision to have so many masters was the right one!

After leaving Tianxuan Peak, Si Mingche accompanied Yun Qing to Tianquan Peak, Yuheng Peak, and Kaiyang Peak in turn.

The junior sister first used the same rhetoric as "I can come to see you, Master, first," to coax the masters into smiling.

She then obediently asked them to have breakfast with her, and the masters wanted to spoil her rotten.

It has to be the junior sister; she's got a knack for manipulating people. If he did that, he would have been thrown out by his senior uncles and master aunts long ago.

Si Mingche ate with him meal after meal, and almost threw up.

That wasn't the end of it. The masters actually started competing to see who could give more gifts when they became disciples, and they wouldn't stop until they gave more than the other masters.

Especially his good-for-nothing master, whose eyes practically disappeared when he saw his junior sister. He wished he could empty Kaiyang Peak and give her everything he could see.

Yun Qing never expected that by simply taking a few masters as her teachers, she would completely escape poverty and embark on the road to wealth.