“Cough, cough!”
Seeing the three Heads arguing nonstop, Yun Yan finally couldn’t hold back and lightly cleared his throat twice to stop them.
But the noise didn’t cease.
Feng Ze directed his words at the black cat: “Shimei Kong! Your Yushou Peak’s annual expenses are nearly twice that of the other peaks! How do you manage that?”
“Do Ling Beasts not need to eat?”
“And Shimei Xu! What’s going on with you lately? You’ve been holed up in your Medicine Garden all day!”
……
“Cough, cough, cough—yue!”
Yun Yan on the side coughed harder this time.
Accidentally putting too much force into it, a sudden violent coughing fit hit him.
His face immediately flushed red.
Because of that, the surroundings quieted down, and everyone’s gaze turned toward the one coughing—Yun Yan.
He smoothed his white beard, his expression recovering considerably.
It seemed they finally understood the old master’s intention and settled down.
Straightforward Feng Ze raised an eyebrow and asked, “Zongzhu, are you feeling unwell?”
This question immediately drew light laughter from Wen Ping and Xu Qianlan nearby.
Yun Yan’s forehead twitched with barely noticeable veins.
“Enough! I called you here to discuss business, not to bicker!
You few get along fine when you don’t see each other, but the moment you meet, it’s like this!
How do you set an example for the disciples under you?
Do you intend to annoy me to death so you can inherit my position as Sect Master?”
Yun Yan unleashed a torrent of scolding, and the three immediately wilted.
After all, Yun Yan was their senior master; no matter what, they couldn’t talk back.
Once everyone quieted, Wen Ping chimed in to ease the atmosphere.
“Hehe, alright, Zongzhu, let’s talk about today’s matter first.”
Hearing this, Yun Yan’s expression finally softened.
His gaze sharpened as he spoke.
“I didn’t call you here for anything else but to discuss the ‘Climbing Immortal Ladder’!”
……
“Climbing Immortal Ladder?”
At this moment, Jiang Che was no longer in Xu Qianlan’s Medicine Garden.
He had been brought outside by Jiang Yan.
A few minutes ago, while still in the small wooden hut,
Jiang Yan had been circling Jiang Che, glancing left and right.
Then Jiang Che suddenly felt a jade hand gently placed on his head.
Seeing Jiang Che didn’t resist, Jiang Yan’s expression shifted from slightly serious to one of pure enjoyment.
Her face beamed like a blooming sunflower.
All the earlier strange behavior suddenly made sense—it was about whether she could sneak a touch.
Facing this, Jiang Che kept trying to understand why.
In the past, the rumors about this Shenxiao Sect Senior Sister described her as extremely solemn and serious.
Almost no disciple had ever seen her smile; even stray cats and dogs in the sect were said to have been taken away by her never to reappear.
Yet now, Jiang Che was embraced from behind by Jiang Yan, flying on her Lingjian while sitting on the sword.
“Yes! The Climbing Immortal Ladder—Senior Sister Xu and the others have probably been called to discuss it.
The Climbing Immortal Ladder is said to have been passed down from the Upper Realm.
Disciples from Foundation Establishment to late Golden Core stage can participate.
It happens every two years; as long as you meet the realm requirements, everyone can enter that Secret Realm for trials.
If you can climb to the very top of the Ladder, you’ll see the Immortal Monument inscribed with names.
For all major sects, it’s a chance to make a name for oneself, so many sects strive to participate.”
As the Senior Brother of Lingjian Peak, Jiang Che naturally knew all this.
Back then, he was spirited and almost got himself killed because of it.
“Because the Climbing Immortal Ladder is crucial for a sect’s reputation, many sects start preparing early.
If you join our sect, little brother, when you reach Foundation Establishment, you can join too.
Also, the Ladder isn’t just about strength; it also involves fate.”
“But Sister Jiang, I heard from my family that Shenxiao Sect is a very powerful sect.
Such a powerful sect still worries about this Climbing Immortal Ladder?”
Jiang Che called her Sister Jiang, noticing she responded well to it. However, Jiang Yan didn’t feel like a Feng Yaqin type.
It was hard to explain, like when studying on Lanxing, some female classmates loved to hug the teacher’s kids—not because they were teachers’ children, but simply because they were children.
Because of that, Jiang Che sensed it was easier to gather information from Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan sighed.
“Our sect is indeed highly esteemed, but the quality of the new generation disciples is quite low lately; no one knows why.
We haven’t had a disciple step onto the Climbing Immortal Ladder for two consecutive sessions.
My master even predicts our sect’s chances this time are slim.”
“Ah?”
Jiang Che was taken aback.
“Sister Jiang, you didn’t get on either?”
Jiang Che still remembered Jiang Yan nearly made it onto the Ladder before; it shouldn’t have been that bad these past few years.
Jiang Yan ruffled Jiang Che’s nose, looking at the adorable child before her, her heart warming.
In the sect, she had to act like a stern Senior Sister daily and watch over her master.
Finally having someone to confide in, she couldn’t help but bring Jiang Che out.
“Yes, I didn’t get on because I’ve already broken through to Nascent Soul and can’t participate anymore.
My last time competing, I had a chance but was beaten to it by an annoying guy!”
Jiang Che twitched the corner of his mouth, suspecting he knew that annoying guy.
Come to think of it, Jiang Che himself had participated once and climbed the Immortal Ladder on his first try.
Back then, having just broken the earliest Foundation Establishment record, he entered the trial at early Golden Core.
Inside that Secret Realm, he defeated many sect prodigies to successfully step onto the Climbing Immortal Ladder.
At that time, Jiang Yan was late Golden Core; so…
“Forget that disappointing guy. Little brother, I’ll take you to my secret base!”
Jiang Che’s thoughts were interrupted, and he helplessly nodded.
He was already scheming how to extract more useful information.
Soon, Jiang Che felt himself being brought to a secluded place.
Just moments ago, they had been directly above the sect, faintly hearing disciples training below.
Now it was much quieter, and the temperature was cool and comfortable.
Jiang Yan led Jiang Che to her secluded cave where she was cultivating, from which a few meows could be heard.
Jiang Che immediately understood—Jiang Yan was actually a cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside girl. There was another word for this kind of person.
Jiang Che felt relieved; as long as Jiang Yan didn’t have any special quirks, that was truly precious to him.
After all, his recent experiences had exhausted him both physically and mentally.
Meanwhile, he gained plenty of information about Lingjian Peak from Jiang Yan.
Lingjian Peak no longer had the vigor it once did; the disciples on the mountain could be counted on one hand.
Moreover, it hadn’t recruited new disciples for a long time.
Jiang Che found out that only two disciples still remained.
One was his former Second Shimei, Bai Rushuang.
The other was his junior disciple, Yun Fan.
Yun Fan was a little fanboy of Jiang Che and had voluntarily become Jiang Che’s attendant disciple.
But his talent was poor, and his cultivation progressed slowly; while their peers had already reached Foundation Establishment, Yun Fan was still stuck at Qi Refining Stage Five.
What surprised Jiang Che was that even with so many disciples gone, this junior disciple hadn’t left.
Sigh, for what reason?
This made Jiang Che very curious to find out.
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