Mei Chao Bing didn't let Yun Bei Fen train for too long. After about an hour, he called for him to go back inside and go to sleep. Training was good but he shouldn't do too much or it also wouldn't have any beneficial effect and might instead hurt him more. Especially for a person like Yun Bei Fen who hadn't made it a habit to train every day. Thus it was better to stop now and instead train again tomorrow. That way, Yun Bei Fen would certainly be able to learn more.
The two of them went inside, took off their outer robes and then went to bed. Naturally, Mei Chao Bing didn't forget to let Da Hei out so that the spiritual beast would be able to exercise a bit on its own. It really was a pity that he couldn't let it be outside while they were doing the mission in the day. But they probably wouldn't spend too much time in the border region. As soon as the Elders figured out what was going on, they would probably be called back to the sect.
When the two of them got up the next morning, they went over to Baili Chao's study and greeted him before they went back to the square where the disciples had already gathered yesterday.
Before they could even find a place to stop, Kui Min already came running over. "You're here! Senior martial brother Gongsun and senior martial brother Yuan aren't here yet. I was afraid you'd leave me alone."
Mei Chao Bing gave a smile and nodded at her. "Junior martial sister Kui."
Yun Bei Fen also gave her a bright smile while he clung to Mei Chao Bing's arm. "How could we just leave you alone? We still have to rely on you today to show us how to investigate!"
Kui Min couldn't help but laugh and reach out to pat Yun Bei Fen's head. Even though they weren't that far apart in age, she somehow felt that Yun Bei Fen seemed a lot younger than her. Ah, having such a cute junior martial brother would really be good. Unfortunately, there was nobody like this under her Master. Mn, when she got back, she should make a fuss so that her Master would take somebody cute like this in.
Bit by bit, the other disciples arrived. Contrary to before, the circle of free space that normally formed around Mei Chao Bing wasn't as big as before. Maybe it was because there were two people standing right next to him or maybe Elder Baili's words had actually had some influence on the other disciples.
Seeing this, Mei Chao Bing wasn't quite sure what he should think. On one hand, he felt that he shouldn't care since he had always told himself that he didn't care when they ignored him but, on the other hand, he was also happy not to be shunned any longer.
Well, he probably shouldn't feel elated too early. This was merely one day after that rousing speech Elder Baili had given. Some of them might have a guilty conscience but once things in the border region proceeded further, who knew if they would revert to their old ways? Instead of getting hurt once again, he might as well continue to keep his defense up and see what would happen until they returned to the Teng Yong Sect. Afterward, it wouldn't be too late if they truly changed.
Soon enough, Elder Xing appeared once again in front of the disciples. He glanced around, his gaze landing on the group of five with Mei Chao Bing in the middle. The other disciples might not notice and even if they did, they might not understand why he was looking over but Mei Chao Bing was keenly aware of this gaze. Elder Baili should've mentioned that he was the one who had noticed something. What exactly the Elder thought about that though … He didn't know. Maybe it was better that way though.
Elder Xing retracted his gaze and then nodded at the disciples. "We have been in the border region for quite some time. I'm happy to announce that the first clues were finally brought back.
"Apparently, the demonic practitioners have created some arrays in the border region. Right now, there seem to be spirit gathering arrays that will attract spiritual energy and either concentrate them at the center of the array or transfer the energy to somewhere else.
"We haven't found conclusive evidence as to whether there are other types of arrays and how many spirit gathering arrays there are. From now on, everyone should pay special attention to this kind of clue.
"Please make sure not to overlook anything else though. With the demonic practitioners, one can never know if there's a plan inside the plan and they might just be using these arrays to hide traces of some other activities."
The disciples couldn't help but whisper among themselves, wondering just which group had managed to find these clues. They glanced around, with most of the eyes landing on the group of Yang Wu Huang. One really couldn't blame them. After Mei Chao Bing, Yang Wu Huang was one of the most talented disciples in that generation. For his group to unearth clues first wouldn't be strange.
Yang Wu Huang raised his chin and pretended not to feel anything. In the eyes of the other disciples, this was clearly him admitting that his group was indeed the one that had managed to achieve this feat. Only he and the others knew that this was indeed not the case. The other three disciples in his group really wanted to hear the opinions of the others as to who might have been faster than them, but seeing Yang Wu Huang's expression, they didn't dare to say anything out loud. So they merely copied his posture and expression and continued to wait until Elder Xing gave them the signal to leave.
When the disciples slowly quietened down and didn't look in their direction anymore, Yang Wu Huang glanced over to the group of Mei Chao Bing. He didn't believe that this was a coincidence at all. They had just arrived two days prior and the first day they headed out was the day when results were brought back. Didn't this mean that Mei Chao Bing was the one who had managed this feat?
It seemed that he couldn't take him lightly. Despite the years since his Master's betrayal, Mei Chao Bing was still a worthy opponent. He had to make sure that his own group put in more effort so that they would be able to completely suppress them. Only if he managed to gain more merits on this mission, would he be able to keep his place in the minds of the other disciples and Elders. Otherwise, Mei Chao Bing might just make a comeback. That definitely couldn't be allowed to happen.