Due to it being the day of the monthly cultivation lecture, all outer disciples were given the day off their respective sect jobs.
This naturally meant that they were free to spend the day however they wanted.
After leaving the Sect Library, the trio comprising Zhao Yunxiao, Gu Qiansi, and Lu Zhiying made their way to a familiar spot – the Lightwind Pavilion.
Once they cleared the long and narrow dirt trail to reach the clearing in the woods, they immediately noticed two figures sitting within the pavilion itself.
The two figures similarly noticed their arrival, standing up to wave towards them in greeting.
They were a man and woman, both of them looking to be in their late teens or early twenties just like Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi.
"Senior Martial Brother Zhao, Senior Martial Sister Gu!" the young lady greeted enthusiastically.
She had a rather short stature, with big round eyes and long black hair that contained a slight tinge of brown.
Despite her obvious enthusiasm, her natural soft voice made her greeting feel rather tame, as though she was not all that excited to see them.
"Junior Martial Sister Huang, Senior Martial Brother Bo," Gu Qiansi waved back with a big smile on her face.
The two figures who had arrived earlier were Huang An and Bo Fei, both outer disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect.
Unlike the meek-looking Huang An, Bo Fei appeared strong and masculine, with his clothes doing little to hide his well-built physique.
"Can you guys arrive earlier than us for once...?" Bo Fei started with a complaint, but his voice quickly trailed off as he caught sight of the trio.
That was because among them was a familiar face, one that instantly stood out among the three.
"Stop complaining, we are not as lucky as you bunch and actually have to find our way out of the Sect Library. You know how complicated it is in there," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged with a smirk on his face.
"You arrogant bastard. Show off some more, won't you?" Bo Fei cursed. "Anyway, you guys brought Junior Martial Sister Lu here as well?"
"Have you already met her?" Huang An looked at Bo Fei in surprise. "And is there something wrong with you today?"
"What do you mean?" Bo Fei asked in return.
"I'm just wondering why you haven't started trying to chat her up," Huang An commented timidly.
Bo Fei: "..."
While I can't deny that I like pretty girls, who doesn't?
Why are you making me sound like some weirdo?
"Greetings, Senior Martial Brother Bo, Senior Martial Sister Huang!" Lu Zhiying clasped her fists towards the duo.
She had met Bo Fei two days ago, so she recognised him immediately.
As for Huang An, Lu Zhiying only knew how to address her after hearing Gu Qiansi.
"Greetings, Junior Martial Sister Lu," Huang An hurriedly clasped her fists in return. "Welcome to the group."
"The group?" Lu Zhiying tilted her head in confusion.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Bo Fei interjected. "Before anything else, Junior Martial Sister Huang has something to ask you."
"Senior Martial Brother Bo! I never said I will be the one asking!" Huang An protested. "I thought we are supposed to decide who asks!"
"Come on, someone has to do it, so why not you?" Bo Fei mercilessly ignored her pleas.
"Does it matter who asks? What is it about?" Zhao Yunxiao grew impatient. "If you have something to ask, then do it already. Stop wasting our precious time."
"Go on, ask it," Bo Fei gestured once more and Huang An seemed to have given up on protesting any further.
"This... we are just wondering about the cultivation lecture just now," Huang An sneaked a glance towards Lu Zhiying before turning back to Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi. "You know, the one whom Elder Mo complimented just now... is that Junior Martial Sister Lu here?"
Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi looked at each other in surprise.
Even though Bo Fei and Huang An did not make it into the Sect Library for the cultivation lecture earlier, it was not surprising that they still knew of what happened.
After all, the cultivation lectures were always projected outside of the Sect Library, so those who were unable to make it in could listen from the outside.
However, how did they know it was Lu Zhiying?
From the start of the exchange between Mo Tianfeng and Lu Zhiying, not once had her name been mentioned.
And from how they were already here, they must have left for Lightwind Pavilion right after the lecture ended. So, there should not be enough time for the information to spread to them either.
"Even without you saying anything, the looks on your faces are enough to tell me everything I need to know," Bo Fei laughed. "See, I told you it's them."
"Is it really true?" Huang An tried to confirm.
"That's right. It was Junior Martial Sister Lu over here," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "But how did you know it is her?"
"We heard her exchange with Elder Mo," Bo Fei said. "After all, she did mention that she would rather approach her Senior Martial Brother Zhao and Senior Martial Sister Gu instead of Elder Mo. There might be others with surname Zhao and Gu in the sect, but not many would have a junior martial sister who is daring enough to say that. You must be really impressive at cultivation to be ahead of Elder Mo in the priority list, good on you!"
Bo Fei said this with mixed feelings.
If not because he had experienced Lu Zhiying's irrational way of thinking first hand, he might not have been so confident about his conjecture either.
In a way, he kind of sympathised with Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi, but could not resist the urge to tease them regardless.
"Shut up," Zhao Yunxiao massaged his temples as he felt a headache coming.
He could already foresee this matter being an ongoing topic in the sect for the coming few weeks.
"Senior Martial Brother Zhao is really quite impressive though!" Lu Zhiying interjected.
"Hahaha, it's nice that you are being so thoughtful," Gu Qiansi patted her on the shoulder. "But let's not exaggerate things too much here."
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
Do you believe that I will leave right this instant?
And why are you speaking as if you are not involved?
"In any case, this is great for Junior Martial Sister Lu," Bo Fei added. "Now that you have managed to earn Elder Mo's compliments in public, your future is bound to be bright and limitless! Good job!"
"Congratulations, Junior Martial Sister Lu!" Huang An happily added with her unique soft voice.
"He didn't really say much though. Is it really such a big deal?" Lu Zhiying asked.
"Of course!" Gu Qiansi replied. "I'm sure you will feel the changes within a few weeks' time. Everyone's attitude towards you will surely start changing for the better!"
"No need for weeks. A few days is probably more than enough!" Bo Fei chimed in.
"We should celebrate Junior Martial Sister Lu's great fortune today! Let me go bring my best tea leaves!" Huang An's excitement could hardly be heard through her soft voice.
"You guys need to stop saying all that," Zhao Yunxiao's words, on the other hand, seemed to pour cold water on their parade.
"Why are you being such a wet blanket, Junior Martial Brother Zhao? Are you unhappy that Junior Martial Sister Lu's future is going to be far brighter than yours?" Bo Fei asked with a smirk.
"Stop your nonsense," Zhao Yunxiao knew that Bo Fei did not really mean that. "If you guys keep saying that she did well, will you be responsible if Junior Martial Sister Lu takes this as affirmation to repeat what she did in the future as well?"
"This..." Bo Fei was slightly taken aback for a moment.
Even Gu Qiansi who would usually be the first to argue against Zhao Yunxiao remained silent.
They all understood that while things turned out well in the end this time, what Lu Zhiying did earlier was actually extremely risky.
To continue doing such things was like choosing to walk along the edge of a cliff – a single misstep and the consequences would be devastating!
"Junior Martial Sister Lu, you understand how lucky you got there, don't you?" Zhao Yunxiao turned towards Lu Zhiying with a reprimanding tone.
"I understand, Senior Martial Brother Zhao! I will make sure not to do that ever again!" Lu Zhiying shouted while taking a deep bow towards Zhao Yunxiao.
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
He really could not tell from Lu Zhiying's overreaction if she was being extremely apologetic or if she was simply being sarcastic.
"It's fine as long as you understand, so quickly get up," Gu Qiansi quickly helped Lu Zhiying back up. "Well then, let's start our discussion."
"Yeah, let's start," Bo Fei nodded before taking a seat in the pavilion.
The rest of them moved to enter the pavilion as well, each finding an empty seat among the many wooden benches and stools.
"Discussion?" Lu Zhiying asked in confusion. "What will you be discussing about?"
"Of course it is about the cultivation lecture earlier," Bo Fei answered. "Now that the contents of the lecture are still fresh in our heads, it is the best time to talk about it and confirm our understandings."
"That said, you can feel free to ask about anything you did not understand earlier as well," Gu Qiansi said.
"Yeah, after all, these two here are better than Elder Mo when it comes to explaining cultivation pointers," Bo Fei chuckled.
Zhao Yunxiao felt his head hurt.
"Oh, in that case, I really do have something I want to ask!" Lu Zhiying raised her hand enthusiastically.
"Let's hear it then," Bo Fei gave her the go ahead in a confident manner. "Let this senior martial brother of yours clear your doubts!"
Lu Zhiying was someone who had yet to even enter the Foundation Building realm.
Bo Fei, who was already at the Essence Gathering realm, naturally believed that nothing she asked would be able to faze him.
"Earlier, Elder Mo mentioned that the world is limitless and that there are all sorts of people out there. But since that is the case, why would he also say that every individual has a different constitution?" Lu Zhiying asked. "If the world is truly filled with limitless possibilities, doesn't that also mean that there can always be someone out there who shares the same constitution? In that case, will you be able to tap on their essence energy since they will effectively be of the same attribute?"
Bo Fei blinked blankly for a few moments before turning towards Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi, who promptly avoided eye contact with him.
Turning towards Huang An, he came face to face with a pair of big round eyes that showed an obvious eagerness to hear the answer as well.
She was no help either.
"You know, if you actually have a question regarding cultivation, why would you waste your rare opportunity to consult Elder Mo earlier by asking something completely irrelevant?" Bo Fei indignantly asked.
"I wanted to ask this question initially too! But it is obvious from everyone's reaction that even if Elder Mo does not blame me for asking a personal question regarding cultivation, that was not the best course of action at that moment," Lu Zhiying sighed helplessly. "There were so many disciples present there, so what would they think if I am the only one to get my queries clarified? Apart from envy, some will probably feel indignant and jealous, and that might cause me problems in the future, right?"
Bo Fei only asked his question out of annoyance since he did not have the answer to hers, but he did not expect Lu Zhiying to give a serious answer like that.
Moreover, her answer was completely out of their expectations.
"Is that why you chose to ask Elder Mo about the lecture venue instead?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.
"Yeah, I thought that I have to ask a question that does not have to do with cultivation at all. Only a question like that would make others think of me as harmless and not put up their guard against me," Lu Zhiying explained.
The rest of them fell silent upon hearing that.
That was because they fully understood that her concerns were not unfounded.
Where there were people there was conflict.
While they were all fellow outer disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect, not everyone had good relationships and treated each other like brothers and sisters.
Others might not have much to say if someone like their Senior Martial Brother Hua Sheng received exceptional treatment, but Lu Zhiying had only joined the sect for four days!
Like Lu Zhiying had mentioned, if she was the only one among the outer disciples to get her queries regarding cultivation clarified, it could easily induce a sense of jealousy in others.
They might not say anything on the surface, but just the fact that they started feeling this way meant that it could adversely affect Lu Zhiying's relationship with them in the future.
That was a situation that nobody wanted.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a nod in satisfaction at this point.
He would not have believed it from how recklessly she acted usually, but it seemed that Lu Zhiying actually had a pretty good head on her shoulders sometimes.
Earlier during the cultivation lecture, Zhao Yunxiao had assumed that Lu Zhiying was just doing whatever she wanted when dealing with Mo Tianfeng, but that did not turn out to be the case at all.
In such a short span of time, she considered everything that she had heard regarding the cultivation lecture and Mo Tianfeng, and weighed it against what she knew about the sect as a whole.
From there, she did her own calculations and decided that maintaining a good relationship with her peers was more important than receiving pointers from the elder.
That was a wise and logical decision, considering the fact that with her current cultivation level, whatever she asked would be unlikely to have too much of an impact on her future path anyway.
Being able to do so showed that Lu Zhiying at least had a logical side to her as well, and Zhao Yunxiao definitely preferred to deal with logical people.
Now, if only Lu Zhiying could act this logically during other times as well, how nice would that be?