Zhao Yunxiao's eyes lit up the moment he saw Lu Zhiying approaching with Gu Qiansi, just like the many others who were waiting for their companions at the Clear Thoughts Pavilion.
But unlike the others who had such a reaction solely because of her beautiful face that was capable of lifting just about anyone's mood, there was another reason that made Zhao Yunxiao react this way – the familiar item that she was carrying on her back.
"Good morning, Senior Martial Brother Zhao!" Lu Zhiying ran up to him excitedly. "Good morning to you too, Senior Martial Brother Nie and Junior Martial Sister Huang."
Standing beside Zhao Yunxiao, Nie Hanchang and Huang An, who had arrived earlier, waved in response.
"Good morning," Zhao Yunxiao nodded in satisfaction. "I see that you have finally decided to wear the backpack that I gave you. It's been so long that I thought you would never do so!"
Indeed, on her back was the bamboo backpack that Zhao Yunxiao had used for years. It was only when he obtained a spatial pouch recently that he decided to give it to Lu Zhiying. But three months had passed since then, and he had never seen Lu Zhiying with it... until now.
Truth be told, he had long suspected that Lu Zhiying had either lost it or lost interest in it. Therefore, he could not be more surprised to be able to set his eyes on his reliable buddy once again.
Only... it looked a little different?
"Of course not! I told you that I have always just been waiting for the right opportunity to wear it!" Lu Zhiying spun around to show off her backpack. "I made some adjustments to it too. See, it fits perfectly now!"
"So, that's why. I thought it looked a little different, but I guess it makes sense for you to have gotten it adjusted," Zhao Yunxiao realised.
He had found it strange that Lu Zhiying had to wait for the right opportunity just to wear a bamboo backpack. But perhaps it was like what Chen Pingxi had said last time, that females really just cared a little too much about how their clothes and accessories matched up.
Seeing that Lu Zhiying had decided to wear the backpack to such a big event, Zhao Yunxiao no longer had any reason to doubt her.
It was good to know that his bamboo backpack had found a new owner who truly appreciated it!
"But where is Senior Martial Brother Bo? Isn't it already about time?" Gu Qiansi asked.
"He told me that he would be going alone, but he's probably accompanying some fellow female martial sister instead," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. "It won't be the first time anyway."
"Sounds like something he would do indeed," Gu Qiansi let out a helpless sigh.
"Forget about that hopeless guy. Shall we go?" Zhao Yunxiao asked.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Lu Zhiying cheered excitedly. This would be her first Meeting of the Four Great Symbols, and she was filled with anticipation for what was to come.
With that, the group left Clear Thoughts Pavilion for the event venue – Black Guardian Square.
The selection of this location was intentional. As this was a gathering of the Four Great Symbol Sects, what better location would there be than the very entrance to the Four Symbols Mystic Realm – the mystic realm shared by all four factions?
In fact, each of the four factions shared the same sentiments.
No matter who the host of the event was, the meet would traditionally be held at their respective entrances to the mystic realm.
Of course, the square had now been furnished in a completely different manner as compared to the opening of the mystic realm two months ago.
The numerous huge tents that covered the entire open square back then had long been taken down. Instead, grand stands had been erected all around the square, allowing audiences to view the centre of the square in comfort.
These seats were clearly demarcated for the different invited guests. Each faction had a section allocated to them. As for the Four Great Symbol Sects, their seats were even further divided into seats for outer disciples, inner disciples, and the sect administrators.
As for the core disciples, they were expected to be seated with their respective sect administrators. But if they wanted to sit somewhere else, there would naturally be no one who would stop them.
Plenty of other outer disciples were already seated by the time Zhao Yunxiao's group arrived, but it was fortunate that they were still able to grab some rather good seats. These seats might still be within the outer disciples section which was further behind, but they had a rather good view of the centre stage at the very least.
The moment they sat down, Zhao Yunxiao started scanning the area to identify where each person was seated.
"What's wrong, Senior Martial Brother Zhao? Is there something interesting?" Lu Zhiying leaned in and whispered, having noticed Zhao Yunxiao's serious expression.
"It's important to know where everyone is seated so that we can easily observe their reactions to different developments later. All of that could become useful information in the future," Zhao Yunxiao explained.
"Don't worry about it, Junior Martial Sister Lu. That guy is a little extreme in the way he does things," Gu Qiansi patted her on the shoulder. "The effort far outweighs the benefits here."
"That doesn't matter. Even if my efforts end up being useless 99% of the time, what happens is that I can say with confidence that I would be able to grab the opportunity when that rare 1% actually occurs," Zhao Yunxiao brushed it off casually. "It seems like some of the subordinate sects are already here. Don't be too obvious when you look, Junior Martial Sister Lu, but seated over there are Elder Yi and the Yin Yang Sword Sisters from the Flying Swords Hall."
"Oh..." Lu Zhiying made sure not to be too obvious when following Zhao Yunxiao's gaze. "There sure are a lot of people there."
"Well, the Yin Yang Sword Sisters are very popular, so people naturally gravitate towards them. It's the same reason why there are more and more people sitting around us right now," Zhao Yunxiao said with a sigh. "Anyway, just look for the two identical twin sisters. One wears a black hair pin while the other has a white one."
His words caused Gu Qiansi to look around them, inevitably coming face to face with the awkward expressions on those seated around them. It was only then that she realised just how disproportionately many of their fellow disciples had sat around them as compared to the other areas.
Perhaps that much was not too surprising, especially considering Lu Zhiying's popularity. What was surprising, however, was the fact that there was actually a good number of female disciples among them as well.
"Senior Martial Brother Nie's popularity has also been steadily increasing in recent days," Zhao Yunxiao said, having seen through what Gu Qiansi was thinking about.
"Is that so?" Nie Hanchang felt the corner of his lips twitch.
"For some reason, your reaction is kind of irritating," Zhao Yunxiao remarked.
"Are the members of the other three sects not here yet?" Lu Zhiying asked.
"Judging from previous years, most of the guests should have already arrived on Purple Plum Mountain yesterday. It's just that they did not make it too big of a deal in case they disrupted the preparations," Zhao Yunxiao explained. "That said, the subordinate sects would usually try to arrive at the event venue earlier out of respect for the Four Great Symbol Sects. So, in order not to make the subordinate sects feel pressured to arrive unnecessarily early, the Four Great Symbol Sects would usually only arrive right before the start of the event."
"I see, I see," Lu Zhiying nodded.
Gu Qiansi let out a helpless smile upon seeing this. Seeing as to how Zhao Yunxiao always seemed to have all the answers, it was no wonder that the perpetually curious Lu Zhiying enjoyed hanging out with him so much.
In fact, as Zhao Yunxiao continued to introduce the subordinate sects to Lu Zhiying, Gu Qiansi could see that even those seated around them had quietened down to listen.
"Those entering now are from the Golden Hawk Sect," Zhao Yunxiao continued. "They are basically the strongest faction under the Azure Dragon Sect, led by Sect Leader Yin Qin. Their prime disciple Kua Feiying is the guy with the long nails."
"The strongest?!" Lu Zhiying's eyes lit up.
"Don't get too excited," Nie Hanchang chimed in. "Your goal should not be them, but the core disciples of the Four Great Symbol Sects."
"Hehe, of course!" Lu Zhiying grinned.
Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi exchanged glances.
Those two were really seeing things on a completely different level as compared to them...
Unlike the other factions who promptly found their seats upon entering, not everyone from the Golden Hawk Sect did so. Specifically, Sect Leader Yin Qin and their prime disciple Kua Feiying broke away from the rest of the group and remained by the entrance while the rest got seated.
The two of them did not look too alike despite their similarly slim physiques. Sect Leader Yin Qin was a bald man with sharp white eyebrows, while Kua Feiying was a suave young man with long hair that reached his back.
However, one had to admit that the two of them gave off an almost identical aura. Both of them exuded an air of pride and arrogance as they stood there with their heads held high, patiently awaiting the arrival of the next group.
They did not have to wait long either.
"So, it's Sect Leader Dan and Elder Ming! The Golden Hawk Sect welcomes the Origin Lake Sect to the Meeting of the Four Great Symbols!" Sect Leader Yin Qin clasped his fists with a hearty laugh. "Your seats have already been arranged, so please take a seat as we await the start of the event."
He was naturally addressing members of the Origin Lake Sect – a group of twenty led by Sect Leader Dan Juexing. Unsurprisingly, the prime disciple Chen Pingxi was also part of the entourage.
Sect Leader Dan Juexing frowned slightly upon hearing Sect Leader Yin Qin's words, but chose not to think much of it.
"It's been a while, Sect Leader Yin. I'm looking forward to an incredible meet, as always," Sect Leader Dan Juexing clasped his fists in return before leading the members of the Origin Lake Sect away to take their seats.
"That's the Origin Lake Sect, led by Sect Leader Dan Juexing," Zhao Yunxiao continued to introduce. "You met their prime disciple Chen Pingxi previously. Do you remember?"
"Of course!" Lu Zhiying said. "She mentioned that she has a good impression of you and thinks you should have been invited to be an inner disciple!"
"Stop spouting nonsense; those are just words of courtesy said to someone who was showing her around the sect grounds," Zhao Yunxiao quickly waved her off. "It is important to learn to discern that from words that others actually mean."
Just as he said that, Chen Pingxi suddenly looked towards Zhao Yunxiao while making her way to her seat, and gave a slight nod with a smile. She had long accepted that Zhao Yunxiao was hiding his status, so she was definitely not surprised to find him seated among the outer disciples.
Zhao Yunxiao instinctively returned the greeting.
It was a very subtle exchange that could have easily gone without notice, but it definitely did not escape the eyes of those seated around them. After all, they were just talking about Chen Pingxi and Zhao Yunxiao, so all eyes had been on them.
"What were you saying just now?" Lu Zhiying narrowed her eyes at Zhao Yunxiao.
"Don't read too much into it. Considering Fairy Chen's personality, it is only normal for her to greet someone who has shown her around the sect previously," Zhao Yunxiao gave Lu Zhiying a light knock on her forehead.
"Ouch!"
She did not continue to pursue the matter, but that did not mean she believed Zhao Yunxiao's words. In fact, even those seated around them believed Lu Zhiying's words over Zhao Yunxiao's. After all, it was no longer a secret that Chen Pingxi seemed to have an inexplicably good relationship with Zhao Yunxiao.
"What's this? Does the Golden Hawk Sect think you are the hosts or something?"
The aggressive tone immediately broke everyone's train of thoughts and drew their attention over.
Standing at the entrance, right across from Sect Leader Yin Qin and Kua Feiying, was a group of familiar faces – members of the Armed Ape Tower led by Sect Master Kui.
Or rather, perhaps it was more accurate to say that the Armed Ape Tower was being led by the one standing right in front – the muscular Elder Xiong Yan. Not just that, but the look of disgust on his face told everyone that what he said was not meant as a joke.
"Why don't you stay seated like everyone else instead of making such a ruckus?" Elder Xiong Yan continued. "Or are you doing this to distract everyone from the fact that your disciples failed to stand out during the opening of the Four Symbols Mystic Realm?"
"Trust the Armed Ape Tower to always think negatively of others," Sect Leader Yin Qin scoffed. "Let me advise you not to act all high and mighty just because you have a half-decent successor in the making. Who knows what might happen in the future, or if he would actually have the chance to grow into the person you hope he would become?"
At the same time, members of the Golden Hawk Sect instantly got to their feet and walked up to stand behind their leader.
"What did you say?" Elder Xiong Yan frowned. "Are you cursing our successor right now? Simply because you want others to be just as useless?"
"Mind your words. What do you mean 'just as useless'?"
"Why don't you explain your earlier words instead?"
Sparks flew as the two factions directly stared each other down, turning the atmosphere at the Black Guardian Square extremely tense.
Their menacing auras erupted and swept through the entire Black Guardian Square, with the weaker disciples present feeling a sense of suppression that made it slightly difficult to breathe.
While Gu Qiansi used her essence energy to protect Lu Zhiying, Zhao Yunxiao took note to remember every detail of this scene.
What an impressive aura that resulted from nothing but a fierce fighting spirit.
They truly lived up to their names as the two factions widely known as the strongest under the Black Tortoise Sect and the Azure Dragon Sect!