Tang Qi grew increasingly bewildered, his mind seemingly spinning.
But fortunately, after a moment's pause, he said with some concern, "Junior Brother Ming, is that expert you invited coming? The Golden Autumn Festival is about to begin."
"Yes, I will."
Ming Qi agreed, then laughed several times. "I never thought that person would be Zong Weiyi, the most low-key Dean?"
Tang Qi was speechless. Looking at the possessed Ming Qi, he couldn't find the right words.
Ming Qi certainly wasn't possessed, because just as he was looking around for Yue Dongqing, he suddenly spotted a familiar face.
It was still the Purple Bamboo Forest. Xiao Lingyun was the woman who appeared there, so the man Ming Qi saw this time was naturally the same man.
Xiao Lingyun and Zong Weiyi?
The eldest sister of Qionghua Court and the extremely talented yet low-key head of Beichen Court?
Even at this moment, Ming Qi couldn't help but admire the sheer wonder of the world. Xiao Lingyun's flamboyant and domineering personality, Zong Weiyi's understated and composed demeanor—how could these two have such close connections?
"Here she comes."
Ming Qi was just about to laugh for some unknown reason when Yue Qinglong, sitting behind him, suddenly said something nervous.
Perhaps the only person who could make Yue Qinglong nervous was that unreliable girl.
So Ming Qi looked around the square. It wasn't difficult to find her. Yue Dongqing was strolling leisurely from the gates of Azure Sky City. The only difference today was that a small, one-meter-long azure dragon was flying beside her.
Yue Dongqing still wore her peacock mask, preventing anyone from clearly seeing her face. Today, she wore a graceful, pure, cyan dress. While not overly flashy, it exuded a distinct purity. Compared to the other female disciples, who dressed flamboyantly, she was even more eye-catching.
Yue Dongqing, the Azure Dragon Guardian, was a renowned figure within the Biyou Sect. He held the power of law enforcement and the authority over life and death. While not the highest in rank, he was undoubtedly the most feared by all Biyou disciples.
So, the moment Yue Dongqing stepped into the square, she saw a path automatically part before her. As she walked forward, the path extended with purpose.
"Where is the Azure Dragon Guardian going? Isn't he heading to the judging seats?"
Seeing that Yue Dongqing wasn't heading for the lofty judging seats, the disciples from various academies who had made way for her on either side began to murmur.
Yue Dongqing isn't going to the judging seats?
Amidst everyone's bewildered gazes, Yue Dongqing naturally walked to the Tianqi Academy seat, pulled up the chair reserved for the headmaster, and sat down.
Aside from the other disciples' endless sighs and chatter, Meng Junyi, on the other side, was feeling nervous and awkward.
"Disciple Meng Junyi of Tianqi Academy, greetings to the Dharma Protector."
Meng Junyi bowed respectfully, but didn't dare sit down, simply standing there awkwardly.
"Please sit down. I'm just here to take a look."
Yue Dongqing's words were perfectly in keeping with her position, and she didn't say much. However, the little blue dragon flying beside her seemed to have suddenly discovered something, twisting its plump body and floating over someone's head.
"Hey, hey, can you, you little loach, drool somewhere else?"
Ming Qi was furious. Without even looking up, he raised his right hand and unleashed a wolf fist, his index and middle fingers splayed out, as if intending to pierce the little blue dragon.
"No!"
The greasy voice made Ming Qi shudder.
As expected, Ming Qi's wolf punch missed, but the little blue dragon showed no sign of leaving.
"Hey, can you give me a method to tame the beast?"
Ming Qi was being reckless. Seeing he couldn't get rid of the thing on his head, he simply dragged his stool over to Yue Dongqing. If he hadn't been concerned about Yue Dongqing's intimidating identity, he would have hidden his head within a fraction of a second of her.
"A method to tame the beast? What do you want that for?"
"It's nice to play with it if you have nothing else to do."
...
What the hell!
Meng Junyi and the others nearby were nearly fainting. Why was this guy like that? What the hell?
"Well, it's not impossible. Just give me a reason."
Yue Dongqing's beautiful eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't lose her temper. This immediately made Meng Junyi and the others' hearts skip a beat.
Shamelessly begging the Azure Dragon Guardian for the secret?
Isn't that like plucking the hair from a dragon's head? No, isn't that like peeling off the scales?
Ming Qi, however, clearly had no such awareness. Upon hearing Yue Dongqing's request for an explanation, he immediately chuckled, "I can play the zither, and I'm an expert."
"Oh?"
As expected, upon hearing the word "playing the zither," Yue Dongqing's eyes lit up.
Ming Qi naturally knew about her quest for mastery of the zither. High-caliber zither masters are incredibly hard to find, especially among cultivators. Cultivation is a race against time, so who would spare the time for boring zither studies?
Of course, Yue Dongqing's single-minded pursuit of understanding the secrets of the zither was a unique path forward, though it still seemed a bit silly to most.
Ming Qi could play the qin, having learned it in his previous life. Moreover, Meng Ling was a qin, a qin that had likely been around for countless years. Who could be more proficient in the Dao of the qin than Meng Ling?
"Okay, if you can help me understand the Dao of the qin, then I will teach you a superior method for taming beasts."
Yue Dongqing readily agreed.
"No problem."
Ming Qi was also unequivocal. He desperately wanted a method for taming beasts; otherwise, he wouldn't have bought a taming cube from the trading area. However, Ming Qi had originally intended to be able to contain Meng Ling if necessary, but Meng Ling saw through his plan and told him the truth: while the taming cube was indeed high-level, it could only contain demonic beasts and ghost spirits. While Meng Ling herself was a demon, she wasn't a beast, so even with the taming method, she couldn't contain one.
While the beast-taming technique had been settled, the square erupted in a commotion.
Ming Qi cast his gaze across the square and saw a portly, middle-aged man approaching their Tianqi Academy seat with a broad smile.
The middle-aged man's face glowed rosy, as if he had taken some potent tonic. Not only was his complexion rosy, but it was also sleek and shiny, like a perfectly grilled hot dog.
However, Ming Qi didn't treat the fat man like a hot dog. He saw that his entrance was quite spectacular, almost on par with Yue Dongqing's. Needless to say, someone with such a grand entrance held a truly exceptional status within the Biyou Sect.
Despite his portly appearance, he walked with remarkable speed, crossing the square in a matter of seconds, arriving at the Tianqi Academy seat.
"Huh? No seats?"
The middle-aged, chubby man seemed completely oblivious to the jaw-dropping looks of those around him. He simply glanced at the Dean's seat, which Yue Dongqing had taken first. Then, mumbling something, he pulled a smaller chair from the side, placed it next to Yue Dongqing's large chair, and sat down with aplomb.
"You didn't even prepare a bigger chair for me? Ugh."
The middle-aged, chubby man continued to grumble, unaware that Meng Junyi and Tang Qi, sitting behind him, had their eyes widened instantly, looking like strangled toads.
Who was this person? It was Zhao Qi!
This chubby man was the Biyou Sect's chief logistics officer, the head of the Alchemy Pavilion, and the Alchemy Pavilion Elder, Zhao Qi!
Why was Zhao Qi here?
Everyone's mind was filled with questions. Compared to the questions swirling in the hearts of the Tianqi Academy, the disciples of the other academies were in shock. As for the academy masters, sitting high up in the academy chairs, expressions of deep thought appeared on their faces.
"Who is he?"
At a moment when the Tianqi Academy was practically audible, Ming Qi, as expected, directly and loudly addressed Yue Dongqing.
"This old man..."
Zhao Qi began, halfway through his sentence.
Yue Dongqing interrupted him, but her tone was off.
"He's Zhao Qi, Fatty Zhao from the Dan Pavilion."
"You little girl, look at what you're saying. Am I fat?"
Yes, am I fat?
Seriously, how can you even be considered fat?
After a moment of silence, Ming Qi finally said, with a hint of realization, "So it's Elder Zhao from the Dan Pavilion. My apologies."
True to form, Ming Qi remained firmly planted while greeting him, showing no sign of moving.
"Sure, sure."
Zhao Qi, for his part, pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere and wiped his sweat. He then turned and glanced at the Tianqi Academy disciples, saying, "Who among you has the surname Ming?"
Ming?
Of course not, there couldn't be one.
And so, as Zhao Qi sat bewildered, he watched everyone shake their heads.
Snap!
Zhao Qi slapped his thigh with a resounding, crisp sound. "That old bastard actually lied to me."
After this slap, Zhao Qi suddenly seemed to remember something. He pressed his chubby right hand against his forehead twice and said, half-articulately, "Ming Qi, yes, that's it. Who is it?"
Okay, now I know.
Ming Qi naturally responded immediately.
But then, nothing more happened. Just as they stared at each other, waiting for the chief steward to speak, Zhao Qi smiled graciously at Ming Qi and turned back.
Two innate masters!
At this moment, the other academy leaders were pondering this question. It seemed to them that the Tianqi Academy, once thin and easily pinched like an ant, had suddenly become enormous, bloated to the point of being a behemoth.
But the academy leaders' surprise wasn't over yet. Shortly after Dan Pavilion Elder Zhao Qi pulled up a small chair next to Yue Dongqing and sat down, everyone saw a flash of sword light flying from deep within the Biyou Sect's inner gates.
The sword light flew so fast that it reached the sky above the square in the blink of an eye. Then, it spun and floated directly above the Tianqi Academy's seats.
The sword-wielding elder, Prince Xu, had unexpectedly headed for the Tianqi Academy as well!
Suddenly, countless jaws dropped in shock throughout the huge square of Biyou Sect.