"The Yandu River Tournament... It’s a low-status sect tournament. Many of them use it as a way to prove that their sect is strong and worthy of a higher standing," Li Qingxue replied.

"It’s hosted by the Yandu Clan in the south of the Qin Kingdom. Each sect is given a participation token, one token per disciple."

"The minimum cultivation requirement is Early Foundation Establishment, and the maximum is Early Core Formation."

Lin Tian listened carefully since he had never heard of this tournament before.

The Lingxian Sect had also never received a participation token. The one Lin Tian had came from a member of the Zhu Clan.

"What’s the reason the Lingxian Sect never received a token?" Lin Tian asked.

"The answer is simple," Li Qingxue explained. "The Lingxian Sect... is not part of the Qin Sect Alliance."

He let out a slow breath, beginning to understand why the Lingxian Sect had never gotten one.

But given the strained relationship between the Lingxian Sect and the Qin Sect Alliance, he was worried that joining the tournament would put his and his disciples’ lives at risk.

"Do you want to join? Have you already gotten a token?" Li Qingxue asked.

"I have one. But I’m hesitant to join. Not because my disciples are weak, but because of the real danger that comes with the Lingxian Sect being there," Lin Tian replied.

"I understand. That would be very complicated given how much the Qin Sect Alliance resents you."

"Maybe you could find another way to sharpen your disciples’ combat abilities without bringing them to the tournament," Li Qingxue suggested.

Lin Tian nodded and cleared his throat, lifting his cup and taking a sip of the green tea inside.

He needed to find another solution for that, because forcing their way into the tournament would put their lives in danger.

"Hopefully some other foolish sect will come and attack, so I can use them to train my disciples," Lin Tian said.

Li Qingxue smiled faintly, "Are you mocking us?"

"I think so," Lin Tian replied.

The woman went quiet for a moment, finished her tea, and stood up straight. She explained that she couldn’t stay long at the Lingxian Sect.

"I can’t stay too long. There are a few things I need to take care of," Li Qingxue said.

Lin Tian didn’t react much. He stayed seated behind the wooden table, continuing to enjoy his green tea.

Before Li Qingxue left, she turned around and looked back at Lin Tian one more time.

"The decision to stand against the Qin Sect Alliance was a bold one. You’ll likely face a great many difficulties ahead, Lin Tian," Li Qingxue said.

He smiled briefly, lifting his cup and drinking from it at a relaxed pace, "What I’ve decided is my own risk to bear. You... don’t need to worry about that."

"I’m only warning you," Li Qingxue said, "The strength of the Qin Sect Alliance is far greater than you’re imagining."

Shortly after, Li Qingxue shot off and vanished in a flash of blue qi light, leaving Lin Tian alone in the pavilion.

That blue flash arrived just outside the Lingxian Sect, where Li Qingxue met up with her two sect elders. Both women looked like they were asking her something, making sure she was alright.

"Are you okay, Sect Leader Li?" one of them asked.

"I’m fine," Li Qingxue replied, glancing to the side, "I just don’t quite understand what Lin Tian is thinking."

"Leave that to them. We have nothing to do with any of it," one of the sect elders said.

Elsewhere, An Yue came to the pavilion over the koi pond. There she found Lin Tian sitting alone on the pavilion floor, still sipping his green tea.

When the girl arrived, Lin Tian looked up and greeted her right away. He invited her to sit and poured tea from the pot into an empty cup for her.

"Was there something important you two were talking about, Master Lin?" An Yue asked.

"Nothing important, just some things involving sect affairs and the cultivation world," Lin Tian replied.

An Yue smiled faintly, the worry in her heart easing because she trusted what Lin Tian said. Lin Tian produced a crate containing boxes of pills and set it beside the small wooden table.

The girl looked over at it curiously, "What’s that, Master Lin?"

"Tier 1 pills. I can’t go through them one by one, so please take those and bring them to Wu Yue. Tell her to separate the cultivation pills from the rest," Lin Tian replied.

"Understood. I’ll take care of it," An Yue said.

"How is your training, Yue’er?"

"I’ve already grasped the basics of that profound-grade technique. Now I just need to refine it."

"That’s good. I’m pleased with your progress," Lin Tian replied.

An Yue smiled and nodded, happy to hear Lin Tian’s praise. The two of them sat in a brief quiet moment. Lin Tian kept enjoying his tea while An Yue hadn’t yet touched her cup.

"M-Master Lin?" An Yue said softly.

"What is it?"

"I want to look for some weapons and techniques in the city. But I’m not good at choosing because of my limited knowledge," An Yue replied.

Lin Tian went quiet for a moment and studied An Yue’s face. Her cheeks were faintly flushed, shy for no clear reason.

But he could tell that An Yue had another purpose behind the invitation. He just wasn’t sure what it meant.

"I have some free time over the next few days."

"Of course I can take you there," Lin Tian said.

An Yue smiled wide, tucked the crate into her bag of holding, and stood up straight. She pressed her hands together and bowed her head, saying her goodbye to Lin Tian with a light and happy heart.

Lin Tian wasn’t sure what was going on with her. But he figured the answer to that question would come to him when he took her out later.

Done with the tea in his cup, Lin Tian got up and left the pavilion to head back to the main sect hall.

There, he sat cross-legged on the cultivation altar and produced the three items Li Qingxue had given him.

His focus landed on the Ocean Mirror Barrier technique.

From the technique’s description, it was clearly stated that this water-element technique had excellent defensive power.

Lin Tian needed it, because the four Earth-grade techniques he had learned before were all attack-based.

Without a strong defensive technique, he could end up seriously hurt.

I should learn this technique as soon as I’m done taking An Yue out.

KNOCK!

Lin Tian heard a knock at the door of the main sect hall. He quickly stored the three items and invited whoever was outside to come in.

Unexpectedly, it was An Xiao, Ya Fei, and Luo Mei. All three of them had come for the same reason.

"What is it?" Lin Tian asked.

"Sorry to interrupt your time, Master Lin."

"But we’d like to ask for your permission," An Xiao explained.

"Permission?" Lin Tian asked.

An Xiao glanced to the side. Ya Fei and Luo Mei responded with nods. With a steady confidence, she stepped forward and told Lin Tian.

"Today... is An Yue’s birthday."

Yue’er? Her birthday? I didn’t think they still kept track of each other’s birthdays.

"Cultivators are destined for immortality. Thinking about birthdays is a waste thing," Lin Tian replied.

"You’re right, but she just broke through to Foundation Establishment and officially became a true cultivator. I at least want to give her a birthday memory before she spends the years ahead focused on cultivation," An Xiao explained.

So that’s why Yue’er was so cheerful about inviting me out.

"We’ve done this before, back when you were still in closed cultivation. So we feel like we owe it to her to do it again," Ya Fei added.

Lin Tian went quiet for a moment, still looking at them standing there asking for his permission. There was nothing wrong with it, but Lin Tian wasn’t used to celebrations like that.

"I don’t know much about it. But you have my permission to hold the celebration," Lin Tian replied.

"Today, An Yue invited me to go into the city to look for techniques or weapons for her. I’ll make sure she’s back at the sect in time for when the celebration takes place."

An Xiao and the others smiled wide, "Of course, Master Lin. We’ll do our best to make it a truly memorable one for her."

All three of them said their goodbyes and left the main sect hall, leaving Lin Tian alone. He let out a slow breath and looked down at his palm.

Something memorable, huh?