The two dragons inside heaved yet another sigh of relief. Ah, it seemed they had told him everything they needed. Now, it would be up to him to set the plan in motion. If things didn’t go too well, there was still Qiang Wei around too. His Majesty wouldn’t hesitate to drag him over for whatever miscellaneous task he came up with.

"Ah, I hope His Majesty gets this done soon. If he manages to become the Grandmaster’s disciple, the rest should be easy. I mean he managed to woo His Highness once. A second time shouldn’t be too difficult."

Ai Hua nodded. "I hope he doesn’t mess up."

"Ah, what could happy? He does look young and he is powerful."

"He doesn’t know the Grandmaster though. With his personality …"

Fu Min tensed and his eyes widened. Shit! It seemed he had forgotten something after all. "Excuse me!" He leaped to his feet and ran out, hurrying down the stairs just in time to see Qiu Ling turn to the door after bidding goodbye to Madam Zhong.

Fu Min heaved a sigh of relief and hurried over. "Your Ma—" He coughed. "Uhm, there’s one thing I forgot!" He took out a paper scroll and handed it to Qiu Ling. "This is a painting of the Grandmaster of the Yun Zou Sect, Zhangsun Xun Yi. I thought you should know how he looks before going over so you know whom to approach."

Qiu Ling unfurled the scroll, scrutinizing the face of the person. "Hm …" That man wasn’t bad-looking if one considered he was merely a mortal. He couldn’t rival him though. His own looks were just too outstanding to be overshadowed by some human. Qiu Ling smiled with satisfaction. If even someone with such a high status couldn’t rival him, then he’d be able to win back Jing He’s heart. There was no question about it.

He happily patted Fu Min’s shoulder. "Good work. I’ll go then." With that, he pushed the scroll back into Fu Min’s hands and left the teahouse.

Soon, the capital was left behind and the Long mountain range could be seen in the distance. Qiu Ling’s lips curved in a handsome smile and he flew faster, approaching the magnificent halls and palaces of the Yun Zou Sect while thinking about the person waiting there for him.

Ah, Jing He, my beloved, soon I’ll be at your side again! I’ll accompany you every single day and make sure you will have a good life down here in the mortal realm. Even though you’ll have to suffer a bit because of that strange trial, having such an attentive lover like me should console you enough. Mn, you’ll see: Being in my arms will make any worries become unimportant! You’ll feel secure and cared for like never before. Life with me will be absolute bliss! Ah, my love, don’t worry. I’ll find that Grandmaster right now and become his disciple. Then I’ll have the perfect status for us to become a couple. Just wait a bit longer!

Qiu Ling landed on the path leading through the forest and glanced over at the gates of the Yun Zou Sect. He wasn’t sure if those cultivators in the mortal realm could levitate so it was better not to let them see. He adjusted his sleeves and stepped out of the forest, walking over as if it was the natural thing to do.

The two disciples standing next to the gate perked up when they saw him. This … Damn, how could a man be this handsome?! Heaven was truly biased! Why did that guy get to have such gorgeous features while they had to live with common looking faces?

"Who’s there?" the disciple on the left questioned indignantly.

"Qiu Ling. I came to become a disciple."

The disciple on the right raised his brows. "Is this some kind of joke?"

The guy in front of them looked nothing like a cultivator. Well, nothing like a righteous cultivator. Who would turn up at the doorstep of the Yun Zou Sect wearing an ink black robe? Wasn’t that what demonic cultivators wore? This guy wouldn’t be a spy, would he? The disciple narrowed his eyes. This was the only possible explanation. "You better scram!" He grabbed the hilt of his sword to be prepared in case the guy lashed out.

Qiu Ling narrowed his eyes in response. Trying to deter him at the gates? Hmph, not going to happen!

Qiu Ling’s fingers twitched but at the final moment, he hesitated and didn’t unleash his magic. He … didn’t know anything about the abilities of human cultivators. He hadn’t asked Fu Min about that at all! What if he did something they couldn’t do? They might not take him in if he did. He paused. If he couldn’t use magic … Why not use his sword? He couldn’t go wrong with that, could he?

Qiu Ling took his sword out from his spatial ring, unsheathed it and stepped forward, the blade nearing the two disciples. One strike and they stumbled, falling onto their buttocks. Qiu Ling grinned. That’ll teach you not to cross me!

Just then, an old man with gray hair and an equally gray beard hurried over, his wrinkled face lit up with a bright smile. Even his eyes sparkled, letting him appear some years younger. Well, Qiu Ling had to give it to him: Even though he was obviously really old, he had a straight posture and wasn’t the least bit plump. He looked like the kind of man that had lived long and weathered through many hardships.

The Elder rushed over and stopped right in front of Qiu Ling, sizing him up. "Who are you?" he asked with a slight trace of agitation in his voice.

Qiu Ling smiled brightly at him. "Good day, Elder! I’m Qiu Ling and I heard many good things about your great sect, so I came here to become a disciple!"

"Great! Great!" The Elder nodded and motioned further into the sect grounds. "Actually, it’s been a few days since we accepted disciples but I saw just now that you really have the talent to become a practitioner so I’ll make an exception for you."

"Great!" Qiu Ling reciprocated the Elder’s smile. This first step … had actually been this easy?