As the sun rose, the horizon between heaven and earth was bathed in dawn’s radiant light.

It was like a pure Immortal stooping to kiss his beloved.

Seven stood side by side, each dressed impeccably and with solemn decorum.

The eldest senior brother remained graceful and upright, the second senior sister ice-cold and jade-pure, the third senior sister gentle and charming, the fourth senior brother reserved and elegant, the fifth senior brother nonchalant and playful, Mu Xian lazy and uninhibited, and Gong Xue stunningly beautiful.

The seven drew quite a stir.

“Ahhhh!!! It’s Shu Ran!”

“Shu Ran is so handsome!”

“The senior sisters look absolutely gorgeous today!”

“Look, who are those two people? They are stunning as well!”

Someone noticed Mu Xian and Gong Xue, and an insider disclosed, “Those two are the Dean’s newly accepted disciples.”

A girl, infatuated, exclaimed, “I feel like I need to split my love for Shu Ran in half. What’s the little disciple’s name?”

“Ren Yue! And that girl is Gong Xue. But don’t get your hopes up, from what I’ve heard, they’re a couple.”

Someone expressed heart-wrenching disappointment, “No way! Shu Ran already has Duoduo. Finally, there’s another little disciple as charming as Shu Ran, and he’s already taken. When will I ever find my true love?”

“This might be your chance!” said a girl excitedly, leaning in mysteriously. “I heard Wang Gui and Che Yan are coming back!”

“The Dean’s two sons? The two senior brothers who went down the mountain for training fifty years ago and have been unheard of since?”

“That’s right! I heard they’re returning today.”

The scene was full of lively laughter, while in a pavilion not far away, the Dean and four Elders watched the proceedings.

“Dean, when did your disciples become so flamboyant? Those two new ones— they seem pretty average. Did you have a lapse in judgment this time? You usually only accept the strongest.”

An Xuqian waved his dust whisk and squinted towards the crowd, smiling, “Chang Wan! My disciples are so many, if they were all invincible, wouldn’t it be too boring? Every now and then, you need some fun!”

Chang Wan rolled his eyes and bluntly exposed An Xuqian’s smugness, “Cut the crap. There’s no way you’d accept someone average. There has to be something else going on.”

An Xuqian mysteriously stroked his beard.

A burly middle-aged man beside them laughed heartily, “Chang Wan, don’t bother trying to get anything out of him. All the good disciples were snatched by this old fox. No worries, while he trains his disciples, we’ll steal his wine to drink. I saw him hiding some good wine last time.”

Chang Wan readily agreed, “Alright, Deng Ying, let’s do it tonight.”

An Xuqian got anxious, “Hey! Isn’t it a bit rude to plot against my wine right in front of me? I’ll set up a restriction when I get back.”

“Xuqian, I recently found that your wine isn’t that good anyway. This is the real deal,” Xu Tao boasted, swirling the jar of wine in his hand. Gong Xue had given it to him that morning in exchange for the Soul Reviving Spell.

“I saw you cherishing that jar just now, savoring every bit. Where did you get it?” Wei Xian, who excelled in alchemy and had a keen nose, had long noticed the aromatic wine and was eager to ask.

An Xuqian was startled, “You didn’t steal my wine again, did you?”

Xu Tao grinned smugly, “Your wine is no match for this.”

Immediately, their expressions changed. With a wave of his hand, An Xuqian made a hole in Xu Tao’s jar. The four quickly cupped their hands to catch the wine. Taking a sip, the sweet peach flavor mixed with the aroma of the wine washed away the original spiciness, and they all lit up with praise, “Marvelous!”

“Is this really wine?”

“It’s so delicious!”

…

It was only now that Xu Tao realized, “My wine!”

Unfortunately, the wine had already leaked dry.

Xu Tao’s face darkened. Crushing the empty jar in his hand, he lunged at An Xuqian like a raging wolf, “You old man! Give me back my wine!”

The two old men, disregarding their dignity, chased each other around the pavilion. With a crash, the roof nearly caved in as black smoke billowed out.

The disciples glanced towards the pavilion but didn’t pay much attention.

Gong Xue was puzzled, “What’s going on?”

Yuan Na responded nonchalantly, “It’s probably the Elders fighting again.”

“Again?” Gong Xue was surprised by their attitudes. “Shouldn’t we go and stop them?”

Bing Duoduo patted Gong Xue on the shoulder, “No need. This happens all the time. They’ll calm down once someone gets injured.”

“Really?”

Gong Xue looked over at Mu Xian, who was still in his usual lazy manner, sipping the peach wine that Gong Xue had brewed.

Before long, the Grand Competition began.

The first to step onto the stage was a disciple from Twilight, directly challenging a disciple from Moonrise.

“Go Senior Brother Xiao! Beat those lowlifes!” shouted the disciples from Twilight, waving flags.

“Senior Brother Wen! Teach these show-offs a lesson and show them our strength!” retorted the disciples from Moonrise, not backing down. The tension between the two groups reached a peak.

“Do they have some personal grudge?” Gong Xue couldn’t help but be curious.

Ning Chifeng squeezed in next to Gong Xue, “Well, this dates back to the first Grand Competition. Moonrise specializes in medical and toxic arts, excelling at poisoning and confusing their opponents. The disciples of Twilight practice swordsmanship and are quite proud. When the two peaks go head-to-head, Moonrise often wins with poisons, which Twilight’s disciples consider dishonorable and underhanded. This created a mutual disdain between the peaks, and it has been this way ever since.”

Bing Duoduo chimed in, “They’ve pulled all sorts of tricks on each other. It’s always a scene when they meet.”