Ready for Retirement?
"Senior Brother Yang, please give me some time to think."
Senior Brother Yang smiled and said, "No problem, Junior Brother. You can take your time. After the trials end, the elder will ask you to choose, If you decide to join the First Peak then Don't forget to mention me; this will help me get some reward from the elders."
"Sure, Senior Brother Yang," Lei Kongming agreed, though he had no intention of joining the First Peak.
"Oh, by the way, Junior Brother, I forgot to ask your name."
"Senior Brother Yang, my name is Lei Kongming."
"I see. Well, Junior Brother Lei, I have some other matters to deal with, so I will not trouble you."
Seeing Senior Brother Yang leaving, Lei Kongming breathed a sigh of relief.
'Although at Jade River Mountain my face was covered, if they somehow recognize me, it will be a total disaster. It really puts too much pressure on me.'
Glancing one last time at Senior Brother Yang and the other Purple Cloud Palace disciples, Lei Kongming walked back to where everyone was.
Lei Kongming's return also attracted a lot of attention and jealous gazes from other trialists. As long as one had a little knowledge of the Purple Cloud Palace trial, it was not difficult to guess that he would probably be able to enter the inner door.
The reason neither Aunt Hu nor his parents told him about this was probably because... because they forgot.
Coming back to the boulder, Lei Kongming frowned because he couldn't find Lei Meiying and Lei Meixia. But not long after, he saw them approaching from a distance.
'It seems they were also called by the Purple Cloud Palace disciples.'
He thought that only 9th-level Qi refining realm cultivators would have this opportunity, but it seemed that Purple Cloud Palace was not focusing on the cultivation realm but on talent, which after some careful thinking, made sense.
With the resources of Purple Cloud Palace, helping these sisters reach the 9th level of the Qi refining realm is just a matter of a year or two.
'Not only is their figure amazing, but it seems that their talent is also not weaker than Lei Longwei's.'
After a brief exchange with the sisters, all three of them sat on the boulder to adjust their breath and wait for the next stage of the trial.
'I seem to have forgotten something,' thought Lei Kongming.
Meanwhile, a little further away from Lei Kongming...
"Hiss, that bad woman really doesn't show mercy."
Lei Longwei woke up while complaining and then continued, "Just wait. Once my strength surpasses hers, I will pin her down and smack her until her hips become as red as tomatoes."
"Oh, really?"
Suddenly Lei Longwei heard a question from his side. Turning around, he found that the owner of the voice was the person he was just scolding.
"Si-sister Qing, I was not talking about you! Wait!"
...….
Today is a full moon night, so even without any external light source, it was pretty bright. Most of the trialists, including Lei Kongming, are cultivating. There are also some people forming small groups to strategize for the next trial.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing spread everywhere, and all the trialists started falling asleep. Even those who were strategizing unknowingly fell asleep.
Not far away, Peak Master Lu was standing with several elders. Behind them was a large bell floating, but the most surprising thing was that the bell didn't have a clapper, yet everyone could still hear its ringing.
"What took you so long to bring the Soul Recalling Bell? The trial should have started after sunset, but now it's nearly midnight," asked Peak Master Lu in a slightly displeased voice.
"Peak Master Lu, it's because Su Zhiyuan took away the Soul Recalling Bell, saying that she would modify and improve it," said one of the elders standing beside Peak Master Lu.
"WHAT! How could you allow her to touch the Soul Recalling Bell at this moment? What if she messes things up again? Do you think the First Peak's reputation isn't damaged enough?"
"It was Palace Master Duan who allowed her to take it. We didn't even know until we went to retrieve the Soul Recalling Bell for the trials."
At this moment, Peak Master Lu's expression was very grim. The Soul Recalling Bell is the second most precious treasure of Purple Cloud Palace. Most of the time, it stays with the Palace Master, and nobody can use it without the Palace Master's permission.
This time, the Palace Master allowing Su Zhiyuan to modify the Soul Recalling Bell really made him worry. The First Peak's reputation is already not very good, and if another accident happens, he will have to start thinking about his retirement.
Peak Master Lu rubbed his eyebrows and asked, "Have you checked the Soul Recalling Bell? What kind of modification has Su Zhiyuan done?"
"Elder Su said that it will bring out the desires of the trialists."
Upon hearing this, Peak Master Lu nearly fell to the ground.
"What? What did you just say?" asked Peak Master Lu, full of astonishment with his eyes wide open.
Seeing Peak Master Lu's reaction, the elders realized that he had misunderstood and explained.
"Elder Su said that the new modified Soul Recalling Bell will bring out the desires that these trialists have been thinking about recently. For example, if they want to obtain a powerful technique or a lot of spirit stones. Elder Su also said that she has limited its power so that only Qi Refining cultivators will be affected, and those in the Foundation Building realm or those with powerful souls will not be affected."
Hearing this, Peak Master Lu's expression improved, but he still asked, "Did she tell you anything else?"
After some hesitation, one of the elders replied, "She also said that these desires are random and should not be taken as the trialists' lifelong pursuits."
Peak Master Lu's expression once again became ugly, and he was on the verge of tears.
Most of the trialists here are highly talented, so their lifelong desires should not be very 'strange.' Typically, their ultimate pursuits would be to become a Golden Core cultivator or something similar. However, when it comes to random desires, the situation becomes unpredictable.