The drums stopped. A solemn elder in deep blue stepped forward to the central podium. His sleeves fluttered slightly in the wind as he raised a scroll — thick, aged, and marked with the Cloud Serpent Sect's golden insignia.
"Welcome, disciples of the Cloud Serpent Sect. On behalf of the Sect Leader and the Council of Elders, we thank you for your presence today."
He raised one arm.
"Please rise and give your salute to our Sect Leader."
Thousands of white and blue robes rustled as every disciple rose in unison and bowed with practiced reverence toward the center of the highest platform — where the Sect Leader sat unmoving, a figure of distant power.
"Today, we have two announcements," the elder continued. His voice, amplified with spiritual energy, echoed powerfully through the mountain.
---
"First, we recognize the disciples who have brought honour to the Cloud Serpent Sect through significant breakthroughs and meritorious contributions. We would like to invite these ten individuals to step forward to the stage for commendation."
A ripple moved through the crowd.
Then came the names.
"Mei Lan — disciple of the Alchemy Pavilion."
"Yu Sen — outer-ring formation master."
"Qin Su Luo — core disciple from the Sword Hall."
"Chang Dian — senior combat disciple from the Eastern Patrol Unit."
The names continued, each spoken with ceremonial weight, each followed by a brief murmur of recognition or applause. One by one, disciples stepped forward to the front stage — not the highest tier, but one just beneath Liu Mo Fei's seat. Sacred, visible, symbolic.
Jia Wei Xin remained still, her posture calm.
The elder hesitated for a breath.
"The last person to be recognized... she is new to our Sect but has contributed greatly in a very short time."
A strange tension prickled across Jia Wei Xin's spine.
"The final name is... Jia Wei Xin — private disciple of Sect Leader Liu Mo Fei."
She blinked. Hard. Again. No, no, no, no — Too late.
Every eye was now on her.
Heat climbed her neck. Her limbs moved before her thoughts could catch up, rising stiffly. Her back remained straight, her face calm, but inside her head:
Sifu, are you seriously digging a grave for me?!
She dared a glance up as she reached the stone steps.
There he was. Liu Mo Fei, seated in his Vice Sect Leader's seat, all white robes and perfectly neutral expression.
He was... frowning?
---
Liu Mo Fei, seated in his Vice Sect Leader's seat, cloaked in white, gaze sharp as ever.
He hadn't expected this either.
In fact, he looked mildly irritated — his brows drawn slightly, mouth pressed in a line not of approval, but of disruption. No one had consulted him about this. He hadn't put her name forward. He hadn't even bothered reviewing the list. He had treated the awards as a small matter — a routine formality — because his focus had been on the next announcement.
But this?
This had been quietly slipped in by the elders. They were trying to hug her thigh. And his.
Liu Mo Fei's frown deepened.
He didn't want her paraded around as some kind of genius. It was too soon — and too likely to attract the wrong kind of attention. Dangerous attention.
But then — as she walked onto the stage, eyes wide with disbelief, mouth twitching between fury and confusion, her posture trembling ever so slightly beneath her calm exterior — he paused.
And something in him cracked.
Amusement.
It bloomed like spring beneath snow.
Because despite the ridiculousness of the situation, despite all his instincts screaming at him, the sight of her — so indignant, so confused, looking up at him like she wanted to throw a chair — was just… adorable.
And beneath the amusement…
Pride.
The kind that settled deep in his chest, hot and quiet.
She didn't even realize what she'd become.Didn't realize how rare it was to do what she had done.Didn't understand — yet — that she was now standing at the center of a storm, not because of him…But because of who she was.
So be it.
What was done, was done.
He leaned forward slightly and offered her a slow, lazy smile.
She looked up, aghast.
---
The disciple closest to her — tall, sharp-eyed, and wearing a troublemaker's grin — stepped forward with confidence.
"Jia Wei Xin, right?" he asked, smooth as silk. "I'm Chang Dian."
She squinted. "Do I know you?"
He smiled wider. "We've met before. You haven't changed at all."
She tilted her head. Something was off. Familiar.
"You're not that shameless tofu seller who cheated on his wife and got sued in city court, are you?" she asked.
He chuckled and leaned closer.
"I'm the one who fed you snacks and called you clever," he whispered. "But you're not going to expose me, are you?"
Her eyes widened.
Wait a minute…
---
Zhang Tian!
That voice. That grin. That audacity.
He had come in disguise.
And somehow, she wasn't even surprised.
---
Zhang Tian (a.k.a. Chang Dian)
Five Years Earlier...
Zhang Tian had infiltrated the Cloud Serpent Sect under the identity of Chang Dian.
The real Chang Dian? A loyal subordinate kept in the shadows, swapped in and out like a spare robe.
Zhang Tian had planned this for a decade — embedding himself in the heart of the sect under Liu Mo Fei's very nose. The same Liu Mo Fei who prided himself on his flawless instincts. Oh, the irony.
He hadn't intended to reveal himself just yet. But when word of Jia Wei Xin's berserk cultivation accident spread, he'd almost thrown caution into a volcano.
Unfortunately, security had tripled ever since Liu Mo Fei strutted back into the sect. Zhang Tian had been forced to wait — fuming — until he could safely switch places with the real Chang Dian again.
---
Earlier, when Jia Wei Xin stepped onto the stage beside Liu Mo Fei, Zhang Tian had been watching her with barely restrained urgency.
There she was — alive, unhurt, standing tall in front of the entire sect. Her spiritual energy was steady, even radiant. She looked healthy. Strong.
But still… he couldn't relax.
He sat just a few rows below the stage, close enough to see the faint crease between her brows, the tension in her jaw, the forced calm in her expression. His hands curled against his knees, digging into the fabric of his robes as he fought the urge to move.
He wanted to go to her. To pull her into his arms, to feel the truth of her warmth, her breath — just to be sure.
He wanted to take her away from all of this. From the crowd. From the eyes. From the politics and danger she didn't even know she was walking into.
But instead, he stayed where he was.
Watching. Waiting.
Then — his ears twitched.
Behind him, two disciples were whispering, low and shameless.
"Did you see that curve when she bowed? And how fit she is?"
"If she becomes my wife, I'd definitely 'cherish' her every day..."
Boom.
They both jerked. One gasped. The other made a strangled noise.
Then blood splattered from their mouths.
They clutched their chests and collapsed, wheezing.
No one saw what happened. No one asked.
The two were discreetly dragged out, twitching, still bleeding. "To be investigated," someone whispered.
---
Back to the Ceremony.
The elder resumed speaking.
"We now recognize the specific breakthroughs of each commendation."
He turned.
"Mei Lan — for greatly advancing her alchemical skills and successfully refining high-grade healing pills. Her pills were used to treat over thirty injured disciples after the recent battle with rogue cultivators near the southern training grounds."
There was a round of applause — genuine and warm.
Mei Lan bowed with quiet grace. Her demeanor was calm, her face kind. She radiated a rare, peaceful presence — the sort that didn't feel the need to compete or compare. Jia Wei Xin instantly liked her.
One by one, the accomplishments of each disciples on stage were listed.
The commendations rolled on — most of them recognizing disciples advancing to the Advanced Level, a rank reserved for the top 120 in the entire sect.
From duelists breaking arena records, to talisman masters crafting powerful wards, beast tamers subduing monsters, and cultivators restoring ancient formations — each name drew respectful murmurs and nods of admiration.
---
Then:
"Chang Dian — for successfully breaking through to the Advanced Stage, and holding the eastern perimeter alone during the recent demon incursion. With no reinforcements, he maintained the barrier for two full days."
Gasps and murmurs of admiration rippled through the crowd.
Jia Wei Xin gave him a sideways glance. "Two days with Demons? Sounds like you had quite the "lazy" adventure."
He let out a deep, theatrical sigh — the kind that belonged in a tragic opera — and turned to her with a grin that could only be described as criminally confident.
"Two days without you? Pure torture. I nearly perished from loneliness. You have no idea how much I missed you."
He leaned in a little, voice low and conspiratorial.
"And do you know how much trouble I went through just to be here? That bastard Liu Mo Fei thought he could keep me out by tightening security and layering up barriers. Ha. Joke's on him. I've been here long before he even showed up."
Jia Wei Xin stared at him, utterly expressionless.
Then she laughed — dry at first, then louder.
Another shameless, ridiculous man.
But one who, no matter how absurd his methods, always managed to get what he wanted.
She sometimes wondered if the real reason she transmigrated into this world… was simply to be annoyed to death.
Or maybe to experience the greatest cosmic prank of all time.
Either way, a laugh slipped out — quiet, restrained, the kind she tried to hold back so it wouldn't draw attention. But it bubbled up anyway, soft and real, and for a moment, it lightened the weight in her chest.
---
"Finally… Jia Wei Xin."
Tension.
A sharp inhale rippled through the crowd.