Volume One: First Steps on the Path, Chapter Eighty-Nine: Please Forgive Me, Senior

Ye Junze, who wanted to fly even faster, could not help falling into deep thought.

Yet when he recalled how he had already managed teleportation before, and how taking to the air now had not seemed all that difficult, his worries eased considerably.

"Let's try it the way I was thinking first," Ye Junze murmured to himself.

Then, while suspended in midair, Ye Junze circulated spiritual power within his body, drawing it toward the soles of his feet and the area behind his back, where the airstream had gathered before. When he finished, he felt a peculiar sensation coursing through his body. Around him, spiritual energy was also converging continuously, as though tugged by the spiritual power flowing within him.

Noticing this change, Ye Junze recalled his earlier conjecture and decided to give it a try.

As more and more spiritual energy gathered around him, Ye Junze let his thoughts quicken his pace and flew forward through the sky. This time, as if it truly had an effect, he could clearly feel that his speed was far greater than before. Delighted, he thought, "Looks like it really does work. In that case, let's speed up a bit more and see."

With that in mind, Ye Junze increased his speed once again. With his hands clasped behind his back, he stood in the air, circling through the heavens at astonishing speed. From afar, he truly carried something of a transcendent bearing.

After trying this many times, Ye Junze finally began to get the hang of it, though he was still far from truly proficient. As his attempts multiplied, his speed continued to rise. By the end, he was moving faster and faster. Seen from the ground, only a faint blur could be glimpsed flashing past, and then nothing at all. Yet in the blink of an eye, the blur would appear once more at its starting point.

Having tasted the joy of flight for the first time, Ye Junze was like a child who had found a new toy, trying again and again without the slightest hint of fatigue.

...

"Wow, Brother Qi, look at that, what is it?" a girl cried out in surprise.

The young man beside her, whom she called Brother Qi, turned to look at her with fond indulgence. "What's wrong, Yumei?"

"Brother Qi, look up over there in the sky, quickly." As she spoke, the girl even shook his arm as though afraid he might not see it, pointing toward the heavens to urge him to look.

Seeing this, the young man understood that what Yumei had noticed must be important, and quickly followed the direction of her finger, lifting his gaze.

"Huh?" He let out a soft exclamation, as if he had seen something equally astonishing. Then he said, "If I'm not mistaken, that's a person? Flying in the sky?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Qi, you saw it too, didn't you? Could we have run into an immortal?" the girl replied, voicing the thought that had struck her.

"An immortal?" The young man repeated the words in confusion, thinking hard for a moment. But soon he waved his hand and said, "Impossible. How long has it been since immortals vanished? In an age where spiritual energy is this scarce, the fact that the two of us can even cultivate to the Foundation Establishment stage is already no easy feat. How could an immortal still appear? If it really were an immortal, wouldn't that mean some monster who had lived for over a thousand years?"

"But he really does seem to be moving through the air," the girl said, nodding in agreement, though still puzzled.

"Maybe he's simply using a new magical artifact," the young man replied after some thought. "Didn't the two of us also manage to fly easily with the aid of certain artifacts?"

Before the girl could answer, he continued, "Besides, don't forget that we still have a flying device."

"That is true, but he looks so much higher than we are when we fly with artifacts," the girl said thoughtfully, touching her chin with a touch of cuteness.

"Maybe his flying device is better, and his cultivation is also more profound," the young man said with a smile, patting her head.

"Hey, Brother Qi, stop messing up my hair again. I already told you it's hard to style," the girl said, pushing his hand away with some indignation.

Seeing this, the young man immediately raised both hands in surrender and begged for mercy. "All right, all right, it was my fault. Don't forget, we still have a mission. Let's first investigate the situation here."

At his apology, the girl's brow finally relaxed, and she smiled. "Okay, I'll listen to Brother Qi."

After that, the two of them said no more, turning away to inspect the ground here as though searching for something.

...

Meanwhile, Ye Junze, who was having the time of his life flying through the sky, had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and his bodily senses had improved by leaps and bounds. Whether sight or hearing, even touch and taste could no longer be compared to what they had been before, and the range of his spiritual sense had expanded even more than before. Thus, when the two on the ground spoke, Ye Junze naturally noticed them as well, and so he "coincidentally" overheard everything they said.

When he heard the girl call him an immortal, the corners of Ye Junze's mouth rose involuntarily. He had never imagined that one day he too would be regarded as an immortal-like existence, and he could not help feeling delighted.

But when he heard the young man mention something about an old monster, Ye Junze's expression changed in an instant, and he thought darkly, "You must not have suffered enough in the school of hard knocks to spout such nonsense."

After listening to their entire conversation, Ye Junze naturally understood that they had come here for some purpose.

And so, he found himself in a somewhat vexing state.

He had been pleased that this lonely place was finally no longer empty save for himself, yet he was also troubled over whether he ought to strike up a conversation with them. What if they thought he meant them harm? Thus Ye Junze became caught in this strange dilemma.

After thinking for a while, a flash of inspiration appeared in his eyes, as though he had come up with an idea. "I've got it," he said with delight.

Having thought of a way, Ye Junze hovered in the sky, looking down at the ground and scanning his surroundings as though searching for the man and woman from before.

After looking for a short while, Ye Junze finally spotted where the two of them were.

"Found them," he muttered.

Then he plunged straight toward their position.

With a heavy thud, the sound of something striking the ground rang out, followed by a cloud of dust rising up.

The two people on the ground, who had been searching for something without knowing what, heard the noise and immediately looked up.

Shock and confusion appeared on their faces. They glanced at each other, their eyes seeming to ask, "What happened?"

Then both of them shook their heads, as though saying, "I don't know."

They exchanged another glance and, in perfect understanding, turned to look to the side.

Because of the dust and haze rising around them, they could only make out a vague figure within it.

"Cough, cough, cough." Then they heard a series of coughing sounds, as though someone could not bear the dust and was choking on it.

Soon after, the two widened their eyes and saw a figure walking out of the cloud of dust, one hand constantly waving as if trying to disperse it, the other covering his mouth.

Once the figure emerged, the two instantly drew close together, all at once assuming defensive stances, and asked in unison, "Who are you?!"

"Cough, cough, don't do anything rash, don't do anything rash," the figure said, raising both hands to show he meant no harm.

From the voice, it was naturally Ye Junze.

Hearing the voice and seeing Ye Junze with his hands raised, the two exchanged a glance, but still did not relax their vigilance, holding on to their guarded postures.

"Then who are you, and why did you fall from above?" the girl asked.

At last, having emerged from the smoke, Ye Junze heard the question and answered at once, "Cough, my name is Ye Junze. I was practicing aerial movement just now, but something went wrong and I accidentally fell from the sky. And you two, who are you?"

"Aerial movement? So you're the figure we saw in the sky just now?" the girl asked, nodding thoughtfully before suddenly asking in delight.

"If no one else was there, then the figure you mentioned should be me," Ye Junze replied with a nod.

The girl did not answer immediately. Instead, she looked at the young man beside her and said in a low voice, "It should be him, Brother Qi. What do you think?"

However, the young man did not reply. Instead, he stared tensely at Ye Junze. The moment Ye Junze's face was revealed, he had felt an immense pressure emanating from this unfamiliar man before him, as though the stranger were a colossal giant and he himself merely an ant gazing up at that giant. It almost felt as though, with just the slightest careless movement, the giant could lift a foot and crush him to death.

Fortunately, this giant before him did not seem to harbor any ill intent. Still, caution was essential. If anything unexpected happened, he would risk his life to protect Yumei's safety.

In that brief instant, countless thoughts flashed through the young man's mind.

"Brother Qi, Brother Qi?" Seeing that the young man had not responded for quite some time, the girl could not help but tug at his arm.

Only then did he come back to himself and said in a low voice, "It seems this person really doesn't mean us any harm. But Yumei, we still have to be careful. If something seems wrong, leave at once. Don't worry about me."

"But..." The girl had not finished speaking when the young man raised a hand to stop her.

Looking at Ye Junze, the young man said in a voice full of respect, "We did not know a senior was here just now. If we were rude, please forgive us, Senior. If we have offended you in any way, we hope you will not bear it in mind."

Ye Junze was full of questions at the young man's rapid-fire apology. To be inexplicably treated as a senior by someone who seemed about his own age was more than he could quite handle.

The girl's confusion only deepened when she heard the young man address a boy who looked about their age as a senior. She looked at him in bewilderment, as though asking what was going on.

Sensing her gaze, the young man shook his head, indicating she should not speak yet, and then looked at Ye Junze with even greater tension.

Noticing the young man's unease, Ye Junze thought for a moment, then forced himself to remain calm and said, "It's fine. As the saying goes, ignorance is no crime. You two need not be so afraid. I merely happened to pass by, and I happen to have a few questions I would like to ask you. I hope the two of you can enlighten me."

"Since Senior has matters to ask about, we naturally will hold nothing back," the young man said at once with renewed respect. "Please speak freely."

"Good, then I shall not be polite," Ye Junze said, affecting the bearing of an elder.

Assuming a thoughtful expression, he stroked his chin for a moment before saying, "First question: what are your names, where do you live, where did you come from, and what place is this?"

"To answer Senior, my name is Qi Yi, and she is my younger sister, Wen Yu. Our families live in River Sky City, and this is the Ruins of the Bewitching Radiance Star," the young man who called himself Qi Yi replied at once with deference.

At the same time, he turned to the girl beside him and said, "Yumei, quickly greet Senior."

Upon hearing this, the girl obediently said, "Wen Yu greets Senior."

"No need for such courtesy," Ye Junze said again, still acting the part of an elder.