On Tinglan Peak, Shu Lan was playing chess with Venerable Lieyang.

This is the 108th time that Venerable Blazing Sun has failed.

Venerable Lieyang dejectedly put down the chess piece and pushed the chessboard forward. "I'm not playing anymore. It's pointless. Junior brother, you never let me win!"

"Playing chess requires giving it your all; that's the only way to show respect to your opponent." Shu Lan, however, disagreed. He believed that giving your opponent a handicap was a major taboo.

"Stop talking, stop talking, let's talk about serious matters!" With that, Venerable Lieyang changed his lazy sitting posture, straightened his body, and his face became serious.

"Junior brother, have you ever heard of the grandest exchange meeting in the cultivation world?"

"The grandest exchange meeting? Is it the Tengyun Meeting?" Shu Lan had heard a few words about this grand exchange meeting before, and was not quite sure at the moment.

“That’s right, it’s the Soaring Cloud Gathering!” Venerable Lieyang clapped his hands and said with great interest.

"What does this have to do with me?" Shu Lan casually picked up the chess pieces one by one with her hands and put them back into the box.

"How can it not concern you? Don't you know? Junior Brother, you can also participate in this Cloud Ascension Gathering."

"Me?" Shu Lan pointed to herself, quite surprised.

“That’s right. Any cultivator under the age of two hundred can participate in the Cloud Ascension Gathering. Junior brother, you’re only eighteen, so of course you can participate.”

"But," Shu Lan placed the last chess piece into the box and closed the lid, "are you sure there are cultivators under two hundred years old in the Integration Stage?"

"Uh..." Now it was Venerable Lieyang's turn to be stumped. As everyone knows, in the cultivation world, cultivators who can reach the Integration Stage at the age of five hundred are geniuses among geniuses. Most cultivators are already over a thousand years old when they reach the Integration Stage.

Therefore, when Shu Lan asked if there were any opponents of the same age as her, Venerable Lieyang could not give a definite answer.

"Anyway, you can go then." Venerable Lieyang finally gave in and had no choice but to compromise. "It would be good to go and see, this is the grandest exchange meeting that only comes once every few years!"

"Also, your disciple can go this time. After all, your disciple is under two hundred years old, and there will be opponents of equal strength at that exchange meeting. He can hone himself in battle, making his cultivation more solid and his abilities even better."

"Yes, I will go, Senior Brother." Shu Lan smiled at Venerable Lieyang. "I will bring my disciple with me. After all, it would be a pity to miss such a grand exchange meeting."

"So you agree?" Venerable Lieyang was somewhat surprised.

"I was going anyway, I never said I wouldn't go." Shu Lan winked playfully at Venerable Lieyang.

"You little rascal, you've actually learned to tease your senior brother." Venerable Lieyang was both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, senior brother should head back now. Junior brother, you and your disciple should discuss the matter of going to the Tengyun Association."

"Respectfully seeing off my senior brother."

Venerable Lieyang waved his hand and rode away on a cloud.

"Master, you were looking for me?" Shu Lan called Qin An over after Venerable Lieyang left. Qin An immediately stopped making the pastries and came to Shu Lan's side.

"Yes, I have something to discuss with you." Shu Lan beckoned to Qin An, inviting him to sit down beside her.

After Qin An took his seat, Shu Lan told him everything that Venerable Lieyang had told her about the Tengyun Society.

"So, is it me and my master brother going together this time?" Qin An was a little excited. He was overjoyed at the thought of going with his master brother.

"Okay, so Xiao An, you'd better do well this time." Shu Lan gently moved Qin An's hair.

"I will! I will definitely work hard! I won't let my master brother down!" Qin An was full of energy, his eyes shining with confidence.

Days passed by, and the time for the start of the Tengyun Gathering soon arrived.

This time, all the elders and disciples of the Star River Sect boarded airships to attend this grand exchange meeting.

The airship had many rooms; the elders each had their own room, while the disciples shared rooms in pairs or groups of three.

Because Qin An was Shu Lan's apprentice and had a higher seniority, he was also given a room by himself.

When Qin An was choosing a room, he specifically chose the one to the left of Shu Lan, while Shu Lan's room was on the far right.

Shu Lan was meditating in her room when there was a sudden knock on the door.

Shu Lan said, "Please come in."

Then, a figure crept in furtively. Upon closer inspection, who else could it be but Ye Feiyu?

"Ye Feiyu, what brings you here?" Shu Lan asked curiously.

"Shh! Grandmaster Uncle, I'm in dire need of help! Please let me hide here with you. I don't want to be with that guy anymore." Ye Feiyu quickly made a gesture to speak in hushed tones, his expression panicked.

After thinking about it carefully, Shu Lan knew who "that guy" was.

"Are you hiding from Kong Xiang?" Shu Lan was both amused and exasperated.

"Yes, yes, Grandmaster Uncle, please don't mention his name anymore. I get chills just thinking about it." Ye Feiyu shuddered.

Just then, the door suddenly opened again.

"Master, come and try my new snacks!" Qin An walked in carrying a plate of snacks, his tone cheerful and in a very good mood.

When Qin An saw Ye Feiyu, his face immediately turned cold. "Master, what's he doing here?"

Ye Feiyu's attention was completely drawn to the pastries in Qin An's hand, and he didn't notice the problem with how Qin An addressed him at the beginning.

"Wow! Uncle-Master, you can actually make desserts! That's amazing!" Driven by his love for delicious food, Ye Feiyu even temporarily forgot about his strained relationship with Qin An.

"Can I have one?" Ye Feiyu stared intently at the plate of pastries, his gaze lingering on it for a long time.

It wasn't until Qin An remained silent that Ye Feiyu realized how bold his words had been.

At this moment, Ye Feiyu slowly lowered his head, his two fingers moving back and forth helplessly.

At this moment, Shu Lan broke the deadlock. "Since Xiao An and Ye Feiyu are both here, I'll say something first."

Qin An and Ye Feiyu both looked at Shu Lan at the same time.

“You two don’t need to be so cold to each other. Ye Feiyu was indeed wrong last time, but he was unaware of it, and he already knows he made a mistake. Xiao An, please forgive him.” Shu Lan earnestly advised, “Fellow disciples shouldn’t let their relationship become so strained. After all, we are from the same sect.”

Ye Feiyu nodded repeatedly as Shu Lan spoke. Only when Shu Lan asked Qin An to forgive him did Ye Feiyu look at Qin An with expectant eyes.

Qin An took a deep breath and slowly said, "I've decided..."