There was a courtyard that was situated right at the outskirts of the Imperial City, sitting in the midst of the dense forest which completely covered the sky and the sun, but at this moment, it was slowly revealing itself in front of Gu Ruoyun’s eyes under the lead of Elder Yu.

　　“I have never thought that such a place would exist in the Hundred Herb Hall.” Gu Ruoyun smiled faintly, “This place seems to be quite suitable for me to grow and mature in secret. Until my feathers are fully grown, I do not want anybody to know about my power at the moment.”

　　Letting out a slight smile, Elder Yu turned and looked at Gu Ruoyun. “This is the place where the young master used to have his training. The exterior is surrounded by the Five-Element Eight Trigram Formation. Unless there is a guide who leads the way, nobody else could ever come to this place. When the young master heard that you would like to train and cultivate your power, he asked me to show you this place, Lady Gu.”

　　Dongfang Shaoze?

　　Stunned in astonishment, Gu Ruoyun knitted her willow-shaped eyebrows together and asked, “Actually, what is the relationship between your young master and my parents? Why does he keep helping me interminably?

　　“I am afraid I cannot tell you now, please forgive me. When the right moment comes for you to know the truth, the young master will surely explain everything to you without a doubt. It is just that, sometimes, knowing too much would bring more harm than good. The young master merely wishes for your wellness from the bottom of his heart.”

　　These days, the current Dongfang family was no longer the same as they used to be. Even the young master himself was in deep distress and extreme misery right now. In such moment, how could the young master have the heart to drag her down along with him too?

　　Especially now that her strength was still not powerful enough…

　　Seeing as how Elder Yu refused to say another word, Gu Ruoyun stopped her queries. She calmly collected her thoughts and finally said, “Let’s go, bring me to those people whom you have handpicked for me.”

　　…

　　Inside the courtyard, the moment Gu Ruoyun entered the entrance, she could feel innumerable gazes with sharp vigilance directed towards her. Without uttering a single word, she unhurriedly took in the sight of all the people in the courtyard.

　　Without a doubt, all of these people who were handpicked by Elder Yu possessed great bodies with high potential, which definitely made them geniuses in cultivating. However, they all seem to have experienced some sort of hardship and trauma that showed in their eyes. Their eyes were not as bright and innocent as other commoners, but instead, they carried a sense merciless and ferocious kind of aura in them.

　　And this was exactly what she was looking for.

　　“Perhaps from the very start, Elder Yu has told all of you about the purpose of you being here but I am sure that it has never crossed your mind that the person who requested for all of you was a young little girl like me.” Gu Ruoyun let out a faint slight smile, a smile so bright that it was not to be ignored. “Perhaps none of you would be willing to submit, thinking that such a young little girl like me should not be giving orders to any of you. But let me tell you just one thing, if you really want to change your destiny and turn the tables around on the ruffians who have been bullying you, as well as obtaining the highest absolute power in this world, then you will have to listen and obey to every command of mine!”

　　Undoubtedly, Gu Ruoyun had noticed the unwillingness from the eyes of this group of people from the very start.

　　Even though they have sunken to the current state that they were in due to certain matters that they did, it did not mean that they would be willing to submit and obey to a mere little girl who was not even in her twenties yet.

　　“Hurmph! Since you have such big words, why don’t you show us your power and impress us instead?”

　　At this moment, a taunting sneer could be heard loudly.

　　Following the source of the voice, Gu Ruoyun’s gaze rested upon a shabbily dressed young man in green. Faintly letting out a smile, she asked, “What’s your name?”

　　“Xun Feng.”

　　With his head high up in the air in an arrogant manner, he replied coldly.

　　“Not bad.” Gu Ruoyun glanced at Xun Feng and nodded her head slightly, “You have your arrogance and your temper seems to be quite splendid too. Over here, I will not suppress your attitude. None of you would have to worry or restrain yourself too much. As for my power that you asked of, I will show you my real strength if you manage to pass my test. How about that? I wonder whether you have the guts to try it then?”