The royal family of Chufung was in fact similar to a giant cultivation sect with control over a large number of powerful manuals and an abundance of cultivation resources. As for this Prince Chu Huang, his name was perhaps the most renowned of the current generation’s royal family. He’d made a name for himself during his time in Spirit Stage by flaunting his amazing battle prowess, but after forming his foundation, he’d curbed his boastful nature and rarely showed himself in public, as was common for most cultivators.

　　Prince Chu Huang was even more famous than Xiao Xue, the elite of the Xiao clan. His name had been well known during his time in Spirit Stage just as hers had, but he’d also formed the golden formation that was rarely seen even in the Chufung royal family these past hundred years. The golden formation was rumored to contain the power of royalty, indicating he was destined to be Chufung’s future king.

　　Why would such a person be here as well?

　　Elder Moye stood up in astonishment before flying into the air to watch from afar. As for Ying Qiaoqiao, her face was filled with bewilderment as well. Compared to those in the Myriad Beasts Sect or even the ordinary disciples of the Melodic Ice Palace, she’d be considered a talented elite, but compared to all these elites from the various clans and sects within Chufung and its surrounding area, she wasn’t very impressive at all. It was even worse if the talented Xiao Xue of the Xiao clan or Prince Chu Huang who had a golden foundation were included in the mix; next to them, she didn’t have any advantage at all.

　　Just as Ying Qiaoqiao was becoming troubled, Fang Xing suddenly let out a roguish laugh. “Heheh….”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao looked at him in surprise. “What are you laughing about?”

　　Fang Xing pointed at the two blue-clothed cultivators in front of that closed golden carriage, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “Look, look! Eunuchs! I heard ages ago that the royal family had eunuchs, but I haven’t seen one in person until now….”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao nearly choked when she heard his words. “Be careful, don’t let them hear you!” she quietly warned.

　　As the golden carriage drew closer, the groups of people who’d been blocking the valley entrance also quietly moved their spirit tools away in order to clear out a large patch of land. A Foundation Stage elder of the Melodic Ice Palace guided Prince Chu Huang’s golden carriage towards Cold Soul Valley before loudly declaring to everyone present, “The grand elder has ordered that everyone shall enter the valley. Once three days have passed, the appraisal shall begin!” He gathered Qi before pushing it into the formation at the front of the valley until the barrier dispersed into the surroundings.

　　A loud noise rang out as the golden carriage immediately moved towards Cold Soul Valley. At the same time, however, purple lightning flashed and a spirit vessel pushed its way in front of the golden carriage, becoming the first to enter instead.

　　“How dare they take the path of Prince Chu Huang?” Everyone was surprised. Whoever this was was incredibly reckless to dare take Prince Chu Huang’s path. Upon a closer inspection, however, they all suddenly understood; the spirit vessel had belonged to none other than the Chosen One of the Xiao Clan, Xiao Xue.

　　The two blue-clothed eunuchs were about to start scolding Xiao Xue after she took the lead into the valley, but it seemed as though a voice came from within the carriage to interrupt them. The two eunuchs turned and bowed towards the person inside before no longer paying any mind to Xiao Xue, instead waiting for her to enter before doing so themselves. After Prince Chu Huang’s entourage went inside, the other groups began to follow suit as well.

　　There were only a dozen or so cottages in Cold Soul Valley, and there were more than twenty elites—each with their own servants and helpers—who were here to join the palace. Put simply, each group alone would take up a full dwelling, so it was certain that nearly half of these groups wouldn’t have anywhere to stay. Some of the groups who had low battle prowess knew they wouldn’t be able to compete against the others and so didn’t even try to get a cottage of their own.

　　The Myriad Beasts Sect had settled at a more distant location after their arrival, and most of the cottages had already been taken by the time they entered the valley. Around ten or so spirit vessels had simply settled on the snowy ground in the middle, and a few of the people were discussing amongst themselves whether or not they should stay inside their spirit vessels for a few nights first.

　　While Fang Xing was leaning over the ship’s railing and checking out the snow-covered valley, he heard a noise coming closer from behind him. “Why are we stopping?” he asked, knowing the sound belonged to Ying Qiaoqiao. “Let’s go inside….”

　　“Elder Moye said the cottages have all been taken already. We have no choice but to stay the night inside the spirit vessel.”

　　Speechless, Fang Xing turned around. “Are you joking? All we have to do is take one over!”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao was left dumbstruck. “That’s not really suitable, right? Elder Moye said everyone is laughing at us, saying we’re the barbarians from Bohai Kingdom that deals with spirit beasts all the time. We should pay extra attention to courtesy and first come, first served. Since we arrived at the valley a little later, there is nothing wrong with staying a night at the empty grounds here. With this, we’ll give the impression of our Myriad Beasts Sect being courteous and polite; it’ll only benefit me in the future!”

　　Fang Xing began to laugh when he heard this. He could only regret not slapping that old man to death before.

　　Ying Qiaoqiao was a little confused when she saw such a reaction. “Is that not correct? I think what Elder Moye said is very reasonable!”

　　“Reasonable my *ss!” Fang Xing coldly snorted. “If you want to study here successfully, then don’t listen to that old fart’s nonsense! What ‘first come, first served’? That Xiao clan and that what’s-his-name prince were the last to arrive yet the first inside the valley. Why did they not fuss over this ‘first come, first serve’?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao was startled by this and immediately looked back towards the inner cabins out of fear Elder Moye would overhear. She wasn’t aware that not only was Fang Xing in the same Foundation Stage tier as Elder Moye, but one had a blue foundation while the other’s was purple. Even if Fang Xing’s purple foundation had been contaminated by the demon spirit and was reduced in overall power, Fang Xing’s spirit sense was still over three times greater than Elder Moye’s. As long as Fang Xing didn’t want Elder Moye to overhear, he wouldn’t; even if Elder Moye were to consciously sweep his spirit sense over in their direction, he wouldn’t catch a single word.

　　“They’re… they’re big characters. How could we compare to them?” Ying Qiaoqiao had interacted with Fang Xing a few times during the trip to the Melodic Ice Palace. Perhaps that first impression had simply been too strong, but she viewed Fang Xing as an extremely loyal servant who was merely a little fierce with his words. She’d also been feeling incredibly lonely, and Fang Xing’s fierce words and actions had given her a peculiar sense of security and trust she’d never felt before. Although she no longer took his words lightly, she still felt deep in her heart that she wasn’t eligible to even compare herself with Xiao Xue and Prince Chu Huang, which was why she’d reflexively asked such a thing.

　　Fang Xing didn’t answer directly and instead asked, “Do you really think the Melodic Ice Palace is so stingy that they really don’t have enough places for all these people?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao was once again left dumbstruck and didn’t immediately answer.

　　Fang Xing continued on, “Besides, there were so many people who arrived earlier, so why didn’t the Melodic Ice Palace allow those who arrived first to enter first? Why did they have to wait until everyone had arrived before opening the formations at the valley’s entrance? And if this place was prepared for their guests, why did they choose somewhere with so few buildings? Heh, don’t you forget, it was the Melodic Ice Palace who sent out the Black Ice Order; they should know better than anyone else how many people would actually arrive. Yet they hadn’t even prepared enough rooms? Is that how a large sect greets their guests?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao’s expression began to change when she heard these questions. She did have the title of “semi-elite” after all, so of course she wasn’t stupid; after Fang Xing dropped a few hints, she seemed to form some conclusions as well. To be honest, if she still hadn’t understood anything even after all this, Fang Xing would’ve decided she was hopeless and would’ve had to find some other method to sneak into the Melodic Ice Palace.

　　Ying Qiaoqiao turned around with the intent to discuss this with Elder Moye, but suddenly turned back to grab Fang Xing’s hand and guide him into the spirit vessel’s inner cabins as well. Once the two met with Elder Moye, she repeated what Fang Xing had said to her in an eloquent and fluid manner, causing Elder Moye’s expressions to change in response just as hers had. “So you think this might be a test by the Melodic Ice Palace?” he muttered. “Those who cannot get themselves a cottage won’t be eligible to study under them?”

　　Ying Qiaoqiao looked at Fang Xing before nodding back at Elder Moye. “Yes, that is indeed a possibility.”

　　This caused Elder Moye to sink deeply into his thoughts. He’d come here under the sect master’s orders to help Ying Qiaoqiao become a pupil. It would be fine if she successfully managed to join, but if she was disqualified from becoming old man Hu Qin’s pupil because of his own mistakes, that would be an egregious error. He didn’t dare to take this lightly at all and began seriously thinking on the situation, his face growing darker and darker the longer he did so. After a long while, he showed a rather hesitant expression and asked, “Are we really going to take one?”

　　Fang Xing could tell what Elder Moye was worried about. Although Elder Moye was also in the Foundation Stage, he wasn’t considered anything at all compared to the guardians and protectors of the elites. This old man must have been worried that he himself wasn’t powerful enough to take a cottage from others and would only end up making a fool of himself.

　　Fang Xing smirked. “Elder, I don’t think we, the Myriad Beasts Sect, are the smallest sect here. There are a few sects that are even smaller than ours. They only got themselves a cottage because they entered the valley a little earlier than us!”

　　Elder Moye was taken aback at first, but he soon understood. Of all the groups that had arrived here, the Myriad Beasts Sect was indeed not considered the weakest; they’d be considered at around the middle point. He was only in early-Foundation Stage so there was no comparison between him and the likes of the mid-Foundation Stage guardian for the Mo clan, but there were still weaker sects here, and some of those weaker sects even had guardians that were at a mere Spirit Stage tier nine. Although the Myriad Beasts Sect might not be able to take on those who were stronger than them, there were still plenty of those who were weaker they could focus on instead.

　　Elder Moye made up his mind, but he still had a few misgivings. “This is still land belonging to the Melodic Ice Palace, and although we’re here to join them, we’re still considered guests. It would be fine if the Melodic Ice Palace really wanted to test us with this, but if they don’t, starting fights to try to take over the cottages on their land would be considered excessively impolite. If the Melodic Ice Palace decides to put fault on us….”

　　Fang Xing laughed at this. “Not a problem. If we’re wrong, we’ll just all blame it on you and say you acted on your own accord!”