Chapter One: Heaven's First Floor

  At night, the six islands of Qingyu under the night sky seemed like a quiet sleeping fish in the sea breeze and the sound of the waves. The White Fish Bay, where Shen Shi, Sun You and other new disciples lived, was also quiet on the beach, with the bright light of the starry sky shining down, and the many new caves facing the sea could be seen faintly, all silent at this moment. After the excitement of the day, these young people must have entered a happy dream, and perhaps many were looking forward to the start of their cultivation journey the next day.

  The pristine white sandy beach, originally had many footprints left behind, was the trail left by these energetic young men who came to play before dusk. Because among the many new disciples, there were not a few people who had never seen the sea before today, and they were very curious about everything on the coast.

  It wasn't until the dead of night, under the repeated washing of the waves in the darkness, that these sands were restored to their flatness. The traces left behind by the young people who had walked and played here were all lightly erased by the waves without anyone noticing.

  The vast sky is vast and wide, with stars all over the sky. At this moment when no one pays attention, there is also a quiet beauty in the sky.

  At this time, a figure suddenly appeared on the quiet beach of Whitefish Bay. It was a man in his thirties with a solemn expression and slightly furrowed eyebrows. He walked for a while before stopping to look around as if searching for something. After a moment, he walked under a large unknown tree growing at the edge of the beach and stood still, quietly waiting for something.

  Half a short time passed, and suddenly a faint footsteps came from behind. The man immediately turned his head to look back, relying on the starlight in the sky, and saw that it was actually a young boy who had not yet fallen asleep at this late hour, but instead walked over. Looking at his appearance and figure, it was Shen Shi's neighbor, Sun You.

  The man looked relieved and hurried over, Sun You saw him and a few intimate expressions appeared on his face, he nodded and smiled: "Young uncle-in-law."

  The man, who was called "Little Brother-in-law" by Sun You, smiled and touched Sun You's head with his hand. He then became more cautious, looked around carefully to make sure no one was watching, and only when he was certain it was safe did he pull Sun You over to the shade of a large tree. With the trunk blocking their view, even if someone were to look from afar, they wouldn't be able to see clearly whether there was anyone under the tree due to the cover of night.

  In the shade of the tree, Sun You's expression slowly calmed down, looked up at his younger brother-in-law and asked in a low voice after a moment of silence: "How is it?"

  The man took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "After you handed that thing over to me, it was a matter of great importance. I had it sent out of the island overnight through my family's connections and delivered to Liuyun City. To be cautious and avoid alarming the Sun family, I used the old lady's influence to specially invite Master Wu from the 'Appraisal Hall' branch in Liuyun City to take a look."

  Sun You's eyes were bright and unwavering as he stared at him, then slowly asked in a low voice: "Young uncle, what was the result?"

  The man furrowed his brow and smiled wryly, letting out a light sigh. He pulled out a sky-blue cloth bag from his pocket, which was the same small pouch that Sun You had handed to Shen Shi to examine earlier, containing the rare "Fire Ant Incense". He handed it over to Sun You, saying in a low voice: "Master Wu has taken a look and determined that although there are several cleverly crafted old marks on this, similar to ordinary 'Red Sleeve Submerged Fragrance', it is actually a rarely seen 'Fire Ant Incense' which is extremely beneficial for cultivators who have entered the state of Congealed Yuan."

  Sun You suddenly fell silent, not saying anything else. The man standing beside him also didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, he heard Sun You say coldly: "Also a rare sight of a cultivator in the dual refinement realm, the extremely poisonous Fire Antler Fragrance."

  The man was silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Young friend, what do you want to do?" He paused, his voice becoming even softer, "The old lady already knows about this and is furious. She's just waiting for your response, so we're holding back from making a move. If you say the word, we can just... After all, you are her beloved grandson, and I think it would be better if..."

  Sun You suddenly interrupted him and said, "Young uncle, my surname is Sun."

  The man smiled wryly and fell silent.

  Sun You let out a cold snort and said, "What they've been doing is all for the position of head of the household. If I were to turn my back on them and leave, wouldn't that be exactly what they want?"

  The man furrowed his brow, a hint of worry on his face, and said, "But they've even resorted to such despicable means, what if someday...". He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh as he continued, "Your mother, my poor sister, was the apple of old lady's eye, the most beloved. But unexpectedly, old lady misjudged that scoundrel she personally chose, thinking it would be a beautiful marriage, only to harm my sister instead. All these years, old lady has been sighing and lamenting at home, filled with remorse. After your mother passed away suddenly, old lady was even more..."

  At this point, the man was also somewhat agitated, stepped forward and grasped Sun You's shoulders with both hands, saying in a deep voice: "Xiao You, if things don't go well, you absolutely mustn't force yourself to hold on. Others may fear the Sun family, fearing that behind the Sun family is a Sun Mingyang in Ling Xiao Sect, but our Xu family is not afraid at all! As long as you're willing to return to the Xu family, I, your brother-in-law, will guarantee with my life that we absolutely won't treat you like an outsider. We'll provide for you even better than the Sun family!"

  Sun You gritted his teeth, and his eyes seemed to be burning with a low flame. He looked at the young man, who appeared to have a strong sense of self. Sun You stretched out his hand and gently grasped his younger brother-in-law's arm. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a soft voice: "Younger brother-in-law, I understand your grandmother's intentions and yours as well. But... how did my mother pass away? No matter what, one day, as her son, I will definitely have her spirit tablet placed in the Sun family ancestral hall, on two more offering tables."

  The big hand on his shoulder seemed to tense up for a moment, then slowly relaxed. The man from the Xu family looked at him deeply, nodded, and a hint of relief flashed in his eyes. "Alright, since you're determined, I'll send someone to inform Old Lady later." After pausing for a moment, he continued, "However, this matter..."

  Sun You let out a cold laugh and said, "Let's just forget it happened. Anyway, now that we're on Qingyu Island, with the rules set by Master Cen for the past thirty years, these aristocratic families can no longer interfere with the sect's affairs as they used to. Just relying on my big brother who is wrapped in gold and has a stomach full of schemes, could he still control me? If they had even a bit of faith in him, they wouldn't have resorted to such despicable tactics."

  The Mr. Xu nodded repeatedly, seemingly quite pleased with the five-word evaluation "Golden Bun Belly", and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Sun You also smiled and nodded, after a moment, only to hear that Mr. Xu say: "However, today's matter, really thanks to your friend surnamed Shen, otherwise we would have been in the dark, who knows if you would have fallen into their trap, by then it would be too late for regrets."

  Sun You nodded, his eyes unconsciously shifting towards a certain place in the distance, where a row of caves was shrouded in darkness. At the same time, he heard his younger brother-in-law whispering words of praise beside him, saying: "To think that this kid's eyesight is really poisonous. I heard from someone who spread the news that when Master Wu saw this piece of fire incense, he personally said that the methods of the fake person were quite ingenious, and even the general manager of the Immortal Association might not be able to see through it."

  Sun You stared for a moment and said: "What's this? The hands and feet on this fire ant incense are made so lifelike?"

  Xu family man nodded and said: "Master Wu has said so, it must be true."

  Sun You's face changed slightly, and after a while, a hint of doubt appeared on his face. He said, "Could it be... could Shen Shi have already seen something wrong at that time? Although he didn't show anything on the surface, but in his words, was he secretly reminding me?"

  Xu's man was suddenly awakened by this, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, and he fell silent. After a while, Sun You let out a sigh and said: "Forget it, don't worry about these things for now. Anyway, Shen Shi saved my life, so I owe him a great favor. Plus, during the day when we chatted on purpose, it turned out to be quite pleasant, looks like in the future we should get along well too."

  The Xu family man nodded, seemingly quite in favor of Sun You's decision. He snorted coldly and said, "The Sun family is ruthless and untrustworthy, even their own flesh and blood can't be relied upon. Xiao You, make friends with a few more people in the same school, it will be helpful in the future. Alright, it's getting late, you still have to go to Chenxing Hall for training tomorrow, so go back and rest."

  Sun You nodded and bid farewell to Xiao Shu, leaving. The man from the Xu family stood under the tree, watching his nephew's back disappear into the darkness before quietly turning around and leaving.

  Above the night sky, the stars are shining brightly, the vast expanse is silent. Under the night sky, the waves are rolling in, the surf is surging, but the water is gradually receding from the shore, it's ebbing tide.

  This day has finally passed quietly in this dark moment.

  April 11th, sunny.

  A red sun rises slowly from the distant depths of the ocean, warm sunlight radiates millions of rays, casting a reddish glow on the sky's morning clouds, also heralding the start of a new day.

  On the island of Qingyu, everything seemed to have just awakened from a deep sleep, and slowly became more lively. Shen Shi turned over, opened his eyes, sat up in bed, stretched out his arms to expand his chest, and let out a big yawn.

  By the pillow, that book "Ling Xiao's Brief Introduction" was still placed there. He had been reading this new book for novice disciples until very late last night and only fell asleep very late. However, as a young man with abundant energy, after getting up and moving around for a bit, Shen Shi felt himself invigorated, full of vigor, and at the same time, he was filled with anticipation for this new day.

  The long-awaited training is finally going to start today!

  "Knock knock knock! Knock knock knock!"

  A familiar drumming sound at the door came from the entrance, Shen Shi smiled and walked over to open the stone gate with a cloud symbol. It was indeed Sun You standing at the door, who laughed and said: "Shen Shi, let's go to Chenxing Hall!"