The Observation of the Junior Gathering

Han Li had just taken a few steps when he heard someone calling out to him from a distance.

“Over here, Brother Han!”

Han Li looked towards the voice and saw Wan Xiaoshan standing beside an old man in a green robe, waving at him without pause.

Han Li smiled faintly and walked over quickly. When he reached the old man’s side, Wan Xiaoshan introduced him.

“This is Old Man Qing Yan of the Tai Nan Valley. He’s a close friend of my father. This Tai Nan Gathering is being hosted by him and a few other seniors.”

Upon hearing this, Han Li took a closer look at Old Man Qing Yan.

The old man was tall and thin, with broad shoulders and long arms. Dressed in a green Confucian robe, he had an air of an otherworldly immortal about him. However, his face was covered in blue patches, which was rather startling to behold.

The young man then spoke to the old man. “Brother Han is someone I just met outside the valley. He’s a rogue cultivator, but we get along very well. Uncle, please look out for him a bit!”

The old man sized Han Li up. Suddenly, he squinted and spoke to him.

“Young friend Han, your wood-attribute technique is quite impressive! To have reached the eighth layer at such a young age is rare, even within cultivation clans.”

Han Li smiled bitterly to himself at Old Man Qing Yan’s praise. Without relying on a steady stream of medicinal pills, how could he possibly have reached the eighth layer? He would probably still be crawling between the third and fourth layers.

Outwardly, however, he remained respectful and modest. “Senior Qing gives me too much credit. I was merely lucky.”

Old Man Qing Yan nodded faintly and said nothing more to him. Instead, he turned to Wan Xiaoshan.

“Little one, the rest of your family have already arrived. They are quite worried about you and asked me to bring you to them as soon as I found you. Come with me now.”

Upon hearing this, Wan Xiaoshan’s face fell.

“My seventh sister and ninth brother aren’t here too, are they? I can’t stand their nagging. Do I really have to go?” Wan Xiaoshan looked at Old Man Qing Yan with hopeful eyes.

Old Man Qing Yan’s expression hardened. “What do you think?”

“Of course I have to go,” Wan Xiaoshan answered dejectedly.

“Hmph! You’ve got quite the nerve, sneaking out behind your family’s back like this. If you had run into some cultivator with ill intentions on the road, you’d have lost your life several times over!” As he said this, Old Man Qing Yan cast a sidelong glance at Han Li.

“This old man is being sly. He’s clearly implying that I’m one of those cultivators with ill intentions, deliberately getting close to this kid.” Han Li observed from the side and naturally caught the hidden meaning in Old Man Qing Yan’s words.

“What a shame. I finally met a young master willing to tell me everything, but it looks like we’ll have to part ways for now. If this Old Man Qing decides to make things difficult for me, I’ll be in for a rough time,” Han Li thought helplessly.

“Since Brother Wan has family to meet, I’ll take a look around on my own. If the opportunity arises, we can share a drink another time.” Han Li cupped his fist in a salute towards Wan Xiaoshan and Old Man Qing Yan.

“Oh, don’t go yet! I wanted to introduce you to…”

“Young friend Han has his own matters to attend to. Don’t trouble him further!”

Seeing Han Li about to leave, Wan Xiaoshan hurriedly tried to say something more, but Old Man Qing Yan grabbed him and cut him off.

Seeing this, Han Li gave Wan Xiaoshan a bright smile before turning and continuing towards the square.

The young man, looking as miserable as a prisoner being led to execution, followed Old Man Qing Yan with a bitter face, slowly moving towards the pavilion.

Han Li wasn’t particularly annoyed by Old Man Qing Yan’s treatment.

After all, any elder would look at an unfamiliar friend of their family’s younger generation with suspicion. Especially when the young man came from a prominent cultivation clan like Wan Xiaoshan’s.

That said, Han Li truly had no ill intentions towards Wan Xiaoshan. He had only wanted to learn more about the cultivation world from him. He hadn’t expected Old Man Qing Yan to interfere so abruptly. Now he would have to find someone else and play things by ear.

As Han Li thought this, he gradually approached the square where the stalls were set up.

The stalls of the cultivators were arranged around a rather spacious square, forming a sparse “回” shaped pathway. Those looking to browse and trade walked in twos and threes along the open space between the stalls on either side, coming and going. It had a bit of a market-day atmosphere, not unlike the mortal world.

The sky had grown dim, but the square was brightly lit. Most of the stalls had large, uniformly styled lamps placed in front of them. These lamps were made of bronze, antique in appearance, and stood about a meter tall.

However, instead of oil or any other fuel, each lamp held a fist-sized white stone that emitted a soft glow.

The light from these stones was far brighter than that of an ordinary oil lamp. It not only illuminated the stalls beneath them as if it were day, but also clearly lit the nearby paths. It was a truly wonderful object. Han Li couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Though it was late, the square was far more crowded than before. Not only had new stalls appeared, but the number of people browsing had also surged dramatically. A large group of cultivators had flooded into the area, making the place lively and bustling.

Han Li slowly approached the square but did not enter immediately. Instead, he stayed nearby, observing the cultivators as they came and went.

Being so close, the various appearances and attire of these cultivators opened Han Li’s eyes.

Some cultivators were dressed in extremely simple clothing, covering only a few vital areas while leaving the rest exposed. Others, by contrast, were wrapped from head to toe, not revealing a single inch of skin—a complete opposite. Even more absurd was a cultivator who, despite having a male face, was dressed in women’s clothing. This made Han Li feel nauseous. Fortunately, such odd individuals were rare. Most, though somewhat peculiar in their attire, were still within Han Li’s tolerance.

After observing for a while, Han Li’s expression suddenly shifted. A glint of realization flashed in his eyes.

He noticed that all the cultivators in the square—whether running stalls or wandering about—were young people in their teens or twenties. He hadn’t seen a single person who looked to be in their thirties or older.

Then, Wan Xiaoshan’s words about the “Tai Nan Gathering” being a five-year event specifically for the younger generation came to mind. It seemed that older, more senior cultivators would not appear here. Old Man Qing Yan, with his status as an organizer, was probably an exception.

Thinking this, Han Li felt a slight sense of relief. Those old monsters were truly difficult to deal with. If they decided to come after him, it would probably be no harder for them than crushing an ant.

Still, even the so-called “junior” cultivators before him were by no means weak. Someone like Han Li was merely average among the crowd. Cultivators of the same caliber as that blue-clothed man he had seen earlier were not lacking here either. In just a short while, he had spotted five or six such experts. This made Han Li feel deeply humbled.