In the White Jade guild's guild house. A meeting was held for all the disciples in that guild to gather. Since it was only a bit past midnight, most of the girls were still up training, while the few that were asleep were woken up.
The newer guild members didn't understand what was going on, but the more experienced members understood the situation perfectly.
Once everyone was gathered, 3 Dragon Class disciples suddenly made an appearance. The murmuring finally died as they waited to hear what they were going to say.
"All of you, look to your left, then to your right. Who is missing?" The Dragon-Class disciple named Tan Songyun suddenly said.
"P-Pan Hong isn't here," one guild member said.
Tan Songyun looked down at the Black Guild Stone in her hands then quickly tried to find Pan Hong's name on the list.
"I'm here!" Pan Hong quickly said from within the crowd.
At the same time, Tan Songyun found her name on the Black Guild Stone, which contained all the names and ranks of everyone that was a part of their guild.
Tan Songyun frowned.
"Is this a joke to you!? I'll ask you all one more time! Who... isn't... here!?" Tan Songyun pronounced every syllable clearly.
Most of them had never seen Tan Songyun get this angry before, so they were all on edge.
Chen Li knew what was happening, but she didn't concern herself with what was going on. However, after a brief scan of the room, she suddenly knew who was missing.
"It's Yan Mei," Chen Li said calmly.
Chen Li was not standing in the crowd with the rest of them, since she was ranked 1st on the trial pod test, she wasn't treated much different from the other 3 Dragon-Class disciples in this guild.
Tan Songyun's frown lessened considerably when she looked at Chen Li.
"Chen Li, are you sure?" Tan Songyun asked.
Chen Li suddenly looked down at the crowd below.
"Yan Mei, if you're here, show yourself," Chen Li said, just wanting to get this meeting over with.
The room became silent as the other guild members looked around. It seemed that no one knew where Yan Mei was.
Tan Songyun's eyes widened when she saw how quiet the crowd was being, so she started looking through the names on her Black Guild Stone.
It was true. Yan Mei's name was no longer on it. The only way someone's name would disappear from the Black Guild Stone was if they had joined a different guild.
A creepy and menacing smile appeared on Tan Songyun's face as she clenched the Black Guild Stone tightly in her hand.
"Listen up, ladies. It looks like we have a deserter on the loose, and you know what we do to deserters. The first to bring her back here in one piece, will be rewarded one medium-tier guild item of your choosing," Tan Songyun declared.
Hearing that the reward was a medium-tier guild item, many of the girls became excited. Even though it was as dark outside, many of the girls were tempted to begin their search right away.
Chen Li knew that Yan Mei was in the Phoenix-Class, so she knew many of the disciples here didn't stand a chance against her. However, Chen Li didn't bother to tell them that because she didn't really care about them to begin with.
...
"How could there be someone so foolish? She didn't just destroy her own future but also the future of the guild she just joined."
"She probably thinks they'll protect her."
"Ha, is there even a guild out there that can hold a candle to ours. That Yan Mei girl is finished."
...
Everyone believed that Yan Mei had joined a different Major guild because it wouldn't make sense for her to join a Minor guild after being a member of one of the most prestigious Major guilds in the Inner Court. However, Chen Li believed otherwise.
After the General Lecture today, Chen Li watched Yan Mei hold Xiao Fang's hand as she escorted him to the 5th Divisional Classroom. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she joined his guild.
'So she's joined his Nameless guild. It seems things just became a little more interesting...'
.
.
.
"Chen Li, come here," Tan Songyun said as she pulled her off to the side.
"I was told that you gave a disciple a public invitation today. You should know that you can't be giving out invitations like that, especially not without our permission. What's her name?" Tan Songyun asked.
"His name... is Long Wang."
"A man?" Tan Songyun frowned.
"Yes. He was one of the 3 outer court disciples to get placed directly into the Phoenix-Class. As of now, he is the first man ever to make it into the Phoenix-Class."
Tan Songyun was actually impressed by the news, but she still didn't like the idea of having a man in her guild.
"I still refuse. What will the others think if they hear that we let a man join our guild. Quickly, find this Long Wang, and take his White Jade guild nameplate away. I don't want this incident staining our record," Tan Songyun said before turning to leave.
"There's something else," Chen Li said calmly.
Tan Songyun turned back around.
"What else is there?"
"Gao Xiumin... was defeated by him on the day he passed the inner court exam."
...
The fight Chen Li was referring to was the brief interaction Xiao Fang had with her messenger after the inner court exam. The fight happened when he rejected the messenger's invitation to go see Chen Li, telling her that she'd need to come herself if she wanted to speak to him.
...
A serious expression finally appeared on Tan Songyun's face.
"Isn't Gao Xiumin in the Phoenix-Class 2nd Division."
"She is."
"And you say she was defeated by an Outer Court disciple?"
"She was," Chen Li replied simply.
Tan Songyun began to think.
"I see, he certainly isn't ordinary. Alright, he can stay in our guild, but I want you to learn everything you can about his background. In the meantime, I need to speak the the other 2 about this," Tan Songyun said, referring to the other 2 Dragon-Class disciples in the guild.
However, before she could leave, Chen Li said something that made her stop again.
"I can't do that."
Tan Songyun frowned even more deeply than before as she replied,
"Why not?"
"That's because he isn't here?"
"Then go find him," Tan Songyun immediately replied as if she was running out of patience. However, Chen Li still calmly replied,
"What I meant to say was... he rejected the invitation."
The ground beneath Tan Songyun's feet began to crack and her blood boiled. No one had ever rejected an invitation to the White Jade guild. Certainly not by any man.
Tan Songyun's overwhelming aura leaked through her pours as her brows began to wrinkle.
"He certainly doesn't know what's good for him. Make that son of a bitch wish he were never alive," Tan Songyun said as she looked dead into Chen Li's eyes.
"Leave it to me," Chen Li said with a slight bow.
With that, Tan Songyun left. Once she was gone, the corner of Chen Li's lips finally curled upwards into a scheming smirk.
'How predictable.'
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