This isn't very ethical, but if Old Tang did it, then it's still rather normal.
Chen Mumu returned to the mountain peak, glanced at Old Tang sitting on a rocking chair giving the highest instructions to the Heavenly Master Sect disciples beside him, and sighed helplessly.
After giving a few words of advice to her family's elders, she turned to leave.
"Where are you going, Pavilion Master?" an elder asked.
"This place is sufficient with you all here. I'm going to check the forbidden area," Chen Mumu said.
Upon hearing the words "forbidden area," the elder immediately stopped speaking and, along with the other elders, respectfully sent off the Pavilion Master.
The forbidden area isn't the underground palace in Dongqi but another location that has existed in the Sword Pavilion of Jing State for a long time.
The reason it's a forbidden area must be because there's a secret inside.
Regarding this sect's forbidden area, from top to bottom, even the oldest elder knows nothing about the secrets contained within.
Speculations about the forbidden area are many and varied.
But it boils down to a few things—what treasures are hidden, who's imprisoned, some demon, some beast, and so on.
In short, aside from Mumu, no one can enter this forbidden area.
Jing State Sword Pavilion, forbidden area.
Inside, there's no extraordinary sword or Fire Qilin, only a girl's bedroom.
In East Continent, West Continent, and Northern Territory, almost anything fun or beautiful can be found here.
Mumu comfortably stretched lazily, and with a thought, the solemn and cool Pavilion Master outfit on her disappeared, replaced by a loose and comfortable robe.
She untied the bun on her head, letting her hair fall down, and fell backward onto the soft, big bed.
"Oh my, I'm exhausted."
This "Oh my" is the reason why this place is a forbidden area.
After lying down for a while, she sat up cross-legged, flicked her hair, and then pointed her finger. A cushion flew over behind her, a curtain descended in front, a small low table flew over on her right side, topped with her favorite fruits like melons, pears, peaches. On her left side, a large stuffed toy flew over, which Mumu hugged in her arms.
On the curtain, clouds appeared, and after a while, they dispersed, revealing the mountain gate of the Jing State Sword Pavilion.
Although transformed into a homebody, Mumu didn't forget her duty; she just didn't want to wait on the mountain top for five days, after all, the thought of maintaining a stern face for five consecutive days was exhausting.
The images flashed rapidly across the curtain, finally zooming in on Chen Qianhu and Wei Zhuang.
"Really impressive, like finding a treasure," Mumu muttered to herself, while eating melon.
Half a day later, half the people had already fallen behind.
Some due to lack of physical strength, others due to bad luck.
Chen Mumu wasn't actually slacking; she had made some innovations to the traditional climbing test.
For instance, she added many traps along the climb...
Provided many flawed and incorrect instructions...
Of course, not everything led to dead ends. Many traps and wrong paths concealed arrays at the end; by breaking them or if fortune smiled upon them, they could turn the danger around.
The inspiration came from a mini-game called "Flying Chess" developed by the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion. This text is hosted at Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Along the mountain path, there was indeed a trap; once stumbled into, unless climbed out with sheer strength, only rolling ten sixes can get you out...
The first half tested the entrant's luck and intelligence, while the latter half focused on sheer strength and determination.
Amidst the forest, Chen Qianhu naturally looked up at the sky.
"Brother Chen, what are you looking at?" Wei Zhuang, sensing someone spying on them, casually asked.
"Nothing, let's go," Chen Qianhu turned to Wei Zhuang, yet felt something was off in his heart.
Throughout the half-day, the two easily passed several checkpoints, both noticing something odd about the other.
They both felt the other was somewhat similar to themselves, with that seasoned and strategizing air.
It felt like the other was pretending to be young!
[This is passive; I call it the Old Ascender Aura — Zhang Ze]
Not only the youthful pretense, but the demeanor and the imposing aura when wielding a sword couldn't be explained simply by extraordinary talent.
"Does this person have secrets?" x2
"Let me test them a bit." x2
Sometimes, misunderstandings arise from random thoughts.
Although a single sentence could solve it, neither spoke.
They just kept it to themselves.
One was due to absolute confidence in their own cultivation, and the other was because both of them cared deeply for the Sword Sect, believing any potential danger had to be nipped in the bud.
Thus, the testing began to escalate.
The verbal probing turned into inadvertent actions, small maneuvers evolved into direct confrontations.
And they both carried a hint of appreciation for talent.
What if they were mistaken? Wouldn't that be deeply regrettable?
So the fight turned from a spar between martial artists to a duel at the Qi Cultivation Stage, the two exchanging blows, sensing each other's Sword Intent, and gradually heightening their own cultivation, intent on surpassing the other.
The commotion caused by these two undoubtedly triggered a chain reaction.
"Oh my, what are these two up to?" In the bedroom, Pavilion Master Chen Mumu grabbed her hair, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
Almost simultaneously, the anomaly was discovered at the mountain top.
Old Tang jumped up from his chair, shaded his eyes and looked down the mountain. Unable to see clearly, he listened to the neighboring disciple's verbal report, deeming it nothing significant.
"Just two kids hiding their cultivation. The world is vast and full of wonders; it's reasonable for them to receive some fortuitous encounters. Let me, the Taoist,..."
Old Tang was just about to say he'd go check it out, mediate, and maybe coax one to Dragon Tiger Mountain.
But before he could speak, his words took a different angle.
"Who did Chen Qianhu get into a fight with?"
Over at the Sword Pavilion's little forest, Zhang Ze was still playing around with his junior sister.
"Come on, give me a kiss."
"Let's not, what if my dad sees it, you'll get beaten again."