Chapter 260 - Gathering Outside The City Gates
The crisp morning air was pleasant and managed to awaken the slight drowsiness that existed within the mind of the group as they gathered outside the gates of Canglan City.
Bai Rouyun was seated inside a carriage and Mo Chu was given the job of the coach driver, while Dongfang Yu and Jiang Wei were seated inside the carriage alongside her.
The carriage was among the larger ones one could find, and it was being pulled by two Fire Unicorns. The carriage was luxurious, and the doorway and windows were covered with an ice silk cloth that had been imbued with inscriptions.
The wood used to create the carriage was Purified Iron Wood, which was among the hardest wood types in the world, and the small details that had been carved into the carriage was enough to show the extravagance of the owner.
On the side of the carriage, a crest was carved into the wood. The crest was known to most, as it was the sigil of the Eternal Shadow Palace, and most would choose to steer clear of such a high-profile caravan.
The other members of the group were somewhat surprised. It was not only Dongfang Yu and Bai Rouyun who had been picked to partic.i.p.ate in the tournament, but a total of ten students and five teachers gathered outside the city walls this morning and set off towards the center of the continent.
Aside from Bai Rouyun and Dongfang Yu, the other eight students belonged to different factions, and were only attached to the Blue Water Inst.i.tute on paper.
They were only able to partic.i.p.ate in this tournament as their new superiors approved of their attendance, and these superiors naturally had their own plans.
Although it would be disgraceful to fail in the tournament, it was not too bad if their minions managed to either gain some knowledge from Bai Rouyun and learn about the Eternal Shadow Palace"s att.i.tude towards her, or even managed to gain the favor of this elusive faction.
The ten students had three women, Bai Rouyun included, and seven men. The other two women were siblings, and they had joined the Indomitable Will Sect.
This sect was not easy to join, and the price they had paid was so high that they often felt uncomfortable when thinking back on it, so when they noticed Bai Rouyun"s soft and gentle expression that seemed to be at ease in such a luxurious carriage, jealousy and envy began sprouting in their hearts.
The oldest of the pair of siblings was named Gu Xinxing. She was nineteen years old this year, and while it was not considered old for a cultivator, it was still enough to be seen as an unwanted woman in the eyes of the mortals.
The second sister was called Gu Xinyue. She was one year older than Bai Rouyun, but she was also the most beautiful of the two siblings. Her personal strength was lacking, but when the Elder from the Indomitable Will Sect had come to examine Gu Xinxing, he had met the two siblings on their own, and after a lengthy discussion, they had both been accepted.
Only these siblings knew how hard they had worked for this opportunity, and they could not admit feeling uncomfortable every time they thought back on that day.
Now that they looked at Bai Rouyun, they felt sour. She had married a young genius who was almost a century younger than the Elder they had to convince, and this young genius happened to be the leader of the faction.
Where the Gu siblings were often subject to unspeakable hardships after entering the sect, Bai Rouyun was treated like a delicate flower by her faction, and such an obvious gap in ident.i.ty made the two even more frustrated.
While Bai Rouyun was absolutely unaware of the hostility gathering in the eyes of the siblings, Jiang Wei noticed it right away, but he was not in a hurry to enlighten his new mistress.
He felt that these simple characters could easily be dealt with by her, and that they would serve well as some sort of entertainment during the long trip.
"Good day, we will set out from Canglan City today, and travelling to the center of the continent will be a lengthy journey. We can expect to be delayed due to various reasons along the way, and thus we have to set out today.
"Everyone has arrived, and we will get familiar with one another along the way. If you have any questions or wish to back out, then now is the time to raise your voice."
The one who spoke was the headmaster. Although he was an elderly man, he was full of vitality and excitement as he thought of the chaos he was about to unleash upon those boring old men.
"Master, I do not understand why we have to bring along unrelated experts?"
Gu Xinyue"s voice reverberated throughout the area.
While everyone had noticed that Bai Rouyun was seated in a carriage, and that she had her own driver and even a guard, no one felt that anything was wrong with this setup.
Her ident.i.ty was special, and it would be stupid if the Eternal Shadow Palace let her travel on her own.
If she had been the only one staying inside a carriage, others might be unhappy, as it could delay their trip, but the Headmaster also traveled inside a carriage due to his advanced age, although this carriage did not have as high quality beasts to pull it as Bai Rouyun"s.
It was clear that she would not drag them down, so attacking her like this was actually rather unwise.
Unfortunately, while Gu Xinyue herself felt that she had been suffering from humiliation after joining the Indomitable Will Sect, she had also gotten used to the benefits these humiliating acts brought her.
She was arrogant, and if anyone got insulted by her actions, she just had to coax them a bit more before things went her way.