After flying for a couple of hours, the flying treasures came to a sudden halt, and Elder Shan said, "We're at the place. However, since we cannot enter the city with flying treasures, we'll have to descend here."
A few moments later, Elder Shan and Elder Xuan descended their flying treasures before storing them away.
Once they were standing on the ground again, Yuan retrieved a black jade mask and wore it on his face, covering his handsome features besides his bright eyes that illuminated with energy and excitement.
"W-Wait a second... That jade mask…"
When Min Li saw this familiar-looking jade mask, she immediately recalled the mysterious figure during the disciple examination.
"Y-You! It was you all along?!" Min Li cried out loud while pointing at Yuan with trembling fingers when she realized the truth.
"Huh?"
Everybody there including Yuan turned to look at Min Li with raised eyebrows and puzzled expressions.
"What are you talking about?" Xuan Wuhan asked her.
"Y-You! Disciple Yuan! You were the masked figure from the disciple examination?! I saw you during the third exam, even taking notice of you because of your powerful aura! I had wondered where you went because I didn't see you after the examination! So you were right beside me this entire time!" Min Li exclaimed.
"Eh? Yes… I was there when you took fifty steps," Yuan nodded, not even bothering to hide anything. "Is there something wrong?"
"Of course! You emitted the power of someone at the Spirit Warrior realm at that time! How come you're only a Spirit Apprentice now?! In fact, now that I look at your cultivation, it went up by two whole levels since I last checked! How is that even possible?!" Min Li said.
"Huh? What are you talking about? Yuan has always been a Spirit Warrior. He was at fifth level Spirit Warrior even before he'd become a disciple at the Dragon Essence Temple," Xuan Wuhan casually said.
"What?!" Fei Yuyan and Min Li turned to look at Xuan Wuhan with their eyes wide with shock.
How could an Outer Court disciple be at the fifth level Spirit Warrior realm?!
Elder Xuan and Elder Shan looked at each other with a bittersweet smile on their faces, and Elder Xuan said a moment later, "Actually… Disciple Yuan is currently under the effects of a pill known as 'Pill of Concealment' that suppresses his cultivation level by an entire realm, and his real cultivation base is actually peak Spirit Warrior, but keep this a secret, okay? I am only revealing this fact because it's impossible to keep it hidden at this point."
"Peak Spirit Warrior?!?!"
The three fairies turned to look at Yuan with gawking looks on their beautiful faces.
How old was Yuan again? 18 years old? How can someone that young have such an impressive cultivation base? That's something you normally only see in the upper heavens!
Thud.
Min Li suddenly fell to her knees with disbelief on her face.
'I… I have been comparing myself to a Spirit Warrior this entire time? It's no wonder why he was able to destroy the Training Puppet so casually! I've been fooled!' Min Li cried inwardly, feeling as though she'd lived a life of lies this entire time.
'T-This guy… He's even more monstrous than I'd expected! Peak Spirit Warrior at such a young age! He's definitely from one of the Four Ancient Families if not a hidden family that's even more powerful!'
"A-Are you okay?" Yuan asked Min Li in a weird tone after seeing her fall to her knees.
"Yes… I am…" Min Li said a moment later before standing up and patting the dirt off her slightly stained robes.
Sometime later, Elder Shan asked them, "Are we ready to continue?"
"Yes."
They all nodded.
Thus, Elder Shan began leading them towards the city that was less than a mile away.
'Peak Spirit Warrior… He's not only more talented than me in music, but he's also stronger than me in cultivation…' Fei Yuyan stared at Yuan's back from behind with a profound expression on her face, wondering if there were any more secrets from him.
Many minutes later, they arrived before the city walls.
"Wow… There's a lot of people here…" Yuan mumbled in a dazed voice after seeing the sea of people trying to get inside the city.
"Damn, I've underestimated the crowd. I didn't expect there to be so many people here." Elder Shan sucked her teeth after seeing so many people.
Elder Xuan shook his head and said with a smile on his face, "Even though you are mostly shameless at the sect, you can be quite humble and innocent at times, Elder Shan."
"What do you mean by that?" Elder Shan looked at him with one of her eyebrows raised.
Elder Xuan chuckled and said, "Do you really think they're going to make us wait in line like everyone here? Just follow me."
Elder Xuan did not wait for a response and stepped towards the city walls and into the crowd.
"Eh?"
Despite having no eyes behind their back, the people in front of Elder Xuan unconsciously turned around due to Elder Xuan's profound aura that poked their backs with an invisible finger.
"That's a Sect Elder from the esteemed Dragon Essence Temple!"
"Hey! Isn't that Elder Xuan?! Dragon Essence Temple's Grand Elder! What's he doing here?!"
The people there immediately recognized his majestic robes, and not daring to block his path, they quickly made way for him, creating a long and empty path from the back of the line to the front of the line.
"What are you all waiting for? Let's go." Elder Xuan said to the others in a calm voice.
A few seconds later, Yuan and the others followed Elder Xuan through the massive crowd and towards the city entrance with dumbfounded looks on their faces.
"Welcome to our city, Sect Elders and Disciples of the Dragon Essence Temple!" The guards greeted them in a respectful voice once they reached the front.