Ye Tian Yun was quite surprised to see Elder Lai Chang still present at the counter, 'This guy is seriously trying to get all the top disciples to join the Heavenly League…"
Elder Lai Chang, who was lost in his thoughts, moved his head to see the two people who had just entered the second floor.
Straightening his back, he stood up and cupped his fists while saying, "Greetings, Elder Cui."
The Elder, who had brought Ye Tian Yun, nodded his head and then gestured his hands towards Ye Tian Yun while replying, "Lai, take this kid to the Grand Meeting Hall."
Elder Lai Chang nodded his head and looked at Ye Tian Yun, "Ah, it's disciple Fang Chen; good to see you here, kid, you did a great job last night."
Ye Tian Yun cupped his fists and gave him a slight smile.
Elder Lai Chang then said, "Alright, come with me," And then turning towards the elder; he continued, "Anything else, Uncle-master?"
Elder Cui shook his head and replied, "Yeah, one more thing, if you meet Duan, tell him to meet me before he leaves for his peak."
"Will do, Uncle-master," Elder Lai Chang nodded his head and said, "Then we shall take our leaves."
"Yeah, go," Elder Cui gestured at him and turned to leave.
Seeing the disappearing back of Elder Cui, Elder Chang frowned for a moment and then turned towards Ye Tian Yun to say, "Kiddo, let's go."
…
After a few minutes, Ye Tian Yun found himself coming out of a backdoor which led to more stairs.
While walking through the stairway, Elder Lai Chang smiled and asked, "Not feeling tired yet?"
Ye Tian Yun was confused at his words, he asked while looking around, "Should I be feeling tired?"
Elder Lai Chang slowly nodded his head, "You're walking through one of the most advanced arrays of the Gracious Sword Sect."
"Oh?"
"Yes, and this array is known for its uniqueness."
"What kind of uniqueness?" Ye Tian Yun asked.
Elder Lai Chang smiled but refrained from replying.
Ye Tian Yun could only let the topic go. However, he felt like Elder Lai Chang was most probably bluffing because Ye Tian Yun couldn't sense the array surrounding them even with the heightened spirit sense after his breakthrough in the Sword Domain Realm.
After about ten or so minutes, as they stepped inside a room, Elder Lai Chang, who was moving ahead, suddenly gestured to Ye Tian Yun to stop and said, "We have arrived, now just wait here for the call. The Elders are most probably still in a meeting."
Ye Tian Yun nodded his head.
'This place is like a royal court or something.'
"Don't be surprised," As if reading his thoughts, Elder Lai Chang continued to say, "This may feel similar to meeting a king or minister. However, this is a custom."
"What kind of custom is this?" Ye Tian Yun was now getting even more confused at the situation.
Elder Lai Chang pursed his lips and said, "I told you about the advanced array, right? This custom is for that. You will know more about this once your cultivation realm and status in the sect grows."
Ye Tian Yun shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't interested in knowing about an array which he was most probably never going to encounter or would never be of any use to him.
Silence prevailed in the room for the next few minutes as none of them wanted to waste their energy in useless chatting.
Just then.
"Come."
A voice echoed from behind, and Ye Tian Yun turned around towards its source, which came from the direction of the stairs which they had just come from.
However, there were no stairs to his surprise, but instead, past the gate was another hall, and at the hall entrance was standing none other than Grand Elder Li himself.
Both Ye Tian Yun and Elder Lai Chang cupped their fists as a greeting and headed towards the hall.
As soon as Ye Tian Yun put his feet into the new hall, he suddenly felt light-headed.
Though it didn't take him long to come back to his senses due to his high spirit sense, it was enough for him to be on high alert.
Taking a deep breath, he observed the scene to understand what was going on.
Ye Tian Yun found himself standing in the middle of a conference-like hall, with the elders sitting opposite him.
The middle seat was currently empty; it most probably belonged to the Sect Leader Su, while the two seats beside his were occupied by two old men, one of which had called him and Elder Lai Chang inside this hall.
Ye Tian Yun quickly recognized the two Grand Elders, Grand Elder Li, and Grand Elder Xuan.
Both of them were currently smiling at him, though it wasn't hard to decipher that each smile had a different meaning behind it.
Grand Elder Li's smile seemed to be of the kind which showed appreciation of an old grandfather towards his grandchildren. At the same time, the one carried by GRand Elder Xuan was the all-knowing kind of smile, which seemed much more calculative as if the whole situation was under his control.
But Ye Tian Yun did find one thing common between the expression of these two - none of them had any ill intent towards him.
Grand Elder Li was most probably happy to get a talented disciple like Fang Chen in the sect, while Grand Elder Xuan was delighted to get a talented disciple like Fang Chen in the Heavenly League.
Besides these two, there were other Core Elders also present at the scene, including Elder Tu, who nodded his head when he made eye contact with Ye Tian Yun.
These normal expressions gave Ye Tian Yun a bit of reassurance that whatever he was called here for, it definitely wasn't anything bad for him.
Grand Elder Li, who was observing his expression, nodded his head from time to time as if he was approving Ye Tian Yun to be his son-in-law, suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Kid, do you know why you have been called here for?"
Ye Tian Yun cupped his fists and feigned ignorance, "Greeting Grand Elders and Core Elders, unfortunately, I am still unaware of the reason behind your call."
Grand Elder Li gestured with his hands, "Bah, don't act as you don't know why you're here. Of course, I called you to get you rewarded."
"Just wait for Sect Leader Su to arrive; once he comes, we will decide what should be your reward."
Ye Tian Yun nodded his head.
Just then, footsteps rang from behind him, and when he turned his head, he found a dignified middle-aged man entering the hall.
The man paused for a moment when he noticed Ye Tian Yun and then gave him a gentle smile before walking to the right and taking a seat beside Grand Elder Li.
After taking his seat, the man said, "So you're Fang Chen? Well, well, very well," After a few nods of appreciation, the man said, "I am Peak Master of your peak. I am quite impressed by your talent. You can call me Uncle Duan."
His words surprised everyone present in the hall, including the Grand Elders.
Even Ye Tian Yun was quite stumped when he heard Peak Master Duan letting him call Uncle.
He pursed his lips and said, "Greetings, Peak Master Duan." Clearly refraining from calling him uncle.
However, his words got him a frown, as Peak Master Duan berated, "Hmph, did I not tell you to call me uncle?"
"But-"
"No, but! I insist that you call me uncle."
His words brought an awkward silence in the hall, forcing him to clear his throat and say, "Well… you're very talented, and you… you're the age of my nephew!"
Half of the elders present had to force themselves from controlling the urge to roll their eyes.
Even Ye Tian Yun could only stare awkwardly at this unknown man trying to be his uncle out of nowhere.
Before the situation could escalate, another pair of footsteps echoed as another man entered the hall.
As soon as people present in the hall saw him, they stood up.
The man gestured to them to remain seated and went on to take the seat in the middle.
Rubbing his hands together, he took a deep breath and said, "Well, what did I miss?"
Grand Elder Xuan, who was beside him, rolled his eyes, "Do you really think we can start the meeting without you? Of course, you didn't miss anything."
Sect Leader Su nodded his head and finally noticed Ye Tian Yun.
Taking a deep breath, he calmed his emotions and the urge to hug his son.
Then turning towards Grand Elder Li, trying to distract himself, he said, "Well, we should start the meeting."
"I don't wish to prolong the meeting, so I will propose what I want to reward disciple Fang Chen - one month of cultivation in the Sword Stele."
His words made everyone, except Ye Tian Yun, have their mouth wide open in shock.