Both Sun Wen and Mao Jing stared at Liu Mei with flabbergasted looks on their faces, but Jiang Chen, Xingyi, and Bai Longtian, all nodded their heads in agreement.
After a few moments of silence, Mao Jing finally pointed her finger at Liu Mei and shouted angrily
''You want to wait for Shun Long? Who do you think you are? Liu Mei, don't forget that you are also a disciple of the Holy sect! Every other outer court disciple will enter the 'City of Immortals' so who do you think you are to simply stay back?''
Liu Mei narrowed her eyes as she stared at the white-robed Mao Jing in front of her, before she answered in a frosty tone that lacked the tiniest hint of respect
''Every other outer court disciple will enter the City of Immortals? What does that have to do with me?
I thought that every disciple could freely choose whether they wanted to enter the 'City of Immortals' or not. Could it be that we are forced to do so now?''
At the same time, Jiang Tianfang suddenly took a step forward and stood in front of Liu Mei and the others as he faced Mao Jing, before he turned his gaze towards the Grand Elder and said calmly
''Senior Kang, don't tell me that your Holy sect is trying to force my son and his friends to enter the 'City of Immortals'.
Naturally, if they want to enter by themselves, then that's fine. However… if they don't want to enter, don't think that I will allow your Elders to bully them while I'm present.''
The Grand Elder stared at Jiang Tianfang who stood there like an immovable mountain, as his aura of an early rank 9 Dao Emperor was clearly boring down on Mao Jing and was forcing her back, and after a moment of silence he shook his head and sighed before he said
''Liu Mei is right. Whether she wants to enter the 'City of Immortals' or not is up to her, and naturally, my Holy sect won't force her. However, it's a shame that she won't be able to enter the city along with the other disciples of the sect.''
The Grand Elder then turned his gaze towards Jiang Chen and the others and asked
''Do the 3 of you want to come with me, or do you want to wait for Shun Long too?''
Jiang Chen shook his head and answered in a determined manner
''I will wait here as well. If Shun Long doesn't enter the city then I won't enter either.''
Bai Longtian nodded his head and cupped his hands at the Grand Elder before he responded
''Grand Elder, thank you for your offer but we will wait here.''
Seeing that Xingyi was about to respond, Mao Jing suddenly narrowed her gaze and said in a commanding tone
''Xingyi, come here! Your master is talking to you!''
Cold looks appeared on Liu Mei's, Jiang Chen's, and Bai Longtian's faces when they heard this, while the Grand Elder and Jiang Tianfang stared at Mao Jing without interfering.
Although Mao Jing couldn't force Liu Mei and the others to do anything, as Xingyi's master, she naturally had enough authority to order Xingyi around.
Shaking her head, Xingyi took a step forward and faced the white-robed woman in front of her, before she bowed and asked
''Master, do you have any instructions?''
Mao Jing nodded her head and said calmly
''You will follow me and enter the 'City of Immortals' with the rest of the outer court disciples of the sect. There is no reason for you to follow Shun Long and the others with your talent!
With your rate of growth, it's practically certain that you will reach the Dao Emperor realm in less than a thousand years! By then, you will definitely become a core disciple of the sect!''
Xingyi let out a sigh as she looked at Mao Jing, before she shook her head and said in a pleading manner
''Master, you should understand my feelings for brother Long by now. Can you allow me to stay and wait for him?''
''NO!''
Mao Jing didn't even entertain that thought for even a moment as she immediately rejected Xingyi's request, staring at her like a cat that just had its tail stepped on.
It didn't matter if Xingyi begged her on her knees, since Mao Jing still wasn't going to agree to this request of hers!
Xingyi lowered her head and instantly fell silent, as utter silence had also filled the entire courtyard soon after.
''Enough! Come here! It's time to go!'' Mao Jing shouted angrily when she saw that Xingyi wasn't moving from the spot she was standing on and was simply standing there with her head lowered, as if she was trying hard to make a decision!''
Finally, a few moments later, Xingyi raised her head and looked at Mao Jing with a resolute look in her eyes, before she finally started walking towards her.
Jiang Tianfang was slightly surprised when he saw this scene, but neither Liu Mei, Bai Longtian, or Jiang Chen, seemed to have any particular reaction to this, as they all stared at Xingyi calmly.
A few moments later, Xingyi stood in front of Mao Jing, before she bowed deeply and said in a respectful tone
''Master!''
A smile appeared on Mao Jing's face as she looked at the beautiful young woman in front of her, before she stretched out her hand to pat Xingyi's shoulder and said
''There is no need for you to waste your talent here. Let's go! If you manage to obtain a fortuitous opportunity in the 'City of Immortals', you may even reach the Sovereign realm in the future and stand at the peak of the northern part of the central region!''
At that moment however, Xingyi merely shook her head and waved her hand, as she took out a small bottle from her spatial ring with a single pill inside it.
Bowing for the second time, Xingyi stretched both of her hands outward as she offered the pill bottle to Mao Jing and said determinedly
''Master, thank you for your guidance!''
