The following morning, Yuan woke up earlier than usual and left a note for Chu Liuxiang, telling her that he would not be able to eat breakfast with them today because he had important business within Cultivation Online.
After putting the note on the table beside the bed, Yuan placed the helmet on his head and appeared inside Cultivation Online.
When he logged on, he could see Min Li sitting at the table by the window inside their hotel.
"Good morning," she turned to look at him and said.
"Good morning."
And she continued, "Yuan, I have finally decided on what I want to do."
"Oh? What are your plans?"
"The Seven Spirit Academies will be starting their disciple examination earlier this year because of the sudden influence of people coming from the Lower Heavens, and I plan on taking it."
"That sounds like a great idea. Do you know which sect you want to join yet?"
"My number one option would definitely be the Heavenly Academy. They have been ranked one for the past ten thousand years, and they have produced over 10 Spirit Kings throughout those years."
"However, I would be satisfied with joining any of the Seven Spiritual Academies since they're the best of the best in the Spirit Heaven, and it's incredibly hard to get accepted into any of these places. Even the Universal Music Academy that focuses on Music Cultivation is better than many top cultivation sects out there."
"Do you know when the examinations will take place? I would like to be there for you till the end. It might be a very long time until we see each other again, after all."
"Yes, it will begin in two weeks."
"I see… I will definitely be there. What do you plan on doing until then?"
"I am going to train near the examination area until then."
Yuan pondered for a moment before speaking, "I will leave one of my companions with you just in case anything goes south during your training. Are you okay with that?"
"R-Really? You don't have to do that for me…" Min Li said.
"Yes, I am sure. Xiao Hua, can you stay with Min Li for the time being since it will be dangerous to take you with me to the tournament?" Yuan said to her.
Xiao Hua appeared beside him the next second with a reluctant look on her face.
"Xiao Hua doesn't want to leave Brother Yuan alone…" She said in a worried voice.
"He won't be alone. Did you forget about Lan Yingying and myself already?" Feng Yuxiang appeared and said.
"We'll take care of the Young Master while you're away."
"But…" Xiao Hua was still reluctant to leave Yuan's side.
"Listen here, Xiao Hua. If you stay with the Young Master, you'll put him at risk just with your presence alone. Do you want to cause trouble for the Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang asked with a frown on her face.
"No…" Xiao Hua lowered her head in a dejected manner.
"Then you should stop being so selfish and go with Min Li for now. We'll see you again as soon as possible."
"…"
Seeing Xiao Hua's dejected mood, Yuan lowered his body and embraced her small body.
"I will be fine, Xiao Hua. Not only will Feng Feng and Yingying be there with me, Senior Yan and many powerful demon sealers will be there with me as well."
"I also want to take you with me, but as Senior Yan mentioned, there will be many powerful figures there that could expose you, and I don't want you to be in danger. In fact, I would even put your safety above my own, so can you stay with Min Li for the time being? When I return… We can play catch again like we used to."
Xiao Hua immediately lifted her head and stared at him with her big round eyes that were filled with emotion— mostly excitement.
"Really?"
Yuan nodded, "I promise."
"Okay, Xiao Hua will go with her."
"Great! Then we'll see you two later."
After saying their goodbyes, Yuan left the hotel with Feng Yuxiang and Lan Yingying. They flew until they were a few miles away from the city.
"Senior Yan said I only need my spiritual energy to activate it…" Yuan retrieved the red medallion Yan Hara had given him and started pouring his spiritual energy into it.
Immediately, the red medallion began emitting a bright crimson light.
A few seconds later, the red medallion shattered into countless pieces, dumbfounding Yuan.
"D-Did I break it?" He swallowed nervously.
"No, it's activating right now, Young Master." Feng Yuxiang said to him.
The very next moment, a beautiful red portal would appear before Yuan.
Once the portal was fully activated, Feng Yuxiang said, "You can go inside now, Young Master. I don't sense anything malicious from it, so it should be okay."
"Okay."
Yuan nodded, but before he entered the portal, he retrieved a mask and wore it.
Since he looked exactly like the Divine Paragon, there would be no doubt that someone there would recognize him, and he didn't want such a spotlight on him when he's surrounded by so many cultivators that were countless times stronger than him.
After all, he didn't know if the Divine Paragon had any enemies before, nor did he want to find out, so he decided to play it safe.
When he exited the portal, Yuan was greeted by a starry sky and a massive circular building a few miles in the distance.
"Just where are we?" Yuan mumbled in a dazed voice as he looked around with great interest.
"It feels like we're in someone's dimension." Feng Yuxiang said.
"Like Senior Bai's own world?" Yuan asked.
"Yes, just like that."
While Yuan admired the scenery that made him feel like he was in space, other people would appear around him.
These people would glance at Yuan for a brief moment before scoffing and flying away, treating his existence as though it was insignificant.
"Young Master… You should definitely keep your head down here… Even Spirit Sovereigns would look like an ant before these people…" Feng Yuxiang warned him afterward.
"Un.." He nodded silently.
