Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Technique Pavilion of Cloudstream Sect

The Task Hall had hardly changed since Liu Pan’s last visit. If anything, it was now more crowded, and the most prominent spot on the task board no longer displayed the recruitment notice for medicine apprentices at Cangyun Peak.

Drawing little attention from those around him, Liu Pan made his way to the window where he'd previously accepted the medicine apprentice task. The same young woman was managing the duties. She glanced up at him and asked casually, "What task do you wish to take?"

Liu Pan touched his nose, having assumed she would recognize him immediately, but reality proved otherwise. Upon reflection, he understood: the Task Hall saw countless faces every day, and it had been more than half a month since he'd taken the medicine apprentice assignment. He was just another new face, so it was perfectly normal she did not remember him.

After a brief hesitation, Liu Pan took the medicine apprentice identity token from his storage pouch and said, "Senior sister, Elder Zhao from the Pill Hall at Cangyun Peak asked me to come here and post a task on his behalf."

Cangyun Peak’s Pill Hall? At the mention of those words, the young woman was momentarily stunned, as if recalling something. She then saw the token in Liu Pan’s hand and exclaimed in disbelief, "It’s you!"

"It’s me," Liu Pan replied with a slight smile, returning the token to his pouch. "The elder asked me to inform you that the task to recruit medicine apprentices continues. The Pill Hall at Cangyun Peak needs to recruit one more apprentice."

With the token put away, the young woman quickly recovered from her surprise. Without hesitation, she said, "Understood. I’ll report to the elder right away and post the task."

Speaking, she rose from behind the window, pushed open a small door, and went inside.

As for Liu Pan, he lingered briefly after the young woman left. Only when his spiritual sense confirmed that the task would be published without issue did he turn and leave the Task Hall.

Moments later, a shimmer of light flashed upon the task board, and the recruitment notice for medicine apprentices at Cangyun Peak appeared once more in the most prominent position.

...

Lu Renqie was a newly inducted disciple of Cloudflow Sect. Early that morning, as usual, he came to the Task Hall to accept a task. He had barely begun searching the board when he saw it refresh.

Soon, Lu Renqie rushed out of the Task Hall at a sprint.

About a quarter of an hour later, the gentle sound of wind breaking signaled the arrival of a young man in white, riding a long sword, landing outside the Task Hall.

He appeared seventeen or eighteen years old, with bright eyes and a handsome presence that would have attracted countless admirers on Earth. Yet, despite his delicate appearance, the aura he radiated was formidable—he possessed the cultivation of a sixth-tier Martial Master.

If Liu Pan were present, he would immediately recognize this young man as the prodigy mentioned by Yu Yao and Zhang Pingkang: Xiao Hanyi, the newly admitted genius disciple.

In truth, Xiao Hanyi was the one who, before Liu Pan and Liu Kuang took the entrance test, had been accepted directly into the sect by an elder for his spiritual power.

Ignoring the curious gazes of the disciples around him, Xiao Hanyi strode into the Task Hall, scanned the board with his spiritual sense, then walked straight to the window and declared, "I wish to accept the medicine apprentice task from Cangyun Peak’s Pill Hall!"

...

Leaving the Task Hall, Liu Pan wasted no time and went directly to the Cloudflow Sect’s Technique Pavilion.

Compared to the Baiyang Sect’s pavilion, Cloudflow Sect’s was guarded far more tightly. The greater difference, however, lay in its defensive formations.

The Baiyang Sect’s pavilion was watched over by a single individual, whereas, by Liu Pan’s estimation, unless one understood formations, even those at the peak of Martial King realm would struggle to steal anything from Cloudflow’s pavilion.

Upon entering, Liu Pan immediately spotted a middle-aged man with triangular eyes. After a moment’s consideration, Liu Pan walked over.

"Elder," he greeted respectfully, not waiting for the man to ask anything. Instead, he produced the black token given him by Elder Zhao and handed it over.

"Eh?" The elder was clearly surprised to see the black token, sizing Liu Pan up and down before frowning and asking, "Which peak are you from? Where did you get this Black Jade Token?"

"Reporting to elder, I am a medicine apprentice in the Pill Hall at Cangyun Peak. The Black Jade Token was given to me by Elder Zhao," Liu Pan replied, showing his identity token.

"Cangyun Peak?" The elder was even more surprised, but after a moment, he seemed to recall something. He glanced toward the stairway, his eyes flashing, then asked no further questions.

He picked up the Black Jade Token and flicked it a few times, causing a strange aura to emanate from it. Then he handed it back to Liu Pan, saying, "Hang it at your waist. You may select any technique from the second or third floor."

"Thank you for the guidance, elder." Liu Pan retrieved both tokens, bowed again, and made his way toward the stairs.

He did not stop on the second floor but proceeded directly to the third, understanding well that the best techniques were kept higher up.

...

Upon reaching the third floor, Liu Pan was momentarily surprised to find someone else there, selecting techniques.

His surprise was fleeting; he quickly put the matter aside and walked toward the shelf of ice-type techniques.

However, Liu Pan’s indifference did not mean others were equally unconcerned.

Jia Xu, upon sensing someone ascend to the third floor, was surprised. When he realized the newcomer’s aura had not yet broken into the Martial Master realm, he was even more puzzled.

A few days earlier, after taking the Earth Origin Pill crafted with Elder Zhao’s water technique, Jia Xu had broken through to the Martial Master realm, to his great excitement.

He had not been fully confident in his breakthrough, planning to spend half a year to achieve it. He had not expected the pill, refined with water technique, to be so effective, enabling such an easy advancement.

Now, Jia Xu understood why his father had always valued the Pill Hall elders’ breakthroughs in the art of alchemy.

As the son of the sect master, Jia Xu possessed considerable authority within Cloudflow Sect. After stabilizing his cultivation, his first priority was to come to the Technique Pavilion and choose a martial art suitable for his current level.

Jia Xu, known as the representative "failure" of Cloudflow Sect, was a celebrity of sorts. Liu Pan had heard some information about him from Yu Yao and Zhang Pingkang.

However, having never met him, Liu Pan did not realize the person selecting techniques was the infamous "failure."

But while Liu Pan did not recognize Jia Xu, Jia Xu knew Liu Pan by appearance, though nothing more—not even his name.

Because he recognized Liu Pan's face, Jia Xu’s surprise and curiosity turned instantly to shock as he got a clear look.

How could it be him?