"Is it really all right?" Zhao Yunxiao asked hesitantly.
"Don't worry, Brother Zhao! Lea-Leave Senior Martial Brother Lie to us!" Weng Quan patted his chest in assurance as he spoke in a slight slur.
"That's right! It's getting late, so Brother Zhao can just go get some rest!" Bo Qianhui shouted with a little too much excitement. "We are more than capable of taking care of ourselves! We can! For sure!"
Zhao Yunxiao looked at the duo who now had glazed eyes and heavily flushed faces. Even standing on their own two feet appeared somewhat unstable. He then turned his attention to Lie Xian. The latter was already fast asleep with his head resting on the table, and could not be woken up no matter how much they shook him.
Perhaps he had overestimated them a little just because they cultivated the body strengthening system. From the looks of it, that had little to no impact on their alcohol tolerance.
Of course, the Purple Plum Wine was intentionally designed to be much more potent than mortal alcohol since it was for cultivators. But he might still have to lower the strength of the wine a little with the next batch.
"If that's the case, I will make my move," Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards the conscious duo. "I had a great time tonight, and I hope we speak again soon!"
"Heroes will meet again despite the vastness of the world. I'm sure we will have more opportunities to chat again!"
"Farewell until then!"
With that, Zhao Yunxiao turned to leave the canteen.
They were the only ones left in the canteen by now. Gan Luozhi had finished his bragging performance long ago, and everyone else soon left in waves.
Thankfully, Zhao Yunxiao had already been told where their residence would be, so he could at least make his way there himself.
As he did, he slowly thought back on the events that had transpired since they arrived at the Armed Ape Tower.
While it was rather disappointing to have failed to obtain any treasures from Xiong Yekong, that was not the goal in the first place. At the very least, he had obtained some useful information that he had come on this trip for.
He did not know if alcohol was the best way of closing social distances, but it definitely worked for him tonight.
During the conversation earlier, he had managed to fish out tips and hints that would aid in cultivating the body strengthening system. This included things from regular training regimes to information on the Six Gates of Self-Actualisation – all of them matters that were of great interest to him.
Of course, Zhao Yunxiao was not going to stop with just this.
Now that he had gotten the tips privy to the outer disciples, he wanted to see if it was possible to gather some information that was privy to the inner disciples as well. Of course, he only wanted information that was allowed to be shared.
The last thing he wanted was to be accused of stealing sect secrets.
As for obtaining the secrets only privy to the core disciples, that was nothing but a pipe dream.
After all, those were the core secrets of the faction. Unless the Armed Ape Tower intended to completely surrender its autonomy to the Black Tortoise Sect, there was no way that they would allow such information to be revealed.
In fact, Zhao Yunxiao did not even hold much hope of obtaining the information that was privy to the inner disciples. If he could get those, that would be good. If he could not, so be it as well.
Some things could be hoped for, but could not be demanded.
Immersed in his train of thoughts, Zhao Yunxiao quickly arrived at the residences for the Black Tortoise Sect entourage. And the moment he pushed open the gate, he noticed Gan Luozhi sitting alone at a table in the courtyard. The latter noticed him as well and stood up immediately.
"Come with me," Gan Luozhi said curtly before walking back into his room.
Zhao Yunxiao let out a helpless sigh. He thought he could finally get some time alone, but it seemed like that would have to wait.
Zhao Yunxiao followed into Gan Luozhi's room, and the latter narrowed his eyes at him.
"What tricks did you pull? Why are you so friendly with Brother Xiong?" Gan Luozhi questioned.
Brother Xiong?
Zhao Yunxiao felt like raising an eyebrow in scepticism, but tactfully refrained from doing so.
"I am actually rather curious about that as well. I have never met Sir Xiong prior to today, so I'm not sure why he keeps calling me out," Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Perhaps it is as Senior Martial Brother Hua said, and he just wants to sound me out for secrets regarding the Black Tortoise Sect."
"Is that so?" Gan Luozhi probed. "Did you reveal anything then? What did you talk about when the two of you were alone?"
"He didn't say much – mostly telling me about the gifts that he wanted to give and asking if they were suitable. Apart from the welcome gifts, there's really nothing else," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged. He naturally would not include the part on him failing Xiong Yekong's test.
"Is that really it?" Gan Luozhi continued to stare at Zhao Yunxiao, not intending to hide the doubt in his eyes. "You'd better not be hiding anything from me."
"That is really it, Senior Martial Brother Gan," Zhao Yunxiao sighed. "In fact, I had wanted to seek your views on this as well! Do you have any idea why Sir Xiong is acting this way? If so, is it possible to enlighten me a little? I am seriously very confused about this right now."
While Zhao Yunxiao felt rather irritated by Gan Luozhi's questioning tone, he decided to just bear with it for the duration of this trip.
"Me? Of course I have an idea, but this is not something that you need to know," Gan Luozhi scoffed. "All right, you may leave now."
"I understand," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "In that case, have a good rest, Senior Martial Brother Gan."
As expected, the best way to handle someone like Gan Luozhi was to play to his ego.
"Hold it!" Gan Luozhi suddenly called out, stopping Zhao Yunxiao in his tracks. "Not everyone can be like me. Rather than trying so hard, know your place and stick to your role," Gan Luozhi started.
Zhao Yunxiao: "???"
"Don't think that I didn't notice you trying to chat up the native disciples and pulling them away from my speech earlier," Gan Luozhi scoffed. "Then again, from the number of disciples that you managed to draw over, I suppose you must have also realised how futile that was. It's not like you will ever succeed, but if you ever try to challenge my authority again, don't blame me for not being polite!"
"R-Right..." Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch. "I understand. This will not happen again."
Did Gan Luozhi really think that he was trying to compete for clout earlier?
"Good," Gan Luozhi said. "You may go now."
"Have a good rest, Senior Martial Brother Gan."
Zhao Yunxiao quickly returned to his assigned room.
There was not much of the night left, barely enough for Zhao Yunxiao's daily cultivation. Before he knew it, it was already daybreak.
With the thick canopy blocking out most of the sunlight, day and night had little visual difference here at the Armed Ape Tower. But with the enhanced senses and mental capabilities of cultivators, everyone could easily keep track of the time.
Zhao Yunxiao quickly washed up and went out to the open courtyard, patiently waiting for the seniors to be ready.
Hua Shui was the first to appear, and nodded in satisfaction upon seeing that Zhao Yunxiao was already waiting in the courtyard. The two exchanged greetings, then continued to wait in rather awkward silence.
As time passed, Hua Shui's expression slowly grew darker, with his gaze fixated on the door to Gan Luozhi's room. He might not be saying anything, but his unhappiness was clear.
Just as Zhao Yunxiao was starting to get worried, Gan Luozhi finally came out of his room as well – mere seconds before Fei Weng and the rest emerged from their respective chambers.
Perfect timing... or perhaps just a close shave.
"Greetings, Elder Feng," Hua Shui led the greeting once again.
"Mm," Elder Feng Wanjia nodded. "Today will be a full day of work. Let's stay disciplined and not make any mistakes. Display the bearing worthy of the Black Tortoise Sect."
"Yes, Elder Feng!" This time, all five members responded to her in unison.
With that, Elder Feng Wanjia led the group out of the residence.
At this point, there were already a few attendants waiting outside. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they nervously led the group to their destination.
Zhao Yunxiao did not know what had been discussed last night, but barring any huge changes, the destination was obvious.
The entire reason for making this trip was to help assess the recent expansion of the Zodiac Tree, so that should be where they were headed right now.
He was not wrong.
After a short walk, the group finally exited the winding wooden path to enter a huge clearing. And with the thick canopy overhead no longer obstructing their vision, the first thing that caught everyone's attention was a giant tree that reached straight into the clouds.
From afar, the ancient-looking tree looked to be at least a kilometre in diameter, with branches extended out at various points along the thick trunk. These branches were of various sizes; some were as huge as houses, while others were no bigger than that of ordinary trees.
At the base of the tree, there was a huge door built into the trunk – hinting that there was more to this tree than what was evident from the outside.
Or perhaps it was not much of a hint, considering how anyone who was allowed this far would surely know better.
The Tower of Apes and the Zodiac Tree – these were the two defining structures of the Armed Ape Tower, created by the progenitor of the faction and his direct disciple, respectively. They were also the structures from which people believed the faction obtained its name.
And no matter the size, an ordinary tree would hardly qualify as one of the defining structures of an entire cultivation faction.
"You are here, Elder Feng..." Sect Master Kui Tui weakly made his way over with the support of his wife, Mie Lingting.
Following closely behind were the various elders and core disciples of the Armed Ape Tower. Not just that, but a large crowd of inner disciples could also be seen gathered in the distance. It was clear that everyone had heard of this matter and were here to watch the show.
"I've kept you waiting, Sect Master Kui," Elder Feng Wanjia clasped her fists towards him.
"Not at all, not at all," Sect Master Kui Tui shook his head slowly. "Well then, let's not waste any more of your precious time. Why don't we begin? Elder Xiong, please take over."
"Yes, Sect Master," Elder Xiong Yan stepped up upon hearing his words. "Allow me to reiterate what we wish to achieve today. We, of the Armed Ape Tower, have recently expanded the capacity of the Zodiac Tree to accommodate the needs of our growing faction, but the complex structure of the Zodiac Tree made us slightly uncertain of the final result. While we have already made our own assessment that it is safe, we would like to seek Elder Feng's kind assistance in taking a look, just in case there is anything we missed."
"I am honoured by the trust of the Armed Ape Tower, and will definitely help to the best of my abilities," Elder Feng Wanjia replied. "As mentioned last night, I would need someone to go through the tribulations. Only by observing the live activation of the arrays would I be able to make a more accurate assessment. In terms of the dangers involved, we would have to carefully observe the situation from the outside and step in to stop the tribulation the moment we sense anything amiss."
"Naturally," Elder Xiong Yan turned towards the core disciples behind him. "I'm sure you all heard Elder Feng's words. Would anyone like to volunteer?"
"Regarding this, please allow me to say a few words," Xiong Yekong spoke up without hesitation.
"What is it, Yekong?" Elder Xiong Yan asked.
"Everyone here has already experienced the tribulations of the Zodiac Tree in the past, so we have a good inkling of what to expect," Xiong Yekong started. "To truly assess the safety and effectiveness of the newly expanded Zodiac Tree, perhaps it would be best for someone who hasn't experienced it to go through the tribulation? In my humble opinion, only then could it be considered a fair assessment."
"Hmm, that's a fair point," Elder Xiong Yan agreed. "In that case, shall we call in one of the newer inner disciples?"
"That would work, but I have another suggestion," Xiong Yekong replied. "Since we have our guests from the Black Tortoise Sect here, why don't we allow them to go through the tribulation this once? Of course, only if they wish to do so."