The gods didn’t seem to mind that they were being watched and just continued with their practice. After a while, one of them couldn’t help but reach out to the man next to him, tugging at his sleeve though. “There’s somebody staring at us provocatively.”

The god had lowered his voice but with everybody’s level being high, it was clear enough to be heard. Jing Yi immediately turned to the side and looked up at his lover’s face, realizing that Qiu Ling was looking at the gods with an expression that said he was bored out of his mind.

Jing Yi sighed and turned back to the front, not bothering to say anything to Qiu Ling. In any case, even if he said something, he didn’t think that it would change much. Qiu Ling probably really didn’t find this too interesting. And in any case, he wasn’t the person who wanted to find a place here.

Actually, he probably shouldn’t have taken Qiu Ling along or at least should have left him at the gate. In this courtyard, wasn’t it unlikely that something would happen to him? So Qiu Ling really didn’t have an excuse to stay around. But bringing that up right now didn’t seem to be that smart. No, it was best to first get acquainted with these people and then after they had returned in the evening he could still bring it up to Qiu Ling and talk about how to go about things starting tomorrow.

Having made up his mind, Jing Yi stepped forward and cupped his fists, making the other gods realize that he had to be an ascended deity. “I’m sorry for disturbing you. I just arrived here and couldn’t help but be curious. Please ignore him.”

Qiu Ling glanced at his lover who could just casually toss them aside and pursed his lips. He really wanted to say something but he realized that one of the gods was actually looking at him. He held back, wondering if he had seen that guy somewhere before. After staring for a while, he figured that he hadn’t. At the very least, he couldn’t remember anyone like this. So even if they had met, that person should be some unimportant, forgettable existence. Yeah, he shouldn’t worry about it any longer. Instead, he turned back to Jing Yi, looking a little pitiful.

The other gods also looked from one person to the other but decided that it would really be better to just ignore Qiu Ling and turned to Jing Yi. One of them stepped forward and cupped his fists as well, even giving a smile while he did so. “Greetings. I am also an ascended deity, as are some of the others, so don’t bother being polite. In any case, we are all just idle gods so far. My name is Xian Li and I was a disciple of the Tian Yu Sect. Might I ask who this fellow cultivator is?”

Next to him, one of the other gods laughed. “I think you meant to ask whether you could inquire who this fellow ascended deity is.”

Xian Li shot him a dark look but then just turned to Jing Yi, waving the other’s words away. “Just ignore him.”

Jing Yi couldn’t help but smile when this guy pretty much treated the other god like he had treated Qiu Ling before. “I’m Zhong Jing Yi from the Yun Zou Sect.”

“Yun Zou Sect?” Xian Li was a little surprised. The Yun Zou Sect certainly wasn’t bad but most of the ascended deities that came here before him from the unranked sects. Just like the Tian Yu Sect or the Jian Yi Sect. Somebody from a premier sect ascending wasn’t unheard of but not that common of an occurrence. Still, the Yun Zou Sect had at the very least made enough of a fuss thanks to some of the occurrences of the last years like the fight against the demon-hunting sects and also the Gathering of Practitioners that Qiu Ling had participated in back then that it was a name that most cultivators would know. In fact, it could probably be said that they had become a little infamous after all this time.

Jing Yi was a little confused in regard to Xian Li’s reaction but he didn’t ask about it. Sometimes, it was probably better to stay quiet about things. It was good enough that he had managed to make the acquaintance without Qiu Ling causing trouble. So, he felt that this was already quite good.

For a moment, nobody really knew what to say. Finally, the god that had been staring at Qiu Ling stepped forward, also showing a smile. “Well, I guess we others should also introduce ourselves. I am Duan Ming. I happen to be a trueborn god but don’t let that influence your opinion of me.”

Jing Yi’s eyes lit up when he heard a familiar name. “So you are Duan Ming.”

Duan Ming faintly raised his brows. “Oh? Did somebody mention me?” He couldn’t help but glance at Qiu Ling when he said so. Contrary to the ascended deities, he had actually seen the dragon king before. After all, his mother happened to be a titled goddess. So there had been some opportunities in the past. He didn’t quite know why Qiu Ling would be with Jing Yi but that was also something that he wouldn’t get involved in. Right now, he himself didn’t have a title. He was merely an idle god. So this didn’t have anything to do with him.

Jing Yi nodded but surprisingly didn’t mention Qiu Ling with a single syllable. “Yes … Senior Leng mentioned you.” He needed a moment to figure out how to call Leng Jin Yu. Senior Leng seemed to be the most fitting. Originally, he had gotten to know him as senior martial brother Yu but he already knew his real identity by now. And even though this person was basically part of Qiu Ling’s family, he didn’t feel that close to him since they had only met a couple of times.

Still, just being able to call him this way was already a small sensation among this group of people.

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