Once they returned to the game, Yuan could feel the communication jade slip Elder Xuan gave him tremble.
"Disciple Yuan, where are you right now?"
"Uhh... I am inside my room." Yuan responded.
A few moments later, Elder Xuan responded, "That was yesterday’s message. I guess you were absorbed in cultivation or something." Elder Xuan said.
"Were you looking for me?" Yuan then asked.
"I am not the one who was looking for you. It was Disciple Min that wanted to speak with you." Elder Xuan said to him.
"Disciple Min? Why?"
"No clue, but it sounded like she really needed to speak with you."
"I understand. I will speak with her."
"Oh, right. The Sect Master said to gather at the Summit Peak this afternoon for your rewards."
"Okay. I will be there."
Sometime later, Yuan said, "I know we just ate, but I want to eat some more food at the Dragon Pavilion since it feels like it’s been so long since I last tasted their food."
Meixiu didn’t say anything and merely nodded.
The two of them left the house shortly after, and to their surprise, there was a person sitting in front of their doorstep.
Yuan raised his eyebrows as he called out, "Disciple Min? What are you doing? Why are you sitting there?"
"Eh?" Min Li stopped cultivating and turned around to see a masked figure and a beautiful young lady standing behind her.
"D-Disciple Yuan?" She mumbled.
"Yes?"
"Y-You... You have been inside the entire time? Did you not hear my knocking?"
"Sorry, I just came back..." Yuan shook his head.
And he continued, "I hope you didn’t wait for too long..."
"Not long. Only for two days." Min Li said as she stood up.
"Anyways, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault that I suddenly need to speak with you. I’m just glad that I don’t have to wait a week to speak with you."
"Did something happen?" Yuan then asked.
Min Li nodded and said, "It’s about my family, but let’s talk somewhere more private if you don’t mind."
"We were about to go to the Dragon Pavilion for some food before the gathering."
"Sounds good." Min Li said, and then she turned to look at Meixiu.
"She doesn’t look like a disciple..."
"Oh, right. This is my friend and caretaker— Meixiu. I hope you don’t mind having her with us. And this is a fellow disciple— Min Li." Yuan introduced them to each other.
"Hello," Meixiu said to her in a calm manner.
"H-Hello... I don’t mind." Min Li said, feeling a little awkward.
Sometime later, they arrived at the Dragon Pavilion.
After taking a seat in their usual spot and ordering their food, Yuan asked Min Li, "So what happened to your family?"
Min Li released a sigh before she spoke, "Do you remember our conversation before? About you joining my family?"
"Yes, I do." Yuan nodded.
"Well, now that my family knows of your existence because of the Mystic Realm, they have officially assigned me to recruit you into my family, and they have been bugging me since then."
"I see... so this is about that matter."
"I haven’t told my family that I already tried to recruit you, so they’re unaware of that for now. However, I am also scared to tell them that I had failed, as failure isn’t accepted in the Min Family."
"You see, being one of the Seven Legacy Families, our parents’ expectations for us are extremely high. In their eyes, anything besides perfect is unacceptable, and failure is worse than death in some cases."
"What a strict family... But I can somehow relate..." Yuan sighed.
"Disciple Yuan, I know you don’t want to join any families, but can you at the very least follow me back to the Min Family so they won’t blame me too much for not being able to recruit you?" Min Li then asked him.
"If I don’t show any results, they’ll turn me into a laughing stock before selling me to another family! Please! I am begging you!"
Min Li lowered her head and spoke in a pleading voice.
"Please raise your head, Disciple Min. I just have to meet your family and tell them I don’t want to join their family, right? I don’t mind. However, I won’t be able to meet them right now."
"T-That’s fine! I think!" Min Li said.
"When will you be able to meet them?" She then asked.
"I don’t know, but it will have to be after I leave the Dragon Essence Temple."
"Wait... You’re going to leave the sect? Why?" Min Li stared at him with wide eyes.
"I only joined the sect for the experience, and I think I already have plenty," he said.
"When are you planning to leave? And what are you going to do afterward?"
"Well, I still have something to do in the sect, but I have no idea when I will finish it. Though, it’s supposed to start in four days. After I leave the sect, I am going to explore the Lower Heavens some more before I ascend to Spirit Heaven through the Stairway to Heaven."
Min Li was speechless. Of course, she has heard about Yuan refusing to follow Senior Nie back to Spirit Heaven. To think he’d rather climb to the next realm through his own efforts and not with the help of someone else, she cannot help but admire him for that, especially since she has been relying on her own family this entire time.
’If I had even a portion of his resolve, perhaps I wouldn’t need to rely on the Min Family to ascend...’ she thought to herself.
Sometime later, the food they had ordered many minutes ago finally started to fill the table.
"Please enjoy your meal, Seniors! If you need anything, I will be right over there!" A familiar face said to them.
"Thank you, Disciple Chu," Yuan said to him.
"Let’s talk more about your situation later, Disciple Min. For now, we should enjoy the food."
"Okay." Min Li nodded, and they began eating the food shortly after.