As the morning sun shone brightly in the sky and the birds chirped happily as they flew around the courtyards, a group of young disciples in white clothes were seen standing in front of the entrance gate of the Academy.

"Since the Supreme Immortal is unable to attend the sorting ceremony this year due to some important reasons, unlike the other years this year we decided to arrange the sorting ceremony within the Sects."

The moment Master Gong stopped talking, the teenagers around Li Ming burst out into whispers and murmurs.

Her mood was just too down to pay attention to whatever was going on around her.

She waited for hours the previous day and then the night, just in the hope of seeing her mates.

However, the only thing that she got in return for her waiting was the information that the Supreme Immortal was not going to join the sorting ceremony of this year.

It was the first time in more than five hundred years when the head of the Academy was not present for such an important ceremony.

But what made her lost her calm was the message that she received only a mere seconds later after opening her eyes at the first ray of sunlight.

The shining blue lotus symbol that had appeared in front of her eyes was too familiar for her to not recognize and as she read the message that the Moon Immortal sent, she felt like someone had drawn her into a lake of chilled water.

'Little One, this Lord promised you that I'll bring all the rest of your mates to meet with you after your exams. However, Guiying and others are still not over their tantrums.

Moreover, a sudden emergency needs our attention for the time being. As soon as we will take care of this task, I'll bring the others to meet you immediately.

Don't be upset. We will meet soon and remember to take care of yourself.

Love

Mr. Perfect."

As the words of the message reappeared in front of her vision, Li Ming almost felt like scoffing out loud in mockery.

"Ming'er, if you want I can drag all five of them here right this instant. Just let me out once and see how I'll teach all of them a lesson for ignoring you like this."

Zhang Yong said with confidence as he stood behind her with his arms securely wrapped around her waist and belly.

He was completely invisible to others and since Li Ming was standing at the very end of the group, they were not afraid that someone would end up bumping into them.

The only reason why Li Ming allowed Zhang Yong to cuddle her like this in the broad daylight was the feeling of calmness and assurance that he was providing her.

His powerful presence and warm embrace had made her agitated soul calm down. However, her mood was still down.

"It's alright. I'm sure that they are actually busy. It's just.....just that...I have no idea when I'll see them next. What if they won't make it back in time? It will only create problems and misunderstandings when they won't find me here." Li Ming replied in a very small voice even though the spell that she cast over the two of them unable others from listening to them.

"Ming'er, don't worry. Remember that no matter what happens, they will never be able to stay angry at you. Everything will be fine. I'm here with you." Zhang Yong softly whispered into her ear as he checked one of his hands around her shoulders to pull her closer into his embrace.

The Shadow Lord never liked to see his best friend in such an awful mood. He was used to her cheery self and his mate so quiet and sad made his mood dampen too.

Li Ming found herself slowly nodding her head as she let out a soft sigh before turning her head slightly towards her bondmate and giving him an assuring blink.

The two stood there like that throughout the gathering as different Masters and Elders came forward to congratulate the children and share a few words with them.

It was only after several hours had passed when Li Ming finally found herself moving towards the Array Sect along with the rest of her sect disciples who succeeded in passing the exam.

It was finally the time when they were going to be sorted out in outer and inner sects based on their performance in the exams.

She was so nervous about the sorting ceremony that her heartbeat had increased and her palms were covered with sweat.

She was not worried about being chosen in the outer or inner sect. She was confident enough in her performance during the exams that she would easily be selected for the inner sect.

However, what she was afraid of was whether she would succeed in making the Sect Master accept her as his disciple or not.

Just as she was about to enter the front courtyard of the Array Sect, her path got blocked by a group of senior disciples whose faces were too familiar to be ignored.

"Senior Sister Wu, how can this junior sister help you today?" Li Ming asked in a polite tone as she greeted her seniors.

Her tone was soft and warm. There was no hint of bitterness in it even though she was talking to a bunch of children who tried to harm her just a few hours ago.

"Junior Sister, this Senior sister, and her friends are here to ask for forgiveness. We should not have asked you to accompany us to the island and not should have we left you there all alone. Seeing that junior sister is not hurt, this Senior sister is relieved."

No matter how polite and guilty Wu Ying tried to look, she still was not able to hide her contempt and anger towards the girl in front of her.

Who would have thought that the bitch would somehow catch the attention of the Array Sect Master and it would land Wu Ying and her group in trouble?

They had planned to first make Li Ming suffer on the Medical Sect's Island to make everyone realize that she was not really as powerful as everyone thought.

While their second plan was to humiliate her in the sorting assembly in front of the entire academy.

However, not only they failed in their first plan but their second also got ruined since now the sorting ceremony would be held within the Sect Halls of each sect.

But what infuriated Wu Ying the most was the fact that because of that bitch Li Ming, the Lotus Manor Master had looked at her (Wu Ying) with disdain as if she was some sort of filthy thing.

How could Wu Ying and her years-long crush on the Array Sect Master, tolerate to be looked down upon by the very person who had been the ruler of her heart for years by now?

If Xiao Heng would have got the privilege of listening to Wu Ying's current thoughts then he would surely have lost his mind because of laughing so hard.

How could the dignified and honorable Master Lu spare enough time to pay attention to some mere lowly princess of an empire?

It was a mere coincidence that they stumbled upon the energy ball that showed them the live broadcast of the incident that happened on the island.

Otherwise, there was no way that the Lotus Manor Master would have wasted his time and energy in watching some stupid teenagers making a fool out of themselves.

"Senior Sister Wu, there's no need to be so polite and humble. One should only try to act when their acting skills can work. Otherwise, the outcome of poor acting skills leads to very bad results. If you guys don't mind then this junior sister will like to take her leave."

Once again Li Ming was as polite as possible while her eyes looked at the young lady with warmth and softness.

However, her words almost made a volcano burst inside Wu Ying who just stood there with her hands clenched in tight fists and her teeth gritting together.

"Just you wait, Li Ming. Only ten more days and Master Lu will enter his close door cultivation. Let's see who's gonna protect you then. This princess will show you exactly how good her acting skills are!"

The contempt and anger that was visible in Wu Ying's tone could also be seen in her eyes as she glared at the back of Li Ming's figure.

The rest of the members of her group were also shocked to see such maliciousness in her eyes but they did not dare to voice out a single word.

"What a surprise! You have been here barely over twenty-four hours and you already succeeded in building an army of your enemies. I'm really proud." Zhang Yong said with his tone full of teasing as he lightly bumped his bondmate's shoulders.

"No need to flatter me. I'm just born with these otherworldly powers." Li Ming replied back with a soft smile on her lips as she placed her first step inside the Great Hall of the Array Sect.