Faintly, Charles Morgan could still hear their voices discussing.

"Isn't that Charles Morgan Shishu? Is he being punished to stand under the blazing sun?"

"Impossible! Little Uncle must have his reasons for doing this." The one defending him was a graceful female disciple of the Taixuan Sword Sect.

"Why doesn't he go up the mountain? What is Little Uncle doing at the foot of the mountain all this time?"

"Eh, there's a woman beside him. Do you know which junior sister she is?"

Everyone shook their heads. With so many female disciples in the Taixuan Sword Sect, and so many admiring Little Uncle, how could they possibly know them all?

More and more people gathered, but they only watched from the shade under the trees and didn't come over, so Charles Morgan couldn't really tell them all to leave.

He felt more and more that Miss Emma Sullivan's choice to wear a veiled hat was truly wise.

As long as her face couldn't be seen, there would be no awkwardness.

If Emma Sullivan knew what Charles Morgan was thinking, she would tell him he was overthinking it. She wore the veiled hat simply because she didn't want people to see that she was the one who brought Charles Morgan back.

As for what happened afterward, it was all a series of coincidences and accidents.

After Charles Morgan had endured for who knows how long, the Taixuan Sword Sect disciple who was gathering spirit stones finally returned.

He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said, panting, "Sorry to keep Little Uncle and Miss Sullivan waiting."

It was really too hard to gather five thousand high-grade spirit stones; he had to ask several junior brothers before he barely managed to collect enough.

"Miss, please check if it's all there."

Emma Sullivan took the storage pouch and, without checking, tossed it straight into her own storage pouch. "No need to check."

After all, she was the one profiting.

Emma Sullivan flew away on her sword, leaving only the residual sword energy slicing through the clouds where she had been.

That disciple looked up at the sky and exclaimed in admiration, "What an incredible sword-flying technique!"

Now that's what you call sword-flying—what are their own attempts compared to this?

"Little Uncle, when do you think my sword-flying technique will reach that level?"

Charles Morgan looked him up and down and chuckled.

Chapter Fourteen: Homework

Emma Sullivan only took three days for this trip. She climbed back from the window to her seat, and before the stool even warmed up, she was met with David Carter's handsome and well-defined face.

"Back already, Little Junior Sister?" he asked with a beaming smile.

Emma Sullivan hesitantly nodded.

She always felt that Senior Brother Carter's smile had a hint of mischief.

"Good to have you back. Here’s the homework you missed these past few days—I brought it all for you."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Carter." Emma Sullivan reached out one hand to take it, but David Carter lifted his chin, signaling her to use both hands.

"?"

Emma Sullivan extended both hands, and only then did David Carter take out the stack of papers from behind him.

"This... is all the homework I missed these days?" Wasn't this everyone's homework?

David Carter said, "This is just part of it. The rest I already asked a junior brother to move to your quarters. You'll see it when you get back."

"??"

Emma Sullivan felt her vision go black, a bit dizzy.

David Carter steadied her and asked with concern, "Little Junior Sister, are you alright?"

Emma Sullivan squeezed out the words "I'm fine" through gritted teeth, forcing a smile.

"By the way, Senior Brother, at this hour, why is no one else here?" She almost thought she had gone to the wrong classroom.

"Oh, here's what happened." Seeing that Emma Sullivan was steady, David Carter let go and patted his wrinkled sleeve. "The Autumn Hunt is coming up soon, so the elders decided to suspend the Thirteen Histories class for now. The new disciples are to focus on guiding qi into their bodies, so they can participate in the Autumn Hunt with the sect. After the hunt, classes will resume."

"Little Junior Sister, during this time, just read the Thirteen Histories on your own. I've already found all the relevant books for you, and I've made notes on the more obscure parts, so it should be easier to study."

Only then did Emma Sullivan remember that the sect's annual Autumn Hunt was coming up soon. She hadn't participated last year and had completely forgotten about it.

The so-called Autumn Hunt actually refers to the Sword Sect disciples being randomly teleported through the Water Mirror into the Mengyuan Secret Realm, where they hunt evil monsters and repair rifts. The final ranking is based on the number of rifts repaired.

The Mengyuan Secret Realm suddenly appeared ten years ago. Every autumn, a large number of evil monsters and fierce spirits tear open the secret realm and escape through the gaps.

Later, the Sword Sect disciples discovered that after killing the evil monsters inside, a transparent cicada wing as thin as a cicada's wing would drop, which could be used to repair the cracks in the secret realm that appeared in autumn.

No one recognized this cicada wing, and apart from repairing rifts, no other use was found, so it was named the Autumn Cicada Wing.

"There's just over a month left until the Autumn Hunt. Can all the new disciples manage to guide qi into their bodies by then?" Emma Sullivan asked.

Although this batch of disciples was talented, everyone's cultivation speed varied. Who could guarantee that all of them would reach the Qi Refining stage before the Autumn Hunt?

"Besides, the Mengyuan Secret Realm is full of dangers. Entering at the Qi Refining stage is like a lamb entering a tiger's den..."

David Carter knew that Emma Sullivan was worried about the safety of the junior brothers and sisters, but the rules for this Autumn Hunt had changed, and it would be good for them to broaden their horizons.

"They don't need to hunt monsters—just collect Autumn Cicada Wings and repair the rifts."

That was more reasonable, Emma Sullivan thought.

But if they didn't have to hunt monsters, then who would be stuck with the hard work of hunting them?