Gesture of Camaraderie

Looking at Lei Kongming silently devouring his food, Lei Longwei finally decided to ask, though with some hesitation.

"Brother Kong, why have you been in a bad mood for the past few days?"

"Brother Long, that butcher shopkeeper scammed us. Due to the Purple Cloud Palace selection, the price of everything has gone up, including livestock. We could easily sell those wild boars for 100 spirit stones."

Lei Longwei rolled his eyes and said, "Brother Kong, the Purple Cloud Palace selection will be held today. Clear your mind and do your best; don't think about those spirit stones."

Lei Kongming nodded while asking, "Have you contacted the other members of the clan?"

"Yes, they will meet us at the city gate. I think we should hurry up too."

"Brother Long, I haven't seen Sister Qing these days. I believe Uncle Shi should have asked you to meet her at Purple Cloud City."

Because all the elders in the family are very happy with the engagement between Ye QingQing and Lei Longwei, he believes Lei Shilong will not forget to remind Lei Longwei to meet Ye QingQing in Purple Cloud City to enhance their relationship.

"Well... I asked the servants who came with her, and it seems that she is currently focused on stabilizing her cultivation. It appears that she is probably a Foundation Building cultivator now."

Lei Longwei suddenly became a little depressed. Originally, he thought that now as a 9th-level Qi Refining cultivator, he would finally have some chance of winning against her. But now... sigh.

Lei Kongming and Lei Longwei finally finished their food and left for the city gate.

Near the city gate, they found the family members who had received tokens to attend the selection at Purple Cloud Palace. There were a total of five people waiting for Lei Kongming and Lei Longwei: two of them had a cultivation level of 8th level in the Qi Refining realm, and the other three were at the 7th level of the Qi Refining realm.

Together with them, Lei Kongming and Lei Longwei, a total of seven Lei family members, left towards the Purple Cloud Palace, which is not far from Purple Cloud City.

Near the mountain gate of Purple Cloud Palace, there is a huge crowd of people, with a rough estimate of a few thousand individuals. Lei Kongming leads the Lei family members to find an empty space under a tree and wait for the opening of the selection process.

They didn't have to wait long before noticing a figure walking towards them. At first, Lei Kongming thought the person might be approaching them for trouble, but he soon realized it was Ye QingQing. For some reason, she was dressed completely in black, and even her face was covered.

"Hello, Sister Qing" x6 

Lei Kongming and the other Lei family members greeted her warmly, while Lei Longwei stood there blankly with a stiff smile. Lei Kongming could also understand his feelings. Although Lei Longwei had already guessed that Ye QingQing was now a Foundation Building cultivator, guessing is one thing, and seeing it with your own eyes can be quite different. Lei Longwei probably took a huge blow upon confirming it himself.

"Sister Qing, why are you dressed like this?" asked Lei Kongming, trying to ease the awkward situation between Lei Longwei and Ye QingQing.

"It will attract a lot of trouble if I don't dress like this," Ye QingQing replied, indicating the need for her disguise.

Lei Kongming understood what Ye QingQing was trying to convey. It's normal for beautiful girls to attract attention, but Ye QingQing had a reserved personality and preferred to avoid unnecessary interactions. Moreover, considering that they were in the territory of the Purple Cloud Palace, where people from all backgrounds gathered, it wasn't wise to provoke anyone and cause trouble for her father.

Ye QingQing turned her gaze towards Lei Longwei, her expression conveying a desire to speak privately with him. In response, Lei Longwei stiffly nodded at Ye QingQing and asked Lei Kongming to give them some private space.

Lei Kongming wisely led the other Lei family members away to give Lei Longwei and Ye QingQing some privacy. However, being the good brother that he was, he couldn't resist peeking to see if Lei Longwei was receiving another beating. *cough* *cough* I mean, to witness Lei Longwei's sweet moment.

After walking for some distance, Lei Kongming asked the other Lei family members to continue moving forward and search for a place to stay while he returned to the old location to peek from behind the bushes.

Suddenly, he sensed someone coming towards him, surprisingly it was one of the Lei family members. For some reason, her face looked familiar to him but he couldn't remember her name. He quickly dismissed it because it is normal to have one or two less-known people in the huge Lei family.

"Didn't I ask you to find a place and wait for me there?"

"Brother Kong, I am here to tell you the location where the others are waiting for you," replied the girl in a sweet voice.

Lei Kongming just rolled his eyes and didn't bother to argue. He quietly lay on the ground to peek from behind the bushes, and not surprisingly, the girl also lay beside him to peek and watch the live drama of his good brother.

Lei Kongming could see Lei Longwei and Ye QingQing talking about something. It's mainly Lei Longwei who is trying to talk, while Ye QingQing is just nodding and saying a word or two in between.

Because of the distance, he can't hear what they are saying but can still guess who is talking by looking at their mouth movements.

Ye Qingqing took something out from her spatial ring and was holding it tightly. I don't know why, but she seemed hesitant as she stood there silently.

Suddenly, Ye QingQing took a step towards Lei Longwei while he took a step back.

Ye QingQing once again took a step forward, and Lei Longwei took a step back. This process came to a halt as Lei Longwei was pushed against the tree, and Ye QingQing stood just in front of him.

Surprisingly, Ye QingQing reached out her hand toward the back of Lei Longwei's neck.

Lei Kongming hesitated, wondering whether to stop watching in case he saw any intimate moments between Lei Longwei and Ye QingQing, and became embarrassed to face them in the future. But soon he found that his worry was unnecessary because Ye QingQing was actually putting a pendant around Lei Longwei's neck.

Looking at Lei Longwei closing his eyes and sticking his lips forward, Lei Kongming silently clicked his tongue and thought to himself, 'Brother Long, just sticking your lips out will not work. You have to take the initiative. Brother Long, do it. At most, you will be beaten.'

Lei Kongming noticed the girl beside him munching on a bunch of melon seeds she had produced from somewhere. In a gesture of camaraderie with Lei Longwei, he also requested some seeds and joined her in snacking on them.

By this time, Lei Longwei also realized his situation and silently adjusted his facial expression, thinking, 'Thankfully, that bastard Lei Kongming is not here; otherwise, I would have to dig a hole to bury myself.'