The Seventh Elder had really misjudged Xu Yifan this time.
That bundle was nothing more than a prop he’d carried along the last time he went to town to buy demonic beast meat, just for show. After coming back, he’d tossed it into the bed and never touched it again.
This trip down from the mountain, Xianhao Sect had recruited a total of sixty-three disciples.
In the mortal realm, most people were ordinary mortals without spiritual roots. Cultivators with spiritual roots were more likely to give birth to offspring who also had spiritual roots, though this wasn’t absolute, ordinary mortals could also give birth to children with spiritual roots, just with relatively lower odds.
Across the six continents, there were sixty-three people total who had spiritual roots and had already reached Qi Refining sixth layer. Of course, this didn’t mean all sixty-three would end up as Xianhao Sect disciples going forward. These people had merely met the basic requirements for now, once brought back to the sect, they’d still have to go through a whole series of further selections.
The very best of the first batch could be taken directly as personal disciples by the elders.
The second batch could become ordinary inner disciples.
The third batch would be sent to the outer sect, becoming outer disciples.
The fourth batch would simply be sent back to wherever they came from.
Xu Yifan had no idea how Xianhao Sect actually selected its disciples, and he had no interest in finding out either.
He was already guaranteed a spot regardless.
The return trip was aboard a fifth-grade flying ship, decked out like some wealthy family’s private estate, pavilions, towers, chambers, everything included. In the Southern Region, a fifth-grade flying magic tool was an almost unbelievably rare thing. There were only a handful in total. This flying ship of Xianhao Sect’s was extravagant beyond measure, setting aside the core components crafted from scarce fifth-grade materials, even the ship’s walls were inlaid with gold and jade, carved with dragons and phoenixes, dazzlingly ornate. To maintain appearances and put on a show, Xianhao Sect had clearly spared no expense.
The moment the recruited disciples boarded, they fell into a state of intense excitement, clustering together in little groups, chattering endlessly.
“So this is a fifth-grade flying magic tool? It’s so fast!”
“This is my first time seeing a fifth-grade flying magic tool.”
“It’s not exactly something lying around everywhere, of course it’s everyone’s first time.”
“Even if I don’t manage to get into Xianhao Sect on this trip, just riding a fifth-grade magic tool once is enough for me to brag about for years when I get back. Might even make it easier to find a wife.”
“Right! No regrets in this lifetime.”
Xu Yifan lay sprawled against the ship’s railing, staring at the wings of the flying ship below with an itch in his fingers.
A fifth-grade magic tool was a treasure through and through, if he could sneak off with one of these pieces, he’d really strike it rich.
But this thing apparently belonged to the Sect Master. If he actually stole a piece, he might end up dead before he ever got to use it.
Never mind.
With nothing to do, and the demonic plant off sleeping again, Xu Yifan found himself rather bored. He’d originally thought that once he boarded the ship he’d get to see that pretty boy again, but instead… he hadn’t even caught a whiff of him.
“Senior Martial Brother, that’s the man Sixth Uncle personally brought back.”
Five or six Xianhao Sect disciples clustered around one person, standing at a distance, quietly murmuring as they watched Xu Yifan, no one dared speak too loudly, for fear the Sixth Elder might overhear.
“That’s him?” Gu Qingyun looked over toward Xu Yifan, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Three spiritual roots, Qi Refining sixth layer cultivation.
Higher-level cultivators could easily see through the cultivation of those below them, unless the other party had taken a Spirit-Concealing Pill or used some special method to hide their cultivation level. A few days ago, Gu Qingyun had been ordered to go recruit in the outer continents, and it was then he’d heard that the Sixth Elder had gone strolling through the village and brought someone back, claiming it was the closing disciple he’d taken in.
Among Xianhao Sect’s many elders, only the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder didn’t easily take on disciples, up until now, both of them had empty rosters, never having accepted a single disciple.
Although the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder weren’t as prominent as the other five elders, and the other five elders held greater renown out in the world, everyone within the sect knew that when it came to actual strength, these two were the true powerhouses of Xianhao Sect. Even though the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder were only at early Golden Core, ranking rather low among the elders in that respect, the two of them were exceptional swordsmen, having reputedly cultivated techniques of divine-tier caliber, their actual combat strength on a completely different level that none of the other elders could match.
Because of this, disciples all said the two of them had impossibly high standards, so demanding that ordinary people probably couldn’t even catch their eye. If they ever did take on a disciple, it would surely be someone extraordinary and dazzling. And yet, looking at this now, it seemed… this was all there was to it.
Gu Qingyun was a sword cultivator. When his family had first sent him into the sect, he’d originally wanted to become the Sixth Elder’s disciple, only to be flatly rejected, the Sixth Elder had told him they simply had no master-disciple destiny. He came from a prominent noble family in the Southern Region, possessed single spiritual root aptitude, a true chosen son of heaven in the orthodox sense. His family elders had doted on him since childhood, he’d rarely been denied anything he wanted. Although he was now the Sect Master’s foremost disciple, the top-ranked inner disciple, he had never forgotten the humiliation of that rejection to this day.
Disciples eager to curry favor with him glanced at Xu Yifan and said, “With only three spiritual roots, he’s not even fit to carry your shoes, Senior Martial Brother. No idea what the Sixth Elder could possibly see in him.”
“Maybe he’s after all that fat on his body.”
“Hahaha, that actually makes sense.”
“What sense does that make? It’s not like we’re raising pigs, more meat isn’t automatically better.”
“True, looking him over, the only thing worth anything on him is that face.”
The group seemed to assume Xu Yifan’s low cultivation meant he couldn’t hear them, speaking without a shred of restraint.
Xu Yifan: “…”
Xu Yifan felt rather gloomy about it. He hadn’t even entered the sect yet, and he was already getting excluded?
Xu Yifan lazily raised an eyebrow, watching them with an expression somewhere between amusement and mockery.
He had a pair of round, almond-shaped eyes that usually looked dopey and harmless, but when he tilted his head slightly to look at someone, a sharp edge crept in, and at this moment his gaze felt almost tangible, radiating an intensely oppressive sense of threat.
Under his stare, the disciples gradually fell silent.
It was only when they met Xu Yifan’s gaze that they suddenly remembered—Xu Yifan was the Sixth Elder’s first disciple, not someone they could mock casually.
“Why’d you all stop talking?” Xu Yifan walked over, leaning lazily against the ship’s railing. “Weren’t you just going at it so enthusiastically?”
“…”
Gu Qingyun smiled, showing not a shred of embarrassment at being caught bad-mouthing someone. He even walked a few steps closer to Xu Yifan and said gently once he was near, “May I ask how to address you, Junior Martial Brother?”
Xu Yifan looked up carelessly. “No way! You’ve all been pointing and gossiping about me for ages, yet you don’t even know my name? That can’t be right, oh, I get it, you were just making small talk for the sake of it, weren’t you?”
Gu Qingyun: “…”
“Don’t even know your own damn father’s name, and you’ll go on chattering for half a day, kind of unprofessional, don’t you think?” Xu Yifan said.
Gu Qingyun’s face darkened for an instant, but out of consideration for the other man’s status, he suppressed his anger and said, “The other junior martial brothers were only joking just now. Please don’t take it to heart, Junior Martial Brother.”
“Oh! So it was just a joke!” Xu Yifan’s gaze swept over each of them in turn, saying carelessly, “You senior martial brothers really do have too much free time. All in your twenties or thirties, and only at mid-Foundation Establishment, so useless, and yet you’ve got time to stand around joking. Wouldn’t your time be better spent cultivating seriously? After all, with poor spiritual roots and mediocre comprehension to begin with, if you don’t hurry up, Golden Core might be hopeless for you your whole life!”
“…”
The disciples’ faces all turned livid.
They thought, you’re the one with three spiritual roots and Qi Refining sixth layer, what right do you have to talk like that? But out of deference and fear toward the Sixth Elder, none of them dared to talk back.
Gu Qingyun’s expression had darkened severely. He’d already given face, never expecting Xu Yifan would refuse to appreciate the courtesy shown to him [1]給臉不要臉, literally “given face but won’t take the face,” meaning someone doesn’t appreciate kindness shown to them and pushes back rudely instead jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015879_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015879_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. When had he ever suffered such humiliation before?
The others worried he might lose control and start a fight, which would be hard to explain to the Sixth Elder afterward.
“Senior Martial Brother, weren’t you saying you wanted to go find Junior Martial Brother Xian? Let’s head over quickly!”
Xu Yifan’s ears perked up.
Junior Martial Brother Xian?
Xian Qinglin?
Was that the pretty little beauty?
Xu Yifan felt like his heart had developed some kind of condition, the moment he thought of that pretty little beauty, his heart kept racing erratically.
Seeing Gu Qingyun and the others leave, he secretly trailed far behind their group, as if he were just wandering about casually.
Xian Qinglin had just finished his tasks and was on his way back when Gu Qingyun blocked his path.
“Senior Martial Brother Gu.” Xian Qinglin cupped his hands in greeting.
“Keeping busy, Junior Martial Brother Xian?” Gu Qingyun smiled, the very picture of a gentle, jade-like gentleman.
“I…” Xian Qinglin suddenly caught sight of the figure in the distance out of the corner of his eye, and his expression paused involuntarily.
Gu Qingyun asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xian Qinglin drew his gaze back and smiled. “Nothing.” He changed the subject. “Senior Martial Brother, did you come looking for me?”
“Yes! I’ve been tied up these past few days with recruitment and investigating what happened to Junior Martial Brother Ma. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen you, so with some free time today, I thought I’d come check on you.” Gu Qingyun said.
Xian Qinglin smiled. “I appreciate Senior Martial Brother’s concern.”
His tone carried a hint of distance, and Gu Qingyun couldn’t help but frown slightly. His back was to Xu Yifan, so Xu Yifan couldn’t see his expression clearly, the ship had restrictive barriers in place, so he didn’t dare release his spiritual sense, and being too far away besides, Xu Yifan couldn’t make out what they were saying. But from the scene, they seemed to be well-acquainted, exchanging pleasant smiles, appearing to get along quite well.
Birds of a feather flock together [2]a set phrase for people naturally gravitating toward others similar to them jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015879_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015879_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
This pretty little beauty…
Forget it.
Xu Yifan pursed his lips and turned to leave.
Xian Qinglin stared after his retreating figure for a moment, and only once that shape had vanished around the corner did he ask, seemingly offhand, “Senior Martial Brother, who was that just now?”
“Hm?” Gu Qingyun’s back was to Xu Yifan, so he hadn’t noticed Xu Yifan following along.
One of the disciples reminded him, and only then did he say, “That’s the disciple the Sixth Elder personally took in, his name is Xu Yifan.”
Xian Qinglin’s expression showed surprise.
He hadn’t had any acquaintances traveling with him on this trip, and being busy these past few days besides, he hadn’t heard the news well, he still hadn’t known about the Sixth Elder taking on a disciple.
“Where’s he from? Xiaolin Village?”
He didn’t know why he’d felt the need to ask, nor why, in the brief moment while waiting for an answer, there had been a flicker of secret anticipation. Once he caught himself, he felt oddly self-mocking about it.
Gu Qingyun didn’t think much of it, assuming he was merely curious.
“He’s from Xiaolin Village.”
“Oh!”
“Just three spiritual roots,” a disciple nearby said with a look of disdain, “no idea what the Sixth Elder could possibly see in him.”
Xian Qinglin smiled. “The Sixth Elder has never taken on a disciple before. If he’s taken a liking to this one now, there must be a reason.”
Over the following days, whenever Xian Qinglin finished his tasks and had some free time, he no longer rushed off to cultivate as he usually did, instead often wandering the ship idly. Unfortunately, he never once ran into Xu Yifan again.
What was Xu Yifan so busy with?
Sleeping, of course.
He lay flat on his back, hands resting on his soft belly, neither eating nor drinking, sleeping straight through for two whole days, it scared the Sixth Elder half to death. At one point he’d even checked whether Xu Yifan was still breathing.
“How can this chubby boy sleep this much!” The Sixth Elder sat at his bedside, muttering quietly to himself.
The Seventh Elder had had enough of him too, saying, “Stop calling him chubby this and chubby that all the time.”
“Well, he really is chubby.” the Sixth Elder said, poking at the little dimples of fat on the back of Xu Yifan’s hand.
The Seventh Elder sighed heavily. “You’re chubby too! Do you enjoy it when people call you fat?”
“…” the Sixth Elder felt put out. “But I’m not like him! He’s only Qi Refining sixth layer and doesn’t even think about cultivating, just sleeps like a log all day.”
“After absorbing the guiding energy, resting for about half an hour is usually plenty. Look at him, just like a pig. Oh, wait, that’s not fair, even pigs don’t sleep this much. My disciple’s got them beat.” He looked rather pleased with himself, as if being better than a pig were something particularly impressive. The Seventh Elder found it a little funny, and also somewhat exasperated. “Sleeping this much must mean he’s blessed. Let him sleep while he can, once he’s at the sect, it’ll be hard for him to sleep like this again.”
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