“Elder Luo, I have already screened a group of people from the Outer Sect disciples. With some basic training, they should be able to help,” Mu Zixiao said, taking out a prepared study manual from her pocket.
Luo Yin curled his lips with little interest, picking up his pipe again. “Although having help would make things easier, I can’t even be bothered to teach Inner Sect disciples, let alone these mortals who can’t even awaken their Spiritual Roots.”
“They don’t need your guidance right now. Master has given me several puppets. They will help these trainees quickly get started. After learning the basics, they will be divided into groups to begin research. I have already prepared a reasonable schedule. For now, I just hope you can tackle the difficult challenges. You can compile trivial tasks and inform my puppets. Currently, the puppets can act as your assistants, and later they will teach the trainees how to cooperate with you.”
Over the past few days, Luo Yin had certainly learned how useful Mu Zixiao’s puppets were. “Actually, your Weike No. 2 and No. 3 are quite handy. I don’t really need people to help. More people would just mean more chatter and annoyance.”
Mu Zixiao understood Luo Yin’s perspective perfectly. After all, artificial intelligence indeed made fewer mistakes in judgment and operation and avoided unnecessary social interactions. However, “People have more potential. These trainees will need to research and discuss in the future, something that puppet replicas alone cannot achieve.”
Luo Yin looked at Mu Zixiao, who had suddenly turned serious, and raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected this little girl to become so rigid all of a sudden.
Little did he know that as an artificial intelligence engineer, the first lesson Mu Zixiao had learned was ethics. In her era, the ethical boundaries between humans and machines were even more blurred, which only made her more vigilant about not completely replacing humans with machines.
“Alright, alright. I hope those Outer Sect mortals are actually useful.”
Though she didn’t say it out loud, Mu Zixiao was confident. She had gone to the Outer Sect disciples’ Jia Courtyard to screen people after calculations revealed that although these Outer Sect disciples had not passed the cultivation assessments, they possessed intelligence and comprehension far beyond ordinary people. Most of them were simply hindered by issues related to heritage or cultivation difficulties, preventing them from advancing further.
But in terms of learning ability and diligence, they were second to none.
She was fairly confident about this roughly selected group. While they might not be able to handle major responsibilities independently, they were more than capable as assistants. Moreover, they would serve as excellent seeds for promoting seeds and tools in the future.
Luo Yin took a puff of his pipe. “I’ll tidy up and go check on the cultivated spiritual plants. You should hurry to Tianshu Hall. Immortal Venerable Yuan Ze’s communication talisman has been glowing for quite some time.”
Only then did Mu Zixiao notice the token hanging at her waist flickering on and off, wondering why her master was suddenly calling her.
“Then I’ll trouble Elder Luo to take extra care.”
Luo Yin waved his hand impatiently. “I know, I know.”
With that, Mu Zixiao bid farewell and hurried toward Tianshu Hall.
Inside Tianshu Hall, the Sect Leader was complaining to Shi Junxi, saying that Mu Zixiao’s reputation within the sect had become utterly tarnished. Moreover, she had selected eighteen burly men from the Outer Sect disciples’ Jia Courtyard the day before, sparking all sorts of gossip and rumors that even he, the Sect Leader, couldn’t stand to hear.
Everyone was already curious about Mu Zixiao, and after being hidden away on Phoenix Mountain for half a year without making an appearance, all kinds of rumors had spread.
Today is about having a talk, persuading Immortal Venerable Yuan Ze to let her go, allowing her to interact with the inner sect disciples as well.
As they were speaking, they saw a beautiful girl in a white robe, holding a stack of books, rush in with disheveled hair. She suddenly stopped, as if realizing she had been somewhat impolite. She quickly smoothed her hair and bowed respectfully, “Greetings, Master, greetings, Sect Master.”
The Sect Master paused, let out a surprised “huh,” and looked up and down at Mu Zixiao, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time. “Zixiao’s cultivation speed is quite impressive too. In just half a year, she has already reached the Qi Refining Mid-stage, almost on par with the Feng sisters.”
Originally, it was thought that the Five-Colored Mixed Spiritual Root would make cultivation difficult, but now it seems she hasn’t hit a bottleneck yet?
Shi Junxi’s aura shifted slightly, but he said calmly, “What? It’s been half a year already. Why haven’t the Feng family… left the mountain?”
Others might not know, but Mu Zixiao understood that her aloof master had swallowed the word “get out” just in time.
“The Feng family girl is truly a promising talent. She heard the rumors about Zixiao and felt unwilling, so she wanted to wait a while and see.”
“See what?”
“Of course, to see what kind of character Zixiao is and how she attends classes with the inner sect disciples.”