Zhu Xingyao’s long lashes lowered, his tone revealing a hint of hurt. “Does Master find your disciple too stupid, unable to do anything well?”
Shen Xiuyun really wanted to say… you hit the nail on the head.
But to avoid crushing the youth’s confidence, he could only go against his conscience and tell Zhu Xingyao that he was doing great. “You’ve been learning well in your daily lessons. There’s no need to rush.”
The things he taught were absorbed well enough, but the moment Zhu Xingyao tried to practice secretly on his own, disaster was sure to follow.
Zhu Xingyao said stubbornly, “It’s not enough. If I can’t form my core and grow stronger sooner, I can’t make Master happy. If Master isn’t happy, he’ll discard your disciple.”
Shen Xiuyun was startled. “Nonsense. Why would you think that?”
When had he ever given Zhu Xingyao that kind of pressure?
Zhu Xingyao’s expression was one of “surprise” too, as if astonished that Master didn’t actually think that way.
He stammered out the words he had always been reluctant to voice from the bottom of his heart:
“Master previously told your disciple to eat less grains… wasn’t that a hint for your disciple to form a core and achieve inedia as soon as possible?
Otherwise, why would you suddenly remind your disciple that day?
Your disciple knows that his spiritual roots were severed before, which delayed a lot of cultivation time, so that even after four years in the sect, he’s still at the Foundation Establishment stage, subjecting Master to quite a bit of criticism from others.”
“Your master didn’t mean that.” Shen Xiuyun regretted it so much his intestines were turning green.
He had only wanted to let Zhu Xingyao develop normally, but forgot that this youth was meticulous, sensitive, fragile, and prone to overthinking.
Shen Xiuyun patted the youth’s head and said earnestly:
“A-Yao, although your master has expectations for you, he would never abandon you just because those expectations aren’t met. You can rest assured on that count.”
“Even if you stay at Foundation Establishment your whole life, your master won’t despise you.”
After saying that, Shen Xiuyun hurriedly asked the System in his mind: 『If I raise the male lead into a failure, will there be any problems?』
The System hemmed and hawed: 『Well… Host, with the male lead’s talent, if you teach him seriously, it’s absolutely impossible for him to turn out ruined.』
Shen Xiuyun: 『What if?』
The System said with certainty: 『There’s no “what if.”』 The protagonist must be strong.
Zhu Xingyao, who had heard Shen Xiuyun’s words, suddenly threw his arms around Shen Xiuyun’s waist, burying his entire face in his chest.
“Master!”
Did Master even know what he was saying?
In this world, how many people could guarantee that no matter what happened, they would never abandon another person?
Even between dao companions, it would likely be difficult to achieve this.
Master actually cared about him a lot in his heart, didn’t he?
Then why did he never say he liked him?
Was it because of their status as master and disciple?
Or was it because he cultivated the Dao of Emotionlessness… liking someone without even realizing it?
Shen Xiuyun’s chest felt a little ticklish from the fluffy head nuzzling against him, and an indescribable tingling sensation rose in his heart.
He scolded in a low voice, “What kind of behavior is this, hugging and clinging? Let go at once.”
Yet his tone lacked any real forcefulness. It sounded like feigned reproach, carrying a hint of indulgent doting.
“Your disciple overstepped. Master, don’t be angry with me.”
Zhu Xingyao reluctantly released Shen Xiuyun’s waist.
Master’s waist was still as slim as ever.
Back when Master sat astride his waist, he could grip it with one hand.
Recalling those scenes, Zhu Xingyao’s throat suddenly went dry, so much so that his voice grew a little hoarse.
“Master.”
“Mm?”
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“Your disciple just wanted to call out to Master.” Only this could temporarily slow the wildly spreading thoughts in his heart.
Shen Xiuyun feigned anger. “Ridiculous.”
In the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed, and it was once again the end of the year… the time when disciples of every peak scrambled to hit their year-end KPIs.
Every year at year’s end, the Xuantian Sect held an underground demon realm trial within the sect.
By hunting demonic beasts in the secret realm, disciples improved their combat abilities. The top ten outstanding disciples could receive various generous rewards.
At the same time, the performance of each peak’s disciples was directly tied to the cultivation resources the sect master would allocate to that peak the following year.
So now, all the Masters of the Xuantian Sect were putting their disciples through crash training… how to use techniques to “score points” in the secret realm, how to fight for outstanding results, and bring glory and honor to their own peak.
Shen Xiuyun felt this had the distinct flavor of cramming for modern exams.
Good thing he only had one disciple. Good thing his disciple wasn’t participating.
Zhu Xingyao wasn’t just sitting out this year… he hadn’t gone down into the demon realm for trials in four consecutive years.