Yue Zifeng
"Greetings, Sect Leader!" Everyone but Xue Bai and Xiao'er shouted before giving a deep, respectful bow at the sight of the man who appeared randomly.
Looking up at the man above, Xue Bai almost instantly recognized him as the strongest man on the Southern Continent, the Soaring Sword Sect's Sect Leader.
Yue Zifeng!
Long obsidian black hair tied into a ponytail held by a golden crown. Piercingly blue eyes that managed to stare into Xue Bai's very soul and the distinct red and blue colored swords strapped onto his back.
Xue Bai couldn't fail to recognize him even if he tried. After all, that man was the reason why Xue Bai chose to join the Soaring Sword Sect.
There were two reasons why Xue Bai wanted to join the Soaring Sword Sect over Wushen Academy, where Huo Long was.
First, Xue Bai was a savant with a sword, and he thought that going to the Soaring Sword Sect was the next natural choice. And second, because of the man floating above them currently.
Yue Zifeng was, like The Great Xuan Empire's Emperor and his parents, an expert in the Xiantian Great Realm.
However, unlike them, he wasn't merely in the Spirit Awakening Realm, but instead the Spirit Severing Realm and the 5th stage at that!
And Xue Bai, wanting a thick thigh to latch onto, planned to become the man's disciple.
So after realizing who the man was, Xue Bai quickly knelt along with the Core Elders while also pulling the still confused Xiao'er down as well.
"And he has great manners, too, boot!" Yue Zifeng laughed, "Xue Bai, you can join my Mountain now. Just earlier, I had accepted another disciple. This year I can finally bring my personal disciple count to 3 now!"
And without waiting for anyone to say anything, Yue Zifeng conjured a large hand of Spiritual Qi and grabbed Xue Bai and Xiao'er before flying off, leaving the Core Elders in a state of confusion and regret.
Xue Bai knew that Yue Zifeng was a man that didn't like pleasantries and anything excessive, so he wasn't very confused at the sudden action of the Sect Leader; however, that couldn't be said for Xiao'er.
"Young Master, is that really the Sect Leader?" Xiao'er asked in a whisper as her skeptical nature kicked in once more.
But this time, instead of Xue Bai answering her doubts, it was Yue Zifeng who answered.
"Hahaha! Little girl, if I wasn't the Sect Leader, who else would be able to make all those old fogeys kneel?" Yue Zifeng answered happily.
Usually, he wouldn't answer a silly question like that, but since the girl seemed to be close to Xue Bai and he was in a very good mood after accepting two extremely talented disciples, Yue Zifeng decided to make an exception and answer it.
"Xiao'er, his portrait is almost everywhere in the Sect and Soaring Sword City. How could I be mistaken?" Xue Bai followed up.
Finding the answer acceptable, Xiao'er didn't ask any more questions and stayed mum, waiting to arrive at wherever Yue Zifeng was going to take them.
Along the way, Yue Zifeng took the moment to tell Xue Bai about how his specific Mountain was laid out.
The Sect Leader's personal Mountain, since he had the least amount of disciples, was the smallest, but since he also needed the most Spiritual Qi and was the head of the Sect, his Mountain was the most prosperous.
And on it were six different Mountain Peaks. One was for Yue Zifeng, while the others were for his personal disciples.
But since most of the Peaks were desolate year-round, they all had very few buildings.
Each Mountain Peak only came prepared with an Alchemy Pavillion that could support even a Low Black Grade Alchemist, a Forge that could also support one, various Medicinal Herb gardens, and various top-tier training grounds that a personal disciple of the Sect Leader deserved.
There were, of course, some Forbidden Grounds on the Sect Leader's Mountain, but Xue Bai didn't plan on going to any of them soon, so he didn't ask any questions about that.
"Sect Leader, I know of your first disciple, but who is the other disciple that you accepted earlier?" Xue Bai asked while he already knew the answer.
"Why are you being so distant, Bai'er? No need for such a detached title. Just call me Master!" Yue Zifeng said with a slight frown as if Xue Bai's words had hurt him.
"Then Master, who is the disciple you accepted earlier?" Xue Bai asked once more.
Accepting Yue Zifeng as his Master was Xue Bai's main goal of joining the Soaring Sword Sect, so Xue Bai had no problem calling the man as such.
"Funny enough, Bai'er, my newest disciple, can't keep herself from talking about you ever since I accepted her. She said that you were the most focused man she had ever met." Yue Zifeng answered with a chuckle, "She said that she tried talking to you for almost 20 minutes before you even acknowledged her presence. And even after that, you still were cold and taciturn toward her."
'The plot hasn't changed, indeed. He still accepted that chatterbox even with my own existence.' Xue Bai mentally thought.
Xue Bai had a feeling that his appearance in the Soaring Sword Sect acceptance ceremony might change the plot by him overshadowing Ye Rou and stealing the spot as Yue Zifeng's second disciple. But thankfully, it didn't, and instead, Yue Zifeng accepted them both.
After all, only children choose. Men just take them all.
"Did she say anything besides that, Master?" Xue Bai asked.
Thinking for a moment, Yue Zifeng eventually shook his head.
"No, but Rou'er did pester me to accept you as her Junior Brother. In her words, 'I want revenge!'" Yue Zifeng answered.
Finding such an action matching the chatterbox's personality, Xue Bai didn't react much to his Master's words.
"Master, why does each Mountain Peak have an Alchemy Pavilion and a Forge?" Xue Bai asked.
"The Forges are there because I myself am a Low Black Grade Blacksmith, and should any of my disciples plan to inherit my mantle, they would have one on their own Peak where they can practice at ease," Yue Zifeng answered, "However, the Alchemy Pavilions were my first disciple, Xiaorou's idea. Like you, she also has a Fire Element Martial Vein, so she decided to pick up Alchemy. And since I built one on her Peak, I decided to do so on all of the other Peaks."
Nodding at the answer, Xue Bai didn't ask any more questions. He already knew almost everything about Yue Zifeng anyway, so asking anymore didn't give him anything.
After the short conversation, the trio continued flying toward Yue Zifeng's Mountain in silence, and before long, they arrived.
Dissipating the large hand of Spiritual Qi, Yue Zifeng let Xue Bai and Xiao'er onto the ground, allowing them to see the scenario of their new home.
And seeing it with his own eyes, Xue Bai was slightly shocked by how serene their Mountain Peak looked.
Flourishing medicinal fields filled with countless high-quality Medicinal Herbs, where if even any were taken out, it could cause bloodshed. Breathtaking waterfalls that fell into a manmade lake of Spiritual Water.
Everywhere Xue Bai looked was something that he and Xiao'er couldn't take their eyes off. Even the courtyards were built to perfection, making his at-home look middle-class at best.
'This is the difference between a Southern Continent force and a Central Continent one.' Xue Bai mused inwardly.
While Li Rou personally led the construction of his Dukedom and was someone who had lived in the Central Continent for most of her youth, she, at the end of the day, couldn't compare to the Soaring Sword Sect.
Whether it was the financial difference or even the experience, Li Rou couldn't even contest the beauty of something made by a force that, even on the Central Continent, was a powerhouse, let alone this backwater Continent.
"Bai'er, choose a courtyard for yourself to settle into, and once you finish, meet me on my mine Peak, and we can officially do the disciple acceptance ceremony. You can also choose a separate courtyard for the little girl with you, as I don't want you to be distracted." Yue Zifeng ordered before disappearing just as mysteriously as he had appeared before.
With a wry smile, Xue Bai went to go choose his own courtyard casually. It didn't really matter which one he would choose as they were all rather basic and had a lot of room for personal modification.
Xiao'er also chose the closest courtyard to Xue Bai. Since she couldn't live in Xue Bai's courtyard, she planned to be right next to him instead.
Xue Bai didn't plan to do much in his courtyard, so after changing into a more formal attire, he left to go and complete the disciple acceptance ceremony Yue Zifeng talked about.
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Sorry for the late upload. I'm not going to lie. I literally just woke up and uploaded it. I stayed up too late playing with friends.
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