Liu Hanyan glanced at Xiao Yifeng without a change in expression, her heart stirred. Here it comes, I've been waiting for this.
But to avoid making it too obvious, I still need to decline a bit, then reluctantly accept. That way, it'll be seamless.
Otherwise, if rumors start flying that I'm involved with this kid, where would my dignity go?
Liu Hanyan said calmly, "My sect has always accepted only female disciples. When have we ever taken in a male disciple?"
Su Qianyi was about to say something more when Guangwei Daoist, seeing everyone hesitating, said sternly:
"Junior Brother Qianyi, stop being unreasonable. We all follow the True Martial ranking. Your Boundless Hall ranks lower in the True Martial order, so what more is there to say!"
Liu Hanyan was surprised to see Guangwei Daoist stepping in unexpectedly.
Su Qianyi, hit where it hurt, flushed with anger and said, "Anyway, I won't take him. What about you, Brother Guangwei?"
He stared at Guangwei Daoist, ready to fight at the slightest disagreement.
The Heaven-Inquiry Sect holds a Martial Arts Competition among disciples every ten years.
Based on the time spent cultivating, it's divided into the Battle of Heroes for those under a hundred years and the Battle of Geniuses for those between a hundred and three hundred years.
Then, according to the rankings of each hall's disciples in the competition, the order for selecting new disciples for the next ten years is determined, with the winners choosing first.
Boundless Hall has been last every year, so they always end up with the leftovers.
In the past, it was still manageable, with some disciples joining, even if they were the leftovers.
Now, there are fewer disciples each year, almost all taken by other halls.
Boundless Hall hasn't had new disciples for several years.
Plus, the quality of disciples is lacking, creating a vicious cycle, making it increasingly difficult for Boundless Hall to recover.
This year, they finally had a leftover to choose from, but it turned out to be a D bottom disciple, no wonder Su Qianyi was so angry.
Master Guangling, seeing the two about to fight, sighed and said, "Junior Brother Qianyi, Junior Brother Guangwei, don't get angry. Both of you are enlightened masters, what's the point of arguing!"
Liu Hanyan quickly said, "There's no need for you two to argue. Since this matter started because of me, why don't I take him under my wing?"
Guangwei Daoist coldly replied, "Sister Guanghan, your hall has always been for females. How can you make an exception for this? Some people just can't accept losing! It's disgraceful!"
Master Guangling smiled wryly and said, "Junior Brother Guangwei is right. We all follow the True Martial ranking for accepting disciples. Without rules, there's no order. One must accept the outcome of a bet.
If anyone is dissatisfied, they can compete again in the next True Martial ranking."
The other masters, seeing the sect leader Master Guangling and the enforcer Guangwei Daoist siding together, naturally persuaded Su Qianyi.
They said things like, "Look, Sister Guanghan only accepts females, and she can accommodate him. What's your issue?
Having one more person just means one more mouth to feed. What's the big deal?"
Su Qianyi, flushed with anger, said, "Fine, fine, we'll see the real outcome in the next True Martial ranking." With that, he turned into a streak of red light and flew off in a huff.
Master Guangling sighed slightly, and the other hall masters exchanged glances.
Liu Hanyan was speechless. Things seemed to have gone out of control, but it looked like Xiao Yifeng successfully joined the sect?
Kid, I've done my best, but fate has other plans. If Boundless Hall insists on taking you, there's nothing I can do.
Guangwei Daoist instructed the disciple who had been standing behind Su Qianyi, "Xiang Tiange, aren't you going to take your junior brother back?"
The disciple, burly and honest-looking, felt sorry seeing Xiao Yifeng standing alone in the arena.
He weighed it in his mind and then descended from the platform, saying to Xiao Yifeng, "Come with me, junior brother."
Xiao Yifeng, unaware of the disputes on the platform, was already deeply disappointed, but unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better, and he was overjoyed.
He nodded at the familiar senior brother Xiang Tiange and followed him to the side.
Off to the side, Ye Jiusi finally relaxed.
On the platform, Master Guangling said a few encouraging words, urging all disciples to cultivate diligently, before allowing the disciples to take the new recruits back to their respective halls.
Xiang Tiange took Xiao Yifeng and flew through the air, overlooking the beautiful scenery of the Heaven-Inquiry Sect, which was breathtaking.
Xiang Tiange looked at the person who might become his junior brother, not as impatient as his master Su Qianyi.
He was honest by nature, disliked conflict, and was straightforward, so he was quite kind to Xiao Yifeng.
Xiao Yifeng, however, understood Su Qianyi's perspective. With his own qualifications, no one would want to take him in.
If not for a twist of fate, with his talent, he would never reach the cultivation level of his past life.
Xiang Tiange knew that Xiao Yifeng, unlike those children who came up the mountain voluntarily, was forced by circumstances after losing his family.
He felt sorry for Xiao Yifeng's plight and was pained to see him standing alone in the arena earlier.
Xiang Tiange patted Xiao Yifeng's head gently and said softly, "Your name is Xiao Yifeng, right? I'm Xiang Tiange. You can call me Brother Xiang. From now on, we're family."
Xiao Yifeng couldn't help but recall how good Xiang Tiange was to him in his past life, even though he wasn't used to being patted on the head.
He nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, Brother Xiang!"
Xiang Tiange smiled and nodded, "Good, Xiao Feng. Let me explain our sect and hall's situation to you, so you can get familiar with our sect!"
"Thank you, Brother Xiang," Xiao Yifeng nodded.
"We're family, no need to be formal. Later, I'll take you to meet our Boundless Hall's head, who is also my master. Everyone is waiting for us at the main hall," Xiang Tiange said with a smile.
Xiao Yifeng nodded, and as Xiang Tiange flew over the peaks of the Heaven-Inquiry Sect, he introduced Boundless Hall and the sect's overview.
Although Xiao Yifeng already knew these things, he listened intently, experiencing it anew.
The Heaven-Inquiry Sect is a major sect of the Righteous Path, alongside the Mysterious Moon Palace and the Formless Monastery, forming the three major forces of immortal cultivation.
On the surface, it has nine hall masters at the Great Ascension stage, with numerous disciples.
The Heaven-Inquiry Sect initially had five halls, later merging with other forces to form the nine halls.
The original five halls are the main lineage, usually referred to by their Daoist titles, like Guangwei, Guangling, and Guangyang.
The merged forces are branches, with varied Daoist titles.
Although Su Qianyi doesn't use a Daoist title, he is also part of the main lineage.
As for why he doesn't use a Daoist title, it's because he dislikes his own title—Guangpu.
Each of the nine halls of the Heaven-Inquiry Sect could be a major sect on its own, let alone when combined.
The Heaven-Inquiry Sect now has a faint tendency to lead the Righteous Path.
The sect covers a vast area, spanning tens of thousands of acres, with each hall having its own main peak, each with its own characteristics.
The main hall among the sect's halls isn't fixed. Generally, the strongest hall becomes the main hall.
The True Martial Competition is a measure of the strength of each peak, and although Boundless Hall has been at the bottom for years, it wasn't always so.
Boundless Hall was once the main hall of the Heaven-Inquiry Sect, but due to various reasons, it fell from grace.
Now that Xiao Yifeng has joined the Heaven-Inquiry Sect, there are two possibilities: either he becomes Su Qianyi's direct disciple, but given Su Qianyi's current attitude, that's unlikely.
It's more likely that a disciple under Su Qianyi will take him as a disciple.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled, not knowing the twists and turns on the platform, and thought Liu Hanyan broke her promise.
Liu Hanyan, you treacherous woman! I'll remember this!
From a direct disciple to a second-generation disciple, what a loss!
"Xiao Feng, are you wondering if you can become a direct disciple? Don't worry, even if Master doesn't take you as a disciple, I'll take you as mine."
"With me around, no one in Boundless Hall will bully you," Xiang Tiange said to Xiao Yifeng with a smile.
"Thank you, Brother Xiang!" Xiao Yifeng was deeply moved by his words.
"Although we have few people in Boundless Hall, the bond between us brothers is strong, and everyone is very nice. Treat it like your own home!"
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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan