Ling Xue was finally being put to use, but he still lacked a teaching staff.
As for Jiang Yue, her abilities and teaching methods were top-tier, but she didn’t like showing her face in front of strangers.
Even back then, she had taught from behind a curtain.
While Ling Huan wanted to do it himself, he struggled even with basic literacy, let alone teaching others.
Hiring a teacher for reading and writing wasn’t difficult, but what about cultivation?
He had just started himself, so he didn’t want to lead the younger generation astray.
However, he shouldn’t jump the gun.
Since these children were still young, it was better to start by teaching them how to read and write.
Only by knowing how to read could they have the means to understand the world.
With that thought, Ling Huan pushed open Ling Xue’s door.
He might as well take her to see the children’s aptitudes first.
To his surprise, Ling Xue was sitting upright at the round table, holding a brush and looking down as she wrote on a sheet of white paper.
She sat straight, her shoulders and back perfectly aligned.
Her brushstrokes were powerful yet elegant, the handwriting neat and sharp without a hint of messiness or sloppiness on the paper.
At this moment, she had the gentle aura of a young lady from a prestigious family — as long as she didn’t open her mouth.
“Oh ~ Master Ling, I’ve been waiting for you ~” Ling Xue’s voice was soft and sweet, as if it had been soaked in honey.
She drew out her words with a seductive lilt.
“You finally remembered me today? Do you plan to compensate me? Are you going to ravish me properly? Although that kick last time wasn’t bad, knocking me out made it a bit unsatisfying.”
‘It’s a pity she isn’t a mute.’
Ling Huan ignored her flirting, sat across from her, and asked, “What are you writing?”
“A periodic report…” Ling Xue’s voice trailed off softly.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, her seductive air instantly collapsed.
She was suddenly filled with exhaustion, looking like a withered flower.
“I just don’t get it. This Sect does nothing but evil deeds and shady business. What’s the point of writing these things? It’s purely to torment those of us doing the actual work. Those people don’t have to do a damn thing and use their asses for brains. Just to make themselves feel necessary, they dream up this crap.”
“Periodic report? Speaking of which, you came here with a mission. Is it just to scout for mines?”
“I also have to stay undercover here and wait for messages from the Sect to provide support at any time. It’s incredibly boring.”
“What happens if you don’t write it?”
“What else could happen? According to the Sect’s rules, it’s treated as treason.”
Ling Xue curled her lip, her brush tip pausing heavily on the paper and leaving a small ink blot.
Her voice dropped, carrying a hint of displeasure.
“If you fail to submit it more than three times, the Sect will send someone down to investigate — and if they find a ‘problem,’ they can execute you first and report later. As for whether there’s a problem, isn’t that just based on the inspector’s mood? Once they open their mouths, you couldn’t clear your name even if you jumped into the Yellow River. Inefficiency or poor performance can lead to anything from docked spirit stones to immediate death.”
‘Good grief, this is probably what a black-hearted enterprise from another world looks like.’
Ling Huan remained silent as Ling Xue finished her “periodic report.”
Soon, with a final stroke of the brush, she was done.
She stood up, pushed open the window, and let out a clear, melodious whistle.
A gray shadow streaked past the window in response.
A bird resembling an eagle, covered in dark gray feathers, flapped its strong wings and landed steadily on the windowsill.
Ling Xue’s fingers nimbly folded the paper into a tight roll and quickly bound it with a thin string to a bronze ring on the bird’s leg.
The bird seemed to understand human nature, crouching submissively until she patted its wings.
It then took flight, disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
“It’s done.”
Ling Xue’s voice sounded somewhat relieved.
“By the way, Master, why did you come to see me?”
“Can’t you see people’s aptitudes? I think I’ve found a few good prospects among the group of kids I play with. I want you to help me see if they have the potential for cultivation.”
Hearing this, Ling Xue was stunned.
A flash of surprise crossed her eyes before she broke into a radiant smile.
The corners of her eyes tilted up slightly with an irrepressible charm.
“Then I must agree. Anyone who catches your eye, Master, certainly won’t be half bad.”
She agreed decisively.
Just as she finished speaking and before her smile could fade, a heavy slap landed on her lower back.
“Good! Consider this an advance payment.”
Ling Huan spoke matter-of-factly, as if he had done something perfectly normal.
“Once the task is done tonight, I’ll give you a proper reward.”
The slap was crisp and solid.
Ling Xue’s body jerked, then she went limp as if she had no bones, her shoulders trembling slightly.
A soft, trilling moan escaped her throat, tender and sweet.
A tingling sensation raced up her spine to the top of her head like a fine electrical current coursing through her muscles.
Her vision blurred slightly, and her cheeks flushed crimson instantly, even her ears turning hot.
Seeing how much she enjoyed just a small hit from him, Ling Huan wondered if she was more suited for Overwhelming Strength than he was.
Ignoring this masochist, Ling Huan set out immediately to gather the group of children who usually followed him and brought them to the Ling Manor.
About the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, the sound of light footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
Ling Huan pushed the door open, followed by seven or eight older children.
The youngest appeared to be only seven or eight, while the oldest was just over ten.
This group of children was unusually well-behaved, lacking the usual rowdiness and clamor of children.
Each one gripped the hem of their clothes, following closely behind Ling Huan with extremely light steps.
Their small faces were tense, and their eyes held a mix of timidness and solemnity.
They were so nervous they even lightened their breathing.
When they caught sight of Ling Xue sitting by the window in the courtyard, their bodies stiffened.
Their shy gazes quickly swept over her beautiful face before they hurriedly looked down, their ears turning red.
Their tension increased even more.
In the crowd, only Yan Qing was an exception.
When he saw Ling Xue, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
His eyes didn’t show the cowardice of his peers; instead, they held a faint, subtle scrutiny.
He quickly regained his composure and stood there with downcast eyes, appearing much more stable than the other children.
“Come here, don’t be afraid!”
Ling Huan turned around and patted his chest, his voice loud and enthusiastic like a true king of the kids.
“Let me introduce you. This is the Immortal Sister I told you about! She can see aptitudes and measure spirit roots. As long as you have talent, I’ll arrange everything for you immediately. In the future, every one of you will be a hot commodity for the great Sects!”
While Ling Huan was busy making grand promises, a faint purple glow flickered across Ling Xue’s eyes.
As the light flowed, the aptitude of each child before her transformed into clouds of colored mist.
She hadn’t held any expectations.
After all, in this desolate backwater, it would be lucky to find even one child with ordinary aptitude.
Even in the talent-filled Central Province, the number of people she had seen with outstanding aptitude was few and far between.
Most people’s auras were only thin pale white, dull light green, or lusterless dark tones.
Let alone the purple that symbolized a hero among men, even the blue of a promising future was rare, to say nothing of the golden light representing a favored child of heaven.
But in the next second, as if the Heavens couldn’t stand her attitude, the sight nearly blinded her!
She… was dazzled.
Every single one of those seemingly ordinary children had an aura bursting with dazzling radiance!
The deep purple was like the night sky, and the brilliant gold was like the scorching sun.
The two extreme colors intertwined, making her mind shake with shock!
Among them, there were actually three children emitting a golden light!
In normal terms, a blue aura was enough to prove someone had a promising future and was worth focusing on.
Purple was a one-in-ten-thousand heroic talent that would surely secure a place in the cultivation world.
And gold?
That was a once-in-a-millennium genius, born with the Great Dao’s luck, a treasure that every top Sect would fight to the death to claim!
Now, in this godforsaken backwater, seven or eight such heaven-defying geniuses had suddenly appeared?
Stormy waves surged in Ling Xue’s heart.
She blinked in disbelief, then looked again.
The brilliant light remained dazzling; it was definitely not a hallucination.
She looked at Ling Huan with even more disbelief.
If all these children were found by him… then just how heaven-defying was her Master’s luck?