The entire venue was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Thousands of eyes were fixed on that corner at the edge of the high platform, fixed on the kneeling pink-haired girl, and the white-robed beauty standing before her, her face full of bewilderment.
Lu Zhu’s mind went blank.
Her mouth fell open, letting out a meaningless “Ah,” and she kept that dazed expression, staring at Su Wantang kneeling before her.
What was going on here?
Did this girl mistake her for someone else?
So many elders had been vying for her just moments ago, offering such generous terms.
Why did she choose me of all people?
Oh no.
I have a feeling I’ve just made enemies of the other elders…
Lu Zhu subconsciously shrank back and whispered, “Um… d-did you get the wrong person? I didn’t say anything…”
Su Wantang lifted her head, her eyes brimming with laughter, her voice crisp and firm: “Disciple has not made a mistake. Disciple came to this ceremony precisely to become the Seventh Elder’s apprentice.”
The crowd stirred again.
“She came for the Seventh Elder?”
“The Seventh Elder is only seventeen. What can she teach?”
“But she’s a Nascent Soul, though! A genius teaching a genius. I guess that makes sense?”
The expressions of the other six elders on the stage were a mix of reactions.
The Great Elder wore an ‘I knew it all along’ look, the Second Elder’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, the Third and Fourth Elders were full of chagrin, the Fifth Elder Yun Qingqian was lost in thought, and the Sixth Elder remained as expressionless as ever.
‘Sixth Elder, are you just permanently stuck with that face?’
Sect Leader Xuan Zhen stroked his beard, a faint, unreadable smile on his lips.
He stepped forward and announced in a clear voice, “The Opening Ceremony today has concluded successfully! Disciples who have joined the Azure Cloud Sect, remember to report to the Side Peak. As for the rest of you fellow cultivators, your efforts are appreciated. You may disperse.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the chatter with an indisputable authority.
The crowd exchanged glances, but since the Sect Leader had spoken, they had to leave.
Still, as they went, they kept looking back, practically wishing they could leave their ears behind to keep eavesdropping on the gossip.
Xuan Zhen turned and signaled the elders with a glance.
“Everyone, follow me to the council chamber.”
With a grand sweep of his sleeve, he was the first to rise on his flying sword.
The other elders followed.
Yun Qingqian pulled a dazed Lu Zhu along onto her own flying sword.
Su Wantang was guided by a disciple, bringing up the rear.
The group soon vanished towards the Main Peak, leaving the square full of onlookers staring at the sky, unwilling to leave.
***
Main Peak of the Azure Cloud Sect, the Council Chamber.
Eight people sat in a circle, with Su Wantang standing in the middle.
The atmosphere was as strange as the calm before a storm.
The elders looked at each other, none willing to speak first.
Lu Zhu huddled next to Yun Qingqian, trying to make herself invisible.
She stole a glance at Su Wantang.
The girl stood there perfectly proper, a fitting smile on her face, neither humble nor arrogant, graceful and composed.
In the end, it was the Second Elder, Xuan Qing, who broke the deadlock.
He cleared his throat, trying to make his perpetually stern face look friendlier.
The effect was limited, though; he just looked like he was struggling not to laugh—when in reality, he was struggling not to swear.
“Miss Su,” he said, keeping his voice gentle for fear of scaring her, “I… have a question I simply cannot figure out.”
Su Wantang bowed slightly.
“Second Elder, please ask. This junior will answer anything I know.”
Xuan Qing chose his words carefully.
“Just now at the ceremony, I and the other elders all offered very generous terms, which you must have heard. I promised to teach you everything I know, the Third Elder offered ancestral arts, the Fourth Elder even produced a magic treasure on the spot…”
He paused, his gaze landing on Lu Zhu, who was shrinking in the corner, and his expression turned strange.
“And the Seventh Elder,” he continued, choosing his words, “she was standing at the back, didn’t even say a single word to you. I’m just curious… why did you choose her of all people?”
Su Wantang’s smile didn’t falter, her eyes clear.
“Before coming up the mountain, this junior had already heard of the Seventh Elder’s reputation. A seventeen-year-old Nascent Soul, the youngest elder in the history of the Azure Cloud Sect, a peerless genius of the Ice Spirit Root. This junior has admired her for a long time. I came here precisely to become the Seventh Elder’s apprentice.”
The answer was a bit far-fetched, but not technically wrong.
But Xuan Qing’s expression grew even stranger.
He was silent for a moment, then spoke cautiously, his tone as gentle as possible.
“I ask this presumptuously… did you choose the Seventh Elder because of her… appearance?”
At these words, the room went silent for a beat.
Lu Zhu’s head snapped up, staring at the Second Elder in shock.
Huh?
What does he mean by that?
The expressions of the other elders also became subtle.
The Third Elder couldn’t help but cough lightly, the Fourth Elder looked down at the floor, and the Sixth Elder, still expressionless, had a twitch in the corner of his eye.
The Fifth Elder, Yun Qingqian, almost laughed out loud but quickly covered her mouth with her sleeve.
The Second Elder looked at Su Wantang.
He had purposely said this.
Most ordinary cultivators, upon hearing such a guess, would show at least some emotional fluctuation.
But Su Wantang’s smile remained like a spring breeze, with no trace of panic or anger.
She met the Second Elder’s eyes, her tone sincere and upright.
“The Second Elder misunderstands. This junior has only pure admiration for the Seventh Elder, nothing improper. I simply admire her talent and cultivation. I wish to follow her in my training, nothing more.”
She spoke frankly and clearly, her eyes pure, without a single impurity.
Xuan Qing was caught off guard, unsure what to say for a moment.
Then he turned his head and cast his gaze towards the culprit curled up in the corner.
That look was like a knife, stabbing straight at her.
Lu Zhu met the Second Elder’s eyes and felt a jolt.
She instinctively started whistling, letting her gaze drift out the window, pretending to admire the view.
The whistling was especially clear in the quiet room.
Yun Qingqian’s shoulders began to shake.
Xuan Qing’s brow furrowed deeply enough to kill a fly.
“Lu Zhu,” he said, his voice returning to its usual severity, even more so. “Come here.”
Lu Zhu pretended not to hear and kept whistling.
“Lu Zhu!”
The whistling stopped abruptly.
Lu Zhu turned her head stiffly, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying.
“Second Senior Brother, you called?”
Xuan Qing took a deep breath and then started lecturing without stopping.
“Look at you, always so lazy and undisciplined! You train sporadically, always running off to the Back Mountain to hang out with those kids! I went to your Quiet Heart Peak and saw it. It’s a mess! An elder of your stature can’t even take care of yourself. How can you teach a disciple? And at the last elder meeting, you were late! And the time before that…”
Lu Zhu’s face fell.
‘Second Senior Brother, saying all this in front of this young lady… don’t I have any face left? And she’s my fan!’
She wanted to argue, but the Second Elder seemed to be… telling the truth?
She could only keep shrinking, letting the words stab her like little knives.
“Junior Brother, that’s enough,” the Great Elder finally couldn’t help but speak.
“Xiao Qi may be playful, but her talent and comprehension are rare, and her cultivation is solid. She shouldn’t have a problem teaching a disciple.”
The Third Elder chimed in, “Exactly! Who wasn’t playful when they were young? Xiao Qi is only seventeen. She’s already doing very well.”
Xuan Qing glared at them, but he didn’t continue.
Su Wantang maintained her smile throughout, seemingly listening intently to the elders’ conversation, nodding in agreement at appropriate times.
But her beautiful eyes never left Lu Zhu.
From her angle, she could see Lu Zhu’s slightly reddened earlobes from embarrassment, the unconscious pursing of her lips, the small gesture of tugging on Yun Qingqian’s sleeve.
Everything about that person captivated her, unable to look away.
Just then, the Sect Leader Xuan Zhen turned around, clapped his hands, and stood up.
He looked around the room with a smile, his gaze pausing on Su Wantang for a moment before falling on Lu Zhu.
“Zhu’er, what do you think?”
Lu Zhu quickly stood up, a bit hesitant.
“Me? I don’t know either…”
When the Second Elder heard that Lu Zhu was actually thinking of giving up, he was just about to push her along when Lu Zhu spoke again:
“All elders, Master. As the Seventh Elder of the Azure Cloud Sect, I should naturally take on the responsibility of training the younger generation. But during our last meeting, Master said that the Variable of this world was about to arrive. At such a critical moment—”
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