No Choice but to Take a Disciple

Yang Xiao interrupted her abruptly, saying urgently, "Hey, what are you dawdling for? This is such a rare opportunity, and if we can't succeed, what if you can?"

"Learning from Mr. Shen won't interfere with your research; in fact, it might even help you come up with a new research topic."

Upon hearing this, Yang Siqi felt that it made some sense.

She's always been curious about these mysterious things. Take that horse that just fell from the sky in the yard, for example; she still can't figure it out. There's absolutely no scientific basis to it.

If I were to take such a master as my teacher, I could have more contact with him in the future and understand him better.

"Let's give it a try, anyway, I might not even have Spirit Roots." She walked to the table and placed her hand on the Spirit Testing Stone.

In an instant, the stone shone with five-colored light, layer upon layer, dazzlingly bright, making the faces of those around it glow.

This immediately excited everyone at the table.

At first, they thought Shen Jingchuan didn't want to take on any apprentices and was just putting on a show with a rock, but they didn't expect it to actually light up.

Since the Yang Household members can cultivate, it means that, apart from Mr. Shen, people on Earth can also cultivate.

Yang Siqi was also taken aback, and asked softly, "Mr. Shen, is this... alright?"

Shen Jingchuan stared at the five-colored light, his brows twitching slightly.

This light was brighter than the light measured by the other Five Spirit Root in his family, almost matching that of Bai Ruoli, who had Heaven Spirit Root.

He started thinking about it again.

Another beautiful girl. How come I'm so lucky to have so many beautiful women around me?

But this time he had already made up his mind: he would only accept disciples, and there could be no more emotional entanglements.

With his Spirit Root already detected in front of so many people, he couldn't very well deny it anymore.

He remained silent, only looking at Yang Siqi, thinking to himself, "If you don't speak up yourself, then don't blame me."

Yang Xiao wasn't about to let her miss out, so he grabbed Yang Siqi and gently pressed her to the ground.

"Fool, what are you waiting for? Do you expect Mr. Shen to beg you to learn?"

Yang Siqi whispered, "I... I don't know how. How do I become an apprentice?"

"Kneel down and kowtow! You're so stupid! No wonder people say you're a blockhead."

Yang Siqi blushed as she was scolded, and indeed knelt down properly.

This time, Shen Jingchuan did not stop him.

The most important thing about becoming an apprentice is sincerity. If you're not sincere, why would your master teach you their true skills?

Yang Siqi knelt on the ground, still feeling somewhat dazed.

What era are we living in? They still have to kneel and kowtow, performing such old-fashioned rituals. But she knew this was an incredible fortuitous opportunity, and whether the other party would accept it was another matter, so she couldn't afford to be pretentious.

She composed herself and spoke respectfully, "Mr. Shen, I don't understand these rules, but I sincerely wish to become your apprentice."

"Master, your disciple Yang Siqi kowtows to you, begging you to accept me as your disciple and teach me cultivation."

Thinking that she needed to be sincere in her desire to become an apprentice, she gritted her teeth and kowtowed three times firmly on the wooden floor, making a loud thud.

After kowtowing three times, she felt a sudden dizziness, her head spun, and her body swayed.

Fortunately, the floor was made of wood, so it wasn't broken, but a dizzy feeling kept rising up inside me, making me feel lightheaded.

Shen Jingchuan was stunned. He thought to himself that this girl looked quiet but was actually very honest. She had really knocked him unconscious.

He quickly reached out to support her, placing his palm on her wrist and channeling a gentle Spiritual Power to soothe her.

"Alright, I'll accept you as my apprentice. Get up now."

The Spiritual Power flowed into my arm, feeling warm and comforting.

Yang Siqi felt the dizziness in her head dissipate instantly, and she felt inexplicably comfortable all over, her eyes clearing up as well.

She touched her forehead and was surprised to find that it didn't hurt at all. She was speechless with astonishment.

Yang Siqi was an extremely intelligent person. To be able to enter a national-level research institute, her aptitude for both studying and conducting research was exceptionally high, one in a million.

This was the first time she had ever encountered such a scene of kowtowing and becoming a disciple, and she was inevitably at a loss for words.

Shen Jingchuan looked at her, his expression becoming serious.

"Now that the master-disciple relationship has been established, let's officially accept him as our disciple in front of so many people."

"This is my first time taking on a disciple. Since I've accepted you, I have to be responsible for you. Before that, I need to establish a few rules for you."

Upon hearing this, Yang Siqi immediately bowed and knelt down.

She thought to herself that since her master hadn't stopped her from kowtowing earlier, this gesture couldn't be skipped. This time, she didn't kowtow again, but just knelt and listened, which also showed some sincerity.

Shen Jingchuan didn't help her up, he just waved his hand and said, "Listen carefully."

"This first rule is the most important: no betrayal, be honest. I hate being deceived, and I certainly don't want to raise an ungrateful wretch."

"Secondly, you can be slow and your practice can be slow, but you must never be lazy or slack off; you must be diligent."

"Article Three: The indiscriminate killing of innocent people is prohibited. Unless absolutely necessary or under attack, no action may be taken against ordinary citizens."

"These are the three points I can think of right now. There are more later, and I'll tell you about them slowly."

"If you break any of these rules, I'll personally clean house, no matter whose child you are."

He paused, looking at her. "If you want to back out now, it's not too late."

Yang Siqi felt that her master was upright and righteous, and she was confident that she could do all three of those things.

She bowed respectfully and said, "Disciple Yang Siqi will respectfully follow Master's teachings. I can fulfill these three requirements. If I violate them, I will accept any punishment from Master."

She straightened up, then looked up and asked, "Master, do I need to make a vow? How should I make this vow?"

Shen Jingchuan chuckled inwardly; this apprentice was rather naive and honest.

"No need for oaths, just remember what you said today."

"Get up."

He raised his palm slightly, and a surge of Spiritual Power gently supported Yang Siqi, helping her to her feet steadily.

Shen Jingchuan didn't make any preparations today; he simply took out a brocade pouch and handed it to Yang Siqi.

"This is the same jade pendant I just gave your grandfather; it will protect you."

"You haven't cultivated at all yet, and I don't want anything to happen to my disciple. Wear it for now."

"Even if I give you other things now, you won't need them, and you won't be able to hold onto them."

"Starting tomorrow, come to the West Mountain Separate Garden to find me. I will teach you the Cultivation Method. The rest will be given to you tomorrow."

He raised his head again, glanced at everyone, and instructed, "Also, it's best not to let anyone know that I've taken Siqi as my disciple."

"She doesn't have much ability to protect herself right now, so keeping it a secret is for her safety."

Elder Yang nodded and said, "Don't worry, no one will tell anyone. We old folks will take care of Siqi's safety."

As he spoke, he actually bent down and gave a solemn bow.

"Young Friend Shen, thank you so much for accepting my Siqi as your apprentice."

Shen Jingchuan was so startled that he jumped up from his chair and quickly reached out to stop him.

"Oh dear, old man, you mustn't, you mustn't!"

"If you were to actually perform this bow, I'd say it would shorten my lifespan by at least fifty years."

Everyone in the room laughed when they heard that.

After they dispersed, Shen Jingchuan didn't linger. He left the house, mounted Big Black, and rode back to West Mountain Separate Garden.

Yang Siqi stood at the door, staring dumbfounded at her newly accepted apprentice.

Big Black first kicked off with its hind legs and spread its wings. At first, the movements were still visible, but later, only a black shadow remained. In a flash, it disappeared into the night without a trace.