Formal Disciple

"Immortal Master Gu, you're flattering me too much. What have I done to deserve this..." You Su hurriedly declined.

"Hey! Don't belittle yourself. Besides, if you refuse my kindness and go around telling everyone about this when you attain the Great Dao in the future, wouldn't that make me, Gu Yao, lose all face?" Gu Yao interrupted him, casually pushing the brocade box forward as he spoke.

"You don't need to refuse again. This thing is of little use to me, but in your hands, it can be put to full use."

Although Gu Yao's tone was joking, You Su did not take it seriously. No matter how useless money was to a rich man, there was no reason for him to give it to a poor man for nothing.

"Immortal Master, you give me too much credit. The Great Dao is still far beyond my reach. Even if I were truly lucky enough to attain it, I would never presume to discuss you. I simply don't understand what you mean."

Gu Yao's attitude made it clear to You Su that this was not merely a thank-you gift for forcing Gu Yao to help him that day. It was also Gu Yao's investment in his future. To keep refusing now would mean rejecting not only a precious gift, but also the goodwill of this Immortal Master from the divine mountain. If that were not the case, who would go out of his way to send a junior such an obviously handpicked gift?

Seeing that You Su seemed inclined to accept the gift, Gu Yao opened the brocade box. Inside lay a milky-white stone. Only upon close inspection did one realize that the stone was actually transparent. The milky-white substance within it churned and flowed as if it were a fetus being nurtured.

Gu Yao pushed the brocade box toward You Su's hand again and said, "Hold it, then release your perception and try sensing your surroundings."

You Su hesitated, but still took out the stone and placed it in his palm, releasing his perception as Gu Yao had instructed.

The milky-white stone in his hand seemed to sense it as well. The substance inside, resembling both liquid and gas, seeped out of the stone and merged into You Su's palm.

You Su's perception had been perfectly normal, and he had not understood Gu Yao's intentions. Suddenly, however, he discovered that the world within his Sea of Consciousness had become far clearer.

Using the concepts of his previous life, You Su's perception allowed him to sketch the shapes of the things around him within his Sea of Consciousness. But the perception of the Spirit Platform Realm was limited. Unless he deliberately focused his mind on a particular spot, it was much like having four- or five-hundred-degree myopia. Only by narrowing his eyes could he make the world before him a little clearer.

This milky-white stone was like a pair of glasses with an imperfect prescription. It changed his four- or five-hundred-degree myopia to three hundred degrees. With his perception released casually, the details of the world became considerably richer than before.

For a blind man like You Su, this was no small help, whether in battle or in daily life.

You Su hurriedly put the stone back where it had been and exclaimed, "This gift is too precious, Immortal Master Gu. I would be ashamed to accept it."

Gu Yao feigned anger. "If you don't accept it, does that mean you look down on it?"

Seeing that You Su was about to argue again, Gu Yao softened his tone.

"This object is called the White Stone Bead. It was made from an extremely rare mineral known as white stone, and people from the divine mountain mostly use it to nurture their Spiritual Sense. But once one reaches a slightly higher realm, its assistance to the Spiritual Sense becomes less obvious, so it is often passed down to juniors or sold. I have no disciples, and I'm not short of money. Giving it to you is just right, and it saves me from carrying around a stone that rubs me raw every day."

Gu Yao wore an open, hearty smile, and every word came from the heart. Even without knowing of the Lotus Sword Venerable's special attention to this youth, the boy's performance all along was enough to make him value him.

You Su was silent for a moment. The desire to form ties with him was plain in Gu Yao's words, and he had no reason to refuse. He thus said solemnly, "It would be rude to refuse your kindness. You Su will accept it with some shame. If Immortal Master Gu ever needs anything in the future, I will do everything in my power to help."

"You have extraordinary talent. We'll have many chances to meet in the future." Gu Yao shook out his sleeves and sat up straight. "All right, let's get down to business. Tell me about your sect."

You Su kept it brief, leaving out all the matters concerning yin-yang dual cultivation. He spoke only of the inheritance of the Mandarin Duck Sword, and mentioned his junior sister and Mistress in passing.

"What is your master's name? Does he have a title?"

"He has no title. My master's name is Guan Chujun."

"Guan Chujun..." Gu Yao repeated the name thoughtfully, but found no information about it in his memory. "I've never heard of him."

The most memorable famous cultivator with the surname Guan that he knew was the woman he had seen a hundred years ago, back when he was still an Outer Disciple of the Xuanxiao Sect. She had split open the divine mountain with her fists and fought all the way to the Immortal Ancestor Pagoda. But she had been a Fist Cultivator, while You Su belonged to a sword sect. How could the two possibly be connected?

"It's only natural that you haven't heard of him, Immortal Master. My master is no great figure, and his cultivation is only at the Water Condensing Lower Realm."

"Water Condensing Lower Realm?" Gu Yao was clearly surprised. This cultivation was far lower than he had expected—at least, it did not seem like the cultivation of someone capable of teaching a disciple like You Su. He did not know that most of You Su's abilities had been comprehended by You Su himself.

"Although my master's realm isn't high, he's very formidable in a fight. Even Sect Master Qi of the Sky Guard Sect was defeated by him." You Su did not want anyone to look down on his master.

"Sword Cultivators focus on battle. Your master's ability to defeat Sect Master Qi, a Water Condensing Upper Realm cultivator, is enough to prove his extraordinary nature. His travels will surely take him to an even higher level." Gu Yao praised him sincerely. Qi Daodong's aura was rich and vigorous, and he was considered an expert even among Water Condensing Upper Realm cultivators. He was absolutely not someone a Water Condensing Lower Realm cultivator could casually overturn.

"I'll take Immortal Master Gu's auspicious words."

Gu Yao nodded, then said with feigned regret, "Your Mandarin Sword Sect Master's strength does meet the standard for an affiliated sect. It's only that everything else falls far short. Though I greatly admire your sect's swordsmanship, I'm afraid it still has no fate with becoming an affiliated sect."

You Su had never dared hope that the Mandarin Sword Sect could become an affiliated sect of the Xuanxiao Sect. Besides, a man like his master probably would not allow himself to become someone else's subordinate sect in the first place.

The Sky Guard Sect was equivalent to the only major school in some third-tier city from his previous life. If the Ministry of Education did not promote it to a university, who else could it promote?

"You're joking, Immortal Master. How could my little sword sect dare dream of such a thing?" You Su forced out two ingratiating laughs.

For the first time, Gu Yao put away his smile and said seriously, "Your sword sect may have no fate with it, but you do."

You Su was stunned by this. He did not understand what Gu Yao meant. Was he revealing the truth to him in advance?

"What do you mean, Immortal Master?"

"Before yesterday, I had already decided to list you and Wu Cheng as Auditory Disciples. But after yesterday's battle, I changed my mind." Gu Yao's tone was deeply enticing. "I've decided to promote both you and Wu Cheng to Formal Disciples. As for whether you become Outer Disciples or a Grand Elder's direct disciples, you'll have to fight for it yourselves."

"May I ask, Immortal Master, what is the difference between Formal Disciples and Auditory Disciples?"

"Auditory Disciples can only attend lessons. Formal Disciples, on the other hand, can enjoy resources such as cultivation techniques, Spirit Stones, and Magic Treasures. They can also take one of the Xuanxiao Sect's thirteen Grand Elders or twenty-three Junior Elders as their master. Every one of them is a figure famous throughout the Five Continents. The price is that you must leave your current sect, and from then on, everything you do will bear the name of the Xuanxiao Sect. Wu Cheng has already agreed to become a Formal Disciple, so I came to ask your intentions."

"Thank you for your kindness, Immortal Master Gu, but please allow You Su to refuse."