"I can't be your disciple. I only want a teacher." Si Yao answered without a moment's hesitation, grabbing Li Yilin's arm and shaking her head again and again.
She didn't care who the other person was or what status he held. Whoever he was, he couldn't compare to her teacher.
She only wanted her teacher!
At the thought, she couldn't help shrinking behind Li Yilin a little. Her blue eyes turned wary as she looked at World Lord Xunzhen.
Looking at the little one clutching his arm, Li Yilin's lips curved slightly, warmth in his eyes.
Even though he could guess what she would say, until she actually said it, he had still felt a little uneasy.
That was a World Lord, just one step away from Immortality.
He believed that one day he would surely reach that level, and perhaps even surpass it. But that was still in the future.
As long as he hadn't truly grown strong, in front of certain powerful figures, he was just a youngster with a little talent and good fortune.
Si Yao's ability to resist that temptation and firmly stand by his side was enough to show how important he was to her.
"You don't want to?" World Lord Xunzhen raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected her to refuse so quickly, without even the slightest hesitation.
"I'm a World Lord. My power level is higher than your teacher's, and barring any surprises, I'll become Immortal one day. A teacher's power level can make a big difference to a disciple's path of cultivation. Are you sure you won't become my disciple?"
If Li Yilin had already taken a disciple, he might have hesitated. After all, stealing someone else's student would be downright improper.
But Li Yilin hadn't taken a disciple yet, and he didn't want to pass up this girl, who had grown almost exactly as he would have wished.
"Little one, just say the word and I'll take you as my disciple. What do you think? Your teacher isn't as powerful as I am, so he can't stop me." World Lord Xunzhen stood with his hands behind his back, looking haughty. Of course, he had every reason to be proud.
"No!" Si Yao shook her head again and looked up at Li Yilin. When she saw that he remained silent, unease filled her heart.
The more frightened and uneasy she became, the tighter she clung to Li Yilin's arm. At some point, tears had welled in her blue eyes. Through her tears, she choked out, "Teacher, please don't leave A-Yao behind, okay?"
She could tell that World Lord Xunzhen was more powerful than her teacher.
Before she'd met her teacher, if a powerful figure like this had taken an interest in her and offered to make her his disciple, she would have agreed without hesitation, afraid that even a moment's delay might make her lose the chance.
But now, she had the best teacher in the whole universe. She didn't want to leave him.
At the thought of possibly being separated from her teacher, she could no longer hold back her tears. They welled in her eyes, then spilled over and slid down her cheeks.
She stubbornly kept her eyes open, watching Li Yilin as the tears ran down her face. She said nothing and made no move. Only her small body, occasionally trembling with sobs, betrayed the unease in her heart.
World Lord Xunzhen: ----
Cloud Sea Family Head: ----
Kemo You and Jialu: ----
Anyone would think they were parting forever. He only wanted to take her as his disciple. Was all this really necessary?
World Lord Xunzhen was so furious that he practically blew his beard out. He glared at Li Yilin, his eyes full of indignation.
What on earth had this kid said to the girl to make her so devoted to him, insisting that she would only have him as her teacher?
She didn't even care that a dignified World Lord had swallowed his pride to ask her to become his disciple.
Li Yilin smiled faintly, as though he hadn't noticed the murderous chill in the other man's gaze. He lowered his eyes to look at his own student, who was crying pitifully.
"Silly girl." She looked so pitiful as she cried, and the sight made his heart ache too.
She was a child he'd cared about for years. He'd be lying if he said he didn't care.
He sighed and raised his hand, brushing his fingertips over her fair cheek to wipe away a few tears.
His hand, accustomed to wielding blades and swords, was covered in a thin layer of calluses. Though he was gentle, it still left a red mark on her soft, delicate cheek.
He gave up and instead ruffled her little head. "If you don't want to, then you don't have to, silly girl. Taking a disciple isn't like making an enemy. It's a choice made by both the student and the teacher.
"If you don't want to become this senior's disciple, just refuse. Lord World isn't a petty man."
"Crying won't solve anything." Li Yilin sighed softly, unable to help wondering whether he'd gone wrong somewhere in teaching her.
How had he ended up with a student who could burst into tears just like that?
She was far too tenderhearted!
"Teacher, I—I know." Seeming embarrassed, Si Yao lowered her head and tried to wipe away her tears, but they only kept coming, just like the fear and unease in her heart, which grew stronger and stronger.
How could she not know that crying couldn't solve anything?
When her mother had been badly injured and on the brink of death, she'd cried, but it hadn't helped.
She'd followed her mother's arrangements and gone to Qiu Dragon Planet, only to be captured and sold at the slave market. She'd cried and struggled, been beaten nearly to death, and still hadn't escaped being implanted with a Bio-Chip——
Tears were useless, the most useless thing of all. But when she faced a situation that made her feel powerless, she couldn't stop them from coming.
She was just scared. She was afraid her teacher would disappear without warning, just like her mother had!
She was afraid that, under pressure from World Lord Xunzhen, her teacher would give up on a student who might not even matter to him at all!
She wanted to be her teacher's disciple so badly, but she was afraid to say so in case he rejected her.
She didn't dare imagine how hopeless she would feel if her teacher really refused her request.
Things were fine as they were. Even if nothing changed, she was still his student.
But——
She still couldn't accept it!
She suddenly looked up at Li Yilin. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red from crying, and the corners of her eyes bore red marks from rubbing them too hard. Her watery, bright blue eyes stayed fixed on him, his figure clearly reflected in her pupils, as if——
He was her whole world!
Li Yilin froze for a moment, his hand stopping mid-motion.
"Teacher, am I not good enough?" Si Yao's blue eyes trembled. Her gaze followed Li Yilin's eyes closely, and her bloodshot eyes were filled with apprehension, nervousness, hesitation, and determination——
"How could you be?" Li Yilin was genuinely surprised.
She was only twenty, and she'd already comprehended a domain at the Planetary Level. Who could deny that she was a genius?
He himself hadn't comprehended a domain until the Universe Level, and hadn't grasped the laws until the Domain Lord Level.
Even he had to admit that Si Yao was more talented than he was. Without his cheat, he could say with near certainty that he would never have achieved as much as she would.
"Your talent is the best I've ever seen. Your perseverance and comprehension are far better than those of ordinary people, too.
"It's my honor to be your teacher." Li Yilin paused slightly. As she watched him nervously, hope in her eyes, he spoke the last sentence.
"You're your teacher's pride!"
Her teacher's——pride?
Si Yao pressed her lips together. Her heart was a tangled mess, as if a cat had pawed at a ball of yarn. Her nose stung, and she almost burst into tears again.
She sniffled, but still couldn't hold back. She threw herself into his arms.
"Teacher, you said I'm your pride. A-Yao is so happy. But, sob, sob——"
"It's been so long. W-why haven't you made me your disciple yet?" She lifted her head. Perhaps because he hadn't pushed her away, she'd grown a little bolder. Her trembling voice finally voiced a question that had confused and troubled her for so long.
Hearing her ask so timidly, World Lord Xunzhen, Kemo You, and even Jialu couldn't help giving Li Yilin reproachful looks.
Their expressions all said the same thing.
What were you thinking?
You had a genius like this, and instead of cherishing her, you'd let her be sad and upset for so long, thinking she still hadn't done well enough.
It was only taking a disciple, not a wife. What was the big deal?
Look at how pitiful she was. Only a cold-hearted person like you could fail to care.
If they had a little one this talented and so close to them, they'd have taken her as a disciple at once, thrown a grand banquet, and announced it to the whole world.
Look!
A genius!
My disciple!!!
"Nonsense!"
"Who said I didn't want to take you as my disciple?" Li Yilin lowered his eyes and pinched her little nose, sounding both displeased and reproachful.
"Is this why you were crying?"
Si Yao pressed her lips together and said nothing, but her eyes clearly said yes. Li Yilin smiled.
At last, he knew why she'd been crying. He breathed out softly, feeling sorry for having neglected his student's feelings.
"Don't cry." He sighed.
He pulled her away from his embrace, then crouched and held her by the shoulders, making her look him in the eyes. Only then did he say seriously, "I was already planning to take you back to Noah once this trip to Cloud Sea Planet was over."
Noah?
Si Yao's eyelashes trembled. She listened quietly, her hands clasped together and gripping each other so tightly that her fingertips turned pale.
"My teacher and my people are all on Noah. I want to take you back and make you my disciple in front of my friends and family." Li Yilin smiled gently. As she watched him with trembling eyes, he calmly explained his plans one sentence at a time.
His voice was calm and gentle, with even a faint smile in it, as if he were merely talking about some ordinary little thing. Yet, miraculously, it drew the unease from Si Yao's heart, little by little, and cast it away!
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