Senior Brother's Initiation Review

Lan Ling'e had a dream.

In the dream, an old immortal took her as his disciple and brought her back to the immortals' abode, where she met a handsome senior brother who leaped out of the water...

Uh, it seemed this was not a dream. It had just happened.

In her daze, Lan Ling'e heard her master's voice again. But her master sounded somewhat fierce now, completely unlike the kind old immortal she remembered.

"You little rascal! Think your wings have grown hard? You even dare scheme against your master now!"

Then Lan Ling'e heard that gentle, refined voice.

"Master, please calm down. This disciple was merely taking precautions against danger. I also happened to be cultivating the Water Evasion Method, so I set up those anti-thief measures before going into the lake to cultivate.

"This disciple did not know Master would suddenly return today and was unable to remove them in time. Please forgive me, Master."

Her senior brother spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly, making one unconsciously want to listen to him a little longer.

Immediately afterward, Lan Ling'e heard her master let out a long sigh.

Beside the bamboo bed, the old Daoist clapped his hands and complained helplessly. "I say, Changshou, this is inside the sect! What use is there in setting up something like that?

"Guarding against thieves? Our Lesser Qiong Peak is so poor we might as well write 'poor' instead of 'Qiong'! What thief would ever bother coming here?"

Changshou?

Was that her senior brother's name?

What a simple Daoist title. Yet it revealed her senior brother's plain and pure wish.

Lan Ling'e suddenly realized that although she could hear the sounds outside, she could not open her eyes at all. Her eyelids were terribly heavy, and she had no strength in her body.

Her senior brother spoke again. His voice was so warm that it made her think of her mother...

"Master's words are somewhat biased. The sect is not without dangers.

"In recent years, the competition between peaks has been fierce, and the sect elders pay little attention to such matters. Besides, this disciple is the only—oh, no, one of only two disciples in our lineage. Necessary caution is still required.

"Our Lesser Qiong Peak already has little presence within the sect and no backing to speak of. Someone may wish to seize this little patch of land from us and secretly plot against us."

As soon as her senior brother finished speaking, she heard her old master complain again.

"Our Du Xian Sect has strict Sect Rules. How could such things possibly happen?

"Enough, enough! I cannot argue with you! You have all these twisted arguments every day, yet your cultivation never seems to improve!

"Wait here until Ling'e wakes up. Take my token and bring her to the main peak to register her name, collect her Formal Disciple identity plaque, and receive her monthly stipend!

"Honestly, you infuriate me!"

The old Daoist swept his sleeve and rose from the bamboo chair. Perhaps the medicinal power had not yet worn off, for he staggered again, making the old Daoist's face flush red.

"You infuriate me!"

"Master, please be careful."

"Hmph! I shall enter seclusion to comprehend the Supreme Profound Dao!"

Daoist Master Qi Yuan stomped his foot fiercely, and his figure turned into a wisp of green smoke before vanishing from the thatched cottage.

In the blink of an eye, a clattering racket came from the thatched cottage next door. Clearly, after undoing his spell, the Daoist Master had lost his balance again.

"Ah..."

The young man standing at the door sighed softly.

Along with that sigh, the little girl lying on the bamboo bed opened her eyes a sliver and saw the figure lowering his head in thought.

Senior Brother was so tall.

"Master's foundation is still too weak. His soul power is insufficient; I fear it will be difficult for him to endure the heavenly tribulation of becoming immortal."

What did those words mean...

Drowsiness struck again. Lan Ling'e unconsciously closed her eyes softly, and soon heard footsteps approaching with increasing clarity.

Though she was only nine years old, her Spiritual Intelligence had awakened early. Born into a powerful family in the Human Race's Mortal World, she had studied etiquette and propriety since childhood and had a vague, partial understanding of many things.

In Lan Ling'e's view, this situation of an unmarried man and woman alone together, with a strange man constantly approaching her, did not conform to proper etiquette.

But if he was her senior brother, someone who would be like an elder brother to her in the future, then perhaps it was not a problem...

"Junior Sister Lan, I am your senior brother, Li Changshou.

"Now I will help ease the medicinal power of the Soft Immortal Incense. If you can hear me, please do not think I am a pervert. I am a man with proper values.

"Uh, what nonsense am I saying? She has only just begun cultivating. How could she withstand this medicinal power?"

Pervert? Values?

These terms unique to immortal cultivation were so difficult to understand...

Senior Brother truly was a Qi Refiner!

Lan Ling'e wanted to respond and avoid being too discourteous before her senior brother, but she did not have the slightest bit of strength. Only her thoughts could move.

Suddenly, she felt a large hand gently settle on her forehead. Strands of cool energy flowed in through her forehead and instantly spread throughout her body, making her feel exceptionally comfortable.

Senior Brother was treating her injuries...

For some reason, Lan Ling'e's thoughts became somewhat chaotic. Her mind drifted into the clouds, hazy yet strangely clear.

Li Changshou looked at the little girl lying flat on the bed and frowned in thought.

Although his master had long said he wanted to take another disciple, and Li Changshou had mentally prepared himself to welcome a junior sister or junior brother, there were still several matters he cared deeply about.

I should take this chance to inspect her soul.

Li Changshou released a strand of cool energy and gently touched the place where Lan Ling'e's Life Source Origin resided.

Mm, her soul and body were perfectly integrated, without the slightest discord. She should not have been possessed.

Her aptitude seemed quite good as well. Water and wood affinities. The only question was what her temperament was like.

At her age, a junior sister's personality should already have taken shape. Hopefully, she was not the sort to cause trouble everywhere...

Still, judging by her appearance, she might grow into a beauty. Since ancient times, beautiful women had often brought disaster. This could become a point of conflict, so he had to avoid it as much as possible.

I should also check whether she has something like a demonic seed hidden inside her.

Mm, this was also a necessary inspection. Though the odds were very low, such a slim possibility could not be ruled out. Taking precautions was never a bad thing.

At the same time...

Eh?

Feeling that large hand leave her forehead and begin to slowly glide over other parts of her body, the drowsy Lan Ling'e's little face flushed slightly.

S-Senior Brother...

Was this not a little too...

This seemed somewhat improper...

Before long, Li Changshou nodded. After his meticulous inspection, there should be no problem with his junior sister. She had not been possessed, implanted with a demonic seed, cursed with poison, or subjected to a spell. She was indeed a fine prospect for immortal cultivation.

The initiation review had officially passed!

Next came arranging his junior sister's training curriculum. That also required careful preparation.

Preferably, his junior sister would not be the sort who liked stirring up trouble. That way, the probability of him becoming entangled in karma could roughly remain at its current level...

Li Changshou sat by the bed, somewhat lost in thought. Then he gave a helpless laugh and muttered:

Though Lan Ling'e did not understand, she felt that her master had indeed been right. Her senior brother was somewhat strange.

Perhaps the cool energy had taken effect. A tiny bit of strength returned to Lan Ling'e's body. Unable to resist opening her eyes, she parted her little lips slightly and let out a soft moan.

Her vision changed from blurry to clear. At last, Lan Ling'e saw her senior brother up close. Sure enough, he had sharply defined features that grew more handsome the longer she looked at them, more attractive even than the guards by her mother's side.

It was just that her senior brother's expression at the moment made one feel... uneasy...

Senior Brother's gaze was so frightening!

Gulp!

Lan Ling'e swallowed, small, helpless, and pitiful.

Then the young cultivator seated beside the bed asked darkly, "Did you hear everything I said just now?"

Lan Ling'e immediately panicked and replied in a trembling voice, "N-No... Mm..."

What was wrong with Senior Brother? Had she done something to make him angry? Did Senior Brother's expression mean there was something about her that dissatisfied him?

"Senior Brother..."

The young man by the bed slowly rose to his feet and looked down at the exquisitely lovely little girl. There was a trace of hesitation in his gaze, but he quickly said in a low voice:

"Look at me.

"Do not mention what I just said to anyone."

"Oh, okay," Lan Ling'e answered softly, her cheeks bright red as she looked somewhat at a loss.

Then she saw her senior brother shake his head and slowly walk to the window, staring blankly outside.

His name was Li Changshou. When he had become a disciple, he had insisted on keeping Changshou as his Daoist title.

Lan Ling'e's guess had not been too far off. Li Changshou simply wanted to live longer, preferably as long as heaven and earth themselves.

At that moment, Li Changshou was recalling the information he had revealed while talking to himself earlier.

The greatest flaw should have been the words "previous life."

Damn it!

After guarding against every possibility for over a hundred years, he had unexpectedly exposed his secret before his newly arrived junior sister! He had kept the secret buried in his heart for too long and could not resist talking to himself!

Turning his head to glance at the little girl on the bed who was trying to sit up, Li Changshou rubbed his chin.

It seemed he still had to silence her. Silence her!

On the bamboo bed, Lan Ling'e had only just struggled into a sitting position when she caught sight of her senior brother's cold, gloomy gaze. She could not help shuddering...

"Senior Brother?"

"Do not mention what I said just now to anyone!"

"Mm! Ling'e will remember!"

"You must not tell anyone, including Master!"

"Okay, Senior Brother..."

"Good. First, make an oath in the name of the Supreme Great Dao!"

"Uh? Uh..."

In the slanting sunlight, the little girl sitting on the bed gradually became covered in dark lines. Under the supervision of technical guidance from beside her, she raised her little hand and began reciting the thousand-word, every-situation-and-prerequisite-considered...

Great Dao Oath.