Eight elders had come to take disciples this time. Seated in the middle was Sect Master Mingxu of the Sword Sect. Song Zhizhi had never seen the elders beside him before, but—
Song Zhizhi's gaze uncontrollably fell upon a young man seated below the Sect Master, wearing a white auspicious-cloud hairpin. He had concealed his face with spiritual energy, so she could not make out his features, yet she inexplicably felt an eerie sense of familiarity, as though she had seen him somewhere before.
Where had she seen him? Anyone who could make her feel this way definitely could not have been some passerby she had brushed shoulders with.
Song Zhizhi frowned and stared at the young man's figure, running through the faces and builds of every male cultivator she had met before.
The white-robed young man raised a hand, his long fingers lightly tapping the armrest. Song Zhizhi's gaze landed on that hand—its knuckles distinct, fingers slender and straight, more beautiful than the hands of many professional hand models—and that strange familiarity swept over her again.
A handsome, refined figure flashed through Song Zhizhi's mind, but she immediately shook her head. It couldn't be Xie Xiuji. Xie Xiuji was at the Heavenly Feather Sect. Though their builds were similar, their temperaments were completely different.
One was pure and upright, the other aloof and mysterious. How could they possibly be the same person? She must have been sleeping too much lately and dulled her sixth sense. How could Xie Xiuji possibly be here? She had definitely seen wrong.
Song Zhizhi took a deep breath and forced herself to look away, turning her attention to Song Miaomiao.
This was a very important scene from the original novel. The Sword Sect's elders would fight over a disciple, and in the end, Purple Bamboo Sword Lord of Purple Bamboo Peak would emerge victorious and take the female lead as her disciple.
Song Zhizhi admitted that this part had thrilled her when she read it. If she could watch it unfold in person, that would be even more satisfying.
Sword Venerable Mingxiao's gaze fell on Song Zhizhi. Just now, he had not missed the fleeting expression of relief on her face.
Had she guessed his identity? Or had she not? Why had she reacted like that?
Sword Venerable Mingxiao pressed his thin lips together, a slight furrow appearing between his brows.
Meanwhile, the elders had already begun fighting over a disciple.
The Sect Master took the lead. "You are Song Miaomiao, correct? I am the Sect Master of the Sword Sect, Daoist title Mingxu. Are you willing to take me as your master?"
The other elders were unwilling to lag behind and immediately followed. "Song Miaomiao, I am the Peak Master of Lingyang Peak. Are you willing to become my final disciple?"
"My Purple Bamboo Peak is entirely female disciples. In my view, Miaomiao, you would be better suited to joining Purple Bamboo Peak. You would also have more in common with your senior sisters."
"My Ice-Soul Sword Technique is more compatible with an Ice Spirit Root."
"Why don't we settle it with a fight? Whoever loses withdraws."
"I think that proposal will do!"
These lofty sect elders were nearly about to start fighting in front of the new disciples, all to compete for a genius disciple with an Innate Sword Heart.
Feng Yulong watched the chaotic scene, so jealous that he nearly ground his teeth to pieces. If Song Miaomiao hadn't cut in halfway, the one the elders valued now should have been me!
At this moment, Feng Yulong had completely forgotten that he merely possessed an ordinary Single Spirit Root. Though Single Spirit Roots were rare, they were not unheard of within the Sword Sect. He was nowhere near worth making the elders cast aside all dignity to fight over him.
Song Zhizhi felt the pressure of great cultivators leaking from the elders in the main hall. It made her somewhat uncomfortable, and her heart beat a little faster, so she frowned and quietly stepped back.
"Enough. What are you arguing for? What good is all this arguing? Why not leave the choice to the disciple?" Sword Venerable Mingxiao raised a hand and laid down a Sword Qi Barrier in the hall, speaking to quell the internal conflict. He shifted his gaze away from Song Zhizhi, and only after seeing that her complexion had improved considerably did he glance at Song Miaomiao. "Song Miaomiao, these elders all wish to take you as a personal disciple. Which master do you wish to choose?"
Song Zhizhi, who had been watching the excitement, vaguely sensed that something was wrong. The elders really did fight over a disciple in the original novel, but no one was supposed to stop the fight in this scene!
And why did this person's voice sound so much like Xie Xiuji's!?
Song Zhizhi's heart began pounding much faster. She unconsciously touched her lower abdomen and looked up at the white-robed elder whose face she could not see. Could he be Xie Xiuji?
Song Miaomiao looked at the elders in the hall, her expression completely calm and unruffled by favor or disgrace. "This disciple wishes to take Unadorned Sword Lord as my master."
Song Zhizhi: ?
Her eyes widened, and for the moment, she even forgot about Xie Xiuji.
She looked at Unadorned Sword Lord, then at Song Miaomiao. What was going on with the female lead? In the original novel, she was supposed to join Purple Bamboo Peak in the end! And where had this Unadorned Sword Lord come from? Was there even such a person in the original novel?
Song Zhizhi was immersed in the shock of the plot changing when a clear, gentle voice suddenly sounded from above. "Song Zhizhi, are you willing to join my Red Cloud Peak?"
"Miss Song... tomorrow, I... will ask your father and mother for your hand in marriage..."
This voice was exactly the same as that person's voice in her memories.
Song Zhizhi abruptly raised her head and looked at the white-robed young man seated in the hall.
The ball of spiritual energy concealing his features dispersed, revealing a face identical to that of Xie Xiuji, the great villain from the original novel.
Song Zhizhi: !!!
Author's Note:
When the male lead asked whether the female lead wanted to join Red Cloud Peak, he did not mean that he wanted to take her as his disciple. The female lead's master is not the male lead. The original setting had the male lead taking the female lead as his disciple, but later, it felt strange for the female lead to become his disciple given their current situation, so it was changed.
The male lead will not find out about the female lead's pregnancy so quickly. That plot comes after chapter twenty, once the female lead has developed a little affection for the male lead. There was no deliberate padding; the changes in the male and female leads' mindsets in between are very important.
Senior Brother, Junior Sister
Sect Master Mingxu felt that the name Song Zhizhi sounded very familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.
Cultivators possessed perfect recall. It took him only a few seconds to remember where he had heard that name.
Song Zhizhi—wasn't she the person who had taken his junior brother's virginity, yet could not be found no matter how thoroughly they searched? He had assumed Song Zhizhi was at least a powerful female cultivator with cultivation close to his junior brother's. He had never expected her to be an eighteen-year-old girl at only the eighth level of Qi Refinement.