Apprentice? No! Call Me Sister

Uh...

Chu Heng hadn't quite adjusted to Su Yuntao's change in attitude. After thinking it over, he decided to find Su Yuntao when he had the chance. In this unfamiliar place, the man was his strongest source of support.

For now, he would follow Su Yuntao's instructions and go to his room.

As Su Yuntao had said, the room was fairly well equipped. On a table in the main room lay a schedule. According to it, Chu Heng had Sundays to himself; every other day was planned out.

Chu Heng glanced over the arrangements, then waited in his room.

Click, click, click...

In the ground-floor office hall of the Nott City Spirit Hall Branch, Su Xianling walked in to the crisp sound of high heels.

Tall and slender in plain fitted clothes, she carried a longbow on her back and headed straight for an empty reception desk.

"Lady Xianling."

The moment she entered the hall, someone came forward to ask what she needed.

"Which room is the new child, Chu Heng, staying in?"

"Chu Heng?"

Hearing the name, a young woman at the neighboring desk picked up a file and hurried over.

"Lady Xianling, Chu Heng is the child Deacon Su Yuntao brought in earlier. Deacon Su left not long ago, so Chu Heng should be in his room."

"What's the room number?"

Once she had the information she wanted, Su Xianling headed straight for the stairs.

"507."

Chu Heng had not waited long when someone knocked. He opened the door to find a woman of about twenty standing outside. She bent down and waved at him with a smile.

"Hello, Chu Heng!"

Chu Heng's gaze dropped as she leaned forward. Caught off guard by the view, he stiffened, then quickly looked up at her face and tried to keep his expression calm.

"Uh, hello."

Chu Heng scratched his head awkwardly. Could she be the teacher Spirit Hall assigned me? She doesn't look very authoritative...

The woman seemed not to notice his reaction. She straightened and kept smiling.

"Let me introduce myself, Chu Heng. I'm Su Xianling, twenty years old, a level fifty-three agility-type Soul King. My Martial Soul is the Starbreak Bow."

Wait, what?

For a moment, Chu Heng thought he had misheard. A twenty-year-old agility-type Soul King?

The Golden Generation?

Chu Heng stared at Su Xianling, unable to believe someone like her had appeared before him. The shock was even greater than when he had first met Tang Hao.

Seeing his astonishment, Su Xianling covered her mouth with a laugh. Then, without waiting for him, she walked past him into the room and sat down.

"Little Chu Heng, do you want to become a powerful Soul Master?"

Su Xianling leaned back in her chair, looking rather pleased with herself.

Is she serious?

Chu Heng still did not understand what was happening, but he knew he could not let this chance slip away. He answered at once.

"I do, Sister Su!"

"Sister Su?"

Su Xianling laughed and waved a hand.

"We've barely met, and you're already calling me sister. You're a sharp one."

"You're so young, Sister Su. Of course I should call you that."

Chu Heng praised Su Xianling without hesitation. He knew that how his days went from here would most likely depend on her.

"Hmm..."

Su Xianling fell silent for a moment, then quickly returned to her cheerful manner.

"You can call me sister. I don't mind."

"What brings you here, Sister?"

Having made a decent first impression, Chu Heng asked why she had come. He had a good guess, but he still wanted to know how it had come about.

Otherwise, he could not understand why someone from the Golden Generation would teach him.

"Don't worry, little brother Chu Heng. You and I were rather lucky to cross paths. You probably know I'm not from around here, but I have to stay for a few years for certain reasons. Then you happened to arrive, so the head of this branch begged me to teach you."

So she's only staying here because of special circumstances. That makes sense.

And she was right: they had been lucky to cross paths. Otherwise, where would Chu Heng have found such a good teacher?

"Disciple Chu Heng pays his—"

With everything explained, Chu Heng wasted no time. He meant to formally accept Su Xianling as his teacher and secure the relationship.

"Hey, wait!"

Su Xianling had not expected him to act so decisively. She hurriedly stopped him and explained.

"Hmm... Little brother Chu Heng, I haven't finished my own training yet. I'm not allowed to take an apprentice, so I can't accept you as one. Let's just go with what you said and call each other sister and brother for now."

Whoa! She's not just a genius—she has connections too!

Chu Heng's eyes brightened at her words. He was terrified of letting such a good opportunity slip away.

"Okay, Sister!"

Chu Heng did not care much about official titles or relationships. If two people were close in private, even someone unrelated could benefit. If they were not, even teacher and student could turn against each other.

"Mm."

Su Xianling nodded in satisfaction, but then her tone changed.

"Still, even if you can't be my apprentice, becoming my little brother won't be that easy..."

Before she had finished speaking, her eyes sharpened. She released a trace of Soul Power pressure, and the presence of a level fifty-three Soul King spread through the room.

The sudden pressure nearly stole Chu Heng's breath. He quickly steadied himself, but as time passed, fine sweat appeared at his temples and his breathing grew ragged. Throughout it all, his back remained straight. He never lowered his head.

He knew she was powerful. But if she thought that faint pressure alone would make him yield, she was wrong.

Su Xianling watched him closely, her appreciation growing. An ordinary child would already have gone weak at the knees under a high-level Soul Master's pressure. Chu Heng showed no fear. If anything, the challenge in his eyes grew clearer, as though he meant to push through it.

"Very good!"

Su Xianling withdrew her Soul Power. The pressure vanished, and Chu Heng dropped onto his backside. He braced himself with both hands and gasped for air.

"Done already?"

The corner of Su Xianling's mouth lifted. She pointed to the window where sunlight streamed in.

"Stand there. Straight-backed. Ten minutes."

Chu Heng immediately got up and stood where she had told him.

Ten minutes later, at Su Xianling's word, Chu Heng collapsed to the floor again.

He had not recovered from the pressure, and standing in the sunlight for so long had pushed his strength to its limit.

Su Xianling stood and looked down at him.

"Originally, there was a third test. Once you were exhausted, I'd question you to see what was in your heart. But I don't much like that method, so we'll skip it this time."

Su Xianling started toward the door.

"For now, I'll accept you as my little brother. But if you don't do well, I'll change my mind..."