Shi Feiyang had decided long ago that he would take no more disciples.
He actually had very few formal disciples: his female disciples, Xiong Manniang and Deng Bagu; his male disciples, Lin Han and Shi Sheng; and his nonhuman disciples, Jinxu Nu, Yuan Hua, and Fire Wuhai.
He was very cautious about accepting disciples, choosing each one with great care.
Now he had taken in Qiu Yuan as well, making him his final disciple. He truly had no intention of accepting any more.
When a disciple entered his tutelage, he had to give them an immortal sword.
Shi Feiyang thought for a moment, then took out the Three Suns One Qi Sword. "These three swords accompanied me as I traveled the world practicing the Dao in years past. They once belonged to Zhang Mian, a Han Dynasty Immortal: Greater Yang, Middle Yang, and Lesser Yang, all linked by a single qi."
These three swords were already immortal swords of the highest caliber, and Shi Feiyang had refined them painstakingly. The moment he brought them out, their dazzling colored light bathed the entire cave in wondrous, shifting hues.
Overjoyed, Qiu Yuan first knelt and kowtowed in thanks, then accepted them with both hands.
He gently picked up one sword, and the other two sprang up after it with ringing clangs. With the slightest movement, they cast out rainbow sword-radiance more than ten feet long.
"Thank you for bestowing these swords on me, Master!" Qiu Yuan's little face flushed with excitement, and he moved to kneel in thanks again.
Shi Feiyang caught his slender arm. "There's no need. Cultivate diligently, inherit my Dao lineage someday, and carry it to greater heights. That will be the greatest thanks you can give me."
He taught Qiu Yuan his own direct-lineage method of sword refinement.