Qi Yan himself had never expected such treatment. Before coming to seek admission, he had only hoped to enter the outer sect first. Only after seeing Jiang Jinyue serve as the chief examiner had he begun to harbor a little hope for the inner sect, but he had never imagined he could become Perfected Mu's direct disciple straightaway.
At those words, he was both stunned and delighted. Ignoring his still-bloody knees, he dropped onto one knee and gave a full, solemn bow. "Disciple Qi Yan pays his respects to Master."
Mu Xunzhen flicked a finger. A soft light enveloped Qi Yan and lifted him up. The wounds on his knees swiftly closed, leaving not even a scar.
Mu Xunzhen turned to leave. "Jinyue, take your junior brother Qi to register with the sect and teach him the sect rules. Arrange a cave abode for him afterward. Once he is settled, come find me."
Watching Mu Xunzhen depart on a cloud, Jiang Jinyue suddenly planted her hands on her hips and burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! What do you have to call me now?"
Qi Yan looked constipated. Only after a long while did he turn his head aside. "Senior sister."
"Heehee!" Beaming, Jiang Jinyue circled Qi Yan several times. "Who was it who said that day would never come?"
Qi Yan stiffened his neck. "We were talking about calling you 'dear big sister' back then. I haven't called you that."
"Hmm?" Jiang Jinyue's gaze turned dangerous. "You're in my hands now. You have to respect your senior sister, understand? Hurry up and call me dear big sister, or you'll have some bitter fruit to swallow."
Swallowing his anger, Qi Yan lowered his voice. "Dear big sister, do you know how many people beside us are staring at us?"
Jiang Jinyue's eyes darted around, taking in a group of expressionless, orange-peel faces. She quickly composed herself and said solemnly, "Come on. Big sister will take you to register."
With that, she grabbed Qi Yan and flew off in a flash, leaving a group of old people staring at one another, speechless.
The Heavenly Evolution Sect welcomed closeness between fellow senior and junior disciples, but wasn't this girl a little too carefree... Did she even realize that the appearance of a junior brother meant her previously assumed position as the "young master" was no longer secure? Why was she instead as delighted as if she had found an egg...
Forget it. What did it have to do with their outer peaks?
"So you were Sect Master Mu's... oh, Master's only direct disciple?" Above the clouds, Qi Yan asked Jiang Jinyue, equally speechless.
"What, can't I be?" Jiang Jinyue grinned. "Little junior brother~"
Qi Yan thought to himself that if he had known Sect Master Mu's direct disciple would be a little fool who ate herself round and lay sunning herself on the deck, he really did not know whether he would still have felt such intense longing for the Heavenly Evolution Sect...
Is there something wrong with this master's teaching...?
"So how old are you, exactly?"
"Guess?"
"You don't go out much, do you...?"
"Hmm..." Jiang Jinyue thought about it. She really did rarely go out. The sect had abundant resources and plenty of places to train, its atmosphere was harmonious, and she had always been very well protected.
The years of warfare during the sect's early establishment and expansion were long past. For nearly a thousand years, even conflicts with other powers had been small and localized. Everyone primarily negotiated, rarely fighting to the death.
So Jiang Jinyue did indeed have something of someone sheltered in an ivory tower, unaware of the world outside. Her circumstances could hardly be compared to the pressure Qi Yan had faced, struggling to survive from the moment they met. In a sense, Mu Xunzhen sending Jiang Jinyue out to find someone this time had also been intended as training. She had originally even required her to establish a power base and so forth, but unfortunately, the little witch had promptly forgotten it all beyond the ninth heaven.
Jiang Jinyue knew why Qi Yan was asking. Wasn't it simply because he thought she did not act like a big sister at all...? She did not care either. Who cares whether I act like a big sister? I'm still your big sister.
So she kept grinning. "Yes, big sister rarely goes out. How could I compare to a certain clever little junior brother who claimed to admire the Heavenly Evolution Sect, yet couldn't even recognize its direct disciple standing right in front of him~?"
Qi Yan: "..."
There was no arguing with that.
Even now, this whole affair still felt like falling into a dream.
"But I didn't expect Master to want to take you as her disciple either..." Jiang Jinyue huffed. "It must be because I put in a good word for you earlier, and Master did it for my sake! You have to thank me, understand!"
"Yes, yes, yes." No matter how Qi Yan thought about it, he could not figure out why Sect Master Mu had accepted him. He really did feel it must have been because Jiang Jinyue had spoken well of him, so he became a little more ingratiating. "From now on, wherever senior sister points, this little brother will strike."
"Heehee. We're at the Registration Hall. Let's get you some things first." Jiang Jinyue grabbed Qi Yan and descended into the hall below.
Mu Xunzhen shook her head in the main hall.
How had Jinyue and Qi Yan become so close? How strange. This child might look all smiles, but deep down, she keeps people at a considerable distance. How long have they even known each other...? Could it really be because I put too much pressure on her day to day?
As for why she had taken Qi Yan as her disciple, the story Jiang Jinyue had told her about him was indeed one factor. It had made her feel that his way of doing things closely matched her expectations for her disciples. He also had some clues related to her search, and, more coincidentally still, he had been oppressed and bullied by his clan, which had stirred some memories.
But those factors would at most have persuaded her to accept him into the outer sect. That was precisely why she had initially appointed Jiang Jinyue as the chief examiner, tacitly allowing her to go easy on him and let him in through the back door.
What had truly prompted her to test him further was his answer about the fake cultivation technique. If Qi Yan's performance had fallen short after she raised the difficulty, that would have been that. Instead, every single aspect perfectly met the Heavenly Evolution Sect's requirements, and he had then used the witchcraft Great Strength Spell and Calming Spell during the examination.
To this day, witchcraft was still rejected by the general consensus of the immortal path; the various schools differed only in degree. Although the Heavenly Evolution Sect did not care much, it would not flout universal condemnation and invite trouble for no reason by using witchcraft. Thus, most people in the sect had not studied it much, at most dabbling in it as a supplementary discipline.
With his Mixed Spiritual Root, Qi Yan would inevitably encounter obstacles in cultivating Dao Arts. Focusing on witchcraft suited him best. If someone else taught him, this promising seedling would most likely be wasted. The only person who could teach him witchcraft while withstanding pressure from the cultivation world was Mu Xunzhen herself.
Besides... Mu Xunzhen gazed into the distant sky, somewhat lost in thought.
Witchcraft had been in decline for so long. There was nothing wrong with having someone to carry on its legacy.
The world had been at peace for so long. Dark undercurrents were beginning to emerge again, and there was no telling where the next calamity would arise.
The heavens would soon change...
Jinyue would inherit her Dao Arts, and she really ought to find someone to inherit her witchcraft as well. Even if she were someday annihilated amid tribulation lightning, the knowledge she had acquired throughout her life would not die out.
"So the Heavenly Evolution Sect has communication tokens too..." Leaving the Registration Hall, Qi Yan turned a jade token over and over in his hands. The two characters spelling "Qi Yan" carved into it gleamed brightly.
He really was a member of this sect now.
Jiang Jinyue was asking, "Too?"
"Uh, I heard other sects have them."
"Well, obviously. What major sect doesn't? This is a sect life token. It has lots of functions built in. You can use it to call and communicate, and it also serves as an access token for many areas. You use it to collect all kinds of supplies and accept or hand in missions too. Oh, and if you run into danger and break it, Master will know. She might even make it in time to save you. If you really do die, she can avenge you."
Got it. An ID card and student card, with a phone built in.
Qi Yan loved it so much he kept turning it over to examine it. Instinctively, he injected a little magical power to test it. Instead of discovering how to call someone, he was greeted by a long stream of sect rules pouring into his ears.
Jiang Jinyue was beside herself with laughter at his dumbfounded expression. "Now you know joining a major sect isn't as free as being out on your own, right?"
Qi Yan came back to his senses and smiled too. "So that's why you sit all prim and proper in front of those elders, but turn into a little witch outside?"
"How am I a witch? How? Have I bullied you or touched you? What makes me a witch? If you ask me, Yun Ranyi is the real witch. She looks so educated and proper, yet she isn't even embarrassed to roll around embracing a man."
"Why are you so hung up on Yun Ranyi...?" Qi Yan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Jiang Jinyue cast an unobtrusive glance at the ring on Qi Yan's hand.
What else am I supposed to do? You and that childhood sweetheart of yours have even put rings on. There's probably something real between you, so it's actually harder to tease you about her. It's precisely because I know there's nothing between you and Yun Ranyi that I can joke about it. Surely you don't really think I'm jealous.
Qi Yan said, "Didn't you say you were going to arrange a cave abode for me?"
Jiang Jinyue glared. "You're finding your senior sister annoying now, is that it?"
"No." Qi Yan smiled. "Once we get there, I'll make something for senior sister to eat."
Jiang Jinyue's eyes immediately sparkled. "Follow me."
The main peak, Heavenly Evolution Peak, was the highest peak in the Heavenly Evolution Sect. The so-called sect main hall was actually only halfway up the mountain and served as the sect's central meeting place. Several departments handling internal affairs, such as law enforcement, were located around it.
The very summit was Mu Xunzhen's residence. Without being announced, no one dared go up.
Between the main hall and the summit, about two-thirds of the way up the mountain, lay a garden estate where Jiang Jinyue lived. This girl did not use a cave abode.
"Our mountain is huge." Jiang Jinyue pointed with great satisfaction at her garden, ablaze with purples and reds, as she introduced it. "I live here. Look around for yourself. There are still lots of large spaces. You can make a garden like mine or live in a cave abode. Pick for yourself."
Qi Yan asked humbly, "What's the difference between living outside and in a cave abode?"
"Hmm... A cave abode makes it easier to concentrate spiritual energy, I suppose. It's also more private and harder to spy on. But Master and I used to be the only people living on the main peak, so privacy didn't really matter. Now, though..." Jiang Jinyue suddenly looked Qi Yan up and down as though he were a pervert. "I think you'd better live in a cave."
Qi Yan actually rather wanted to live outside. Having a whole garden estate like Jiang Jinyue's would be truly comfortable. But on second thought, he often spoke with Little Crybaby and did indeed need more privacy, so he asked, "If I want a cave abode, how do I go about it? Dig it out myself?"
"Lucky dog. There's already a cave abode three li behind here. Mine, fully equipped. But I moved out years ago, so you can just use it. No big deal."
"Thank you, senior sister." Qi Yan knew how to please her and immediately asked, "Where's the kitchen?"
Jiang Jinyue glanced around, then tugged him into the garden like a thief, heading straight for a building that looked like a kitchen.
Wonderfully enough, it had a stove, pots, bowls, ladles, and basins inside, though they looked as if they had never been used.
Jiang Jinyue gazed at him eagerly. "Tell me if we need to get anything else. Hmm, and what are we eating today...?"
"Jiang Jinyue!" Mu Xunzhen's voice transmission came from midair, her patience exhausted. "I told you to bring your junior brother to see me after settling him in. Have you forgotten it beyond the ninth heaven? As punishment, you'll cook a meal yourself today, and you must eat it!"
Jiang Jinyue looked as though lightning had struck her. "No, Master! I'll die!"
Mu Xunzhen could not be bothered with her. "Qi Yan, come up here. I have something to ask you."