Chapter Five: The Clamor

“As for why I’m so good to you, silly girl, it’s because I want to take care of you!”

In an instant, Meng Yao felt as if struck by lightning, sitting there dazed, eyes wide open, her cheeks flushed a deep red.

“Take care of me?”

Suddenly, a sharp sting welled up in her nose—a feeling she hadn’t experienced in years.

From the moment her parents sold her as a servant to a wealthy household, to her secret escape after enduring the master’s insults and beatings, to being despised by everyone along the way as a little beggar, she had long since learned to hide her tears.

Crying was the most useless thing in the world!

Yet now, she desperately wanted to weep.

At that moment, a pair of warm hands gently pulled her into an embrace.

“Cry if you want,” came Xiao Chenxin’s gentle, magnetic voice whispering into her ear.

“From now on, with me here, no one will ever bully you again.”

Meng Yao’s tears broke free uncontrollably. She didn’t sob loudly, but quietly choked on her sobs, one small breath at a time.

After a long while, she finally scrambled out of Xiao Chenxin’s embrace in a fluster.

Seeing the large wet patch on his chest, she hurriedly reached to wipe it, but he caught her hand firmly.

“Alright now.”

With a surge of spiritual energy, the dampness vanished instantly.

Xiao Chenxin fixed his gaze on the top of her head.

[Obsequiousness Level: 80]

Finally, the moment had come!

“Meng Yao, will you be my disciple?”

“But didn’t you say there would be a test?”

Xiao Chenxin reached out and gently stroked her hair.

“You’ve already passed.”

Meng Yao was stunned for a moment, then without hesitation, she knelt down on the ground.

“Master above, please accept your disciple’s bow.”

“Good!”

Xiao Chenxin immediately helped her up. As he touched her, the rare Fire Spirit Root previously rewarded by the system was directly implanted into Meng Yao’s body.

[Ding! Detected host gifting disciple a rare Fire Spirit Root. Ten-thousand-fold return triggered. Congratulations, host has obtained an Immortal Spirit Root.]

A warm current flowed through his organs. At this moment, the spiritual energy of the world became vividly clear in his eyes.

Before, he had only a superior spirit root, vastly inferior to an Immortal Spirit Root. With the replacement, he immediately sensed the flaws in his cultivation as if a piece of a puzzle were missing—an unbearably uncomfortable feeling.

This meant his cultivation was incomplete, and the strongest foundation had yet to be laid.

Muttering in awe at the Immortal Spirit Root’s power, he turned to Meng Yao.

“As the senior disciple of Red Dust Peak, you must train diligently and never slack off. As for the cultivation technique...”

Suddenly, Xiao Chenxin froze, realizing a grave problem: he had no suitable technique to teach Meng Yao.

The Red Dust Scripture was a system reward of immense power but required achieving the Foundation Establishment stage before it could be practiced.

Seeing the puzzled look on his disciple’s face, he wanted to explain, but the strange sensation in his body was becoming overwhelming.

“Meng Yao, wait here a moment. I need to cultivate first!”

Meng Yao was confused but obediently stepped back a good distance. She then watched as Xiao Chenxin sat cross-legged on the ground. Spiritual energy poured in torrents, forming a funnel above his head.

“Are you the new disciple of the great-grandmaster?”

A clear voice came from behind her. Meng Yao quickly turned to see a tall woman in a pale white gown with delicate features quietly observing her.

“Yes.”

Meng Yao didn’t know who she was but sensed no hostility, so she responded timidly.

“I am Mu Susu, the Sacred Maiden of the Yao Guang Sanctuary.”

After introducing herself, Mu Susu shifted her gaze to Xiao Chenxin not far away.

“Is this... Foundation Establishment again?”

She murmured softly but said no more. Foundation Establishment was nothing extraordinary. If Xiao Chenxin hadn’t given away heavenly materials and treasures to others, he would have reached this stage long ago.

As the spiritual energy surged continuously, a pale red jade platform began to materialize above Xiao Chenxin’s head.

“Red?”

Mu Susu shook her head in disbelief.

The Foundation Establishment platform was graded by seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. A red platform was almost embarrassing in the sanctuary.

“Huh? Why is it green now?”

The next moment, her eyes filled with doubt. The earlier red platform had transformed into a dazzling emerald.

“How could this be?”

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, thinking perhaps she was hallucinating from overexertion of her cultivation.

But now, the platform had turned purple.

“What?!”

She gasped as she watched the colors flicker sequentially across the platform, finally forming a seven-colored rainbow that illuminated the entire platform brilliantly.

“Seven colors?”

Mu Susu’s eyes glazed over as she recalled a record she once read in ancient texts.

A seven-colored Foundation Establishment platform signified an Immortal Descending to the Mortal World!

In other words, this great-grandmaster, once looked down upon by the sanctuary’s people, actually possessed the bearing of an immortal.

For a moment, her entire worldview seemed to collapse.

She didn’t even notice when Xiao Chenxin approached.

“Meng Yao, what brings you here today?”

Mu Susu snapped back to reality, eyeing Xiao Chenxin’s composed demeanor with a hint of exasperation.

They were similar in age, yet Xiao Chenxin spoke to her with such maturity and gravity.

Though a bit annoyed, she dared not cross boundaries. After a respectful bow, she produced a storage pouch.

“These are cultivation resources sent by Master for Meng Yao... for the great-grandmaster.”

“Hmm, your kindness is appreciated.”

Xiao Chenxin nodded with satisfaction and took the pouch. To him, these cultivation resources would multiply in value many thousands of times.

“By the way, later you’ll teach your great-grandmaster our sanctuary’s basic cultivation techniques, alright?”

“No problem.”

Mu Susu shook her head helplessly. After all he said, what else could she say?

Meng Yao bowed again to both.

“Thank you, Master, thank you... Sacred Maiden.”

“No need for thanks. Wait—Master? Has the great-grandmaster officially accepted you as a direct disciple?”

“Yes, I just became his disciple!”

Mu Susu hadn’t expected such news and hurried to ask more, but a sudden voice interrupted.

“Xiao Chenxin, I’m back, just as you wished!”

The three turned their gaze simultaneously. Compared to Meng Yao’s puzzled expression, both Xiao Chenxin and Mu Susu furrowed their brows tightly.

Especially Xiao Chenxin, who studied Liu Ruyan with keen interest.

What scheme was this woman trying to play now?

Liu Ruyan, seeing the two women beside Xiao Chenxin—especially Mu Susu’s delicate face—felt a flash of jealousy in her eyes.

Expressionless, she stepped before Xiao Chenxin, her gaze cold.

“I know everything you’ve done is to provoke me, to win me over. But now I understand...”

“If you publicly apologize to me, I will agree to be with you forever!”