Chapter 52

Chapter 52: The Sect Master’s Thank-You Gift
Master Qing Yan gave the storage pouch a light glance.

In an instant, the space around it seemed to be squeezed, making a sharp, shrill creaking sound.

The next moment, the storage pouch exploded with a boom. Everything inside, along with the pouch itself, turned to ash and dust. Not even a single scrap was left behind.

Yu Zhao stood up without a care and said: “Since this disciple is no longer a person of Lone Moon Peak, it would be improper to stay here and trouble Master Qing Yan. This disciple will take her leave now.”

Ji Yuan had still been wondering about Yu Zhao’s true intentions. When he heard her words, he snapped back to his senses and laughed as he said: “Then I will take her away. Master Qing Yan, sorry to have disturbed you. Farewell.”

The two of them left the main hall one after the other, moving in quiet harmony.

Master Qing Yan sat alone in silence for a long time.

A vein at his temple throbbed.

He did not like Yu Zhao and had indeed thought about driving her out of the sect.

Clearly Yu Zhao had gone along with his wishes, so why did he not feel even a trace of joy? Instead, there was only a hollow sense of loss.

He closed his eyes, and scenes related to Yu Zhao rose before them on their own.

The first time he met Yu Zhao was in a small border town.

The town had just gone through a war. It was bleak and ruined, and the streets were full of homeless refugees.

As he passed through, his divine sense stirred, and he felt some unknown call.

So he found Yu Zhao among the skin-and-bones refugees.

Yu Zhao had been only six years old then, but she looked like a child of three or four. Her small, tender face had almost no flesh on it, and her eyes were shockingly large.

Master Qing Yan was not a delicate or sentimental person.

But at the first sight of Yu Zhao, pity rose in his heart.

At first, he had planned to send Yu Zhao to a busy city and find a reliable mortal couple to adopt her. He had never expected that her bones would be excellent, that she would be such a good seedling for cultivation.

He changed his mind at once, took her back to Five Elements Dao Sect, and accepted her as his disciple.

Everyone had thought that he valued Yu Zhao’s talent and that was why he brought her back to the sect. No one knew that what he liked at first sight was Yu Zhao herself, and that her talent was only a pleasant surprise.

Before that, Master Qing Yan had never taken in a female disciple. Yu Zhao was the only exception.

Master Qing Yan’s eyelashes trembled slightly.

He remembered.

He had once said that Yu Zhao was his closed-door disciple, and that he would not take any more disciples after her.

Later, he met Ye Cong Xin.

He broke his word.

Suddenly, Master Qing Yan’s brows furrowed. He snapped his eyes open, and a sharp light burst out from them.

He was a man who valued his promises greatly.

It was impossible for him to go back on his word!

And he would never forget a promise he had made!

Besides, with his cultivation level at Divine Transformation, having a perfect memory was only the most basic ability.

With a single fallen leaf or a withered flower, he could trace them back to their source and restore them to life. How could he possibly forget his promise to Yu Zhao?

Someone had interfered with his memory!

This thought made Master Qing Yan shiver with cold.

He was already someone who stood almost at the top of the cultivation world. Who could silently get close to him and tamper with him?

For a moment, he felt that he was overthinking things.

However, a cultivator’s instinct told him that his feeling was right. Otherwise, how could he explain breaking his own rule and taking in another disciple, and a naturally frail female disciple with only average talent at that?

Master Qing Yan’s gaze fell on the distant, still unconscious Ye Cong Xin. His expression was dark and hard to read.

…

As Sect Master Ji Yuan and Yu Zhao walked together from the top of Lone Moon Peak down to the foot of the mountain, he stayed silent for a long time. After he let out a soft sigh, he said: “Your status is special now. Come live with me at Main Peak.”

Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and refused.

Although the ranks in Five Elements Dao Sect were not very strict, the ranks of disciples and their matching treatment were clearly divided.

Personal Disciples could live with their master, while Inner Disciples without a master all lived together in the Inner Court.

The living conditions in the Inner Court were not bad either. Each disciple had a small courtyard of their own. Of course, compared to the caves on the mountain, they were much worse.

Yu Zhao could indeed shamelessly move into Main Peak, as long as he did not care about others gossiping or about the reputation of the Sect Master’s lineage being affected.

She had been able to leave Lone Moon Peak smoothly this time only by borrowing the Sect Master’s power. Yu Zhao was not someone who repaid kindness with hatred; she did not want to cause more trouble for the Sect Master.

Also, she already had a plan in her heart.

That sudden enlightenment in Dragon Roar Valley had raised her cultivation level to late Foundation Establishment. She planned to go into closed-door cultivation for a while to stabilize her level, then go out to temper herself.

After she found the last two materials for artifact forging, she would go to Greenwood Sect and borrow an alchemy room to do the artifact forging.

Because of that, she would not stay in the sect for long and did not need to worry about others disturbing her state of mind.

Ji Yuan could tell at a glance that Yu Zhao had made up her mind, so he did not try to persuade her anymore. He only added with a smile: “If you have nothing to do, you can come up to Main Peak and play with your First Senior Sister. She likes you a lot.”

Yu Zhao replied: “Yes, I will.”

Sect Master Ji Yuan rummaged around on himself, then pulled out a simple, old storage pouch. He said: “I know everything that happened in Dragon Roar Valley. You did very well. Thank you for saving Little Yue. This is my gift in return as your master. As for the sect’s reward, it will be given out after some time.”

The box of ore that Yu Zhao and the others had brought back from the secret realm, as well as that Scarlet Flame Lion cub, had already been handed over to the sect. Later, the sect would give out rewards based on the value of the items they turned in and each person’s contribution.

Ji Yuan explained this because he was afraid that Yu Zhao would misunderstand.

Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment, but still honestly reached out to take the storage pouch and said: “Thank you, Sect Master.”

[There was nothing she could do. Poor people could not afford to be picky.]

Ji Yuan said: “This is what you deserve. Come on, I will take you to the Inner Affairs Hall.”

On the surface, Sect Master Ji Yuan did not say much, but deep down he was very grateful to Yu Zhao.

Not to mention that dangerous premonition he had felt in the Sect Council Hall, just from what Zhou Jin Yue and Zhang Jun had said, he could imagine how dangerous it had been.

Zhou Jin Yue was Ji Yuan’s first disciple and had been raised by him personally. It was no exaggeration to say that Zhou Jin Yue was half of Ji Yuan’s life.

Yu Zhao had saved Zhou Jin Yue, which was the same as saving Ji Yuan himself.

Ji Yuan was willing to risk offending Master Qing Yan to go up Lone Moon Peak not only because of Zhou Jin Yue’s request, but also because he wanted to repay Yu Zhao.

Now Yu Zhao’s status was awkward. If he did not personally bring her there, she would definitely suffer a lot of difficulties.

For Zhou Jin Yue’s sake, Ji Yuan truly had thought of everything for Yu Zhao.

Yu Zhao understood Sect Master Ji Yuan’s good intentions and accepted gratefully.

Thus, a small number of disciples of Five Elements Dao Sect had the good fortune to see the Sect Master personally accompany Yu Zhao to the Inner Affairs Hall.

The elder in charge of the Inner Affairs Hall had the surname Hou. He was an old man who looked kind and gentle, with a mild temper, and he spoke neither too fast nor too slow.

Ji Yuan led Yu Zhao to stand before him and said with a big smile: “Elder Hou, from today on, Yu Zhao is an Inner Disciple. Change her rank on the roster, and then arrange a small courtyard for her again in the Inner Court.”

Elder Hou’s smile instantly froze on his face.

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