Chapter 4325 — A Sisterly Pact

Moreover, she had only one personal disciple, and that was Wang Xinyan herself, whom she cherished and protected in all things. If Huang Xiaotao joined them, she believed the girl would suffer no hardship or slight of any kind.

East Sea Divine Nun had already been more than a little tempted; it was only that Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei had spoken first, and she had been too polite to contest the matter with them. Now, hearing Wang Xinyan say this, her resolve was settled at once.

After all, this was a dual fire-and-wind spiritual root, and a flawless Golden Core cultivator besides—in talent not the least bit inferior to Wang Xinyan, and rarer still, a female cultivator. To East Sea Divine Nun, whose ranks of disciples were so thin, this was a disciple delivered by heaven itself; even if she had to risk her dignity, she was determined to fight for the girl.

"Oh? Of course you may. It is rare that you should take such an interest, Yan'er—how could your master disappoint you?" East Sea Divine Nun had always doted on Wang Xinyan. She patted the girl's hand, then rose to her feet and addressed Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei directly: "This disciple—you two grown men should not squabble over her with an old woman like me. Female disciples are scarce to begin with, and ones of such aptitude scarcer still. Let her cultivate under my wing."

"This..." Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei exchanged a glance, somewhat abashed. They had indeed been eyeing Huang Xiaotao's formidable aptitude with greed, and had set their hearts on taking her as their own disciple—but now that East Sea Divine Nun had spoken, they felt too embarrassed to keep contending.

In any case, East Sea Divine Nun was a woman, and courtesy dictated that the two of them yield to her. What was more, she had always taken only female disciples; never before had she come forward to compete for any of the male disciples of surpassing aptitude they had encountered, and to this very day, though she was a vice-chancellor of the academy and a mighty titan of the Opening Mountain stage, she had only Wang Xinyan as a personal disciple. By both sentiment and reason, they ought not to fight her for the girl—otherwise they would look utterly petty.

Among the three great Opening Mountain titans of Morning Star Academy, setting aside the inconsequential nominal disciples and counting only personal disciples, Wei Hebei had taken no new disciples for several years, yet still had the most. To step forward and press his claim at such a moment would put him in the wrong from the start.

As for Chancellor Ling Yuanqing, though his personal disciples were very few, he still had more than East Sea Divine Nun's single solitary one. Moreover, East Sea Divine Nun was not only formidable in strength but also one of the academy's vice-chancellors—altogether indispensable to Morning Star Academy. Now that she had spoken up, so rare an occasion, Ling Yuanqing could hardly bring himself to defy her wishes.

"Very well, then. Since East Sea has spoken, the girl is yours. And among the three of us, you truly are the most suited to teach her," Ling Yuanqing said at last, making the final decision. Beside him, Wei Hebei raised no objection.

A short while later. Huang Xiaotao finished her discussion with Wei Zhao, and there, under the gaze of the multitudes, she followed Ling Yuanqing's earlier instructions and walked straight up onto the high platform, coming to stand before the three great Opening Mountain titans.

Yet before she could speak, East Sea Divine Nun said to her directly: "Girl, those two grown men are both unfit to be your master. I have just discussed it with them—from now on you shall be my personal disciple, and cultivate alongside Yan'er for company. How does that suit you?"

"Ah?" Huang Xiaotao was startled, and could not help turning to look at Wei Zhao below the platform. Wei Zhao had told her just moments ago to take Chancellor Ling Yuanqing as her master.

Watching from below, Wei Zhao quickly nodded to Huang Xiaotao in signal. He had urged her to choose Ling Yuanqing only because he thought him better than Wei Hebei; but since East Sea Divine Nun also wished to take Huang Xiaotao as a disciple, then East Sea Divine Nun was naturally the most suitable choice—that way, the moment Huang Xiaotao entered the sect, she could advance and retreat together with Wang Xinyan.

"Yes. Your disciple Huang Xiaotao pays her respects to Master." At Wei Zhao's signal, Huang Xiaotao hastily performed the ceremony of taking a master, and in her heart, besides the reluctance of parting from Wei Zhao, there finally stirred a trace of delight and excitement—for this was to become the personal disciple of an Opening Mountain titan, and no one alive could truly remain calm at such a thing.

"Good, good, good—rise, my disciple, quickly rise." East Sea Divine Nun hastened to raise her up with both hands. Even with her disposition and cultivation, she could scarcely conceal her joy at this moment. This was not merely a genius of dual fire-and-wind spiritual roots, but also a flawless Golden Core cultivator such as appears once in ten thousand; and more than that, the kindly air about Huang Xiaotao made her feel a genuine affinity for the girl.

The higher one's station, and especially at a realm like the Opening Mountain stage, the more clearly one perceives the elusive workings of fate and fortune. East Sea Divine Nun had studied this deeply. Taking a disciple depended on affinity—only when both parties felt that pull could fortune align and all be well pleased. So it had been when she took Wang Xinyan, and so it was now with Huang Xiaotao.

Gentle and warm, East Sea Divine Nun held Huang Xiaotao's hand and pointed to Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei beside her: "Come—from this day forth, these two are your martial uncles."

Though East Sea Divine Nun had not come from the same sect as the two of them, they were now all pillars of Morning Star Academy, a community of shared interests advancing and retreating as one, and so might well be counted as fellow disciples.

"Your disciple pays her respects to both martial uncles." Huang Xiaotao understood at once and saluted the two of them.

"No need for such courtesy—rise, martial niece, quickly rise." Ling Yuanqing and Wei Hebei nodded with smiles, though each felt a pang of regret. She might have been a personal disciple, and now she had become a martial niece instead. That feeling of letting a genius slip through one's fingers was like missing the grand prize by a hair's breadth in a lottery in the mortal world—truly enough to make one sigh.

"This is Wang Xinyan. She entered the sect a year before you, so she is your martial senior sister," East Sea Divine Nun then introduced.

"Xiaotao greets her senior sister." For the first time, Huang Xiaotao studied Wang Xinyan at close range, and even as a woman herself, she could not help being moved by the other's beauty and bearing. No wonder she was one of the Three Fairies of the Gaolin Sea Region; no wonder she had been able to be with Wei Zhao back in the mortal world.

"Greetings, junior sister Xiaotao." Wang Xinyan returned the salute with grace, then came over and affectionately took Huang Xiaotao's arm, turning to ask East Sea Divine Nun: "Master, your disciple would like to go out for some fresh air—and it happens to be a good chance to take junior sister Huang back to the inn and settle her into a room."

"Mm, go on, then—but best not to leave Zhenduan City, lest anything go amiss." East Sea Divine Nun nodded in assent. She truly doted on Wang Xinyan; whatever this disciple asked, she almost invariably granted, and her words were filled through and through with warm concern. (To be continued...)