"What? A Closed-door Disciple?"
Lu Nanfeng froze instantly. An Ze and Bai Yang's eyes widened in astonishment.
Their master hadn't accepted a disciple in over ten years and had even said she didn't plan on taking any more in the future.
For all these years, she had focused most of her attention on the three of them.
Now that a little junior sister had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a deep sense of unease settled in all of their hearts.
"Master, didn't you say you didn't want to take any more disciples?"
An Ze walked up to the two of them and looked Li Rao up and down, his expression growing even more displeased.
"A mere Three Spirit Roots—is she even worthy of becoming a True Disciple of my Yunxiao Peak?"
'If word got out that my new junior sister has Three Spirit Roots, what will other people think of me?'
"Master, perhaps you should reconsider. Accepting a disciple is not a matter to be taken lightly."
Lu Nanfeng chimed in, also trying to persuade her.
In the Cultivation World, accepting a disciple is a momentous occasion.
The saying "a teacher for a day is a father for life" was no mere joke.
Once you accepted a disciple, you not only had to answer their questions and teach them the Dao, but you also had to back them up and be their pillar of support.
Therefore, the choice had to be mutual and made with caution.
The three of them had been able to become Song Wanning's disciples only because of their own outstanding aptitude.
But what did this little girl before them have?
Bai Yang's expression was also quite grim at this moment.
'I've been kneeling here for days, and Master hasn't spared me a single word of concern. And now she brings back a new disciple.'
A feeling of resentment began to stir in his heart.
"Since when do I need your permission to accept a disciple?"
Song Wanning scoffed and took Li Rao's small hand. "From this day forward, she is your junior sister. I don't care what her aptitude is. All that matters is that I like her!"
With that, she led Li Rao by the hand into the main hall, never once glancing at Bai Yang from beginning to end.
Bai Yang silently clenched his fists, his gaze fixed on their departing backs, unable to look away for a long time.
'What does Master mean by this?'
'Why is she ignoring me?'
"Eldest Brother, what's wrong with Master? Why did she suddenly decide to take a disciple?"
Lu Nanfeng felt a little flustered. For some reason, he really didn't want his master to accept this new disciple.
"Hmph, what else could it be for?"
An Ze snorted coldly and said with displeasure, "It must be because we've angered her recently. She's deliberately taking on a disciple just to spite us, isn't she?"
"Let's see how long she can be smug about this. Taking on such a terrible disciple, she's going to regret it to death!"
An Ze now harbored great malice toward Song Wanning. Although he didn't dare say anything to her face, he often complained behind her back.
In his eyes, his master had completely degenerated into the kind of petty, jealous woman one would find in a rear courtyard.
Even though her Cultivation was profound and her combat strength was immense, he didn't hold Song Wanning in high regard.
Hearing this, Bai Yang's expression darkened, and he slowly unclenched his hand.
'That must be it!'
'Master is angry with me, so she's deliberately taking on a disciple to spite me!'
He glanced at his own knees. He had been kneeling for so long, yet his master still hadn't told him to get up. It seemed she was truly and thoroughly angered this time.
But he still didn't think he was in the wrong.
'If Master ignores me, I'll ignore her too. Let's just see who can hold out longer!'
Relying on Song Wanning's years of doting, Bai Yang didn't take the matter to heart.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall, Song Wanning was also sizing up the little girl before her.
When she had found her, the little girl was being beaten and kicked, but her eyes were clear and bright, shining with an astonishing light.
In her previous life, Song Wanning had met this young girl. By then, the girl had been forced to the point of demonic transformation and was a wanted fugitive everywhere.
During one encirclement, she was injured by someone and fell into a valley.
In the valley, she met Li Rao.
Li Rao was already a Foundation Establishment Cultivator at that time, undergoing training in the valley, and she recognized Song Wanning at a glance.
But she didn't harm Song Wanning, nor did she inform the Sect. Instead, she secretly hid her in the valley and gave her all the Elixir Pills she had.
At a time when she had been abandoned by her closest family and loved ones, a complete stranger had saved her instead.
Song Wanning didn't understand, but Li Rao said she had once received a favor from her in the Sect.
Though it was just a single sentence that saved her from a beating by other disciples, Li Rao had always kept it in her heart and never dared to forget.
Originally, she had planned to send the girl to the Song Family, but the Song Family's future in this life was uncertain. She didn't want her act of repaying a kindness to turn into an act of "revenge."
Leaving her in the outer sect offered no guarantee that someone wouldn't secretly move against her while she was away. After thinking it over and over, she decided that accepting her as a disciple was the most suitable option.
"Grandmaster Song, I... should I just go back?"
Li Rao timidly fiddled with the corner of her clothes, a hint of low self-esteem in her eyes.
She was just a Three Spirit Roots, and the concentration of her Spirit Root wasn't even high. In the outer sect, she was a target everyone felt free to bully.
'Someone with aptitude like mine isn't qualified to be Grandmaster Song's disciple!'
The little girl's expression was a little dejected.
A smile in her eyes, Song Wanning patted the little girl's head.
"I am accepting you because you have your own outstanding qualities. There's no need to belittle yourself!"
"Some people, no matter how great their aptitude, may not meet a good end if they are ungrateful for the blessings they've received."
"Li Rao, from this day forward, you are my, Song Wanning's, disciple."
"You don't need to feel inferior, because you are in no way inferior to anyone else!"
"Really?"
The little girl looked up, her large, grape-like eyes gazing at Song Wanning with pleasant surprise. Her chubby cheeks were like a round peach.
Song Wanning smiled, gave her cheek a little pinch, and nodded.
A look of deep admiration instantly filled the little girl's eyes, and a dazzling smile spread across her entire face.
'From now on, I have a master too!'
————————
Bai Yang knelt for a full seven days before he was finally given permission to stop his punishment.
He stood up and rubbed his knees, his expression unpleasant.
While he was kneeling, Song Wanning had forbidden him from using Spiritual Power to protect his body, so for the past few days, his knees had been pressed firmly against the ground.
If not for the fact that he also practiced Body Refinement and possessed a strong physique, his knees would have been ruined after these past few days.
"Eldest Brother, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
Bai Yang pushed away Lu Nanfeng's hand as he reached out to help him up, coughing a few times.
"Eldest Brother, your injuries haven't healed, and you've been kneeling for several days straight. You should go back and rest first!"
"I'll go get some Elixir Pills from Master. Once you take them, your injuries will heal quickly!"
Lu Nanfeng signaled for An Ze to take Bai Yang away, while he himself headed for the Hidden Pill Pavilion.
An Ze and Bai Yang were both stubborn. If he didn't separate them, they would probably anger their master again.
He sighed. These past few days had felt mentally exhausting.
His master had changed so much, leaving him feeling unsettled and quite anxious.
Upon entering the hall, he saw Song Wanning instructing Li Rao about something.
Lu Nanfeng's steps faltered. He hesitated for a moment before continuing forward.
"Master, I'm going to the Hidden Pill Pavilion to get some Elixir Pills for Eldest Brother."
Every month, their master gave them a set amount of Elixir Pills.
Unlike the Elixir Pills from the outside world, the ones their master gave them were all high-grade or top-grade elixirs. They contained almost no Dan Poison, so taking them wouldn't risk harming their foundation.
Because of this, they had never bought Elixir Pills in all these years.
They looked down on the Elixir Pills distributed by the Sect, usually just giving them away casually to others.
Now that Eldest Brother was injured and Third Junior Brother hadn't fully recovered either, the first thing Lu Nanfeng thought of was their master's Elixir Pills.
Song Wanning, who had been talking with Li Rao, paused and shot him a cool glance.