Tian Xuan certainly did not expect to hear that but he was as calm as the lake looking at the girls. As he watched how the other girls react, he figured that they have long known about the girl.
He was about the same high as the girl so his eyes met straight into her eyes. She seemed to be afraid of him that also showed a hint of reverence in her eyes toward him.
"Xuyin, follow me. Yi Ling later brings the outer students to the hall and relay my words to Formation Elder Yiyuan. Have the outer students make a group of five fight with one inner student. Regardless of who is the winner, the reward for the winner will be a land deed for a piece of land in the commercial section."
Astonishment hit Yi Ling and the rest. They all had widened eyes as they looked at Tian Xuan.
"This student obey." Yi Ling bowed and Tian Xuan waved his hand to call out the white jade snake that he recently named it as Shiro just because the snake gives off vibes similar to the fluffy white dog that little boy Shinosuke owned.
Tian Xuan ride on the snake and Shao Xuyin hesitantly followed after him.
Afterward, they set off to the east and reached the sea after few minutes. Shao Xuyin wondered why the leader brought her over to the sea where there is nothing at all until she saw a considerably large mountain suddenly appeared out of the thin air floated in the mid-air.
As they landed on the first layer of the mountain, Shao Xuyin looked upward admiring the awe-inspiring sight of the buildings on the mountains.
"Right here, this will be the place where families of the sect's students and elders will be staying at." Tian Xuan pointed to the ground where they are at.
Then, his finger pointed slightly upward.
"The second layer is where the students and residents are allowed to interact with each other on daily basis. The layer is for the commercial buildings and warden's houses.
The third layer is where the students will be living in and cultivate. The fourth layer is where the students will be studying in classes and exchanges fist. The fifth layer will be where Master Elders are staying in and the top is my personal resting place."
Shao Xinyu listened to the leader quietly and nodded her head lightly but she is wondering why the leader told her this now.
"Xinyu, the student won't interact with the resident on the first layer on daily basis. The student cannot go to the first layer and the resident cannot go beyond the second layer unless there is a special event held by the sect and special reason.
Only the leader of the sect, the advisor, Master Elder and the Dormitory Warden are allowed to go to the first layer and beyond the second layer without much restriction. " Tian Xuan looked into her eyes and asked in an austere voice.
"Do you still insist on not allowing your family into the sect?"
"I..."
Tian Xuan didn't wait for the girl to tell him. He walked forward to the staircase leading to the second layer then he told her to follow him.
They arrived at a small building that has [Ether Hall] wooden nameplate on the top.
They entered a comfy looking office and he told the girl to sit on the couch as he prepared the tea.
As he put down the cup in front of the girl, Shao Xuyin was startled.
Tian Xuan sat in front of her and asked her in a calm tone. "Will you tell me, why do you choose my sect?"
Tian Xuan might not have recognized her at first but he remembered the faces of those that he recruited. Shao Xuyin pretended to be the Wu Clan's servant and tried her luck to be recruited by Tian Xuan. Tian Xuan chose the disciple based on their personalities and strong will but not because of their talent.
Shao Xuyin might not be as talented as Wu Linyi or Wu Yunfeng but she is like the previous Wu Xian that is above average. Wu Xian reached Martial King stage when he was near 17 years old.
While Shao Xuyin reached the same stage but at the age of 13. She is a talented person in ordinary people eyes and should be accepted into the other sect pretty easily.
The reason why she was able to reach such a stage at this age was due to the cultivation material like spiritual stones and manuals that Tian Xuan gave but it is also due to her understanding of the cultivation manual she chose and her hardworking personality.
That's mean, she chose the sect and not the other way around.
"I..."
Tian Xuan doesn't force the girl to speak but he silently waited for her to talk. Tian Xuan had left Tian Qiu behind in the first layer to let the system continues building several more buildings like houses and shops as well as the drainage system.
He has all the time he needs to listen to the girl.
After waiting for a long time, the girl spoke in slightly soft but choking voice.
"I don't know how to explain… "
Tian Xuan lowered his eyes at the girl's hand and saw the girl is clawing her skirt.
"What is your relationship with Shao Xinyue?"
The question is so direct that it stunned the girl. She looked at Tian Xuan with her pale white face with her expression darkened.
She gritted her teeth and replied timidly. "She is my… half-sister."
Half sister or in another word, step sister but since this world has the ancient genre, the concubine child cannot claim the main wife child as normal sibling thus the word half-sibling. Only the main wife child can call the other wife child as step-sibling.
Tian Xuan lowered his eyes and slowly closed it. Either Shao Xuyin is the concubine child or Shao Xinyue is the concubine child but looking at how the girl is reacting, it can be neither.
"Lord Tian, if I say that I hate Shao Clan so much… will you believe or be angry at me?"
"I can believe in what you say but if I don't know the full story, how am I going to believe or be angry at you?"
"The reason why I told Elder Li that I don't want to let my family enter the sect is that of what they did to me. I hate them so much. I… I..." Tears started flowing out of her eyes as she spoke. She lowered her head and cried without letting out a sound.
[Elder Li is Li Yiyuan. Outer sect student called him that way while inner student calls him Elder Yiyuan.]
"Shao is the surname that you bear. Unless you threw it away, you cannot claim yourself as someone unrelated to Shao Clan. When you say that you hate Shao Clan, does that mean you hate yourself too?"
Shao Xuyin dodged her head upward to look at Tian Xuan. Her eyes are red from rubbing it as she wiped her tears.
"Esteemed leader… Xuyin failed to protect my mother. I have failed to protect my own beloved mother from my own father… how can I not hate myself? After knowing that Wu Xian killed father's precious jewel, I was so exhilarated that I came to Wu Clan to investigate."
"Do you wish to kill Shao Qigang?"
"Wish… of course, I wish. But, mother won't be happy if I did such thing. I could only hate myself for being weak. If I was strong, mother wouldn't have died."
Tian Xuan lowered his eyes and the corner of his mouth curved slightly upward. His soft voice reached the girl's ear.
"Xuyin, you are strong."
If it was him, he certainly would not listen to what his mother said if someone has harmed his beloved people. That was precisely the reason that he fell to the devil cultivators traps.
For a girl that is evidently younger than him, loses a person that she dears so much but still held back from killing the person that harmed her beloved, Tian Xuan truly respected her.
"It is fine not to forgive someone but it is better to forget about them. Xuyin, the matter about letting your family join the sect as a resident, is entirely up to you. I only said that people are allowed to bring their family with them but it was not an order." Tian Xuan said with a smile on his face. He took out a handkerchief from the spatial ring and gave it to the girl.
"Thank you, esteemed leader." Shao Xuyin bit her lower lip and knitted her eyebrows as she held back from crying out loud in an unsightly manner.
It was the first time she was praised that she is strong by someone other than her mother. Her father mocked her as useless and weak. Shao Xinyue treated her badly and made her into her punching bag while throwing abusive words like weakling, useless, trash and coward.