"WHAT!?"
"It's true!!"
"NO WAY!"
"Yes way! I am not lying!"
"Are you serious!?"
"Of course I am!"
"Who is it?"
"That, I don't know…"
"Ughh!! How can someone be so lucky!?"
"I know right!? Why am I not the one?"
The discussions like these were happening all around the Seven Swords Sect.
Why?
Because of the news that was spreading throughout the sect like fire.
The Almighty, Great Elder Ace has taken in a personnel disciple!
Great Elder Ace, the strongest person in the whole Sect, the one with otherworldly looks and charisma, the one who had never taken in a disciple ever since he joined the Sect. That, Elder Ace, has taken in a Personnel Disciple.
Many were trying to guess who the Personnel Disciple is, and envied him/her.
"Who do you think the personnel disciple is?"
"I don't know, but I am pretty sure it is a girl"
"Huh? Why is that?"
"Well, have you seen Elder Ace's wife? She soo pretty!? I don't think any guy can control himself in her presence, and even Elder Ace should know about it, I doubt that he would let any other man live in his courtyard"
"Mhm, you are right"
"Do you have any guesses on who she might be?"
"I think it can be Sister Sophia, she is talented, plus, she is pretty close to his family"
"But isn't she already the Sect Leader's personnel disciple?"
"Well, to be completely honest, If I was in her position, I won't care about Sect Leader if Elder Ace is willing to take me in! Heck, I won't care about anything if that happens!"
"Maybe you are right, but I don't think she is the one, I mean, if Elder Ace wanted, he would have taken her a lot sooner"
"Maybe it is someone with Advance level affinity?"
"Advance!? Are you an idiot!? Why a mage with Advance level affinity would decide to stay here, he would move to the royal capital or even the Imperial capital!"
"Well, maybe she wants to stay with Elder Ace for a while and after she learns everything, she can leave for the capital, or even better, take Elder Ace away with her~" the other girl answered as her lewd fantasies began.
"Hey, should we go and try to see who the genius is?" The girl questioned and the other one nodded.
They began walking towards Ace's courtyard but their eyes widened in shock when they saw the sight in front of them.
A huge crowd of disciples has gathered in front of Ace's courtyard.
"Great Elder Ace! Please give us a chance to prove ourselves!"
"Yes! I would like to challenge the Personnel disciple you took in!"
"I would prove it that I am better, he might be talented, but I will work hard to cover for my lack of talent and will bring glory to your name!"
And blah blah blah… the disciples continued.
They were all really desperate, actually, when Elder Ace arrived, they just thought that he doesn't want to take any disciple so they didn't try hard enough, but now that he has taken one, they are all here to have a chance.
This is a one-time opportunity and everyone wants to jump on it together.
Ace, who just returned after registering his Gracie as his personal disciple, was fed up due to the noises they were creating. He could just create a sound barrier and continue, but that would just mean that those idiots will keep standing there.
Finally, he decided to appear in front of all with Gracie in his arms.
"Alright, all of you! Shut your mouths!" Ace declared in an annoyed tone and as if preplanned, everyone turned silent. No one was gutsy enough to annoy Ace. Not even other elders.
"Now, what do you need, don't start together, one of you come forward and say it clearly"
One of the girls who wore a purple-colored robe stepped forward and spoke.
"We disciples pay our respects to Great Elder Ace, we are here for a chance to prove our worth to Elder Ace by challenging his personnel disciple and become your personnel disciple in her place"
"Not happening, my disciple hasn't even started her journey yet" Ace answered directly.
"B-But… Umm… W-We would like that Elder Ace would giv-"
"Not happening. I don't plan to take any other disciples" Ace declared. His tone as majestic as ever but as majestic as it was, it also felt cold and overbearing, the disciple stepped back without saying another word.
"C-can we know who your disciple is?" Another girl stepped forward and questioned.
Ace's cold facade disappeared instantly, he smiled and placed Gracie on his shoulders, at the same time, he held her hands, ensuring that she won't fall.
"She is the one. My daughter, Gracie Vorste" Ace declared proudly, if one watches closely, he could notice Ace's chest a little puffed up and his head was raised more than usual.
"Now if you don't have anything else...
Leave." Ace commanded indifferently.
Ace was so overbearing with his command that he didn't leave any hopes for retaliations. The crowd began to scatter as all their hopes were shattered. It was well known that Elder Ace values his family a lot, if the disciple is her daughter herself, he won't take anyone else, so as to not hinder her progress.
But still, many started at Gracie enviously who just smiled happily as she was seeing the world from a new height.
"Papa! Forward!" Gracie exclaimed cheerfully.
"At once, My Lord" Ace answered playfully and obeyed the absolute order.
"Ehehe~ Ehehe! Papa! Left! Ehehe~" Gracie giggled cutely as she enjoyed the ride. Ace, of course, obeyed what his Nightingale ordered. It was pretty funny to watch the previous almighty Emperor and a present respectful Great Elder taking orders from a little girl happily.
…
"Papa, when will you teach me magic?" Gracie questioned after a while.
"Hmm? Do you want to start now?" Ace proposed.
"I do!" Gracie answered and Ace brought her back to her room.
"Alright, now which element do you want to use first?" Ace questioned.
"Iceee!" Gracie replied happily.
"Alright, Ice, it is then" Ace smiled and placed Gracie on the bed as he sat in front of her.
"Now sit like this, close your eyes and try to find little Ice particles in the air" Ace explained.
By little Ice particles, he obviously meant the Ice Qi. That was just his way of teaching his Nightingale.
Gracie sat cross-legged and closed her eyes with a determined look on her face. Which was quite a sight to see. Ace was pretty sure it could melt anyone's heart.
…
After 5 minutes, her eyebrows twitched and she opened her eyes with an annoyed expression but that only made her even cuter.
"I… I can't find it!" Gracie cried in annoyance.
Ace smiled wryly when he heard that… He would be more surprised if she really could find it.
Even he took 2 weeks to actually able to find the Typhoon Qi and that is considered pretty monstrous itself. It can be seen how hard it actually is if one notices the age of students that wanted to join the Sect 8 years ago.
The youngest of them was 18 years old.
Generally, people awaken when they are 10 years old, of course, Gracie did it early because Ace kept injecting a small amount of Qi inside her body since she was small. The reason Ace did it was because of the level of interest shown by Gracie when it came to Mages. Since she was a kid, she was always excited about this and the three always go to watch every tournament that is held in the city, no matter big or small.
Ace and Maeve already guessed that she would want to become a mage and came up with the idea of helping her get on the path as early as possible. Of course, there are cases of people awakening their talents when they were 5-6 years old but that sort of forceful awakening might be harmful.
Umm… so, coming back to the main topic, the youngest mage was 18 years old.
It was because it takes years for a mage to be able to sense the Qi present in the air. Some can't even do it in their whole lifetime. Plus, for upgraded elements like Ice, it becomes even tougher, even more than Light and Dark elements.
"Gracie, you need to be patient, this isn't something you can do very easily. Don't lose your calm and try again" Ace explained patiently, he knew how frustrating this stage was.
Most of the mages lose hopes and give up here.
Gracie nodded in understanding and closed her eyes again.
Just like that, the whole afternoon, and then the evening passed by.
Ace never left the room to give Gracie the moral support she needed and even Maeve came from time to time when she wasn't busy with chores. Usually, Ace would help her with some, but now that Gracie was at a very crucial stage of her Magic path, Maeve told him to be by her side.
"Alright Gracie, that's enough for today, now let's sleep" Ace spoke.
Gracie opened her eyes with a frustrated look.
"Why can't I do it!?" She questioned in an annoyed tone. Of course, it was pretty normal for a child of that age.
"It's alright, aren't you my Genius Nightingale? I m sure you will be able to do it soon enough!" Ace answered as he consoled his daughter. Even Maeve was present right beside Ace.
"Hubby, wasn't it your turn to tell her a story today?" Maeve questioned, trying to change the topic.
"What? It was mine? I totally forgot! I don't have any stories for today!" Ace replied as if he really forgot and placed his hands on his head as if regretting his actions.
Gracie looked at Ace in disbelief, she wasn't able to find those ice particles and now even her papa forgot about the story, she looked like she was about to cry.
"Hehe! Fooled you! How can I not have any story for my Nightingale, in fact, I have an even better one!" Ace chuckled, and Gracie pouted cutely.
"Hmph! I am not talking to you!" Gracie's cheeks puffed up in annoyance as she crossed her arms together, at the same time, she furrowed her brows and closed her eyes, not wanting to see her father.
"Aww... Really? But I tried so hard to come up with this story... It might be the best story I ever told you..." Ace replied sadly. Gracie's brows relaxed visibly and she sneakily opened her left eye, wanting Ace to continue.
"This story is about a cute girl who wanted to become a mage, do you want to hear it?" Ace questioned and Gracie's eyes brightened.
"I do! I d- I mean... I will forgive you if you... if you... I mean, if I like your story..." She exclaimed before remembering that she was supposed to be angry but she quickly covered it up. Ace then smiled and picked her up before walking into the bedroom. He then sat on the bed while Gracie was still in his arms.
"Okay... So once upon a time..." Ace started narrating the story while Gracie listened to it excitedly, completely forgetting about her failure today.