"First, let's have the youngest of the entire group, Xiao Ning!" Lady Moon announced without pause, causing the one called to jump in fright. "Xiao Ning, please step forward, and let the elders see your face!"
"S-Sister..."
The small girl, who looked to be around 5 years of age, had her eyes become teary as she grabbed the clothes of the woman beside her. She was the one who had been carrying Xiao Ning since the beginning when they were still in the lower world. Due to that, the little girl had earned some form of reliance on the woman, making her cling to her like that.
Unable to convince her to walk forward alone, the woman smiled wryly, muttering, "Alright, little sister, I will hold your hand. Let's go."
The two walked forward, up until they passed Quinlan's position, and stopped. Gently, the woman pushed Xiao Ning forward, letting her be witnessed by the elders.
Sharp eyes turned to the little girl, making her feel like crying. However, with the woman holding her hand and reassuring her, she managed to tough it out and remain firm, not crying a single tear.
"Well then, that should be enough time. Elders, which one wants to take her in?" Lady Moon asked after a few seconds.
The elders began murmuring, discussing something amongst themselves. After a while, a few of the elders raised their voices.
"That girl had the perfect Meridians for us. She should come to our Clearing Sound Peak! I'll make sure to make her reach the top easily!"
"Not so fast! Don't you see she's more fitting for our Freezing Lake Peak? She had a cold Qi, fit for our location!"
Two elders ended up wanting the little girl.
After a few exchanges, Lady Moon stepped in and asked Xiao Ning about her opinion. "So, Xiao Ning, which one do you want to enter?"
The little girl looked up, her eyes wavering. She had no idea which one was better for her, so she simply judged based on the sound of their voices. "T-Then, the Clearing Shound Peak."
"Yes!" The Elder of the Clearing Sound Peak cheered. "I'll definitely not betray your trust, Xiao Ning."
After that, the next one was supposed to be the six-year-old girl, but before her turn came, a problem occurred.
"No! I want to stay with Sister!"
Xiao Ning, after hearing that she needed to separate from the woman holding her hand, raised a tantrum. The elders felt troubled, not wanting to hurt the little girl's feelings, and after a while of deliberation, they came to a single solution.
"Miss Huang Ching Li will also come to the Clearing Sound Peak," Lady Moon announced, her tone showing that she was not taking any objections.
Xiao Ning cheered and hugged Ching Li tight out of joy. With that, the two went out of the hall, guided by one of the ten senior disciples.
After that, the selection continued. The same case as Xiao Ning happened three more times, causing the little girls and their "guardians" to come in pairs. One after another, the new recruits were assigned to one of the ten peaks.
Each peak was supposed to take in equal amounts of disciples, but for some reason, the Clearing Sound Peak got eight new disciples, the highest number among all other peaks. Others received only one or two, putting their recruited number into perspective.
Still, despite the imbalance in distribution, nobody raised a complaint. It was a fair and square recruitment battle, after all, for the elders.
Soon enough, only Quinlan and Xiyadie remained. Quinlan actually felt suspicious when Lady Moon skipped him when it was supposedly his turn. When Xiyadie got the same treatment, he started to harbor a guess. Soon enough, Lady Moon spoke, confirming his guess.
"The last two, Meng Yinuo and Xiyadie, are going to be my direct disciples," Lady Moon announced unceremoniously, but every elder gasped in surprise. "And that marks the end of this Disciple Selection. This evening, we will be holding a welcoming party for the new disciples. Everyone, rest up until then."
Lady Moon dismissed everyone before flying down from the third floor and standing in front of Quinlan and Xiyadie. Although her clothes didn't change, the aura around her was completely different. Before, Quinlan couldn't even detect how much Qi she had, but now he could feel the overwhelming pressure coming from her!
'This is definitely beyond even General Mugen!' Quinlan thought.
Of course, Lady Moon was leagues above the general. After all, she was currently at the Half-Immortal Stage! If she tried to let her aura off without restraining it, then Quinlan and the others wouldn't be able to take it and faint.
"Yinuo, Xiyadie, sorry for not asking your opinion and taking you for myself." Lady Moon apologized, but her face wasn't even a bit remorseful. Rather, she was all smiles. "I forgot to introduce myself properly, right? I'm Feng Ming Yue, the current Sect Leader of the Unity Peak Sect. Feng Yue Xianzhi is the fake name I use when going out."
Sect Leader!
He thought she had quite a high standing within the sect, being Yinuo's past master and all, but to think she was the pinnacle of the hierarchy. Quinlan was shocked beyond words!
"I greet the Sect Leader!" Quinlan bowed immediately, deeper than ever before.
Xiyadie did the same, probably reaching the same conclusion as Quinlan did. Lady Moon, however, simply smiled wryly as she waved her hand dismissively.
"No need for such formalities. We are now in a master and disciple relationship, after all. Continue calling me Master or Lady Moon, depending on what you would like to use."
"Goddess Moon!"
The elders raised their voices, surprised by her casual offer. Although they seemed to want to say something, everyone turned quiet after Lady Moon glared at them. Quinlan wasn't entirely sure about the reason for the Elders raising their voice, but given the circumstances, it was mostly related to her title.
'Goddess Moon, huh?' Quinlan pondered, hearing the extravagant term from the Elders' outburst earlier. 'Could it be that nobody is actually allowed to call her Lady Moon?'
His guess was close to home!
Lady Moon was pretty strict when it came to calling her name. It was to the point that, among the elders, only one was allowed to actually call her Lady Moon upfront and in public. Only those to whom she gave explicit permission could use the term "Lady Moon" to refer to her, while others needed to use "Goddess Moon" instead.
Quinlan, thinking about which label would earn him more points, decided to call her "Master" from then on. Of course, Xiyadie followed his example, calling Lady Moon "Master" too.
The smile on the Sect Leader's face turned wide, her eyes narrowing, before she continued. "Well then, shall we go to our peak then?"