Xu Mei, Quinlan, and Xiyadie walked across the hall, reaching the table while bathed in the heated gazes of everyone else inside. After they sat down, where Xu Mei sat to Lady Moon's right, Quinlan across her, and Xiyadie to his right, across Xu Mei, Lady Moon then leaned forward, as if to emphasize her bountiful fruits getting squished by the polished wooden table.
"So, did Xiao Mei explain how this welcome party would go?"
Quinlan quickly corrected his gaze, looking straight into Lady Moon's eyes, and answered.
"No, she didn't say much. But I could guess that in here, we're supposed to show that us two, chosen by the Sect Leader, are heads and shoulders above the other disciples."
Hearing his answer, Lady Moon's eyes glittered with excitement, narrowing down as she gave a crescent moon smile. "Correct. As expected, you figured it out."
Based on her words, apparently, Lady Moon can't show any weakness to the elders. If she did, then they would have something to pick on her about, making her relations with them harder to manage. In short, now that Quinlan and Xiyadie were chosen as her disciples, they would need to outperform other disciples in everything.
"For example, Xiao Mei over here is keeping her first-rank position in the Sect's Internal Ranking Competition every year." Lady Moon added, pulling Xu Mei into a tight hug. "As expected of my first disciple~!"
"Master, please stop." Xu Mei coughed lightly, pushing away Lady Moon as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. "We're in public right now, please maintain your dignity."
"Oh, right!"
Seeing two girls, wearing "provocative" clothes, and adding the fact that he knew they weren't wearing underneath, made Quinlan feel weird. Before things got awkward, he quickly turned his gaze away, trying to look around the banquet.
Almost everyone that Lady Moon brought in as new disciples has already gathered, waiting for only a couple more. The feast would begin shortly.
During that time, Quinlan tried to place everyone's faces into his memory, making sure that he would know which peak they were from at a glance. However, it didn't take him too long before he finished remembering everyone's faces.
"Alright, I guess it's about time."
Lady Moon stood from her seat, walking up the stand. As she moved, mystical particles flew around, making her appear as if she was glowing, and leaving a beautiful trail through where she walked past. Then, after reaching the center of the stage, she turned around, causing the lights to flutter.
"Everyone, today, we are gathered here to welcome our new disciples into the Sect..."
After that was hell...
Her speech went on for almost a full hour.
Despite being hungry, nobody dared to tell Lady Moon that she was way over the time allotted. Of course, this was intentional on her part, making the others feel her "absolute" authority concerning anything about the Sect.
After her speech, the Elders were the next to go up on stage, introducing their respective new disciples to the rest one after another. Quinlan listened intently, making sure to commit to memory what everyone's names and faces were.
The introduction went faster, since Lady Moon used up the most time, before finally, it was the moment for them to get introduced. Lady Moon went up the stage once more, making everyone have looks of worry, thinking that she'd take up more time again.
"Well then, let me introduce my new disciples!" She announced with a wide smile and energetic gestures. "First, we have Xiyadie! Xiyadie, please come up the stage."
Although she was nervous, Xiyadie did as told, and walked up the stage. She turned to everyone, before bowing lightly, showing her perfect display of poise and nobility.
"Xiyadie here possesses a unique physique. She has the Devouring Ocean of Yin Qi!"
*GASP!*
The voices of the Senior Disciples and the elders echoed loudly. From their reaction, it was easy to guess how amazing Xiyadie's physique was. After all, the Devouring Ocean of Yin Qi type of Physique enables the possessor to pull in all the Yin Qi in her surroundings, multiplying her cultivation efficiency by several folds.
Furthermore, it not only affects Xiyadie herself, but even those who are cultivating nearby, as they could benefit from the flood of Qi flowing toward her. This physique was one of the reasons why Quinlan's cultivation speed was so fast, enough to surprise even Yinuo.
Some of the Elders turned their greedy gazes toward Xiyadie, but with Lady Moon right by her side, they could only turn away reluctantly.
"Next is Meng Yinuo!"
Lady Moon finally called upon Quinlan. He stood up, trying to maintain finesse with each casual move he made. His painstaking effort to look good worked wonders, causing everyone who was looking at him to admire his beauty in a daze.
When Quinlan reached on top of the stage, standing beside Lady Moon, he saw the dazed looks on most of the new disciples and some of the Senior Disciples. Although it felt complicated for him, acting girly despite being a man, he needed to do it for Lady Moon's honor.
After waiting for most of the disciples to return to their senses, Lady Moon then tapped Quinlan's shoulder, before introducing him.
"Meng Yinuo also possesses a pretty rare constitution." A cheeky smile, as if a kid boasting about her new toy, appeared on her face. "She possesses the rare Heavenly Ice Element!"
"""...!"""
More than their reactions to Xiyadie's reveal, Quinlan's constitution caused everyone to become literally speechless. Their expression was complicated, however, making Quinlan confused about their reaction.
"Right," Lady Moon continued. "She also possesses the same constitution as I do!"
"...!"
This time, even Quinlan was surprised. Yinuo didn't tell him about Lady Moon possessing the Heavenly Ice Element too!
The elders had envious, but also pitying gazes pointed at Quinlan, confusing him even more. It wasn't privy to him, but the Heavenly Ice Element is quite a hard-to-cultivate talent. Though it has its own perks, it has just as many downsides to it. One major downside is that Yinuo's body was completely incompatible with Yang Qi. She couldn't take in even a sliver of it, making her Qi extremely imbalanced.
"...?"
But with Quinlan's Soul replacing Yinuo's, the story changes...