A month had passed, and Hun Yu and Su Yan's training was still ongoing.
During this time, Hun Yu met Yu Mei, a little girl whose mother still had not been found. She was staying at the sect in Su Yan's house.
Su Yan had been absent for many days, making Yu Mei anxious. The little girl ran off to find Su Yan but was caught by the guards.
Despite their efforts, her stubbornness to find Su Yan led the guards to report it to an elder, who then brought the little girl to her.
Hun Yu watched as Su Yan comforted the crying child, explaining that she had left without telling her.
"Sister Yan, you're so bad. You left Mei'er all alone."
Su Yan tried everything to make Yu Mei stop crying but failed. Desperately, she looked at Hun Yu, who stood at a distance, silently asking for help.
Hun Yu wanted to laugh at the sight of the proud and arrogant Su Yan pleading for assistance.
"Okay, Yu Mei, stop crying," he said, walking forward.
Hearing his familiar voice, Yu Mei stopped crying and looked at him. She had been so busy complaining to Su Yan that she hadn't noticed Hun Yu's presence.
Her eyes glowed golden for a second before returning to normal.
"Big Brother!" She ran to Hun Yu, hugging him and leaving Su Yan behind.
Su Yan was shocked. This kid had changed sides in an instant. She was crying a second ago, and now she was happy. Wasn't big sister enough? She thought.
Their reunion was interrupted by Yun Xiu's stern voice. "Get back to training."
Yun Xiu had been very strict over the past month. Sleep at 10, wake at 5, start training from 6 to 9, and then sleep.
Under such rigorous training, there were noticeable improvements. Su Yan, who had many flaws in her stance before, now wielded her sword flawlessly.
Hun Yu's progress was also significant. Yun Xiu focused on training his body since he was in the body tempering realm, where strength was crucial for breakthroughs.
Now, he was as strong as a normal rank 3 body tempering practitioner. During this time, he completed many minor tasks assigned by the system, such as assisting with chores, providing water, and cooking for Su Yan and Yun Xiu.
These minor tasks amounted to around 2000 energy points, bringing his total to 3500. He needed 1500 more energy points for a breakthrough.
As they returned to training, it involved sparring between Hun Yu and Su Yan. Su Yan had to suppress her power to match Hun Yu's, and any mistakes were corrected on the spot by Yun Xiu. Yu Mei watched in awe.
"Little girl, your name was Yu Mei, right?" Yun Xiu asked, turning her gaze to the child. She remembered Yu Mei possessed the Golden Soul Piercing Eyes and had noticed the golden light in her eyes earlier.
"Yes, big sister Yun. You didn't forget my name, and I didn't either," Yu Mei replied cutely.
Yun Xiu got straight to the point. "When you saw Hun Yu, did you notice anything unusual?"
"Hmm, nothing. It was normal as before," Yu Mei replied.
Yun Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. She had asked because Yu Mei possessed the Golden Soul Piercing Eyes physique.
The Golden Soul Piercing Eyes physique is rare, only appearing once in a century.
As the name suggests, it allows the possessor to pierce into someone else's soul. No ghost or soul can hide from it.
Though not fully awakened, anyone with the Golden Soul Piercing Eyes could detect ghosts. If Hun Yu's body was still possessed, this little girl would have sensed it immediately.
Yun Xiu had considered accepting Yu Mei as a disciple but hesitated. What could she teach her in 4-5 years? The girl would become attached and be heartbroken when she had to leave.
It seemed better to let her live a normal life. However, with the Golden Soul Piercing Eyes, no force would leave her alone; they would either kill her or control her.
Training her to protect herself might be the best option.
"So, Yu Mei, do you want to be my disciple?" Yun Xiu asked.
Yu Mei, busy watching the fight between Hun Yu and Su Yan, where Hun Yu was being pushed back, suddenly heard her words.
"Disciple?"
"Yes, do you want to learn under me?"
Yu Mei thought for a second. "Yes, yes! Big sister Yun is the best! Sister Su Yan told me that Sister Yun is the strongest," she said happily.
Yun Xiu smiled. "Okay, then. The ceremony will be held in the next two days."
She instructed Hun Yu and Su Yan to stop and informed them she was accepting Yu Mei as her disciple.
Su Yan was the most shocked. The sect master had not accepted her as a disciple but was accepting this little girl. Was she lacking in talent? Though a bit jealous, she was happy for Yu Mei.
Hun Yu had already expected this. Given Yu Mei's unique physique, her talent was undoubtedly exceptional. Accepting her was a wise decision.
"The disciple acceptance ceremony will be held in the next two days. I will inform the elders about it," Yun Xiu announced.
With a swish, she disappeared from sight and soon appeared in a hall where all the elders were present, including the great elder. She had sent a transmission message for them to come.
"What is this, sect master? Why have we been called here?" one elder asked.
Yun Xiu, sitting on her throne-like seat, replied, "I have called you all here to announce something."
Every elder fell silent.
"I am announcing that I will be accepting a disciple, and the ceremony will be held in the next two days."
Every elder was shocked upon hearing this.
"What! How can you accept a disciple without even consulting us?" the great elder protested.
"The disciple of the sect master will ultimately be the next sect master. How can this decision be taken so irrationally? And on top of that, we are low on resources!"
Yun Xiu remained silent, letting him finish his outburst.
"Firstly, you should mind your tone, great elder. Don't think that just because you are the great elder, you can run your mouth in front of me."
The great elder's face turned white. "You—" Just as he wanted to say another word, a massive pressure descended upon him like a mountain.
He used his own qi to resist it, but after a moment, Yun Xiu withdrew her pressure.
"Know your place, great elder. Don't think you can challenge my authority just because you were favored by my master."
The old man's face turned so red it looked like it might explode at any moment. The other elders stepped back, maintaining their distance.
"Does anyone else have objections?" Yun Xiu asked, her voice carrying the authority of a sect master that none could speak against.
With that, she disappeared from their sight.
The elders were left in the room, hesitating to speak. The great elder, whose face was still red, also disappeared from view.
"The great elder is really angry this time. I hope he doesn't do something rash," one of the elders remarked.
"Although what he said was somewhat right, his tone was unacceptable," another elder commented.
"Yes, the sect master truly put the great elder in his place."
"He has been arrogant since the death of the previous sect master," someone added, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"It was quite a show. Let's see who the disciple the sect master wants to accept is," said the sixth elder.
Everyone fell silent out of respect for the sixth elder, the oldest and most experienced among them.
Meanwhile, back at the training grounds, Su Yan approached Hun Yu.
"You, Hun Yu, I'm hungry. Can you make some food?"
"Why? Why should I make you food?" he asked, teasingly.
There was no task assigned by the system to make anything, and although he didn't mind making some, he decided to have some fun.
"You! Fine, I'll make it myself," she huffed, heading towards the kitchen.
Hun Yu followed behind her, smiling at her determination.
"Hmph! See how I make the best dish," Su Yan declared confidently.
Hun Yu stood behind her, silently smiling behind his mask as he watched her attempt at cooking. His smile faded as he observed her process.
Is she making poison or something? he thought.
Soon, she finished, and even Su Yan's expression looked uncertain. She knew what she had made wasn't right. This was her first time cooking; as a princess, she had never needed to do any work.
"Okay, you taste it first," she said, pushing the plate towards Hun Yu.
Despite his bad vibes, Hun Yu could see that this was her first attempt and didn't want to break her heart. He took a bite, chewing for a moment.
"This is good," he said, although it smelled questionable, the taste was surprisingly decent.
"What? You're not lying, right?" she asked, closing her eyes and taking a bite herself. The next moment, she opened her eyes wide.
"It really is good!"
"Hmph! See, even though this was my first time making something, I still made it so well," she said with a proud face.
Hun Yu didn't know what to say.
but she had actually made something good. He looked closely at her face, noticing how cheerful she was beneath her cold exterior.
Hun Yu glanced at his available energy points, anxious to uncover the cause of his heart attacks, which the system had indicated was significant.
"Hey, system, what's the cost for this information?"
{2000 Energy Points}
"Alright, tell me the reason for these random heart attacks," he asked, focusing his thoughts on the system.
{3500} {-2000}
{1500}
{The heart attacks are due to a physique awakening.
Your physique is attempting to awaken, but there isn't enough energy to support the process, leading to failed attempts and resulting in heart attacks.}
"Physique?" Excitement bubbled within Hun Yu .
"What type of physique is it?!?!?" he inquired eagerly.
{4000 Energy Points required for this answer.}
Just then, the sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts.