[Name]: Hongxiu
[Realm]: Yin-Yang Realm
[Destiny]: Sect-Guarding Grandmaster (Gold)
[Fate]: Beauty's Curse (White), Seeker of the Dao (Blue), The End is Nigh (Gray), A Thought for All Beings (Purple)
[Sect-Guarding Grandmaster]: Possesses the potential to establish a sect. The probability of disciples under you obtaining opportunities is greatly increased.
[Beauty's Curse]: Throughout history, beautiful women often lead ill-fated lives. Due to your beauty, you will struggle to find a good partner, and the early stages of your cultivation will be fraught with hardship.
[Seeker of the Dao]: You possess an unwavering heart for seeking the Dao, increasing your probability of breaking through realms by thirty percent.
[The End is Nigh]: Your lifespan is nearly exhausted. Your demise could come in an instant.
[A Thought for All Beings]: One thought leads to emptiness, one thought leads to godhood. Perhaps at the end of your life, there is still a sliver of a chance for survival.
[Outcome]: After cultivating for hundreds of years and single-mindedly seeking the Dao, you ultimately fail to attain what you seek from the Heavenly Dao and pass away in meditation on Qingxia Peak.
[Recent Turning Point]: Loses a jade pendant on Qingxia Peak.
What the hell.
Deng Pengzu, if you don't give me something for this, it's just not right!
This was the Yin-Yang Realm! Lin Yun couldn't have even imagined he would one day see an expert of the Yin-Yang Realm, let alone refuse their offer to take him as a disciple. This performance, even thousands of years in the future, would be considered legendary.
However, what truly prompted Lin Yun to refuse was Hongxiu's "The End is Nigh."
Although there was a sliver of a chance for survival, Lin Yun couldn't afford to gamble. After all, he had stolen Xiao Pingtian's opportunity. If Gu Xiande found out and told Xiao Pingtian, given that Sword Child's personality, he would definitely skin him alive. At that point, right when Lin Yun would need Hongxiu's protection the most, she would suddenly kick the bucket and pass away in meditation. Who the hell could he complain to then?
So, right now, Lin Yun had no choice.
Moreover, he also believed in his own purple-grade opportunity. For an unlucky soul like him to actually get a purple fate, he roughly estimated that for a normal person, this opportunity would be at least gold-grade, possibly even red.
Deng Pengzu was definitely the right choice!
Lin Yun looked around but didn't see any sign of Deng Pengzu. Old man, you're probably hiding in a corner laughing your head off after seeing me reject Elder Hongxiu, aren't you?
Gu Xiande hadn't expected Lin Yun to refuse. He was secretly gloating but couldn't show it, so he confirmed again, "Lin Yun, have you really decided? Elder Hongxiu hasn't taken a single disciple in many, many years. This is an opportunity others couldn't get even if they bashed their heads in!"
Lin Yun nodded seriously. "Sect Master, my mind is made up."
Gu Xiande was about to speak again when Hongxiu said, "Fine. If he is unwilling, then so be it."
Just then, Ye Qian stepped forward. "Elder Hongxiu, this disciple is willing to enter your tutelage! I implore Elder Hongxiu to grant my wish."
When she heard Lin Yun refuse Elder Hongxiu, Ye Qian was surprised, but also overjoyed. What an idiot who can't recognize greatness. Before coming to the sect, Ye Qian had seen her older brother at home, who had told her about a great expert in the Flowing Cloud Sect named Hongxiu. If she could become her disciple, becoming a peerless expert would be just around the corner. Her goal at that time had been to become Hongxiu's disciple.
She hadn't expected Lin Yun to be such an imbecile, turning down an opportunity that was handed to him on a silver platter. As expected, these lowly bottom-feeders had no foresight and couldn't even grasp the opportunities given to them.
Hongxiu looked at Ye Qian. Lin Yun's rejection had caused her, a great expert, to lose a lot of face. Ye Qian stepping forward now was, to some extent, saving her from the awkward situation.
"The Ye family of Qingcheng?"
Ye Qian looked reverent. "Yes, Elder. My older brother is the Sword Maniac, Ye Fan!"
"Young Miss Ye is actually Ye Fan's sister?"
"That Sword Maniac? The ruthless man who defeated a Myriad Laws Realm expert while in the Mystic Passage Realm?"
Hiss. This feud just got a lot bigger. Hearing the crowd's discussion, Lin Yun's face also turned grim.
Hongxiu smiled faintly. "The Sword Maniac, Ye Fan? If he were here, I might have some interest in giving him a pointer or two. As for you?"
"Hah, a piece of trash like you wants to be my disciple?"
Perhaps angered by Lin Yun, she was now venting all of it on Ye Qian. After scolding her, Hongxiu flicked her sleeve and left directly.
Gu Xiande looked back and forth, pointed at Lin Yun, and just shook his head. "You, you, you... sigh." He sighed and went after Hongxiu.
Lin Yun then felt a pair of eyes staring daggers at him. The killing intent was chilling. He turned his head and saw Ye Qian looking at him coldly.
Come on, lady. Is it really that serious? It wasn't me who scolded you.
Looking at the woman's expression, it was clear she was blaming Lin Yun for everything Hongxiu had just done. In response, Lin Yun just gave a serene smile. What the hell does that have to do with me?
The Inner Sect Grand Competition was over. Lin Yun took his Tribulation-Crossing Divine Pill and his reception token and slipped away. He was now a person of great interest. The disciples who had once looked down on him now couldn't wait to praise him to the heavens.
After shaking off the crowd, Lin Yun snuck over to the Internal Affairs Pavilion. The two guards from last time weren't there, and getting in was simple. Once inside, he immediately saw Deng Pengzu with his feet propped up on a desk, lounging comfortably in his chair.
Seeing Lin Yun arrive, he gave a faint smile.
Lin Yun rushed over in a few quick steps. "Elder, you have to take responsibility for me! I've completely offended Elder Hongxiu now."
Deng Pengzu almost blurted out, "Hongxiu is just... ahem, Elder Hongxiu isn't that fierce." He coughed twice. "So many years have passed, but that woman is still the same as she was back then, cold on the outside but warm on the inside. You don't need to be afraid of her."
As expected, Deng Pengzu had a significant background. Lin Yun was secretly delighted but put on a tearful expression.
"Elder, you have to help me... What if Elder Hongxiu comes looking for trouble? I'm so weak right now, I definitely can't win!"
Seeing Lin Yun crying so miserably, Deng Pengzu finally said, "Didn't the sect give you a Tribulation-Crossing Divine Pill? And they're letting you choose any manual you want from here. What are you crying for?"
"I only offended Elder Hongxiu because of you! Otherwise, I would have definitely agreed to her offer. That's Qingxia Peak! Which male disciple in the entire Flowing Cloud Sect doesn't want to live there?" Lin Yun squeezed out a couple of crocodile tears.
Deng Pengzu was getting annoyed. He waved his hand and snorted. "You brat. I will help you reach the Yuan Sea Realm within one month. I'm begging you, please stop crying."
The sorrow on Lin Yun's face vanished in an instant. "Are you serious, Elder?"
It's a loss to the cultivation world that you didn't learn face-changing, Deng Pengzu thought to himself, but he said aloud, "Of course, I wouldn't lie about this. Since I had you refuse Hongxiu, it means I have the intention of teaching you!"
Hearing his affirmative answer, Lin Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, Deng Pengzu stood up. "Let's go. I'll take you to choose a manual. This time, the Flowing Cloud Sect has spared no expense. You can go to the third floor to pick a suitable one. As for what you can choose, that will depend on your own opportunity."
The third floor?
Lin Yun knew that the third floor of the Internal Affairs Pavilion contained books that only personal disciples could borrow. It was said that those were the true treasures of the Flowing Cloud Sect!