"Elder Qian, congratulations!"
"Elder Qian, what truly keen eyes you have!"
"To have found such an outstanding disciple — recruiting a talent like this will earn you a mid-grade reward from the sect!"
In an instant, nearly every elder present was showering the yellow-faced elder with flattery and congratulations.
At that moment, the yellow-faced elder wore a look of smug pride. He cast a pointed glance toward Duan Liufeng, and a contemptuous one toward Chu Feng, before turning his gaze back to Hua Xu.
"Hua Xu, you truly have not disappointed your Master."
Elder Qian stroked his beard, speaking with a beaming smile.
"Your Master?"
"Elder Qian, does this mean Hua Xu will be taking you as his master?"
"Can you be certain of that?"
At these words, the elders' eyes went wide as saucers, their voices tinged with disbelief.
What was rather peculiar was that accepting a master was supposed to be an exceedingly simple matter. Yet these elders seemed deeply skeptical. The looks in their eyes suggested they thought Elder Qian was lying — they simply did not believe what he was saying.
"Indeed. Hua Xu agreed long ago that if he passed the talent assessment, he would take me as his master," Elder Qian declared.
"Congratulations, Elder Qian! Our sincerest congratulations!"
"Elder Qian, this is truly cause for celebration. With such an outstanding disciple, you'll be able to return to the Northern Profound Academy. Don't forget us in the future!"
"With your level of cultivation, you could have entered the Northern Profound Academy and become one of its elders long ago — you merely lacked the right opportunity."
"Now that you've taken on a disciple like Hua Xu, even within the Northern Profound Academy, your status will be a cut above the rest."
The flattery from those elders only grew more effusive.
Yet even as they spoke, their gazes kept drifting toward Hua Xu. When it came to Hua Xu becoming Elder Qian's disciple, they remained deeply skeptical.
"Elder Qian, I thank you for guiding me into the Crouching Dragon Martial Sect."
"However, I never actually intended to take you as my master, Elder Qian."
At last, Hua Xu spoke.
He had publicly refused Elder Qian, right to his face.
And what was most peculiar was that the elders showed no great surprise at this refusal. Instead, they looked upon Elder Qian with undisguised schadenfreude.
Elder Qian's face was not only flushed with embarrassment — fury burned in his eyes, and his complexion had shifted with rage.
"Hua Xu, what did you just say?"
"After I brought you into the sect, I asked you directly whether you would be willing to take me as your master if you passed the talent assessment."
"You said with your own mouth that as long as you could successfully enter the sect, you would be willing to take me as your master."
"Now... are you going back on your word?"
Elder Qian's voice thundered with anger.
"To be candid, Elder Qian, my clan actually has an elder who joined the Crouching Dragon Martial Sect over five thousand years ago."
"On one occasion, after completing a mission, he was granted a reward by his master that allowed him to return home to visit our clan. That is how I came to hear about the sect's disciple selection process."
"If I had only produced white light from the testing platform — just like that waste — then taking you as my master would not have been out of the question."
As he spoke those words, Hua Xu cast a deliberate glance toward Chu Feng.
Though he never said it outright, everyone knew that the "waste" he was referring to was none other than Chu Feng.
"But now, I have produced blue light."
"With talent of this caliber, I can easily earn the attention of an elder from the Eastern Dragon Academy."
"And yet if I take you as my master, with your level of cultivation, you can only bring me into the Northern Profound Academy."
"Elder Qian, as an outer elder of the Crouching Dragon Martial Sect, you should know full well the difference between the Eastern Dragon Academy and the Northern Profound Academy."