"The disciple Lingshuang greets the Grandmaster."
The reminder from Hua made Cheng Lingshuang come to her senses and she shouted with a clear voice.
Then, Cheng Lingshuang raised her head with some curiosity, looking at this "doll" who was both her grandmaster and her ancestor.
"Have I unknowingly reached the point where people call me that...?"
Although there was nothing wrong with the title, Tian Shi still felt quite complicated at the thought of suddenly becoming a grandfather.
"Ah, no need to stare at me, I, your Grandmaster, have no gift to give you."
To be honest, Tian Shi initially didn't plan to give his seventh disciple a friendly look, but since the disciple actually called him "Grandmaster," there must have been some affection involved.
Su Mei, the mastermind behind the assassination of the master of the Seven Swords, may have planned it from the beginning, but the gap that caused the other six swords and Hua to drift apart was probably the future incident involving Jiang Wanru.
The eldest sister, Lin Zhaoyu, was the first to doubt, which gave the second, Su Mei, the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Lin Zhaoyu occupied a place in the hearts of the others, like a sister or a mother.
In addition, Su Mei was eloquent and had the ability to persuade everyone to change their minds.
At least for now, apart from Su Mei, none of these people have rebellious intentions.
Ah... So, to build a good relationship with the Seven Swords, should I prepare a small gift for our first meeting?
Well, Tian Shi admits that he has been a bit worried about Hua these past few days and has overlooked some things.
What's more, perhaps because of his own internal conflict, he inadvertently led Otto a bit astray.
Now it seems I don't need to place the seven swords in the position of the enemy?
"...?"
Tian Shi's words made Cheng Lingshuang feel quite strange.
Teachers giving gifts to students...?
Although it seems reasonable in some aspects, Cheng Lingshuang looked at her master for no apparent reason.
Well... the only one who would bring them gifts would be the eldest sister Lin Zhaoyu.
Aside from giving each of them a Xuanyuan sword, her master never mentioned giving any gifts to her older or younger sisters... although they certainly wouldn't dare to mention it.
After all, who would dare to offend the ears of a true person with such vulgar things?
"God, you forgot about this."
Otto noticed the slightly awkward situation and with a smile handed him a small bag.
Tian Shi took it and saw that it contained a pile of gold and jade jewelry.
Where did Otto get all these things? But that's also fine.
With Otto's help, Tian Shi doesn't have to feel uncomfortable.
Tian Shi looked at the jewelry, pulled out a jade hairpin, and handed it to Cheng Lingshuang.
"Here, a small gift for meeting you, although it's not very useful for martial arts..."
"Lingshuang thanks the Grandmaster."
Although Cheng Lingshuang had few material desires, receiving such a sincere gift from the Grandmaster was truly a novelty for her.
Cheng Lingshuang gently grabbed the jade hairpin and her voice of gratitude became much more respectful.
The fact that it is useless for martial arts is not a problem at all.
Anyway, to be honest... the Xuanyuan Sword granted to her by her master was really of no use to her.
She had no idea about the meaning of the Five Elements of the Great Void; to her, the Xuanyuan Sword was simply a sharp enough weapon.
"The meaning of the Five Elements of the Great Void has nothing to do with martial arts, it refers to the connection with the Xuanyuan Sword... In short, it is the mechanism by which the Key of Domination concentrates energy and changes shape."
Since she already knows all the sword techniques, it doesn't matter if she understands their meaning or not, and no one will say anything to her about it.
Tian Shi looked at the well-behaved Cheng Lingshuang and then at his own student.
At this point, this girl seems like a good girl, right?
As expected, Hua really has no experience in childcare, whether it's the Seven Swords or in the future... Sigh.
"Come on, Hua, continue leading the way and let me meet the other little ones."
"Yes."
Hua nodded.
Cheng Lingshuang's eyes lit up again: so her master's real name was "Hua"?
Although it's not the best way to put it, having such a human Grandmaster made Cheng Lingshuang feel some curiosity about her own master.
"Why is my master so different from the Grandmaster?"
Hmm... although the older and younger sisters look nothing like their master.
It seems I have no reason to be curious about this.
Besides, when it comes to curiosity, shouldn't I be more curious to know what state the founder was in? How could he possess a doll?
Once he possesses someone, even the appearance of the doll changes.
If the Grandmaster possessed me, would I also become a man?
If he possesses a sword, will the sword become a person-swordsman?
As Cheng Lingshuang followed her master, she began to indulge in the whimsical thoughts of a child.
While she kept thinking, they reached their destination.
All her older and younger sisters were there, and the eldest sister was lecturing them with an expression of helplessness.
"Second sister, why did you bring your younger siblings to this fun? Those two are with the Master... the Master!"
Lin Zhaoyu, who was teaching her second younger sister, Su Mei, saw Hua and immediately bowed.
"Greetings, Master."
The second disciple, Su Mei, and several other disciples also bowed and greeted her.
"Younger sister, it was really inappropriate for you to bring your younger siblings to the fun today, Zhaoyu already reprimanded you, so I hope the Master will be lenient."
Although she had been scolding her, Lin Zhaoyu took the initiative to plead for her when she saw Hua arrive.
After all, this was the first time in almost thirty years of serving her master that Lin Zhaoyu heard the word "friend" from her mouth.
Although her master had never cared much about many things in the past, this time... Lin Zhaoyu herself was a bit unsure.
What if the Master really becomes furious? She has five younger sisters and one younger brother.
She raised them all.
She felt sorry for any of them if there was any trouble.
Although Su Mei is the second oldest, she is actually fifteen years younger than her and was in her care during her childhood.
She is more like a mother and teacher than an older sister.
Lin Zhaoyu kept her head down, feeling quite uncomfortable, and didn't even notice that there was something next to her master.
"I brought my younger brothers and sisters just for the novelty, it's rare for our Fuyun Temple on Mount Taixu to receive visitors, of course, I didn't mean to bother them, however, it was my fault, please, punish me, Master."
Su Mei also bowed in greeting, but as the person involved, her tone was more relaxed and carefree compared to Lin Zhaoyu's.
The two people lowered their heads and the four little ones behind them did the same.
However, Hua looked at her two disciples who had bowed their heads, then turned her gaze to Tian Shi; the meaning was clear: it was up to you, Master, to decide how to deal with them.
She herself didn't care.
After all, first, it was just something to see; second, the parties involved had not yet arrived; and third, her master obviously had more say in the matter between Kallen and Eleanor.
"Master, what do you suggest we do?" Hua asked in a low voice, noticing that Tian Shi seemed to be deep in thought.
"?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
"?"
The six apprentices, regardless of their age, had question marks appearing over their heads.
Wait, wait, wait! Did the Master make a mistake or am I hallucinating?
"Master? The master's master? Grandmaster?"
"Our Taixu Sword Sect has a grandmaster?" Su Mei looked at her older sister almost imperceptibly.
They found that their older sister also looked surprised and confused.
Well, even the older sister doesn't know, so there's no point in having hopes in her.
But this grandmaster...
Su Mei's lips were a bit dry.
This person has been hiding his skills for too long!
No, he might not have been hiding, but simply came out. After all, the grandmaster came out as soon as the guests arrived.
What a coincidence!
In addition, judging by the older sister's expression, she didn't see the grandmaster when she went out to receive them.
It seems that the master and the guest accompanying him had gone somewhere, which is why the grandmaster came out.
This is really... Su Mei... no, not just Su Mei, everyone subconsciously imagined an old man with a sage-like air, but with a serious and rigid expression.
Hmm, no, according to the techniques of the Taixu Sword Sect, their grandmaster is a woman, so she could be even taller.
That person could have the same face as their master, but be much more rigid?
If it were a man, they could imagine a wise and venerable old man, but if it were a woman, these disciples would only have the image of their own master in their minds.
Cheng Lingshuang, who was following Hua, curled the corners of her lips and saw the expressions of her older sister, her younger sister... well, and her younger brother; they were even less impressive than her.
"It's okay, it's okay, it's not a big deal, it's normal for children to be curious."
Tian Shi looked at his bowing disciples and waved his hand.
Although he could now legitimately punish Su Mei, Tian Shi, whose attitude toward his disciples and grandchildren had changed after being influenced by Cheng Lingshuang, was in no hurry and his mentality had changed a bit.
After all, he could stay there for at least two years, and although the conflict between the Seven Disciples and Hua had begun to emerge, it had not yet broken out.
"In the worst case, I can go and apologize to Kallen and Eleanor later."
"...?"
Su Mei and Lin Zhaoyu, who were at the front, could hardly believe their ears.
Umm... are they okay?
The Grandmaster didn't punish them?
In addition, this male voice is really warm and soft, which makes you subconsciously trust him.
Although it was a good thing, Qin Suyi and Su Mei still felt it was something unreal.
Why does the grandmaster of our own Taixu Sword Sect speak so humanely?
Shouldn't the master of an immortal still be an immortal?
Seeing that the second and eldest sister did not look up, the four little ones continued to keep their heads down obediently.
"Come, come everyone, look up, as your grandmaster, I don't have much to offer, so I will give each of you a small gift as a token of our greeting."
"...?"
The group looked up obediently, but then exchanged puzzled glances.
Until then they had only heard of their older sister bringing them gifts; when had they heard of their own master giving them gifts?
And speaking of that, our own grandmaster...
The crowd looked at the small figure floating in the air, distributing items from a small bag, with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity.
"Zhaoyu, this is your jade comb; Su Mei, this gold-inlaid jade necklace is yours, and you Jiang sisters, each of you will receive one of these bracelets..."
One person nervously accepts the gifts, while the other person chooses one item at a time and gives it to them, until...
"Sixth disciple..."
"Greetings, Grandmaster."
The sixth brother, Ma Feima, who was even more shy than a little girl, looked at Tian Shi timidly, as if he were about to cry, even though Tian Shi was still smaller than his head.
This guy... wait, what should we give this child?
In the future, Ma Feima, with his scarred face and bandit look, is currently just an extremely shy boy and the youngest disciple among the Seven Swords of Taixu, three years younger than the fifth disciple Cheng Lingshuang and the seventh disciple Qin Suyi.
I can't give jewelry to this boy, can I?
Although I feel that even if I gave him jewelry, he wouldn't mind.
However, Tian Shi took a look at him and found something he could give.
"Here, take this longevity lock, I hope you live to be a hundred years old."
"Thank you, Grandmaster!"
"Here is a white jade buckle Suyi, carry it with you from now on for your peace and security."
"Thank you, thank you, Grandmaster..."
After Tian Shi finished distributing the items, the six disciples had quite strange expressions.
Hmm... really?
Although they are really just common small pieces of jewelry, it is precisely their everydayness that gives them a sense of inexplicable peace of mind and warmth.
In addition, these things are ordinary only in a relatively extraordinary sense.
If they really descended from the mountain, they would all be valuable items, whether gold or jade.
Su Mei looked at her older sister and her younger brothers and sisters.
She and her older sister were fine, they had seen the world, but her younger sisters and brothers... they might actually like these things.
After all, among them, the only true martial arts fanatic is the fifth sister, Cheng Lingshuang.
The others are simply childlike and it is perfectly normal for them to like shiny things.
Although there is no shortage of food or clothing in the Taixu Sword Sect, they still don't have much to offer in terms of jewelry.
Apart from Xiao Ma'er, who is only ten years old and a boy, the youngest of the younger sisters is 13.
If they were in a village, they would all already be talking about marriage.
Didn't you see your older sister subconsciously stroking the jade comb in her hand?
Well, Su Mei has to admit that she actually likes this necklace a bit... well, just a bit.
Su Mei put the necklace away quietly, planning to try it on again when she returned to her room.
On the other hand, my own grandmaster is really... kind.
For the naive and innocent sixth and seventh children, these items symbolize peace.
How exactly did these two become master and apprentice?
Su Mei looked at her master almost imperceptibly.
Su Mei composed herself, set aside her chaotic thoughts, bowed to the "little" grandmaster in front of her, and smiled.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Grandmaster, I am ashamed to have offended you, please let me apologize."
"Well, it would be fine if we got to know each other."
Su Mei is a good person at handling things.
"In that case, we are also going to arrange rooms for you and Miss Otto."
Then Hua spoke and gave instructions.
"I leave this matter to you, Su Mei..."
"Ah, right, Hua I also have one for you, this bird-shaped jade hair ornament."
"Uh... Ah... Thank you, Master."
Hua paused for a moment, but quickly regained her calm and serene expression.
"..."
Otto was a bit upset.
It's no big deal that God gave these jewels to the seven disciples to win their hearts.
But it's for this Phoenix... Ugh, suddenly I'm so upset...
"Thank you, Otto, without you, I wouldn't know where to start... You are becoming more and more reliable."
Tian Shi, who was standing next to her, switched to the private chat channel and made a sound of relief.
"It's good that I could help God," Otto replied softly with a smile.
(Woof, woof, woof!) — Voice provided by Void Archive.