After passing the assessment, it was time for the formal apprenticeship ceremony.
Ju Fufu, Arden Xu, Ye Shiyuan, and Pan Yinhu took turns offering apprenticeship tea and ceremonial gifts to Yixuan.
As for Arden's betrothal gift…apprenticeship gift, aside from the [Tiger Strength Pill] he had prepared long ago, there was also a specially made button meant to bear the immense pressure at the connection point of Yixuan's "milk pouch."
Arden had already noticed during the assessment fight with Yixuan that because it was far too large and far too bouncy, even the slightest movement from her would cause it to sway, not to mention intense motion.
As for why Arden kept staring at that particular spot during the fight… ahem!
He was genuinely worried that the fragile connection point might snap if he wasn't careful, resulting in an accidental exposure of springtime scenery.
If it happened while sparring with Arden, that was one thing—but if there were others around…
You had to understand that Arden had a rather strong sense of possessiveness, and he absolutely could not accept others gawking at her.
So thus came the button as part of the apprenticeship gift.
Incidentally, this button—exchanged from the system's point shop—was not only extraordinarily tough and imbued with a certain rule-based and conceptual power, but also featured a handy little mechanism, just in case Arden ever found himself overwhelmed by passion, perfectly poised to advance to the next base, yet embarrassingly unable to undo the button.
Ju Fufu's apprenticeship gift, on the other hand, was an ornament she personally made by collecting the tiger fur she shed daily, rolling it into balls, and crafting it by hand.
Wearing the ornament symbolized having a fierce tiger at one's side, warning evildoers to keep their distance.
It was just that, in Arden's eyes, the tiger-fur ornament really did look suspiciously like a pair of… balls.
Next came the return gifts from Yixuan as their master.
Ju Fufu received a safety bell, perfectly suited to be worn around the neck.
She just felt that wearing it there made her look a bit like an orange tabby cat, so she tied it to her thigh instead.
As for what Yixuan gave Arden, it was a scripture meant to persuade one to abandon worldly desires.
"Arden, as your master, I advise you to recite the Heart-Cleansing Mantra more often when you have time. It will do you a lot of good," Yixuan said meaningfully.
"….."
Taking the scripture meant to suppress desire, Arden's mouth twitched.
As one of the eight great Daoist divine mantras, Arden was naturally very familiar with the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, but… was it that he couldn't recite it? He just didn't want to!
After reciting Yunkui Summit's ancestral precepts before the tablets of past sect masters, and then sharing a grand meal together, the master-disciple relationship between the five of them was formally established.
…..
When the apprenticeship ceremony ended, and Ju Fufu and Arden left Yixuan's courtyard, it was already evening.
The sunset-lit clouds dyed the sky a blazing orange, though the distant sight of the Lemnian Hollow marred the beauty somewhat, adding a hint of unease and eeriness.
According to the arrangements, all four disciples—including Ju Fufu and Arden—would move into the side chambers of Yixuan's courtyard.
Those quarters had originally been prepared for personal disciples; they had remained empty only because Yixuan had none before. Now, however, things were different—she not only had disciples, but had taken in four at once.
Four disciples only required three rooms, with Ju Fufu and Arden sharing one.
Given the scale of Yixuan's courtyard, accommodating more than a dozen personal disciples wouldn't have been a problem, but Master Yixuan was extremely strict when accepting disciples, so the courtyard would likely never be fully occupied.
On their way back, Ju Fufu and Arden encountered many outer disciples, whose gazes were tinged with envy as they respectfully greeted them as "Senior Sister" and "Second Senior Brother."
"Fufu, once we get back—"
Before Arden could finish, Ju Fufu cut him off.
"Please address me as Senior Sister, Second Junior Brother!"
Ju Fufu's voice brimmed with smug satisfaction. She felt that, at long last, she could finally turn the tables and become the one in charge in front of Arden.
Seizing the initiative… yes, initiative in every sense!
According to the order of apprenticeship—that is, the order in which they passed the assessment—Ju Fufu was the Senior Sister, Arden the Second Senior Brother, while Ye Shiyuan and Pan Yinhu were the Third and Fourth Junior Brothers respectively.
(TN:The author did not follow the game's convention where Senior Sister and Senior Brother coexist, instead using the more common rule of hierarchy.)
"Uh… fine!"
Arden rolled his eyes, then lifted Ju Fufu's straight bangs with one hand and flicked her smooth forehead with the other.
"Shiny forehead, empty head… Senior Sister!"
Dong~!
Arden felt it was necessary to reassert his authority; otherwise, when the size of the harem increased, things might spiral completely out of control.
Leaving others aside, if Ju Fufu and Yixuan ever teamed up against him, Yunkui Summit itself would probably never know peace.
Thankfully, judging from the current situation, Ju Fufu and Yixuan were getting along fairly well—but if anyone else joined in, that might not hold true. So, he had to prepare ahead of time.
"Nyaa~!"
After taking the forehead flick, Ju Fufu immediately clutched her head and squatted down, then erupted in a mix of shame and indignation. "You rebellious junior brother, daring to hit your Senior Sister… aren't you afraid I'll tell Master Yixuan?"
"….."
Hearing that, Arden's eyelids twitched violently.
They had only just completed the apprenticeship, and Ju Fufu was already using Master Yixuan to pressure him. If this went on longer—or worse, if the two joined forces—this would be outright mutiny!
This must be corrected!
"I hit you. So, what about it?"
Pa!
As he spoke, Arden lifted Ju Fufu up and gave her another smack on her round little butt.
Compared to Master Yixuan's, Ju Fufu's wasn't as big and had less flesh, but its elasticity was maxed out.
"Rawr~~ I'll fight you to the death!"
Ju Fufu's face flushed bright red. It wasn't the first time Arden had spanked her butt—if it was back in their own courtyard, that would be one thing, but this was in public! Did the Senior Sister have no dignity left at all!?
She had to reclaim her pride.
"Senior Sister, Second Senior Brother!"
Just as Arden and Ju Fufu were roughhousing, Third Junior Brother Pan Yinhu walked over from the side. "Are you sparring? Your relationship really is great!"
"Ahem!"
Arden stopped at the sound of the voice and coughed awkwardly.
Ju Fufu also stopped making a fuss and stood obediently to the side, as though everything that had just happened was nothing more than an illusion.
"Junior Brother, what is it?" Arden asked.
"Didn't Senior Sister and Senior Brother say earlier that we should prepare a meal for Master…"
…..
The next day arrived.
Living in the same courtyard as Master Yixuan, with Arden's usual style, there was no way he'd miss such a prime opportunity to gain an advantage.
Sure enough, early in the morning, he teamed up with Ju Fufu—who had been taught a lesson the night before and was now much more well-behaved—and went together to Yixuan's room to offer morning greetings and deliver breakfast.
"Master, Fufu and I have come to pay our respects."
"And we've brought hot, freshly made breakfast too!"
"Mhm, you're very thoughtful."
Yixuan was quite pleased. Life with disciples really was different—it felt much fuller.
And then…
"Master, Fufu and I have come to pay our respects."
"And we've brought a nutritious afternoon tea!"
Morning passed, and it was afternoon.
"Master, Fufu and I have come to pay our respects."
"And we've brought a delicious late-night snack."
Finally, it was evening.
"You two… come in."
There was a hint of helplessness in Yixuan's voice. She suddenly felt that disciples being too enthusiastic wasn't necessarily a good thing.