I’ve Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] 2

2. Accepting a Disciple

When the crowd heard that it was to repay a debt of gratitude, the expressions on their faces relaxed. No one would dislike a disciple who understood gratitude and sought to repay it.

After hearing Zuo Wuyi’s explanation, the look in Xuan Shuang’s eyes softened. “Eliminating demonic beasts that cause chaos is something we cultivators are supposed to do. You need not choose me for that reason.”

“Your talent is excellent. An Ice spiritual root is well-suited for cultivating both swordsmanship and magical arts,” Xuan Shuang said in a calm tone. “Among the elders present, most besides myself are experienced in both these areas. If you choose to take me as your master, I can likely only guide you in swordsmanship; I cannot teach you much about magical arts.”

Although all of them primarily cultivated the way of the sword, Xuan Shuang was the only one who truly specialized in it. Out of her appreciation for talent, Xuan Shuang did not want a gifted individual to bind themselves to her simply out of gratitude.

“This disciple has already considered it carefully. The only thing this disciple wishes to cultivate is the way of the sword.” Zuo Wuyi’s attitude was extremely resolute, and she ignored the warning in her mind about deviating from the plot. In my last life, I didn’t know anything, so I could accept being led around by the nose by this foolish system. But now that I have a second chance, how could I possibly let it slip away again?

Xuan Shuang’s gaze rested on Zuo Wuyi for a moment. Seeing the resolute expression on her face, she nodded. “Good. From now on, you will be my final disciple.”

As Xuan Shuang spoke, Zuo Wuyi felt a force lifting her up. She did not resist, allowing the force to help her to her feet. Then, she bowed deeply. “Disciple Zuo Wuyi pays respects to Master.”

Seeing Zuo Wuyi successfully become Xuan Shuang’s disciple, Xuan Min was slightly displeased. However, with so many people present, he couldn’t say much. He could only maintain a cold expression and didn’t mention taking a disciple for the entire duration.

There were over thirty disciples brought in, but only eight were truly chosen by the elders as personal disciples. The rest were designated as ordinary inner sect disciples, to be taught by other elders who specialized in instruction.

After the disciple selection concluded, Xuan Shuang led Zuo Wuyi away. After giving her a few instructions, she gave her a storage bracelet. Because she still had some matters to attend to, she temporarily entrusted her youngest disciple to the care of Mo Xiao and Yun He.

Yun He was quite fond of this new Junior Sister, Zuo Wuyi. The moment Xuan Shuang left, she stuffed a storage ring into Zuo Wuyi’s hand as a welcome gift and then enthusiastically introduced her to the situation in their master’s lineage.

“Little Junior Sister, you’re the fifth in seniority. Barring any accidents, Master probably won’t be taking any more disciples,” Yun He said. “Your Eldest Senior Sister is in seclusion, trying to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. This is your Second Senior Sister, Yunmu. I’m your Third Senior Sister, Yun He. Both of us are at the Golden Core stage. Your Fourth Junior Brother is out traveling and won’t be back for some time.”

“Greetings, Second Senior Sister. Greetings, Third Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi clutched the corner of her robes and greeted them one by one in a very well-behaved manner.

“Before you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, Yun He and I will teach you how to cultivate,” Mo Xiao said. She had been secretly observing this Little Junior Sister the entire time, somewhat puzzled as to why she had changed her name and become her junior sister instead of taking Xuan Min as her master.

“Right, right! If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me anytime. I won’t be leaving the sect for a while!” Yun He said. She had just broken through to the Golden Core stage and needed to consolidate her foundation within the sect.

A smile appeared on Zuo Wuyi’s face. She lifted her head, her large, moist eyes blinking as she looked at Mo Xiao. “Then can I also ask Second Senior Sister for guidance?”

Although the expression on Mo Xiao’s face didn’t change much, when she met Zuo Wuyi’s expectant gaze, her heart couldn’t help but soften. She nodded in agreement. “You may.”

The Wen Dao Sect was vast, roughly divided into five areas according to the different cultivation methods: the Sword Pavilion for swordsmanship, the Dharma Pavilion for magical arts, the Elixir Pavilion for pill refinement, the Artifact Pavilion for artifact forging, and the Body Pavilion for body tempering. Each pavilion had its own master and elders. Xuan Shuang and Xuan Min were two of the elders of the Sword Pavilion.

Compared to Mo Xiao, who was either in secluded cultivation or on her way to secluded cultivation, Yun He was much more familiar with the internal layout of the Sword Pavilion. She directly flew Zuo Wuyi around on her sword, giving her a general tour of the pavilion’s structure.

“Little Junior Sister, this entire area is full of empty courtyards. You can pick one you like, and it will be your own immortal’s cave from now on.” Finally, Yun He stopped near the central area.

“Can I live next to Senior Sister?” Zuo Wuyi asked, raising her head to look at Mo Xiao, who had been silent all this time.

Yun He raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding Zuo Wuyi’s choice. “Little Junior Sister, why don’t you want to live next to me? Is it because I’m not as powerful as Second Senior Sister?”

Zuo Wuyi pursed her lips into a smile and said, a little shyly, “Because I feel that Second Senior Sister looks a lot like my older sister from long ago, so I want to live beside my sister.”

“Is that so?” Yun He didn’t think much of it. “Then Little Junior Sister, you really are fated to be with us. First, you were saved by Master, and now you’ve met Second Senior Sister.”

A slightly shy smile appeared on Zuo Wuyi’s face. She kept her head raised, looking at Mo Xiao, her eyes full of expectation.

Hearing Zuo Wuyi’s words, Mo Xiao’s confusion grew slightly. But because she couldn’t remember the plot clearly, she didn’t dwell on it, assuming she had simply forgotten this detail.

“My residence is relatively secluded. There aren’t any large courtyards nearby,” Mo Xiao said seriously. “If you want to live next to me, you can only choose a small courtyard. That wouldn’t be good for you. You should pick another place.”

“But… but I want to live next to Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi’s lip quivered, looking as if she had been hurt by Mo Xiao’s words. “Does Senior Sister dislike me? Does she think I’m useless…”

“That’s not what I meant.” A trace of helplessness appeared in Mo Xiao’s eyes as she explained, “Every courtyard has a spirit-gathering formation. The larger the courtyard, the larger the formation, so it’s better for you to choose a larger one.”

Hearing Mo Xiao’s words, Zuo Wuyi blinked in confusion, seemingly not understanding her. “What’s the use of a bigger spirit-gathering formation?”

“The larger the spirit-gathering formation, the higher the concentration of spiritual energy around you, and the faster your cultivation speed will be,” Mo Xiao said patiently. “If I remember correctly, there’s a nice courtyard to the east. It’s about the same size as mine. You can choose that as your immortal’s cave.”

Meeting Zuo Wuyi’s gaze, which held a trace of attachment, Mo Xiao added, “It’s not far from my place. Once you learn to fly on a sword, it won’t take you long to get to my residence.”

“Okay.” Zuo Wuyi nodded, her right hand still clutching the corner of Mo Xiao’s robe.

“Senior Sister, I still haven’t turned in the mission I accepted earlier. I’ll leave Little Junior Sister in your care. I’ll be taking my leave now.” Seeing that Zuo Wuyi was more reliant on Mo Xiao, Yun He didn’t feel neglected at all. Instead, she was happy that the two of them could grow close.

In Yun He’s impression, her Senior Sister Yunmu was too focused on cultivation. She lived like an ascetic monk, leaving no time for herself to relax or have fun. Now that the new Little Junior Sister was so clingy to Senior Sister Yunmu, perhaps it could change the current situation.

The moment Yun He left, Zuo Wuyi no longer needed an excuse to stick to Mo Xiao. She held on even more justifiably, refusing to let go.

Mo Xiao sighed inwardly. She reached out and took hold of Zuo Wuyi’s small wrist, gently prying her hand off her robe.

“Hold on tight,” Mo Xiao said as she summoned her personal sword. She shielded Zuo Wuyi, who was standing in front of her, with one arm, then steered the flying sword toward the east.

Zuo Wuyi’s two hands gripped Mo Xiao’s arm tightly, her head slightly lowered to hide the emotions in her eyes.

[Warning! The plot trajectory has deviated! Please become Xuan Min’s disciple immediately, Host!] The mechanical, electronic voice rang out in Zuo Wuyi’s sea of consciousness from time to time, but it didn’t affect her state in the slightest.

Become Xuan Min’s disciple? What a joke. It’s already a great act of restraint on my part not to stab him a few times. If it weren’t for this stupid system, I wouldn’t have missed Mo Xiao at the very beginning, nearly spending my whole life unable to find the person I was looking for.

[Warning! The Host’s thoughts are extremely dangerous! Initiating punishment!] After chattering on its own for a good while, the so-called system began a countdown.

“System, your data hasn’t been formatted, has it?” Zuo Wuyi conversed with the system in her mind, her face expressionless. “If you pop up again without knowing your place, I will immediately perish together with Xuan Min.”

The moment Zuo Wuyi spoke, the system fell silent. After about a minute of silence, the originally mechanical, electronic voice took on an emotional tone, sounding somewhat aggrieved. [Helping me complete the mission is what you promised me from the start.]

“I did indeed promise you that, but that was in my past life,” Zuo Wuyi communicated with the system in her sea of consciousness. “Didn’t I complete all the tasks you gave me in my last life?”

[But… but you killed Xuan Min in the end, causing the world to collapse. That doesn’t count as completing the mission at all…] the system retorted. As it couldn’t help but recall Zuo Wuyi’s frenzied state, its voice grew smaller and smaller.

The system was already very clear on what kind of person Zuo Wuyi was. If the system’s data had truly been wiped, it might have disregarded her words. But the reality was the exact opposite; the system had preserved the data concerning Zuo Wuyi perfectly. Therefore, the system knew very well that if Zuo Wuyi hadn’t seen Mo Xiao at the very last moment, the result of starting over would only have been to accelerate the world’s destruction.

“Don’t you forget, my initial request was for you to help me find Mo Xiao. But what was the result?” Zuo Wuyi snorted coldly in her mind. “Over three hundred years passed, and there was no news of Mo Xiao at all. If I hadn’t stabbed Xuan Min a few times, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have even seen her before I died, right?”

The system didn’t know what to say. It could only remain silent, hiding in Zuo Wuyi’s sea of consciousness and playing dead.

Seeing this, Zuo Wuyi’s contempt for the system grew. If this so-called system wasn’t genuinely useful in certain aspects, she would have found a way to get rid of it long ago. She would never have allowed it to remain in her sea of consciousness, becoming a latent threat, however minor.

“We’re here.” Mo Xiao had been focused on their journey and hadn’t noticed the changes in Zuo Wuyi’s emotions along the way. With a slight exertion of her arm, she placed the girl steadily on the ground. “Take a look first. If you don’t like it, I’ll take you to choose another place.”

“Okay, thank you, Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi released Mo Xiao’s hand and curiously examined the courtyard in front of her. Then, she shifted her gaze back to Mo Xiao, pinched the corner of her robe, and asked with wide, watery eyes, “Senior Sister, if I don’t know how to fly on a sword, how do I come find you?”

The corners of Mo Xiao’s mouth curved up slightly, and she couldn’t resist patting Zuo Wuyi’s head. “Before you reach Foundation Establishment, Yun He and I will take turns coming here to teach you. Once you have guided qi into your body, I will give you some communication talismans. You can use them to contact Yun He and me.”

“Okay, thank you, Senior Sister.” Zuo Wuyi gave Mo Xiao a brilliant smile. While Mo Xiao’s hand was still on her head, she lunged forward and hugged Mo Xiao’s waist, rubbing her head against her.

Mo Xiao was a little unaccustomed to Zuo Wuyi’s closeness, but thinking about what Zuo Wuyi had said about her resembling her sister, she suppressed her instinctive reaction and remained still, allowing Zuo Wuyi to hug her.

The system hiding in Zuo Wuyi’s sea of consciousness saw this scene but dared not voice its anger.

How infuriating! Why does the Host have two completely different faces when dealing with me versus dealing with Mo Xiao! Besides threatening the Host with words at the very beginning, I haven’t even done anything to her!