She had no intention of taking on a disciple. After all, Shushan’s sword arts were unlike ordinary sword arts; if one’s constitution was unsuitable, cultivating them would only lead to qi deviation, without the slightest benefit to improving one’s swordsmanship.
“Lushan Academy?” Lin Yan rarely showed such disdain. He fixed his gaze on Xiao Qianyin. “Miss Xiao, you may not know this, but I was a student rejected by Lushan Academy. My father once asked the headmaster to let me enter, but he ignored the request completely on the grounds that my aptitude was poor.”
“Moreover, I have no interest in exchanging false courtesies with those so-called nobles, those so-called geniuses. That is not my, Lin Yan’s, character!”
True enough. After all, Lin Yan was just like her—an idle, good-for-nothing silkpants of the second generation, tyrannical, spoiled, and incompetent. Who knew what kind of looks those people who fancied themselves brimming with talent would give him?
Still, he had actually been rejected by Lushan Academy?
Beigong Du seemed to see his granddaughter’s confusion and said mildly, “In truth, when Yin’er entered Lushan Academy back then, she was also rejected by that headmaster. I used the authority in my hands to force him.”
Oh, the same type, but different fates. So his “my dad is Li Gang” level wasn’t high enough? They didn’t buy it?
That headmaster, to put it aptly, was a dog-eyed fellow who looked down on others!
“So, I acknowledge only you as my master. No one else can compare to you!”
This fellow changed his tune quickly indeed. A moment ago, he was calling her Miss Xiao, and now she had become Master? He truly made it impossible for anyone to refuse!
She sighed. Unless his aptitude was suited to Shushan sword arts, even if he knelt until he wore a hole through the ground, she still could not take him as a disciple. That would only harm him.
“Come here.” She beckoned to him. Though Lin Yan was puzzled, he still walked over. A force came at him, and a pair of hands pressed down on the pulse point at his wrist.
He started in alarm and was just about to struggle when he saw the young girl swiftly lift her head and glance at him. In that instant, he could not move at all. It was a pool of unfathomably deep, nether black darkness—an invisible pressure contained entirely within that single look.
Beigong Du was also greatly shocked. What was Yin’er trying to do? To suddenly seize another person’s lifeline was despicable.
Xiao Qianyin raised a brow, the corner of her mouth curving into a faint smile. This fellow was lucky. She had not expected that there would actually be a second person in this world like herself—clearly talented, yet simply unsuited to this world’s methods of cultivating swordsmanship, and thus labeled as having poor aptitude. He was not suited to the Longevity Sword Art, but he was suited to another Shushan sword art.
“Very well. Since you have requested it with such sincerity, I will agree. From today onward, you are my disciple. No matter what, I will protect you!”
“Yin’er, you…” Beigong Du had not expected her to say such a thing. Before he could finish, she interrupted him. “Grandfather, so what if Yin’er takes him as a disciple? Outsiders won’t know anyway. Besides, Grand Commandant Lin Qing can be considered an important official in his own right. Joining forces with him brings only benefits and no harm. The same goes for the Lin family. One must remember that emperors are suspicious by nature.”
When one’s achievements are so great that they overshadow the ruler, disaster follows—this was an unchanging truth through the ages. The Marquis Who Stabilizes the State held heavy military power, and the Grand Commandant also held a portion of military authority. If one day the emperor grew suspicious and acted against them, no one would escape. A family’s glory and splendor could vanish in an instant. Had she read too few examples of this?
Therefore, they could not openly form factions for personal gain; that was what emperors feared most. Then they would do it in private. The status of master and disciple would be even more advantageous for the union of the two great forces.
Although Lin Yan was usually somewhat roguish, he was not stupid. One hint was enough for him to understand. He understood Xiao Qianyin’s meaning. She was actually thinking this far ahead?