Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough

Following Xuan Hao carrying Yi Min back to his palace, he decided to give her one of the many empty rooms before returning to his room to cultivate. Intending to wait until the night passed before informing Elder Song and the rest of the elders about Yi Min presence. After all, even if most cultivators wouldn't sleep and instead spent their time cultivating during the night, it was still rather rude to show up when it was all dark outside.

Not to mention, it was also considered a rare period of rest for most cultivators who would spend their time during the day training their cultivation techniques or completing different missions for contribution points.

Whoosh~

With this in mind, Xuan Hao fully immersed himself in comprehending the Dao of Space as he waited for night to turn into day.

…

Early the next morning, Elder Song was curiously looking up at Yi Min after a simple introduction from Xuan Hao. Not having expected for him to appear at his doorstep with an unknown Soul Ascension Realm Expert when he was supposed to be cultivating in seclusion.

"So, Senior Yi here will be staying at the sect while recovering?"

"Yes, she will be staying here for a few months… And considering her experience, I think it would be a good idea for both of you to get to know each other. Especially concerning the matter with the Explorer Union that I mentioned to you earlier."

"Huh? Ah! Of course, I understand, I will make sure to seek Senior Yi's guidance when the time comes."

Hearing Xuan Hao's response to his simple question, Elder Song almost instantly realized the real reason behind what he was saying as he nodded his head in agreement.

I never thought Xuan Hao would actually be trying to recruit a Soul Ascension Realm Expert… Hehe, if this is successful, not only will the strength of the Star Shattering Sect increase, but we will also have the Iron Sky Kingdom under our control!

Silently thinking this to himself as he looked up at Yi Min with an increasingly kind expression on his face, Elder Song prepared himself to do anything in his power to draw Yi Min into the Star Shattering Sect and make sure she joined them.

After all, even though the Iron Sky Kingdom was located rather far away from the Star Shattering Sect at the moment, it was only a matter of time before the Star Shattering Sect expanded enough to border the Iron Sky Kingdom. Not to mention, the large amount of spiritual metal and weapons produced by the Iron Sky Kingdom was sure to increase the speed at which the Star Shattering Sect could expand.

Even by moderate estimates, it would decrease the time that the Star Shattering Sect needed to expand to the borders of the Sky Empire's core territory by at least a dozen years. Maybe even more when considering they would also be gaining the assistance of the different experts of the Iron Sky Kingdom.

"Thank you, I will be looking forward to our future cooperation, Elder Song."

Not at all aware of the secret conspiracy brewing behind the scenes to try and make her and her kingdom part of the Star Shattering Sect, Yi Min happily smiled at Elder Song as she said this. Part of her looking forward to exploring the Star Shattering Sect when she recovered enough to start walking around on her own again.

With that in mind, she was at least thankful that they could have their current conversation while she sat down on a small chair that had been located next to the entrance of Elder Song's courtyard…

"Hehe, I'm also looking forward to our future cooperation. By the way, I'm rather curious about your kingdom and…"

As the conversation slowly turned into Elder Song asking Yi Min about different things concerning the management of the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Considering that both Yi Min was the ruler of a kingdom and Elder Song was the main person in charge of the management of the Star Shattering Sect, both of them got along quite well as they found a common ground on their interest in the management of their respective kingdom and sect.

Like this, a few hours quickly flew past with Xuan Hao using most of the time quietly listening in on the two from the side. Making sure that nothing disturbed the two, as it was beneficial to his overall goal if Yi Min could befriend more people in the sect outside of himself.

"… And that is how I prefer to punish people going against the sect laws. Although your method of throwing them into the mines for hard labor for a few months also seems like a good punishment. Hm… Maybe I might also suggest that as a punishment in the future…" 

"Haha, I think that would be a great idea. After all, your sect doesn't lack any mines from what I know. Having quite a few spirit stone mines scattered all over the place." 

"Hehe, indeed. Hm? Looks like it's already quite late and the management elders will start to worry if I don't show up soon… Senior Yi, it was a pleasure talking to you, but it looks like I will have to get going if I want the sect to continue operating normally."

"No problem, we can always chat again in the future when you have time."

As the conversation between the two came to an end with Elder Song realizing how late in the morning it had become, Elder Song quickly sped off in the direction of a small gathering hall located not too far away where the elders in charge of the sect's management had gathered together for an early morning meeting.

Although, because of Elder Song, it looked like it was going to be a late morning meeting instead of an early morning meeting…

"Should we get going?"

Seeing Elder Song disappearing, Xuan Hao turned to ask Yi Min who was looking in the direction of Elder Song with a rare sense of admiration present in her eyes.

"Yes, the faster I can recover, the better." Nodding her head as she said this, Xuan Hao gently scooped her up and took her back to his palace where she settled down inside of her room and began her process of recovery.

…

"Who is the new person staying in the palace? A new disciple?"

"I don't think so. From what I could see, it seemed like her strength is far stronger than ours. Not only that, but even the Sect Master and Grand Elder Shu Yao is nowhere near the pressure I feel when looking at her!"

"Hm… It might be a friend of master who is visiting the sect."

"That's unlikely, have you ever seen master bring any friends before? Does master even have any friends outside of the elders?"

"Ah… Indeed, master has never brought any friends over before…"

As Yi Min stayed inside the palace and focused on recovering her strength over the next few days, it did not take long before Xuan Hao's disciples discovered her and began trying to figure out who she was and where she had come from.

"Maybe its master's lover!"

In the end, it was the simple guess from Mui that ended up making the other three momentarily freeze on the spot.

"Indeed… She might be master's dao companion…"

"This… Maybe we should try and ask Elder Song to be sure first, he might know more about this…"

As Chu Yang and Qing Yi began wondering out loud if what Mui had said was really the case, they both looked at each other for a short moment before dashing out of the palace in the direction of Elder Song's courtyard.

"Ah! Wait for me!"

Not wanting to miss out on something that important, Bai Ning didn't waste a second as he chased after Chu Yang and Qing Yi. Leaving behind a confused looking Mui, who had yet to understand what was happening and why everyone had run off all of a sudden.

"Why did everyone run away… Hm… I should go and ask the big sister if she really is master's lover!" Muttering this to herself as she looked in the direction that the three had run in, Mui didn't stand around for long as she soon made her way in the direction of Yi Min's room. Intending to find out if she was really her master's lover!

…

"Hey, have you heard? Apparently Grand Elder Xuan…"

"Wha-!? Really!?"

"Yes! I heard it from one of the Grand Elder's personal disciples just earlier. Apparently, they even went to Elder Song to confirm it!"

"Now that I think about it, I think I heard some disciples talk about something like this earlier…"

Following Xuan Hao's three oldest disciples making their way over to Elder Song to get a clarification on their master's relationship with Yi Min, they happened to accidentally spread the news to some of the curious disciples who had come up to ask them what they were up to after seeing their somewhat flustered appearances.

As a result, a wave of rather interesting rumors pertaining to Xuan Hao and Yi Min began spreading throughout the Star Shattering Sect…