As soon as she finished speaking, the Qi in the surroundings moved as her hand extended forward, breaking the space as she reached into the crack, trying to pull someone out.
The disciples waiting had their eyes widened in disbelief; they couldn’t comprehend the sheer amount of power needed for such a feat.
Shen Yuan also raised an eyebrow as Bing Rong stood in front of him to shield him from the pressure. He knew the gap between him and the sect leader was large, but experiencing it firsthand gave it a completely different feeling.
Mei Hua moved her hand a bit and soon pulled someone out. “There you are,” she said with a light giggle as she brought Huo Rong out from the crack.
“Sect Leader!” Huo Rong looked at Mei Hua as her facial muscles twitched. “Can you not do that? The poor disciples will think someone is attacking our Sect right now.”
“Oh, don’t be dramatic. I’m sure they have gotten used to it by now,” Mei Hua chuckled as she looked back at the shocked disciples.
Huo Rong turned as well when she saw Shen Yuan standing behind Bing Rong. “Yuan’er! You are back!”
Huo Rong’s eyes lit up as she walked towards him and gave him a tight hug. “I didn’t know you would be coming here; otherwise, I would have come in an instant.”
Mei Hua’s smile cracked slightly as she heard Huo Rong’s words. “Oh? You won’t come when the Sect Leader invites you but will instead come at a moment’s notice if Shen Yuan was here?”
Huo Rong’s lips twitched as she felt Mei Hua’s gaze on her back. She didn’t turn around but asked Shen Yuan, “Anyways, do you know why I was invited here?”
She glanced around to see disciples and elders gathered as she continued, “And there is quite a crowd gathered here as well.”
Mei Hua shook her head and sighed helplessly, “It’s because of the reward which I gave to the disciples.”
Huo Rong turned around and looked at Mei Hua curiously. “What was the reward?” she inquired.
“There were multiple rewards, but the one which concerns you right now is the last one. It was to give disciples a chance to choose an Inner Sect elder as their master,” Mei Hua finished speaking while staring directly at Huo Rong.
“Hmm? Then why did you call me here? I don’t think som—” Her eyes widened as she saw Mei Hua’s slight smile. “Don’t tell me someone actually chose me as their master?”
She turned around to see Shen Yuan, who nodded his head while chuckling softly.
Huo Rong then looked at the rest of the disciples to see which one of them had chosen her as their master. Her eyes soon landed on Chen Yue, who was standing in front of the other disciples.
“Disciple Chen Yue, tell us who you want your master to be,” Mei Hua’s voice echoed beside the lake as she asked her this question again.
Chen Yue took a deep breath as she bowed towards Huo Rong, “Disciple Chen Yue would like to become the disciple of Elder Huo Rong!”
Huo Rong looked at Chen Yue before glancing at Shen Yuan, who turned his head as if he didn’t want any part of this.
Huo Rong looked conflicted for some time, as if she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to accept her as her disciple or not. “I don’t think I’m read—”
But before she could finish, Mei Hua spoke again, “By the way, Bing Rong accepted Wan Ling as her disciple.”
“…I shall be your master from today, disciple Chen Yue,” Huo Rong spoke with confidence as she sharply turned her gaze towards Bing Rong, who turned her gaze away from her as well.
Bing Rong’s lips trembled slightly as she tried to compose herself.
On the other hand, Chen Yue’s eyes lit up as she hurriedly kneeled in front of Huo Rong to finish the ritual.
“Disciple Chen Yue greets Master!”
Huo Rong moved forward to pick her up as she said with a smile, “You don’t need to kneel in front of me every time, and you shall be my first disciple from now on.”
The elders’ eyes twitched seeing that both of them had made similar decisions.
But alas, they couldn’t do anything as they just sighed and looked at Mei Hua to continue.
“With that out of the way, let’s ask what the rest of the disciples have to say. And to make it more interesting, let’s have the two of them tell us their answers at the same time.” Mei Hua seemed to be enjoying herself as she looked at Zhao Lian and Ling Mei.
They both took a deep breath as they walked forward together. After coming in front of Mei Hua, they greeted her respectfully with a bow, “Greetings, Sect Leader.”
Mei Hua nodded her head as she stared at them for a moment before smilingly replying, “Looks like you both have made your choice. Go ahead and tell us.”
The rest of the disciples, elders, Bing Rong, Huo Rong, and Shen Yuan looked at Ling Mei and Zhao Lian curiously, but everyone had a suspicion about whom they would choose.
They both took a deep breath and said at the same time:
“I would like to become the disciple of Elder Huo Rong.”
“It would be my honor to become the disciple of Elder Bing Rong.”
The elders facepalmed themselves as what they suspected actually happened.
Mei Hua shook her head and looked at Bing Rong and Huo Rong, who were speechlessly looking at Ling Mei and Zhao Lian.
“Hahaha, looks like they have made their decisions. So, what will you choose now?” Shen Yuan laughed as he was happy they didn’t go under another elder but instead chose Huo Rong and Bing Rong.
Huo Rong and Bing Rong shook their heads helplessly as Huo Rong said with a smile, “Very well, since you have spent some time with Shen Yuan, we can assess your character through him.”
Bing Rong nodded her head, “Then it’s decided. Zhao Lian, you will be my second disciple from this moment forward.”
Huo Rong followed up, “And Ling Mei, you will be my second disciple from now on.”
Zhao Lian and Ling Mei hurriedly kneeled in front of them to show their respect while respectfully calling out, “This disciple greets you, Master!”
The rest of the disciples clapped as Bing Rong and Huo Rong moved forward to pick up both of the girls.
Shen Yuan smiled seeing everyone so happy. He turned his gaze towards Mei Hua, who was looking at all the elders who were congratulating Huo Rong and Bing Rong for getting disciples, as they were some of the youngest elders in the sect.
Xiang Mei stepped forward at this point and said, “You guys can head to the treasure pavilion to collect your treasure whenever you want. We will notify the elders guarding that place. Also, you can tell one of the Outer Sect elders when you want to get your weapon created by one of our blacksmiths, and they will make it for you.”
