147: Chapter 147 Past

The same thought occurred to both of them simultaneously.

But it left as quickly as it had come.

Revered Master was at such an advanced age; having such a young illegitimate daughter seemed unreasonable no matter how they looked at it.

Not to mention, they had spent most of their time by Revered Master's side over the past few decades.

They had never seen Revered Master get close to any Mistress.

It couldn't have been a one-shot success.

One had to know that the difficulty for a Xiantian Master to produce offspring was over a hundred times higher than that of an ordinary person.

Yun Hong leaned close to Xiong Hongyou's ear and whispered, "Junior Brother, where did you trick this Junior Sister from?"

Upon hearing this, Xiong Hongyou's hair practically stood on end.

Because Master Tianlan was still present, he could only lower his voice. "Senior Brother, what do you mean 'tricked'? Junior Sister is a junior of Senior Yuhuan. Some time ago, Senior Yuhuan found me and said that Junior Sister might possess the Xun Wind Bloodline and asked me to look after her. Seeing that Junior Sister has extraordinary talent and the Xun Wind Bloodline, I simply took her in as a Disciple to make it easier to care for her."

Yun Hong realized and said, "So she's Senior Yuhuan's junior. Why didn't Senior Yuhuan come along?"

Xiong Hongyou explained, "Senior Yuhuan is at my residence; he didn't come with us."

Yun Hong sighed, "I didn't expect that after all these years, Senior Yuhuan still hasn't let go. He's not even willing to visit the Academy anymore."

Xiong Hongyou asked curiously, "What exactly happened back then? Why did a prominent figure like Senior Yuhuan suddenly leave the Academy and resign from his position as commander of the Evil Suppression Bureau?"

Yun Hong's expression tightened slightly as he said seriously, "That's a long story. Do you know why Master Changyou fell back then?"

"Wasn't it said that Master Changyou was schemed against by the Blood Demon Sect and died at the hands of the Yama Evil Lord? What does that have to do with Senior Yuhuan?" Xiong Hongyou pondered for a moment before asking in confusion.

Yun Hong said, "There is a certain connection, but it wasn't Senior Yuhuan's responsibility. Senior Yuhuan was once a Secret Disciple of Master Changyou."

"Back then, I thought it was strange. Why would no Immortal Master be willing to take a prominent figure like Senior Yuhuan as a Disciple? It turns out Senior Yuhuan had long been taken in as a Secret Disciple by Master Changyou." Hearing this, Xiong Hongyou felt a sudden sense of clarity, as a mystery buried in his heart for years was finally solved.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, there are actually two ways to take in Disciples: one is public recruitment, and the other is secret recruitment.

Generally speaking, those taken as Secret Disciples...

...either possess startling talent but are still too weak. As the successor of a lineage, they would be revealed at an appropriate time.

The other case is when the Disciple has a secret mission, and a public recruitment would risk exposing their other identity.

However, the vast majority of Xiantian Masters take in Disciples through public recruitment.

Having understood this, another doubt arose in Xiong Hongyou's mind.

"Even if Senior Yuhuan was taken as a Secret Disciple by Master Changyou, it still has nothing to do with Master Changyou's death."

Yun Hong paused, a look of reminiscence appearing in his eyes. "From my perspective, what happened back then really wasn't Senior Yuhuan's responsibility. Fifty years ago, the Yama Evil Lord launched a sneak attack on Tiancang Commandery. The area Senior Yuhuan was responsible for guarding happened to be the three counties of Tiancang, Longxi, and Longnan. Because Longxi and Longnan were also being attacked by the Blood Demon Sect at the same time, Senior Yuhuan could not leave to go to Tiancang Commandery."

"It was also at this time that news requesting reinforcements reached the Academy. Master Changyou, worried about the safety of Tiancang Commandery, took several of his Disciples to provide support. With Master Changyou's strength, suppressing a county should have been easy. However, who could have expected that the call for help was intentionally leaked? In truth, the Blood Demon Sect had already set a dragnet in Tiancang Commandery, waiting for someone to walk into the trap. When Master Changyou's group arrived, the outcome was predictable."

Saying this, Yun Hong looked at Xiong Hongyou. "As for what happened afterward, I presume you already know."

Xiong Hongyou's eyes lit up as if his entire meridian system had been cleared. "I see. Senior Yuhuan believes that his failure to reinforce Tiancang Commandery in time led to the deaths of Master Changyou and several Senior and Junior Brothers. That's why he has been so guilt-ridden all these years."

"In fact, even if Senior Yuhuan had reinforced Tiancang Commandery in time, it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Perhaps he thinks that if he had discovered the clues earlier, or even sacrificed himself in Tiancang Commandery, Master Changyou might have been alerted and wouldn't have risked himself so easily or fallen for the Blood Demon Sect's trap."

Yun Hong sighed, "Perhaps that's part of it. But regardless, so many years have passed. Even if Senior Yuhuan really bore a tiny bit of responsibility, it's all in the past now."

"Indeed, fifty years have passed. If not for that incident, Senior Yuhuan might have had a chance to become a Xiantian Master."

...

While the two were sighing over Ancestor Yuhuan's fate, Master Tianlan finished giving instructions to Pei Siyao.

Although the two had spoken softly, how could they hide it from the ears of a Xiantian Master?

Master Tianlan also hadn't expected that Pei Siyao was actually Ancestor Pei Yuhuan's junior.

No wonder his own Disciple's talent was so outstanding.

Unlike Xiong Hongyou, a Xiantian Master undergoes a transformation from the inside out, originating from the level of life itself.

To some extent, they were no longer human.

The Bloodline Power originally hidden within their bodies could now be released externally as a new form of power.

Regarding the state of the Bloodline Power within Pei Siyao's body, he only had to sense it slightly to discover something unusual.

Pure! Incredibly pure!

This was a state that would only manifest after a Bloodline Awakening if no medicines like Bloodline Spirit Pills had been consumed.

This was precisely why he chose to take Pei Siyao as his Disciple.

Although a Xiantian Seed wasn't guaranteed to reach the Innate realm...

...under his tutelage, the probability would definitely be more than ten times higher than that of an ordinary Grandmaster of Meridians.

Of course, there was one more crucial point: Pei Siyao's Bloodline Power belonged to the Xun Wind Bloodline lineage.

Otherwise, no matter how startling Pei Siyao's Bloodline Power was, he would not have taken her as a Disciple.

It was then that Master Tianlan interrupted their lamentations. "What are you two muttering about back there? Do you both want to go to the Cliff of Reflection? Hurry up and get over here to meet your Junior Sister."

Hearing this, the conversation between Yun Hong and Xiong Hongyou came to an abrupt halt, and they immediately hurried over to Master Tianlan.

Seeing their behavior, Master Tianlan spoke with satisfaction, "Pei Siyao will be your Junior Sister from now on. If I find out you're not treating Si Yao well, I'll skin you alive."

The two immediately stated their position, saying in unison, "Understood, Revered Master. As long as we have a bite to eat, we will never let Junior Sister go hungry."