"Teacher, do you want a disciple or not?"
Hearing Fu Xuan's sudden question, Lucian opened his eyes and saw her delicate, beautiful face right before his own.
Fu Xuan was already eighteen now, but her height... it was hard to describe—barely one meter fifty tall. Her figure was also, unfortunately, still rather flat, but luckily, there was still the faintest hint of curves.
At this moment, her legs were clad in white stockings, exactly like the attire she wore as the Master Diviner of the Xianzhou Luofu, which showed that she had loved this kind of look since she was a child.
Besides that, the once soft and innocent glimmer in her eyes had already vanished, replaced by maturity, though that mature air could not completely hide her youthful body.
Perhaps only Fu Xuan could merge cuteness with sensuality, sparking boundless imagination in countless men.
"Disciple? Nah, I'm not taking anyone in." Lucian refused without hesitation. "Even if you're the one introducing them, I'm not."
It was only natural since his target was only Fu Xuan, while anyone else was irrelevant—he had no interest in accepting disciples unrelated to her.
"What about me then? Will you take me in?"
Fu Xuan asked again, her eyes staring seriously into Lucian's—her beautiful gaze carried both expectation and anxiety.
"Weren't you planning to make Master Diviner Jingtian your master?" Lucian asked with raised eyebrows. "Why'd you change your mind? Would your family even agree to this?"
"I changed my mind! I'm going to defy fate! I don't believe that without being taught by the Master Diviner, I could never become one myself!" Fu Xuan said with determination. "Just answer my question—are you taking me in as your disciple or not?"
Lucian fell silent as her words struck straight into his heart.
If he were asked whether he would take her as his disciple or not, of course, he would.
How could he possibly reject such an opportunity when it came knocking?
He had even planned to confront Jingtian when the time came for Fu Xuan's discipleship, but to his surprise, she came to him on her own.
"If it's you, I suppose I can consider it..." Lucian said with a smile.
"What's there to consider?" Fu Xuan grew anxious. "Don't think about it anymore. From now on, you're my master. Let me pay my respects first!"
In the next moment, she decisively knelt and bowed, completing the ritual of accepting a master as if she were speed-running through a game.
"You're in such a rush. Did something happen?" Lucian asked, then lifted a tea bowl from the small table nearby and took a small sip.
Fu Xuan quickly explained the entire matter, making him nod thoughtfully from time to time.
"Ah, right..." Lucian, looking as if he had just recalled something, let his expression turn solemn. "You don't know yet, but if anyone becomes your master, they'll be doomed."
"..."
Fu Xuan fell silent for a moment, her eyes widening in disbelief, before she exclaimed in shock.
"I'll doom my master?!"
How could she have such a fate?
Everyone who had ever divined her future had seen wealth and greatness, but Lucian had never been wrong before—so what he said should be true.
"I-If you know that... why are you still willing to take me in?" Fu Xuan asked hesitantly, her expression turning downcast. "Aren't you afraid I'll doom you too?"
"You? Dooming me?" Lucian grinned broadly, his white teeth showing. "Nah, the only one who could doom me..."
He paused, raised his hand, and his fingertip gently tapped between Fu Xuan's brows.
"Would have to be at the level of the Aeons. You don't qualify, my dear disciple."
"Still showing off..." Fu Xuan covered her forehead, mumbling a complaint to herself.
Yet for some reason, her heart felt strangely at ease.
"If you really get doomed by me, don't blame me later, okay?" Fu Xuan said with a playful smile.
Compared to the past, when she used to lock herself in her room and the family library with books, Fu Xuan, who always acted stern and solemn, was laughing and smiling much more often under Lucian's influence.
Even though her laugh and smile were lovely, it was a pity that, as a future Master Diviner, she was expected to keep a solemn face every day.
"If you can really doom me, then you'd graduate right away as the strongest diviner in the cosmos." Lucian teased.
Seriously, with the power to change fate, how could he possibly be doomed?
"But the Divination Commission..." Fu Xuan said with hesitation.
"You want to use their library?" Lucian asked while suddenly leaning close—so close that Fu Xuan could even count his eyelashes.
"Mm..." Fu Xuan turned her head aside in embarrassment, nodding lightly. "Well, the Yuque's Divination Commission has the richest collection of ancient books, and the divination arts bestowed by the Wisdomwalker. I want to read them all…"
Because those books were her spiritual nourishment, she felt restless without them.
"Fine, I'll take you there." Lucian rose and stretched lazily.
"But the Divination Commission's Grand Library isn't open to outsiders. Only the internal members can borrow from them..." Fu Xuan said in dismay.
"For something that trivial, your master will handle it. Come with me." Lucian offered no further explanation and left the courtyard.
Fu Xuan silently looked at his back for a moment before hurrying after him.
===
Xianzhou Yuque, Divination Commission.
At the main gate of the Divination Commission, Lucian and Fu Xuan arrived and asked one of the guards to meet Jingtian, but—
"I'm sorry, but the Master Diviner is busy divining the war today. He can't see anyone..."
Not even raising his eyelids, the guard spoke sternly, his expression solemn and stiff.
"Not even the disciple personally chosen by him?" Lucian asked calmly.
Upon hearing this, the guard froze, then looked at the pair more carefully, and only then did he realize that it was Fu Xuan, the Fu family's genius heiress, and Lucian, the mysterious guest elder whose feats had been spoken of in awe these past years.
"Uhh... normally, you two would be admitted, but right now... it really isn't convenient..."
Unfortunately, the guard still denied their request, though he now looked a little troubled and apologetic.
"If we don't see Jingtian within ten breaths, I'll issue a challenge!" Lucian had no patience for wasting words, so he immediately declared decisively. "If I win, the Master Diviner's seat will belong to my disciple!"
Because he intentionally declared it with a loud voice, an uproar soon erupted.
Fu Xuan, seeing this sudden turn of events, was startled.
How could she not?
Weren't they just here to borrow books?
How did this suddenly turn into challenging the Master Diviner for his position?
At this moment, the Divination Commission's members who passed by paused in astonishment upon hearing Lucian's bold declaration.
Who dared say such things here?
Everyone knew Master Diviner Jingtian was revered as a godlike figure in the Xianzhou Yuque.
Yes, this Fu family's guest elder might have some skill, but to openly challenge the Master Diviner?
He was overestimating himself.
"You wait here! I'll report to the Master Diviner!"
Seeing the situation getting out of hand, the guard spoke hurriedly before running off.
"Master, are we really challenging the Master Diviner?" Fu Xuan asked nervously.
"It depends on his attitude." Lucian answered nonchalantly. "If he's respectful, he keeps his seat. If not, then after today, the Master Diviner's position will belong to you."
Fu Xuan's blood couldn't help but boil with excitement at these arrogant words.
For years, Jingtian's merits and abilities had been recognized by billions across the Xianzhou Alliance. Countless challengers had come forward, but every one of them had left defeated and convinced, and thus Lucian would be just another name on that long list.
Yet Fu Xuan believed her master would succeed, simply because she had seen his astonishing feats with her own eyes again and again, and none of them fell short of the Master Diviner.
Before long, the guard finally returned, now smiling, and led them into the Divination Commission—or more specifically, to the Cloudpeer Telescope, where the Master Diviner awaited.
===
Cloudpeer Telescope—it was a tall structure that stood like a spire piercing the sky, and at its tip, radiant light pulsed ceaselessly, repeating cryptic signals only diviners could interpret.
Inside a vast chamber, with the Cloudpeer Telescope standing at its center, Lucian saw a man in worn starskiff pilot garb lounging carelessly on the ground, eyes fixed on the shimmering projection formation of shifting lights.
He also noticed that one of the man's arms was surprisingly a mechanical wooden prosthetic, not a real, human hand.
"Master Diviner, Fu Xuan of the Fu family, and her family's guest elder, Lucian, have arrived."
Toward the man—who was none other than Master Diviner Jingtian—the guard reported respectfully while cupping his hands, before quickly departing.
He knew that clashes between big shots were no place for a small fry like him, so the guard decisively left the chamber.
"How strange..." Jingtian said without turning his head. "I cannot divine your fate, so you must not belong to this world—yet you remain so low-key, willing to serve as a guest elder of the Fu family... I wonder, what is it that you seek?"
Lucian had to admit that this man did have some skill, able to cut straight to the heart of things.
"All I seek is a bond—no more, no less." Lucian replied casually, before pushing Fu Xuan forward. "Go on, tell him why you chose not to become his disciple."
Fu Xuan looked at Jingtian's back—someone she had once admired as a child—then at the nonchalant Lucian beside her, wondering what she should say.
A few moments later, after thinking hard about what excuse she should give, a sudden clarity struck her.
"Master Diviner, if you become my master, you'd be doomed by me... But Guest Elder Lucian... Guest Elder Lucian won't be, so I can't be your disciple."
At these words, Jingtian's hand gave an involuntary tremor.
No wonder his recent divination had revealed that Fu Xuan would no longer be his disciple, yet failed to show who had taken her away—so it was this mysterious guest elder.
Not only had this guest elder taken his future disciple, but he had also come here to flaunt her right before his face.
===
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