Lin Luoyu listened in stunned silence, then watched as Cui Hao began wildly gesturing like he was drawing talismans.
[Master! You love me more than you love yourself—how could that possibly be untrue?]
[Your love for me reaches higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean. How could a mere set of Invincible Armor ever compare to the bond between you and me, master and disciple?]
Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow. "That almost sounds like you're my master. Don't forget—Lingyu only went back to pack her things. She's not leaving for good."
Cui Hao immediately shut his mouth and whispered, "Sure enough, Master forgot—he's not actually gone stupid."
Chu Xingchen furrowed his brow. "Calling your master stupid right to his face—little Cui Hao is getting a bit bold."
Cui Hao froze, leaning back slightly, his expression uncertain and alarmed. "Master?"
Chu Xingchen saw Cui Hao's reaction and burst out laughing. "Oh, I was just bluffing. Didn't expect you really were being that dishonest."
Cui Hao completely fell silent. Now he truly understood where Third Senior Sister had learned that trick of casually bluffing someone.
The master really was the deepest player of them all—could even bluff someone who was deaf.
"However, about the armor—if it's actually feasible, I'll naturally prepare a set for you too." Chu Xingchen looked at Cui Hao with a sincere tone. "After all, armor is every man's ultimate dream. I understand you. But only those who carry justice in their hearts can unleash the full power of armor!"
Cui Hao nodded vigorously, wearing an expression that befit a truly devoted disciple. He raised his hand and wrote:
[Master, when you said you doted on me the most, that was truly the honest truth. As for justice, please rest assured, Master! You and I, master and disciple, are nothing less than the embodiment of righteousness in this world.]
Chu Xingchen immediately reached out and patted this fifth disciple on the shoulder—a disciple whose thick skin far surpassed even his own.
To write such shameless words with such passionate conviction—even though this kid wasn't recognized by the system, he still had the potential of great talent. A good disciple to have taken in.
Chu Xingchen also looked toward the corridor and waved at Lin Luoyu. "Is that Luoyu?"
Lin Luoyu hurried over. Even though she didn't understand what her master and Cui Hao were performing, when Master called, she naturally had to go.
She quickly walked to the chair and clasped her hands. "Master."
Cui Hao shot a jealous glance at Fourth Senior Sister and couldn't help but write:
[Master, Senior Sister and I joined the sect at the same time. How do you remember Senior Sister but not me?]
"I don't remember that clearly either." Chu Xingchen looked at Lin Luoyu and gave a slight nod. "But with talent like this, one look and I can tell she'd be a top disciple I'd take in."
Cui Hao raised his hand and wrote again.
[Master, what kind of talk is that? My talent isn't that bad!]
Chu Xingchen let out a snort of laughter. "Then tell me—you and Fourth Senior Sister joined at the same time. Can your cultivation match hers? Or can you beat her in a fight?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Hao could only sit obediently in place.
Facts like these were truly hard to refute.
Chu Xingchen continued, "That's not to say your talent is poor—just that it falls slightly short of your Senior Sister's. If we sent any one of our sect's disciples out into the world, they'd be a genius wherever they went. You're no exception. Look at your Senior Sister, and you should understand your master's eye for talent."
Cui Hao's talent simply wasn't at the very top, but that didn't stop him from being a fine talent.
[Master is just tricking me.]
Lin Luoyu watched Cui Hao write those slightly aggrieved words with a self-satisfied expression.
She now roughly understood the situation. Looking at Cui Hao, she asked, "What happened with Master?"
Cui Hao gave a brief explanation.
Lin Luoyu let out a heavy breath, though her expression remained relatively calm. "Then why is it just you here? Setting aside Eldest Senior Sister, Third Senior Sister should be at Master's side too."
Cui Hao shrugged. "Either they went to cultivate, or they went to handle matters. Basically, in Master's current state, he can't do anything. So Eldest Senior Sister went to handle things that need Master's attention. Second Senior Brother seems to have been sent by Master to someone for research. I stayed behind to keep Master company and relieve his boredom."
"They all say I'm amazing at being funny, but I'm really just speaking normally."
Lin Luoyu sighed softly at this.
Cui Hao always managed to say outrageous things with a completely straight face. That kind of contrast was truly hard for most people to handle.
Very few could hold their own in a conversation with Cui Hao, but the one person who could leave Cui Hao speechless was probably none other than their master.
Neither of them was the type to take a verbal loss.
Chu Xingchen roughly knew the two were talking but didn't interject. His gaze turned back toward the corridor.
Nowadays, recognizing anyone required the system's attribute lines.
Two human-shaped qi signatures walked in, each with an attribute line hovering above them.
[Xie Lingyu]
Chu Xingchen remembered exactly who this person was.
The sole designated and reliable sign language interpreter—the ultra-principled Lord Lingyu, who never spoke ill of anyone behind their back!
The other attribute line read [Yan Yun].
Chu Xingchen stared intently at Yan Yun's attribute line. Such high cultivation—at the Integration realm, no less.
But the talent was also extraordinarily outstanding. Was she a cultivator who had joined later?
It made sense. With the sect's growing reputation, it was only natural that prodigies would come to join.
Yan Yun walked at Xie Lingyu's side, her gaze on Chu Xingchen. She suddenly spoke, "If he's deaf, he probably talks a lot less too, right?"
Xie Lingyu nodded slightly. "Not as much as before."
Yan Yun nodded in approval. "That counts as a good thing."
She had been busy with other matters recently and had only returned to the Tianyan Sect a few days ago. Today was her first opportunity to visit Chu Xingchen, who had fallen under an illusion spell and was said to be deaf.
Yan Yun's gaze rested on Chu Xingchen, only to find his eyes unusually gentle.
"Is that Yan Yun?" Chu Xingchen's tone was soft.
Yan Yun found this extremely unfamiliar but still nodded slightly, reaching out to write:
[It's me.]
Chu Xingchen nodded gently and said, "Come, sit down."
Yan Yun hesitated slightly in her step, but after a glance at Xie Lingyu beside her, she stepped forward and sat decisively across from Chu Xingchen. She raised her hand and wrote:
[How are you feeling? If something's not right, you should say so early, to avoid it getting worse later.]
"That's only natural. Have you been well lately?"
[A bit busy, but fine.]
As Yan Yun listened to Chu Xingchen's pleasant greeting, her internal vigilance kept climbing.
Pleasant words first, bad news after.
That was the law.
Chu Xingchen nodded with a smile. "Yan Yun, what place in the ranking are you again?"
Yan Yun froze at this, looking at Xie Lingyu beside her with confusion.
Xie Lingyu's expression turned slightly awkward. She quickly raised her hand: [This is not your disciple! This is Lu Xuan's direct disciple, a core disciple of the Tianyan Sect.]
Chu Xingchen retracted his expression, not a trace of embarrassment visible on his face, and his tone returned to normal. "Oh, it's Yan Yun. How is your master's research coming along?"
Cui Hao lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Chu Xingchen immediately slapped the top of his head.
Cui Hao let out a pained grunt and struggled to keep his mouth shut.
Lin Luoyu sat at her master's side, holding a teacup with a faint sound coming from it, her expression somewhat similar to Xie Lingyu's.
Yan Yun had been lowered an entire generation for no reason. There was nothing to feel smug about, so she answered calmly: "There's been some progress. This visit is also to invite you to Tianyan Peak for some testing."
"Although you don't remember things as clearly, there are some matters that still need to be discussed with you."
"Especially regarding the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect—Xu Jin wants to see you, and that requires your approval."
After finishing her words, Yan Yun remembered that Chu Xingchen couldn't hear her and was about to raise her hand to write, when she saw that Xie Lingyu had already begun writing.
Chu Xingchen nodded slightly upon hearing this. "Understood."
Yan Yun didn't say anything more, turning her gaze to Xie Lingyu. "I heard he's been back for two days. If his memory is scrambled, you should tell him about the key matters and people. At this critical juncture, he won't have it easy to just idle around."
"I don't particularly care, but I hope he won't go around seeing everyone as a disciple and start treating Xu Jin like a disciple to humor as well."
Xie Lingyu did her best to maintain her expression and nodded slightly. "Alright, understood."
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