I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

’So there are problems even in my basic movements, huh...’

Realising that there were problems even in the very fundamentals he had been repeating again and again all this time made Yi Chen’s chest feel a little heavy.

Since he had only learnt swordsmanship under Zheng Ru for barely a few months, and that too in an informal manner because they were short on time, something like this was bound to occur.

Moreover, the habits he subconsciously took up while dealing with tens of bandits when he was making his way to the capital and during the times he spent battling inside the Sky Devouring Tomb only served to further reinforce these habits in his swordsmanship.

Thinking of all these things, Yi Chen’s expression naturally turned a little dejected.

This was something that was easily caught by Grand Elder Jian, who was closely observing Yi Chen’s facial changes.

"Haha." He chuckled the next moment and said, "There’s no need for you to be so dejected. You’ve only now officially joined a sect, and from here on, you’ll end up becoming better and better.

All these shortcomings, once taken care of, will ensure that the plateaus you’ll face in your journey to master the sword will be kept to a minimum. Otherwise, you would have to come back to find the root cause every time."

As he said those words, Grand Elder Jian patted Yi Chen’s shoulder to motivate him, "Therefore, instead of feeling dejected, look at it as an opportunity. An opportunity to correct the problem areas that might have cost you years, if not decades, to rectify in the future had they remained unaddressed. You understand?"

"I understand."

Feeling a little better, Yi Chen nodded in response after hearing those words, and just a second later, a sound rang in the air.

GRUMBLE

’This...’

Looking down towards his stomach, an embarrassed expression immediately formed on Yi Chen’s face as he was reminded of the fact that he hadn’t eaten anything after breakfast today.

"Haha, it’s only natural for you to be hungry after such a long day. Since I still have to brief you about a few things, let’s go to my place first. We can discuss those issues while eating."

Grand Elder Jian said with a warm smile.

"Then...Thank you for your hospitality, Grand Elder Jian." Yi Chen nodded with a thankful smile.

"Mhm."

Grand Elder Jian smirked lightly after hearing his response before taking out a palm-sized tablet from inside his storage ring.

It was completely black in colour and had some special characters inscribed on it, which naturally caused curiosity to surface on Yi Chen’s face.

"Looks interesting, right?" Grand Elder Jian asked, seeing Yi Chen’s expression, and explained, "It’s a small teleportation artefact specially created by Patriarch Su."

’Patriarch Su made it?’

Yi Chen’s eyes couldn’t help but widen when he heard this. It was then that he noticed the artefact buzzing loudly as the characters inscribed on it began to shine with white light.

"Let’s go then."

Grand Elder Jian’s voice entered Yi Chen’s ears the next moment as he felt an arm wrap around his shoulders to pull him closer.

Just then, the light being emitted by the tablet turned blinding, forcing Yi Chen to close his eyes in response.

’!!!’

A sudden feeling of vertigo momentarily took over him, and when he opened his eyes a couple of seconds later, he found himself in a completely different place.

"This place...where is this..."

Yi Chen muttered while looking at the expanse of white land in front of his eyes that stretched all the way towards the setting sun near the orange horizon.

"The Twelfth Peak."

Grand Elder Jian answered with a smile and continued, "It’s the place that will become your home once you’ve officially become my personal disciple."

"The twelfth peak..." Yi Chen repeated while his eyes remained stuck on the beautiful scene in front of him, watching the sun submerge deeper into the horizon with each passing second.

Thanks to Grand Elder Jian’s explanation, he no longer mistook the vast layer of clouds that stretched towards the sun for white land.

At the same time, he remembered rows of mountains that greeted his eyes the moment he had passed through the sect’s illusory array.

’So, I’m currently at the top of one of those mountains...’

He thought inwardly as the sun finally dipped under the horizon, leaving the entire night sky in the hands of the moon.

"Come, there’s my manor."

Grand Elder Jian’s words pulled Yi Chen’s attention, making him turn around to look at an elegantly designed manor, which was the largest residential building on the peak.

It was completely built of wood and was giving off orange light from various rooms, making it stand out in the darkness.

"Mhm."

Yi Chen nodded and started walking alongside Grand Elder Jian the next moment.

While at it, Yi Chen also noticed several other smaller buildings constructed a few meters around and also in the lower areas of the mountain peak.

"How many personal disciples do you have, Grand Elder Jian?" Yi Chen asked the next instant curiously, assuming the buildings below belonged to them.

"Personal Disciples?" A smile formed on Grand Elder Jian’s face when he heard that as he answered, "In that regard, I’m quite similar to the Patriarch. I have no personal disciples as of now, as you have yet to officially become my personal disciple."

"No personal disciples..." Yi Chen muttered to himself while staring at the other buildings, some of which were clearly occupied by other people.

"...Then who lives in those buildings?"

Yi Chen asked curiously while pointing towards those buildings.

"Ah, that. Most of these residences are empty, still waiting to be occupied by Inner Sect Disciples. Maybe this time a few will join." A self-deprecating smile formed on Grand Elder Jian’s face, which caused Yi Chen to frown a little in confusion.

However, without explaining the reason for that smile, Grand Elder Jian continued with the explanation after a brief pause, "As for the others, they are occupied by the sect’s staff members who ensure that the things on my peak are always in order."

"Ah, I see..."

Yi Chen nodded in understanding as they finally reached the manor’s entrance.

Knock! Knock!

Grand Elder Jian knocked on the door, after which they had to wait for only two breaths’ time before the door was opened.

"Greetings, Master Jian."

An old man who was at the Meridian Refinement Stage greeted Grand Elder Jian the next instant.

"Greetings, Steward Chao." Grand Elder Jian nodded with a smile and said while gesturing towards Yi Chen, "Can you prepare a warm dinner for my guest here and me? We’ll be waiting in the dining room."

"Yes, Master Jian." Steward Chao nodded and, after greeting Yi Chen with a similar bow, went inside for the dinner preparation.

"Let’s go to the dining room then. While the dinner is being prepared, I’ll brief you on a few important things."

With that said, Grand Elder Jian guided Yi Chen towards the dining room, and Yi Chen closely followed behind him while looking around at the manor’s interiors.

’So well ordered...’

Yi Chen muttered when they entered the dining room.

The floor was completely neat and tidy. The cutlery was finely arranged on the shelves, and a pristine white cloth was symmetrically draped over the dining table, which was large enough for six people to dine comfortably.

Just from a momentary glance, it was apparent that it was regularly being taken care of.

"Have a seat."

After taking a seat in one of the chairs, Grand Elder Jian gestured for Yi Chen to do the same.

"Y-Yes."

Yi Chen nodded and soon seated himself comfortably before finally glancing towards Grand Elder Jian with a curious expression.

Seeing this, Grand Elder Jian cleared his throat and said, "Since you’ve just joined the sect, there’s naturally a lot of things you won’t be aware of.

The majority of it you’ll become familiar with in the following days as you go about your daily schedule as an Outer Sect Disciple.

Therefore, I’ll only be addressing the issue that pertains to your decision to become my personal disciple. Is this clear?"

Grand Elder Jian paused briefly to make sure Yi Chen was following him. Seeing a nod of confirmation, he immediately continued.

"Alright, right now, even though you have made your decision, officially you have yet to become my disciple because there is a particular process that needs to be followed, which includes a formal declaration to all the sect members and a master-disciple ceremony.

Usually, all the personal disciples are directly handpicked from among the talented Inner Sect Disciples who have already made a name for themselves inside the sect.

However, that isn’t the case with you, an anomaly which the sect hasn’t encountered even in its thousand-year-old history, which has made all the peak masters take action just during the recruitment process itself.

"..."

Yi Chen couldn’t help but purse his lips, hearing that and feeling that things were about to become a little troublesome for him.

"Since you’re a special case, as a peak master, I can easily bend the rules for you and directly accept you as our personal disciple.

However, that will instantly sow the seeds of resentment in the hearts of many disciples, as various rumours will naturally start to spread..."

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