The woman slowly landed on the ground, her feet touching the stone pavement without making the slightest sound.

For a brief moment, the entire plaza fell silent.

The bustling voices disappeared, the excited children stopped talking, and even the cultivators who had been casually conversing earlier lowered their voices.

At that moment, the Spirit Awakening Realm disciple responsible for the recruitment ceremony suddenly stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Hall Master Su!"

His voice was filled with barely concealed awe.

The True Martial Sect disciples behind him also bowed in unison.

"Greetings, Hall Master Su!"

The sound spread throughout the plaza like a tide.

The various mortals and cultivators present reacted immediately, some surprised and excited while others nervous and stammering, but they all bowed in succession.

"Greetings, esteemed person!"

"Greetings, senior!"

Lu Yang also cupped his fists and slightly lowered his head.

"Greetings, senior."

The beautiful middle aged woman merely nodded faintly with a calm expression.

There wasn’t the slightest arrogance on her face, but a natural majesty belonging to an Essence Gathering Realm cultivator.

Her gaze slowly swept across the plaza before stopping on the Lu Family’s group.

The Spirit Awakening Realm disciple immediately reacted, stepping forward hurriedly as he introduced.

"Hall Master Su, this is Senior Lu Yang, the Supreme Elder of the Lu Family."

He then introduced Lu Qingyu and Bai Qinglan, to which Hall Master Su nodded, her gaze lingering on Lu Yang for a moment longer.

"Supreme Elder Lu, I’ve heard a lot about you over the years."

She spoke with a faint smile.

Lu Yang’s expression moved slightly.

He wasn’t particularly surprised, after all, he had been relatively famous throughout Canglan Prefecture and once held the reputation of a supreme genius.

However, the next words of the True Martial Sect disciple caused Lu Yang’s expression to change slightly.

"Senior Lu, this is Hall Master Su, one of the six Hall Masters of our True Martial Sect."

Lu Yang’s eyes narrowed subtly.

He had naturally heard of the structure of the True Martial Sect.

The sect possessed six great halls, each headed by a Essence Gathering cultivator.

Namely, they were the Alchemy Hall, the Artifact Refining Hall, the Talisman Making Hall, the External Affairs Hall, the Law Enforcement Hall, and the Elder Hall.

The six Hall Masters were all extraordinary figures, and there was only one among them surnamed Su who was a woman.

The Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall!

Lu Yang’s heart trembled slightly when he truly recognized the woman’s identity.

An Essence Gathering Realm powerhouse and a Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade Alchemist!

One had to know, there were only four Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade Alchemists publicly known throughout the entire Wuyuan Province!

And now, one of them was actually standing before him.

Lu Yang’s gaze became even more respectful.

Alchemists were already extremely rare, and Artifact Refiners and Talisman Makers were the same.

The reason was simple; cultivator only needed to cultivate, but an Alchemist, Artifact Refiner, Talisman Maker, and other professions needed to cultivate while also spending enormous amounts of time studying an auxiliary Dao.

An Alchemist needed to understand medicinal herbs, pill formulas, fire control, qi control, purification, fusion, timing, and countless other details.

The higher the level of the medicinal pill, the more difficult it became to refine it.

To reach the same level in both cultivation and alchemy was extremely difficult.

Most cultivators simply didn’t possess enough talent, while others didn’t have enough time.

And even if they possessed both, they still needed sufficient resources.

Therefore, an Alchemist was usually much more valuable than an ordinary cultivator of the same realm, not to mention a Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade Alchemist.

That was equivalent to being able to refine medicinal pills useful to Essence Gathering Realm cultivators.

Such a person could almost be considered a strategic resource for a large faction.

Lu Yang suddenly understood why the True Martial Sect’s foundation was so deep.

A faction possessing seven publicly known Essence Gathering cultivators, and three of their Hall Masters were simultaneously at the Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade of Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making.

The gap between the True Martial Sect and the Lu Family was truly enormous.

"Just an empty reputation, not worth mentioning before Senior Su."

Lu Yang respectfully cupped his fists again.

However, before he could lower his hands completely, a mysterious force suddenly enveloped his body.

Lu Yang’s expression changed slightly.

His body was uncontrollably raised, forced to straighten his back.

Hall Master Su looked at him with a faint smile.

"You are far too polite; there is no need to be so formal."

Lu Yang’s heart trembled.

He hadn’t even seen the other party make a move.

Was this the so-called Essence Qi of the Essence Gathering Realm?

The difference between Spirit Awakening and Essence Gathering was indeed enormous.

Hall Master Su continued calmly.

"Besides, you and I aren’t actually that different in age."

Lu Yang momentarily froze at the casual remark.

Not much different in age?

His eyes flashed with astonishment.

He was eighty-one this year, and since she said they were around the same age, she shouldn’t be more than ten years older than him.

Yet, she had already reached Essence Gathering Realm, and she was even a Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade Alchemist.

Just how monstrous of a talent did this woman actually possess?

He couldn’t help but feel like a frog in a well, unable to comprehend the vastness of the sky.

However, he didn’t dare to speculate too much, just giving a polite smile.

"Senior is too kind."

The two exchanged a few more polite words.

Then, Hall Master Su’s gaze moved and landed on Lu Qingxue.

The little girl had been standing quietly beside Bai Qinglan, appearing slightly nervous.

However, her eyes were still clear and bright as they looked at Hall Master Su, causing the latter’s expression to soften slightly.

"Eleven years old and Sixth Stage Body Tempering Realm, not bad."

Her voice was calm, but those simple words immediately caused the surrounding cultivators to stir.

Everyone had already heard about Lu Qingxue, but hearing the praise personally from an Essence Gathering Realm cultivator was still different.

Hall Master Su looked at Lu Yang.

"With such talent, it would be a waste for her to remain in the outer sect for years before entering the inner sect."

Lu Yang’s heart moved, seemingly guessing what she intended to do.

Sure enough, he did not guess wrong.

"I intend to accept her as my disciple."

Even though he was already prepared, Lu Yang’s expression still changed slightly at these words.

Initially, he expected that Lu Qingxue would probably attract the attention of an Essence Gathering Realm powerhouse, but he just hadn’t expected it to happen this quickly, and he also hadn’t expected the person to be the Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall.

As both an Essence Gathering cultivator and a Mid-Rank Mysterious Grade Alchemist, Hall Master Su was undoubtedly one of the highest ranking figures within the True Martial Sect.

Her wanting to personally accept Lu Qingxue as her disciple was already far beyond what the Lu Family hoped for.

Both Bai Qinglan’s and Lu Qingyu, who had already been mentally prepared for this possibility, couldn’t hide the excitement in their eyes.

The surrounding families were even more shocked.

An eleven-year-old Sixth Stage Body Tempering cultivators was already a once in a century genius, and now she had actually been directly accepted by an Essence Gathering Realm Hall Master.

What kind of luck was this?

Lu Yang, however, remained calm and maintained his composure, at least outwardly.

He had already realized who the Divine Sense that examined him months ago belonged to.

It was none other than Hall Master Su, who had personally inspected the Lu Family.

She had clearly already made her decision at that time.

Today, she was just making it official.

Lu Yang looked back at his daughter.

Lu Qingxue seemed to sense his gaze.

She immediately stepped forward and walked to stand before Hall Master Su, cupping her fists as she bowed.

"Disciple greets Master."

The smile on Hall Master Su’s face became slightly warmer as she nodded.

"Good. From today onward, you are my only disciple and the eldest senior sister of the True Martial Sect’s Alchemy Hall."

Lu Qingxue replied with a nod.

"Yes, Master."

Lu Yang watched the entire exchange quietly.

His heart was filled with an indescribable feeling.

His daughter finally had a master, an Essence Gathering Realm master, and not just any Essence Gathering cultivator, but one of the six Hall Masters of the True Martial Sect.

This meant that Lu Qingxue’s future was essentially secure.

Even if something happened to the Lu Family, as long as Lu Qingxue remained within the True Martial Sect, she would be safe.

She might even succeed Hall Master Su as the next Hall Master of the Alchemy Hall if nothing went wrong.

Hall Master Su looked at Lu Yang.

"Rest assured, I will take care of her properly and not let her suffer any grievances."

Lu Yang nodded with cupped fists.

"Then I’ll have to trouble Senior for looking after my unworthy daughter."

Hall Master Su shook her head.

"There is no need for that. If she is unworthy, then I’m afraid no one within Canglan Prefecture is worthy enough. Since i have accepted her as my disciple, she is naturally my responsibility. Supreme Elder Lu can rest assured. With her talent, she is also helping me."

Lu Yang understood the meaning behind Hall Master Su’s last sentence.

An Essence Gathering Realm cultivator accepting a genius disciple was an investment.

If Lu Qingxue truly lived up to the potential she had shown so far, then one day, she would undoubtedly become an Essence Gathering Realm cultivator herself and perhaps even surpass her master.

Suddenly, Lu Yang felt a strange sense of relief.

For the first time since Lu Qingxue was born, he felt that perhaps he didn’t need to protect her every moment.

Across his three lifetimes, she was his first daughter, but that didn’t mean he could always hold her in the palm of his hand to shield her from the outside world.

There was now someone much, much stronger than him standing behind her.

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