Everyone is Secretly in Love with Me

After that day, the few individuals who had ascended the mountain together stayed in this temporary residence for about two days before being assigned to different places.

The plump young man and another person with ordinary Five Elements Spiritual Roots became disciples responsible for herbs in the Azure Cloud Sect's medicinal garden. It's worth noting that due to the uniqueness of the sects in the Yun Heaven Continent, most cultivators here liked to use pills to break through their realm barriers, making the position of alchemists highly respected. This indirectly led to a weakness in combat abilities among cultivators.

As for Yaxuan, being a highly regarded genius disciple, he was personally received by the Sect Master and the Supreme Elders on the same day. It's rumored that it took a considerable effort to secure his enrollment. In the end, he was handed over to the sect's most experienced elder in the Dao of Blades, the former Law Enforcement Elder who now guided him personally.

However, just as they were about to hold the apprentice ceremony, the silent disciple who hadn't uttered a word since entering suddenly lifted his head and calmly said, "I don't want to follow the Blade Path."

"..." Everyone was taken aback by this statement. The Sect Master was the first to react and inquired mildly, "Why is that? Are you aware that you possess the innate constitution for the Blade Drinker? Learning blade techniques would be twice as effective."

The side profile of the youth was veiled in shadow, and his tightly pursed lips formed a resolute curve. Up until now, Yaxuan was just an ordinary mortal, but when he met the stern gaze of the Sect Master, he showed no signs of the usual disciple's fear and timidity. He regarded the Sect Master, who had reached the Late Foundation Establishment stage, as if he were an everyday occurrence.

As if nothing could move him.

Yaxuan spoke softly, "I know, but I want to learn swordsmanship."

—He still liked swords because of his father, yet he wanted to learn swordsmanship.

The strict Law Enforcement Elder snorted coldly, displeased. "Are you implying I'm not qualified enough to teach you? How audacious!"

With this rebuke, the air in the hall grew heavy, and the imposing presence unique to cultivators pressed down on the bones of the young man before him, making them creak.

But this only fueled Yaxuan's stubbornness. Just as he hadn't bent his back due to hardships and ridicule from the villagers in the past, he wouldn't yield now.

A man next to him, with a long chin beard, burst into laughter and taunted, "If you want to learn swordsmanship, I can teach you. That old man's blade techniques are nothing special, far inferior to the mysteries of swordsmanship."

The Law Enforcement Elder's eyes flickered with anger in response to this mockery.

"Enough!" The Sect Master waved his sleeves, interrupting the Law Enforcement Elder's attempt to exert more spiritual power. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to Yaxuan and said, "Choosing the path you wish to cultivate is a very important decision. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you three days to think it over. Don't waste your unique constitution."

Yaxuan agreed. So, during these few days, he continued to reside in that row of corridors, with no one on either side. Yes, due to Lin Zhizhi's identity as a servant, he had to move to live with the servants of those young masters as well.

The poor living conditions were one thing, but because Lin Zhizhi didn't fit in, it made some people quite unhappy: they were all servants, so why did this kid have the audacity to be so good-looking and aloof, never acknowledging anyone? Furthermore, due to Yaxuan not having formally apprenticed yet, the labor that these servants usually handled wasn't assigned to Lin Zhizhi.

Only when they were truly overwhelmed with work would the steward ask Lin Zhizhi for help. At such times, those few individuals who disliked him would be like flies attracted to blood, tailing him with the intention of bullying him later. On the way, they never stopped mocking how Lin Zhizhi lacked the professional demeanor of a servant, stumbling and swaying even when walking on a mountain path.

Lin Zhizhi was truly experiencing the bitterness of laboring at the bottom of society. He had to trek the distance of two mountain peaks on foot, move the destroyed building debris by hand, and deal with the trouble caused by these idiots behind him—especially since they were the very idiots who had been wreaking havoc on his respected Master's legacy!—He couldn't help but roll his eyes countless times in his heart.

#Actually Settling Debts between Master and Disciple, Tricky and Manipulative, No Problem#

These past few days, he had been recalling the alchemy inheritance from the Heavenly Floating Secret Realm, thinking about how to refine pills without spiritual power. However, it proved futile as the foundation of pill refinement lay in the cultivator's own spiritual energy, the very root of all.

The black-haired youth lowered his eyelashes and, alongside those around him, cleaned up the debris. He had never done such work before, and his movements were clumsy, making him appear quite pitiful. This was the scene that greeted Yaxuan upon his arrival.

The young man walked over in long strides and pulled Lin Zhizhi away. "Let me do it."

"Yaxuan? Aren't you supposed to be cultivating?" Lin Zhizhi looked at the young man before him in surprise and declined his offer. "No need, this is my task."

"I haven't formally apprenticed yet—besides, you're injured, let me help you." Yaxuan said sincerely, almost bearing the words "Respect Master, Honor the Dao" on his face.

"With your talent, who would be willing to be your master?" Lin Zhizhi glanced around—those servants who changed sides at a whim were all watching closely. When the black-haired youth spoke again, his voice was lowered, "We'll discuss this later."

Yaxuan obediently nodded.

His attitude was resolute, and his strength was extraordinary. Lin Zhizhi couldn't quite refuse him, so he let Yaxuan proficiently take over these chores in his place.

The other people didn't know Yaxuan's identity and assumed he was just another servant. They sneered mercilessly, "Where did this guy come from? How come we've never seen him before?"

"Must be one of those guys. Who else could it be?"

"Oh, oh, oh, could it be a secret lover?"

Yaxuan remained unmoved, and Lin Zhizhi remained composed, treating it like background noise.

It wasn't until the steward of the outer sect came to inspect in the evening that they discovered the newly accepted disciple, Yaxuan, was here moving bricks. The steward was taken aback and quickly interrupted, "This, this! Why would you personally come here?!"

Stewards like him were astute individuals, capable of distinguishing who could offend whom. Although this newcomer had just arrived, his innate talent destined him to become a prominent figure in the entire sect. A slap from him could squash these ordinary people without any consequences! Thinking this, the steward was on the verge of wetting himself!

Those few who had mocked Yaxuan felt uneasy upon seeing the situation.

Yaxuan stopped what he was doing and looked at the young master from the Lin family standing nearby. He gave a brief response, "I'm here to help."

The steward was sweating bullets, looking at Lin Zhizhi and Yaxuan. He deeply regretted allowing Yaxuan's servant to come here today. He quickly lowered his head and took out a stack of silver bills and several round pills from his pocket, "You mustn't trouble yourself! It's all a misunderstanding, haha, it's all my fault. You shouldn't have come as my servant in the first place. Please accept this small token of my apology."

Yaxuan didn't even look at what the steward held. He tossed the lump of stuff he was still holding into a nearby sack, saying, "Then I'm leaving."

"You can leave whenever you like." The head steward acted obsequiously.

Yaxuan turned around and walked towards the servants who had spoken earlier. His stride was incredibly menacing, like a black panther hunting, an effortless grace tinged with unspeakable danger. He grabbed one person by the collar and punched his cheek, causing it to swell instantly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's my big mouth—" The person begged for mercy with a panicked voice.

Yaxuan remained completely unmoved, like he had completed a task. He dealt blows to the ones who had spoken, leaving no words behind, before finally standing before Lin Zhizhi, awaiting his next move.

Lin Zhizhi wasn't actually angry. He wouldn't initiate conflict with these people, but Yaxuan venting his frustrations for him did leave a certain impression—after all, teaching the "Fundamental Sword Techniques" hadn't been in vain.

As the two of them walked back together, the black-haired youth led the way and brought up the previous topic. "Yeah, thanks for earlier. By the way, you said you haven't taken on a master?"

Walking behind, Yaxuan was just like those afternoons in the village. "They wanted me to learn the dao of the sword, but I want to learn the dao of the sword."

Lin Zhizhi suddenly stopped and turned around, squinting at Yaxuan. "You don't like the sword."

He used a declarative sentence.

"Yeah."

"Why do you want to learn it?"

"You're my master. If you want me to learn the sword, then I'll learn the sword," Yaxuan said straightforwardly.

Lin Zhizhi was somewhat at a loss dealing with someone like Yaxuan. He frustratingly pressed his forehead and regretted, "If I had known you would be this clingy, I wouldn't have taught you back then."

Yaxuan had no objections to Lin Zhizhi's labeling of him as "clingy." He stumbled a bit and awkwardly continued, "You're the first person who has been with me and taught me sword techniques. I... I won't do anything you don't like."

This statement softened Lin Zhizhi a little.

——Yaxuan said Lin Zhizhi was the first person to be with him, but for Lin Zhizhi, wasn't Yaxuan also accompanying him?

Companionship had always been mutual.

Yaxuan saved Lin Zhizhi's life, pulled him back from the jaws of a beast, let him stay in his own home, and had even seen him at his weakest and lowest moments. If not for the shadow cast by his good friend's demonic possession, Lin Zhizhi and Yaxuan might have become true brothers.

As for the master-disciple relationship——Xuanhua had acted that way under the influence of his charming constitution, and Lin Zhizhi didn't want to have any connections with anyone for that reason.

The young master of the Lin family's expression softened for a moment but then returned to coldness. He looked at the troublemaker before him, rolled up his sleeves, and said in the longest sentence he had ever spoken, "The path of the Dao is long, and I myself can't even grasp its direction, let alone lead you. In my current state, I can't truly be your master. We'll talk about it later. I'll have to ask the Master as well. Since your constitution is suited for the way of the sword, learn it. The path of sword techniques isn't suitable for you... However, I can teach you something else. Um, some other cultivation methods or aspects... if you're interested."

Yaxuan's eyes, which had been dim all this time, lit up.

Lin Zhizhi returned to his original path and continued forward, leaving behind these words, "You should formally take a master and practice diligently under your master."

Yaxuan followed him step by step until they arrived back at their residence, then left for the main gate to find the sect leader.

After Lin Zhizhi returned, he focused his mind and gathered his qi, continuing until nightfall.

On this night, the moon was bright and stars were sparse. The deep blue sky covered all things, winding within the shadows of dense trees.

Lin Zhizhi didn't stay in his room. He found a secluded spot, sat down next to a tree, closed his eyes, and concentrated on circulating his energy, hoping to restore his spiritual energy as soon as possible.

Just as he became completely immersed in his meditation, someone suddenly tapped his shoulder and said with a rising tone, "Ah, I've got you."

This voice was distinctive, somewhat similar to the tone of the Sea Emperor Jagu, but even deeper than his.

Lin Zhizhi was startled and turned around to see a stranger standing behind him, looking down at him.

He was a very handsome man.

Perhaps because he had reached a certain peak himself, Lin Zhizhi rarely used the word "handsome" to describe things. However, when he saw this man, the first word that popped into his mind was indeed "handsome."

This man's beauty doesn't lie in his appearance, but in that natural and innate aura, a presence that can only be attained by years of holding a high position, one not to be opposed. He was very close to Lin Zhizhi, his hand resting on the young man's shoulder.

The dark night was his backdrop, and the bright moon illuminated the world for him.

Lin Zhizhi tensed up.

When did this person... appear? How did he not notice at all?!

He knew nothing about this person's identity, the only thing he could determine was that he was powerful. Powerful to the extent that even if Lin Zhizhi regained all his cultivation, he would still be utterly unable to resist.

The man's perfectly curved lips curled into a hint of a smile. He looked at the now extremely nervous young man before him and spoke meaningfully, "You look better when you're awake than when you're asleep."

Lin Zhizhi: "..."

——What the hell? This guy actually watched me sleep?! Who is he?

The man stepped forward, his slender hand moving away from Lin Zhizhi's shoulder. He stood behind him, almost embracing him from behind, his hand covering the young man's abdomen. The man lowered his head and used a magnetic and pleasing voice near Lin Zhizhi's ear, expressing a deep sense of regret, "Your wound is healing, it's a pity I didn't get to see you when you were injured."

He turned Lin Zhizhi around, holding his chin in his hand. His fingertips lightly brushed against the corner of his lips as he leisurely continued, "So, I'm going to give you another wound."

With those words, he chuckled softly, full of ambiguity, and leaned down to kiss the young man in his arms.