Ma Changlong had lived half of his life and never thought he would one day step onto the path of cultivation. Although he had waited more than three years for this opportunity, when it finally became a reality, it still felt a bit surreal. But that didn't matter anymore!
Holding the food container in his hands, he savored every bite, shaking his head in amazement. He never expected that the food in this immortal sect could taste even better than the famous Lingxian Restaurant at the foot of the mountain!
He was glad he had made it into the sect. If he had missed out on such delicious food, he would surely regret it for the rest of his life! His eldest son was already grown and had been well-prepared to take over the family business. With his family well taken care of, Ma Changlong no longer had any worries. He could now fully devote himself to life in the sect, enjoying the fine food and hopefully becoming a disciple of the immortal chef who prepared such wonderful meals.
As more than a hundred people sat together under the night sky, eating identical meals, each had their own thoughts, worries, and hopes for the future.
"Hey, there are still two meals left," someone said as the last person approached the large basket and noticed two portions remaining. They raised their voice and asked, "Did anyone not grab their meal yet?"
After waiting for a couple of moments and hearing no response, someone in the crowd suggested, "We should just leave them here for now. Maybe someone went elsewhere and will return later. If no one claims them by tomorrow, we can give them to Elder Liu."
The person near the basket nodded, agreeing with the suggestion, and placed the remaining two meals on a stone table nearby. Then they called out to everyone, "If you see anyone coming back who hasn't eaten, let them know!"
With that, they carried their meal off to enjoy it.
Once the new disciples had all retrieved their meals, the large basket floated up, swayed slightly, and flew back in the direction it had come from.
Meanwhile, on Yaoguang Floating Island, Jiang Youfu was still busy with Liu Shengsheng. After sending dinner to the new disciples, they had just prepared two more large dishes. The extra portions from the previous meal were already plated and ready. Once the new dishes were finished, Liu Shengsheng used a message talisman to notify the senior members of Lingxian Sect that dinner was ready.
Normally, there was no need for a special notification, as Jiang Youfu would always have dinner ready at the same time every evening. However, today they had delayed dinner for the senior members to prioritize feeding the hungry new disciples. While most of the seniors no longer needed regular meals to sustain themselves, Jiang Youfu wasn't about to let this dinner slide. After all, today was a special day—it was the day Lin Xiao came out of seclusion!
Of course, Jiang Youfu had prepared a grand meal to celebrate the occasion, ensuring that everyone could feast together.
Mo Yuanjiao received the dinner notification just as he returned from Shuishui Village, having escorted Han Weishu and Tong Jialiang back to their dormitory. Upon hearing that dinner was ready, he immediately used his fastest movement technique to rush to the dining hall. Across the sect, everyone else who had been busy with various tasks also made their way quickly to the dining area.
In no time, the large tables outside the dining hall were filled with people. Even Gu Yuxiao, who had been out handling sect recruitment with the Fang brothers, Fang Mancang and Fang Mangliang, had returned. The work outside was left to their subordinates for the time being.
As everyone gathered, they watched as dish after dish floated through the air, skillfully controlled by Liu Shengsheng, landing gracefully on each table. Xiao Luan, Da Tao, and Fang Tuan Tuan were also seated on chairs specially designed for them, waiting to dine alongside everyone else.
Once all the dishes had been served, everyone's gaze shifted to Lin Xiao, waiting for him to signal the start of the meal.
Qin Jianghe raised his cup of spiritual wine and toasted Lin Xiao, "Xiao'er, congratulations on reaching the Nascent Soul stage!"
"Congratulations, Xiao'er!"
"Congratulations to the Sect Master!"
"Cluck, cluck!"
"...Meow."
…
Having spent a year in seclusion, Lin Xiao was delighted to see everyone gathered together again. He raised his cup, took a sip of the spiritual wine, savoring its rich, mellow flavor that lingered on his palate. The wine was brewed by Jiang Youfu the previous year using a portion of their bountiful spiritual rice harvest. There wasn't much of it, and even Liao Pantou couldn't get his hands on some without effort. But tonight, Jiang Youfu had brought it out for everyone to enjoy.
After drinking, Lin Xiao smiled at everyone and said, "Thank you."
With their bellies full, it was finally time for some long-overdue conversation. Lin Xiao thought of the new disciples and asked about the arrangements for accepting students.
"Who plans to take disciples tomorrow? How many? Have you all discussed it?" he inquired.
Liu Yunan immediately pulled out a small notebook from his storage pouch and began explaining, "We've already discussed it. Besides you, who were in seclusion and couldn't confirm, the others who are confirmed to accept disciples include Sun Yigao, who will teach alchemy, Mo Yuanjiao, who will handle formations, Fuzi, who will teach spiritual cuisine, Iron Head, who will teach artifact crafting, and Elder Liao, who will accept disciples for everything except alchemy."
In truth, Liao Pantou had said he wouldn't accept any more alchemy disciples because he already had the best one. But, of course, those in the know understood the real reason.
Liu Yunan continued, "Liuchun said he's willing to take disciples for talisman-making, but he won't be able to return immediately. However, his sister's condition has improved, so he will be able to come back periodically to teach."
"As for the number of disciples, we originally set limits for each elder. However, since the number of new disciples is much lower than expected, we've decided not to impose strict limits. If the distribution becomes too uneven, we'll make adjustments as needed."
Surprised by the thorough planning, Lin Xiao asked, "How have you arranged the disciples' cultivation schedules?"
At this, Liu Yunan put away his current notebook and pulled out another one, explaining, "For cultivation, I plan to open a regular morning class in the cultivation hall. We'll have a rotating schedule of instructors who will teach the disciples various aspects of cultivation."
He handed the notebook to Lin Xiao and added, "This contains the list of instructors I selected based on their cultivation level and mastery of various techniques, as well as the rotation schedule."
"Of course, if any instructor is unavailable, they can report to the Miscellaneous Hall, which will coordinate with other instructors to adjust the schedule. If, for some reason, none of the instructors can teach, we'll pause formal lessons and have the disciples study independently."