Arden didn't dare be careless. At maximum speed, he pulled out a talisman, throwing it while chanting.
"Golden light, appear swiftly—shield my body!"
Boom~!
A golden pillar of light descended from the sky, enveloping Arden within it.
This was one of Taoism's Eight Great Incantations—the Golden Light Mantra… in simplified form.
Crack~~!
The Golden Light Mantra lasted only a moment before being shattered by Yixuan's ultimate. It wasn't that the Golden Light wasn't strong—Arden's cultivation was simply shallow, and Yixuan's attack far too powerful.
Still, that fraction of a second bought Arden enough time to dodge.
BOOM!!
By the time Yixuan's ultimate fully crashed down, Arden had already moved out of the attack range.
However, Yixuan clearly had no intention of sparing the disciple who had, during their first meeting, arrogantly declared he would marry her.
"Obliterate—form and spirit!!"
Yixuan leapt again. More talismans swirled around her, arranging themselves into a Taiji pattern with Yixuan at the center.
What the—double ultimate!?
Is she treating me like a boss in a berserk state? Isn't this too brutal!?
Judging by this formation, if Arden wasn't careful, he really might be "obliterated in form and spirit."
Of course, Yixuan wouldn't actually deal fatal damage.
Spell ultimates were different from flare-value ultimates—the damage primarily came from the talismans. If one looked closely, the talismans spinning around Yixuan were all blank; there were no runes drawn. They were just empty talisman papers.
Even if they hit Arden, they would only plaster him in paper, not harm him.
In truth, Yixuan had quite a few of Arden's explosive talismans. If she used them now… Arden didn't dare imagine it.
Even so, he absolutely didn't want to get hit.
The damage wouldn't be much, but the humiliation would be extreme—plus, whether he passed the assessment depended entirely on Yixuan.
Arden refused to let fate be decided by another. His future had to stay in his own hands.
...
The range of a spell ultimate was massive. Worse yet, after dodging the previous ultimate, Arden had already retreated to the edge of the arena—there was nowhere left to run.
Only one option left—my trump card!
Thinking this, Arden pulled out the ultra–top-grade Bird Feed Pill he had prepared. "Qingming Bird! Come have a bite!"
"Come have a bite" was his secret phrase with the Qingming Bird—meaning: the plan starts now.
Cheep~~!
Letting out a crisp cry, the Qingming Bird, for the sake of its future feast, decisively betrayed its master.
Of course, the Qingming Bird wasn't stupid.
Against a real enemy, it would never behave like this. But Arden was "one of their own"—possibly even its future "male master"—so betraying the "female master" a little probably wasn't a big problem.
"!!?"
The Qingming Bird's sudden "betrayal" completely stunned Yixuan, who froze for a moment.
"Celestial Talisman Arts: Divine Speed!"
Seizing that instant of distraction, Arden decisively activated the "Speed" character formula of the [Celestial Talisman Arts], transforming into a blur as he swept past Yixuan.
Riiiing~!
When Arden's figure reappeared, he already had the bell in his hand.
"Impressive!"
"Master definitely held back."
"She had to! If Master went full power, who could possibly pass!?"
"True!"
"…"
Only Yixuan and Arden knew about the Qingming Bird's "switching sides." The other disciples assumed Yixuan had gone easy.
"…"
Yixuan first frowned, then glared fiercely at Arden.
When the bell was taken, she distinctly felt her rear being smacked. Clearly, her rebellious disciple's hand had been far from honest.
"You! Ungrateful little thing!"
Yixuan grabbed the Qingming Bird and stuffed it into a golden cage. Judging by this, the Qingming Bird probably wouldn't be flying freely anytime soon.
It seemed Yixuan had directed all her resentment toward Arden onto the poor bird.
But the Qingming Bird felt no regret. Trading freedom for gourmet food—worth it!
"…"
Yixuan said nothing more, which was tacit approval that Arden had passed the assessment.
Even if there had been a hint of cheating, she knew well that she had used excessive force. Besides, the fact that Arden handled her first ultimate cleanly already proved he had the capability to become a personal disciple.
Hmph! Let him pass—there will be plenty of opportunities later!
Now that he was her disciple, as the master, would she ever run out of opportunities to "discipline" this rebellious brat?
…
No wonder she's Sect Master Yixuan… big, springy, perfectly shaped… definitely the ideal shape for birthing!
Arden, unaware of the difficult future awaiting him as a disciple, was still savoring the memory of the "feeling" from earlier.
With his other hand, under the watch of all, he tossed the bell back to Yixuan.
First, the assessment had to continue. Second, all the candidates present acted as witnesses—solidifying his successful qualification.
"Qingming Bird, don't worry! I promised you triple ultra–top-grade Bird Feed Pills—not a single one less!"
Naturally, Arden didn't forget his "good brother."
Chirp chirp… cheep~!
The caged Qingming Bird chirped excitedly—only to be flicked by Yixuan again.
…
With Ju Fufu and Arden both passing the personal disciple assessment, the disciples' morale rose. But the several failures afterward quickly sank that confidence again.
Until another passed—Ye Shiyuan.
"Ye Shiyuan… Brother Arden, do you know him?"
Ju Fufu asked doubtfully. She didn't recall any outer disciple named Ye Shiyuan at Yunkui Summit.
"No idea."
Arden shook his head. He also had never seen Ye Shiyuan before today. "Maybe he's been outside all this time, just returned, or… he's been in seclusion cultivating?"
After all, Ju Fufu and Arden had only joined Yunkui Summit about four months ago. Not recognizing everyone was normal.
"He looks… kinda like a villain, doesn't he?"
Ju Fufu blinked her big cute eyes at Ye Shiyuan, who walked down from the arena with a mysterious smile.
"Uh… yeah, he kinda does."
It wasn't discrimination—just an honest feeling. Arden's first reaction on seeing Ye Shiyuan was that Kabuto from Naruto and Aizen from Bleach had somehow crossed worlds and fused.
…
"Senior Pan, go for it!"
"Show them your panda kung fu—you'll definitely pass!"
It was Chef Pan's turn. Ju Fufu and Arden cheered for him.
Aside from each other, Pan Yinhu was the disciple they were closest with.
Thanks to Chef Pan's legendary cooking, all disciples of Yunkui Summit got along well with him—even Master Yixuan, who also enjoyed his dishes.
As expected, with panda kung fu, Jade Dragon Wok techniques, and a prior "bribe" of a Nine-Turns Intestines (non-original flavor), Pan Yinhu smoothly passed, becoming the fourth—and final—personal disciple of Master Yixuan.
Ju Fufu, Arden Xu, Ye Shiyuan, and Pan Yinhu—became Yixuan's four personal disciples.