Your Majesty, may you be in eternal peace

At the foot of Azure Cloud Mountain.

A courtyard had already been built in front of the ant grave.

With a blue brick wall and a black tiled roof, it was not large but kept spotlessly clean.

This was exactly Zhao Feng's residence.

Outside, quite a few wandering cultivators and passersby had gathered.

Zhao Feng was a Golden Core Patriarch, after all!

Many people had never seen a Golden Core Patriarch in their entire lives.

Not to mention, it was said that there was a Nascent Soul True Monarch residing on Azure Cloud Mountain!

Nowadays, no one dared to casually go up the mountain.

Even if there were treasures on the mountain, so what?

The Heaven-Relying Sword was planted right on Wudang Mountain, yet no one was seen trying to snatch it.

However, coming to the foot of the mountain to offer a stick of incense to Lord Ant Immortal, pray for blessings, and perhaps catch the eye of the Golden Core Patriarch—there were quite a few people harboring such thoughts.

"Lord Ant Immortal, your disciple Zhang San begs for your blessing to break through to the third level of Qi Condensation! Your disciple has nothing good to offer; please do not disdain these wild fruits!"

A thin, middle-aged wandering cultivator knelt before the grave, holding a few unripe wild fruits in both hands. He respectfully placed them in front of the stele and kowtowed three times.

"Lord Ant Immortal, your junior Li Si prays for your blessing... to strike it rich soon."

Another wandering cultivator respectfully kowtowed a few times to the tombstone.

In the distance, several wandering cultivators lined up, waiting to offer incense.

"Lord Ant Immortal, please bless me..."

"Lord Ant Immortal, your disciple kowtows to you..."

"I beg Lord Ant Immortal to grant your disciple a good future..."

In front of the stone stele, offerings were piled high: wild fruits, steamed buns, pastries, a few jugs of wine, and even a stick of candied hawthorn.

On the outskirts of the crowd, an old wandering cultivator stroked his beard and sighed, "I have lived for over eighty years, and this is the first time I've seen people offering incense to an ant."

A person nearby replied, "Even their ant has someone guarding its grave after it dies. When we die, who will burn paper money for us?"

The old wandering cultivator fell silent for a moment, let out a sigh, and also joined the line.

...

At the entrance of the small courtyard.

Stood a dozen or so young cultivators, their backs straight and faces expressionless, their vigilant eyes staring at the coming and going crowd.

They were all nominal disciples of the sect taken in by Zhao Feng.

Of course, this was instructed by Lin Yan; otherwise, how would Zhao Feng dare to act on his own authority?

The Heavenly Derivation Sect only had a total of ten outer disciple quotas. Now that Zhao Feng occupied one, there were nine empty spots left.

Nowadays, Lin Yan highly valued the sect's quotas. He would rather leave them empty than let those freeloading, ulterior-motived riffraff sneak in.

And Zhao Feng happened to be the most suitable person for the preliminary screening.

With the Observing Body Language trait, handling the preliminary selection work was no problem at all.

The system's quotas were the system's quotas, but the system never said Lin Yan couldn't take in a few peripheral disciples.

Anyway, those people wouldn't provide cultivation power and didn't occupy an official spot, so Lin Yan could take in as many as he wanted!

Letting Zhao Feng do a preliminary selection first, then after a period of observation to confirm their temperament, character, and loyalty were fine, it wouldn't be too late to give them an official spot.

Zhao Feng himself also found it strange. He didn't know if it was because he had broken through to the Golden Core stage, but it seemed very easy for him to tell who was sincere and who was faking it among those people.

Over a month, hundreds of wandering cultivators who came seeking the Dao arrived at the foot of the mountain. After Zhao Feng's careful screening, only a dozen or so with relatively pure hearts were kept.

These dozen people chopped wood, carried water, and cleaned the courtyard during the day, occasionally running errands for Zhao Feng.

At night, they meditated and cultivated in the side rooms, each practicing their own methods without interfering with one another.

They called Zhao Feng Deacon Zhao and called themselves Nominal Disciples of the Heavenly Derivation Sect.

They had never seen what the sect looked like.

They had especially never seen the Sect Master on the mountain.

But Zhao Feng told them to work hard and not harbor any crooked thoughts, as the Lord was watching everything!

"Everyone step back! No loud noises within three zhang of the Lord Ant Immortal's grave!"

A nominal disciple shouted coldly. The crowd that was originally squeezing in front of the altar immediately and obediently stepped back a few paces. No one dared to utter half a word of complaint.

Although these nominal disciples hadn't officially entered the sect yet, just being able to follow a Golden Core Patriarch was enough to make them act haughty in front of ordinary wandering cultivators.

...

The view shifted to the courtyard.

There were four people in the courtyard. Besides Zhao Feng, there was an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young woman, a still-charming beautiful mature woman, and an old nanny.

The most eye-catching one was the eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, who was exactly Zhao Feng's daughter, Zhao Xiangru.

Although she couldn't be called a peerless beauty, her eyebrows were like distant mountains painted with dark ink, her eyes like rippling autumn waters, with a jade-like nose and cherry lips; her facial features were exquisite.

Perhaps because she had cultivated since childhood, her skin was so white it was almost transparent, glowing with a warm, porcelain-like luster under the sunlight, without a single flaw.

Her figure was tall and slender, with a tiny waist. Her skirt swayed gently in the breeze, faintly revealing the outline of a pair of long legs.

The middle-aged beautiful woman standing beside Zhao Xiangru was Zhao Feng's wife, Madam Wang.

Madam Wang shared a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to her daughter in her facial features, only with a bit more mature charm between her brows.

She was also exceptionally well-maintained, without a single wrinkle on her face. Her skin was delicate and firm, and not a single white hair could be seen at her temples.

With the mother and daughter standing side by side, those who didn't know better would only think they were a pair of outstandingly beautiful sisters.

Previously, when Zhao Feng was expelled from the Heavenly Sword Sect, he worried about being retaliated against by his enemies, so he sent his wife and daughter to the countryside overnight to live incognito.

Now that he had become a Golden Core Patriarch and was backed by the unfathomable Heavenly Derivation Sect, he naturally brought his family back at the first opportunity.

Standing to the side was a gray-haired old nanny dressed meticulously. Her back was perfectly straight and her expression solemn; one could tell at a glance that she had received strict etiquette training.

This old nanny was specially hired by him from the city at a high price. It was said she had once served in the imperial palace and was highly proficient in all kinds of etiquette and rules.

Zhao Feng had this daughter in his later years, so he had spoiled Zhao Xiangru endlessly since she was a child.

At that time, he was the chief manager of the Heavenly Sword Sect's affairs in Azure Cloud City, holding a status second only to the City Lord. Zhao Xiangru was also an Eldest Miss who enjoyed a life of luxury.

She was used to being waited on hand and foot; let alone serving others, she had never even washed her own undergarments.

"Lord Zhao."

The elegantly dressed old nanny walked over, bowed, and greeted him in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.

"After half a month of careful instruction, the young miss's standing posture, sitting posture, kneeling etiquette, tea-serving etiquette, and daily speech and manners have all been practiced perfectly. Even a princess in the imperial palace would be no better."

Hearing this, Zhao Feng nodded in gratification. He looked at Zhao Xiangru, his tone becoming a bit more solemn. "Xiangru, Dad will tell you one more time. If the Lord agrees to let you go up the mountain, you must strictly abide by the rules."

"Whatever the Lord asks you to do, you do it. You must absolutely not disobey even in the slightest!"

"Also, regarding the Lord's two personal disciples, Eldest Miss Liu and Young Master Ye, you must treat them with even more respect. Serve them as if they were your own masters, understand?"

"Your daughter understands."

Zhao Xiangru bent her knees slightly, performing a standard curtsy. Her voice was gentle yet exceptionally firm.

At first, she was also reluctant. Who would want to go serve someone else?

But when Zhao Feng took her on a trip to Azure Cloud City and she saw that the former Uncle Wu was now living a life worse than a dog, her attitude completely changed.

At that time, Zhao Feng only said one sentence: "If it weren't for the Lord, your father would still be begging here right now!"

"And you and your mother might also be caught and thrown into the Joyous Pavilion..."

Ever since returning from there, Zhao Xiangru had spent every day learning etiquette from the old mama, completely abandoning her cultivation.

"Rest assured, Father! Your daughter will certainly keep to her place and properly serve the Master and the two young masters. I will absolutely not bring shame to you."

Zhao Feng hummed in satisfaction, then turned to look at Madam Liu beside him, a hint of guilt in his eyes. "Madam, what about you? You have worked hard these past few days."

Madam Liu's cheeks flushed slightly. Lowering her head, she answered in a small voice, "It wasn't hard... I've also learned just about everything. Washing clothes, cooking, sweeping the courtyard, I can do all these chores now."

Zhao Feng nodded. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, to tell them not to be nervous when they went up the mountain, that the Master was a good person, and that the two personal disciples were not hard to get along with.

But as the words reached his lips, he felt it was too early to say them. The Master had not yet agreed.

Suddenly, a flat voice echoed in the courtyard without any warning, ringing clearly in everyone's ears.

"Zhao Feng, come up here."

There was no premonition, no fluctuation of energy; it was as if someone were speaking right next to their ears.

With the power of Lawful Decree, Lin Yan's voice could appear anywhere within a ten-mile radius.

In fact, with a single thought, he could instantly teleport Zhao Feng up the mountain!

It was just that he still needed to respect others. What if the man was taking a dump? That would be too unseemly.

Zhao Feng's expression changed. He immediately stood up and straightened his robes.

Madam Wang and Zhao Xiangru instantly tensed up, their faces turning slightly pale as they subconsciously clenched their hands.

They had lived here for over half a month and had never seen the legendary Master.

Yet every time a command came from the Master, it appeared out of thin air like this, as if he were omnipresent.

This unfathomable divine ability made them feel a deep sense of awe and reverence from the bottom of their hearts.

"Don't be nervous."

Seeing his wife and daughter looking so tense, Zhao Feng couldn't help but smile and comfort them, "The Master is a very good person. As long as we follow the rules and do our jobs well, the Master will absolutely not mistreat us."

"I'll go up first. Wait for me at home."

With that, he quickly walked out of the courtyard and headed up the mountain.

Zhao Xiangru stood in place, watching her father's back disappear into the shadows of the trees, and took a deep breath.

The old mama beside her whispered, "Miss, let us practice your greeting posture once more."

Zhao Xiangru nodded. She crossed her hands, bent her knees, and bowed her head.

"Peace and good health to the Master!"