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Every year, the new disciples are trained by the older disciples, and the master only needs to check on them occasionally when he has free time.

What’s the difference between this and being a hands-off manager?

Don’t get too comfortable; I wish I could do that too.

I also thought about whether to let Feng Yexiao go out with others, but then I realized that children are very sensitive; if I suddenly told him to go to school with someone else, he might secretly cry.

If I’m going to do this, I need to wait until he gets used to the environment. Besides, the food at the dining hall is really to my liking, so I can take the opportunity to eat while picking up Feng Yexiao, which is not bad at all.

So, I continued to take him to the dining hall for breakfast every morning, then to Xing Shu Hall for classes, and picked him up at noon.

Feng Yexiao had always been a worry-free disciple, but unexpectedly, one afternoon I heard news that he had gotten into a fight with a fellow disciple.

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7

When I arrived, I found that the boy Feng Yexiao was fighting was also about six or seven years old.

Feng Yexiao stood there with a stern little face while the boy was sobbing.

According to the instructor, after a verbal dispute between the two, they started fighting, and it was said that Feng Yexiao was the one who made the first move.

What is this situation of children fighting and calling in the parents? Great, I really became a parent bringing in my child!

After inquiring further, I learned that the little boy had insulted me by calling me old and ugly, and Feng Yexiao happened to overhear this and went to confront him.

“…”

They can actually fight over that? Truly a child’s nature!

No wonder the little boy said such things; most cultivators in the cultivation world maintain the appearance of being in their twenties or thirties. Even if they are older, they tidy themselves up well. Someone like me, who doesn’t take care of my appearance, is indeed rare.

I made Feng Yexiao apologize to the boy, and I also forced the little boy to apologize to Feng Yexiao.

After that, I took Feng Yexiao back.

For the first time being called old and ugly by someone else, I wasn’t even sad; I felt it was only right! This proves that my disguise is quite good!

Feng Yexiao seemed a bit downcast.

I couldn’t help but feel emotional; my disciple actually stood up for me; it wasn’t in vain to raise him.

To reinforce my image as a grumpy old man, I said to Feng Yexiao, “Actually, it’s not entirely the other disciple’s fault. I really am getting old and don’t look good. Next time you hear such words, don’t be impulsive and fight. They see the world as ugly, so everything looks ugly to them; don’t stoop to their level.” After saying that, I pretended to cough a couple of times.

“But… Master, clearly…” Feng Yexiao hesitated, then finally said, “Disciple understands!”

“?”

Wait, what exactly did you understand?

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8

The cultivation world is relatively peaceful right now; even if something happens, the sect master will inform us, so my life in the sect is quite comfortable.

I casually chat with my fellow brothers and sisters, and when I return, I just need to guide Feng Yexiao’s studies.

Feng Yexiao’s aptitude isn’t considered good among the inner disciples, so he spends much more time practicing what I teach him to catch up with the others.

I feel that he’s practicing too hard every day; it seems a bit excessive.

However, I don’t advise him against it; after all, only by becoming stronger can one have a solid foundation for survival. If Feng Yexiao were to become lazy, I would be the one with a headache.

Days passed like this, and for me, there wasn’t much change; my daily routine was: he practices, I watch and guide; he practices, I spar with him…

It can be summed up in one word: work!

The only thing that changed was Feng Yexiao’s height and appearance.

When Feng Yexiao was little, he was very thin. After coming to the sect and enjoying good food, he is now almost as tall as I am, and he has become quite handsome. He has a pair of slightly drooping puppy eyes; it’s said that people with such eyes are usually kind, which should be true because he is quite filial to me.

During the recent sect competition, Feng Yexiao’s aptitude may not be the best, but through hard work, he still achieved a commendable third place.

I almost wanted to make a lot of noise and brag about it everywhere, but Feng Yexiao said he could have done even better.

After hearing this, I felt a sense of comfort, like watching my child grow up, and I wanted to tell others, “See? This young man was raised by me!”

I suddenly understood why people like to show off their children after becoming parents.

Feng Yexiao is always worry-free, but he has been a bit too clingy to me since childhood.

As a child, he would always grab my sleeve when we went to unfamiliar places, almost clinging to my leg and hiding behind me.

As he grew a bit older, whenever I went out to see my fellow brothers, he would nag me about when I would return. If I took a little longer, he would send a message to tell me he didn’t understand a certain spell’s steps or that he didn’t understand a sword technique…

This made me have to return early every time. I could only attribute this to Feng Yexiao’s dependence on me.

I thought about having a good talk with him, but whenever he looked at me with those wet puppy eyes, I would always back down. I could only comfort myself that he’s still young and will grow out of it.

Thus, I spent ten years with Feng Yexiao in a father-son relationship.

However, I still diligently maintained my grumpy old man appearance, afraid to slack off even a little.

Everything was developing in the direction I wanted: my disciple respects his master, and the master teaches effectively.

Until that night when I went to find Feng Yexiao, which broke the balance between us.

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9

In the blink of an eye, I had lived with Feng Yexiao for ten years, and he was now seventeen. Just in time for the new year’s disciple recruitment conference, I thought about accepting another fated disciple for Feng Yexiao to mentor; that way, he would have something to do and wouldn’t bother me every day.