"Yes, Elder Lei," Yi Chen bowed with clasped hands and said, "I faced some trials along the journey and, using them as a catalyst, was able to accelerate my cultivation pace."
"I can sense that you’ve been practising the Crimson Fire Arts. It means that your Qi’s nature is also that of fire." He nodded subtly and stated, "That’s good. If not, then I would have straight-up sent you back since you would be unable to get a spot from the clan,"
"Ah..." Hearing such blunt words, Yi Chen smiled uncomfortably. Thankfully, Elder Lei soon opened his mouth.
"There are a few rooms empty inside the residence. Take whichever one you want and rest for today." Stretching his hand towards the residence in his right, he spoke, "I’ve sent my disciple to get your beddings. He’ll brief you about the things you need to be aware of later."
"Yes, Elder Lei," Yi Chen responded respectfully. Although the other person was his maternal uncle, he didn’t dare to call him that because of his serious personality.
With that said, Yi Chen turned to his right and went inside the residence.
Feng Lei’s gaze lingered on Yi Chen’s back for a few seconds more before he closed it again.
Inside the house.
Yi Chen was making his way through the creaky hallway while glancing towards the rooms on his left and right.
The wooden flooring was very old but still shone brightly. It was clear that someone had been cleaning it regularly.
It was the same case with all the rooms he had passed through.
There were five empty rooms in total, and all of them were tidied up.
"I’ll take this one," Yi Chen muttered to himself, seeing a room which was receiving a good amount of sunlight.
The next moment, he stepped inside and began unpacking his backpack.
While he was arranging his clothes in the cupboard, he heard light footsteps from behind him and turned towards the door.
"I brought you bedding!" A 12-year-old boy grinned widely when he met Yi Chen’s gaze. He was carrying a white folded mattress and a couple of blankets in his hand.
"Ah, thank you for your help," Yi Chen soon approached the boy and took the beddings from him.
"You must be Elder Lei’s disciple, right?" Yi Chen asked.
The boy was twelve years old and was already at the First Level of Meridian Refinement Stage.
While it couldn’t be compared to geniuses like Zhou Mei, it was still a respectable achievement.
"Yes, I’ve been with the master since I was eight years old," The boy answered with a humble expression.
"Oh!" he slapped his head and said, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Qin Yao. You can just call me that."
There was usually no one who visited the residence, so Qin Yao wasn’t very adept at talking with people.
"So, it’s Junior Brother Qin," Yi Chen said with a smile.
"Oh, that sounds good as well," Qin Yao nodded with a smile and asked curiously, "What is Big Brother’s name? Are you also here to become Master’s disciple?"
"My name’s Yi Chen. As for why I came here, didn’t Elder Lei tell you about it?" Yi Chen asked curiously.
"Well, he only said that someone would be accompanying me during the morning lectures from tomorrow onwards and nothing more. Since the master doesn’t like talking a lot, I didn’t ask him for more details," Qin Yao said with pursed lips.
"I see." Yi Chen responded. Even he found it difficult to ask Elder Lei the questions he had in his mind earlier because of his strict countenance.
The next moment, Yi Chen answered his question, "Well, it could be said that I, too, wish to become his disciple, but that I’m not sure whether Elder Lei would accept me or not."
Not wanting to explain his entire situation to the kid, he chose the simplest possible option he had, lying.
"Ah. Don’t worry about that, Brother Chen. As the master has allowed you to stay here, then he most likely will select you as his disciple," Qin Yao said as a matter of fact.
According to him, the only reason Elder Lei didn’t have any disciples was because of his reputation in the clan. Otherwise, he would have already selected plenty of disciples.
Suddenly remembering something, Qin Yao exclaimed, "Ah! Master had also told me to brief you about a few things. I almost forgot. Starting tomorrow...."
After informing Yi Chen of all that he needed to know, he left for his room.
"He’s a well-mannered child," Yi Chen muttered when he saw him leave.
The next moment, he glanced at his items and, with a sigh, began unpacking properly.
Although he had a storage ring, he still felt it was much more convenient to place his items in the cupboard rather than inside it.
An hour soon passed, and Yi Chen had returned to the room after freshening up in the common bathing area behind the building.
Knock Knock
Hearing the sound of knocking, Yi Chen slid open his door.
"Brother Chen, it’s time for lunch. Let’s eat together." Qin Yao’s cheerful face came into view.
"Sure, let’s go." Yi Chen nodded and was soon guided to the kitchen, where a soup was currently being heated on the fire stove.
"The soup’s almost cooked, so please take a seat first. I didn’t want it to turn cold, so I called you before taking it off the stove."
Qin Yao explained while pointing towards the table.
"No problem. I didn’t know that you could cook," Yi Chen said in an impressed manner as he took his seat.
"Haha, Master showed it to me a few times, and I learnt it eventually. It isn’t anything special, as most people my age can do it," Qin Yao smiled in an embarrassed manner when he heard Yi Chen’s tone as he lifted the soup off the stove.
"Being able to do something like that when you’re only twelve years old is still impressive," Yi Chen commented.
’When I was twelve, the most I could do was boil water...’ Yi Chen thought with a wry smile on his face.