Supreme Master: Cultivation Starts After Recruiting SSS-Grade Talent-Chapter 44 - Master?

[A/N: As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve exams coming in few day so excuse me if I delayed long.]

...

Noticing the growing number of onlookers, and sensing the rising curiosity in the air, Elder Su Zi gave a polite smile.

"There are far too many eyes and ears here," he said calmly. "Shall we continue this conversation somewhere more private?"

With a subtle motion, he gestured inward, inviting them to follow past the gate and deeper into the sect grounds.

Lan Yue turned toward the carriage, her voice as soft and serene as ever. "Master, they’ve invited us to enter."

"...Master?" Elder Su Zi blinked in surprise, his calm demeanor faltering for a moment. "You mean... your master is here with you?"

"Yes," Lan Yue replied with a gentle nod. "He is inside the carriage."

What?

A ripple of whispers spread swiftly through the crowd, murmuring like a wave crashing on the shore.

"Her master is inside?"

"Weren’t those two girls already at Golden Core? Just what kind of cultivation does their master have?"

"To raise disciples of their caliber, he must surely be powerful sage."

Elder Su Zi’s expression turned serious as the murmurs grew louder.

A hidden expert riding in a shabby carriage? That in itself was already abnormal.

He took a deep breath and spoke cautiously. "May I ask... your master’s honored name? Could he perhaps be... a renowned figure from the central domain?"

Lan Yue’s lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible smile as she shook her head. "You wouldn’t know him, even if I told you. He prefers to stay secluded and rarely leaves the mountain."

Elder Su Zi’s brows creased slightly. He had indeed sensed two more people within the carriage, one was only at the Qi Refinement stage, while the other seemed to be at most at Golden Core.

Neither of them matched the expectations of a legendary master who would take on disciples of this caliber.

Could it be... that their master’s cultivation is so profound that even I cannot perceive it...?

A heavy silence settled over him. His gaze grew more solemn. Was this a sage who had reached the Spirit Integration Realm? Or perhaps even higher?

Before he could fully process his thoughts, a voice drifted lazily from the carriage.

"They invited us in? Good. That saves me the trouble."

A collective breath was held, and all eyes turned toward the carriage.

The disciples, eager for a glimpse of the mysterious master, leaned forward, anticipation hanging in the air.

They were ready to see an immortal figure step out, someone with a long, flowing beard, an ancient daoist sage whose mere presence would strike awe into their hearts.

Then the door of the carriage creaked open, and the expected gust of wind fluttered the curtains.

But what emerged was not an old, bearded sage but a youth.

Perhaps seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and steady, wearing a simple black robe that fluttered lightly in the breeze as he stepped down.

His hands were clasped behind his back, and his gaze swept over the Red Lotus Sect’s courtyard as though measuring the hidden dao embedded in the very stones and walls.

The disciples exchanged confused glances.

"Who’s this kid?" one muttered.

"Another disciple?"

"His robes look fine, but... wait, Qi Refinement?"

"Pfft, compared to the others, he’s just a regular cabbage."

"I guess not everyone under that mysterious master turned into monsters..."

Behind their sleeves, a few began to snicker quietly.

A senior disciple let out a huff of disbelief. "Maybe he’s the servant. Trying to act all sage-like, look at that pose!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

But Elder Su Zi did not share in their laughter. His expression grew more intense as he stepped forward, narrowing his gaze and scrutinizing the youth. If this was Qi Refining person he had sensed, then the master must still be inside.

With a respectful bow, he cupped his fists and addressed the youth carefully. "Young man... is your master not coming out?"

"Ahem!" Xie Ren cleared his throat, the sound unexpectedly loud in the tense silence.

Lan Yue swiftly arrived beside Xie Ren and gestured. "Elder Su Zi, this is our master."

Hearing Lan Yue’s calm confirmation, a heavy silence fell over the surrounding.

Not a whisper, not a breath stirred among the disciples. Every gaze turned toward the youth standing beside her, eyes wide as full moons, mouths half-open in disbelief.

Had they heard correctly?

That boy, barely at the Qi Refining stage, was their master?

It was as if someone had hurled a stone into a perfectly still lake. Shock rippled outward in all directions.

Murmurs began to rise, hushed and uncertain, like wind threading through a forest of doubt.

Some disciples rubbed their eyes, others exchanged bewildered glances. One even pinched himself on the arm and yelped, earning a few startled looks.

Surely this had to be some kind of trick. A joke. Maybe a test?

Even Elder Su Zi stood rooted in place. His gaze swept over Xie Ren again and again, as though trying to peel back some disguise or illusion, but found nothing.

There was nothing. Just a quiet boy, serene as a still pond, his cultivation no higher than the first stages of Qi Refining.

If anyone else had dared declare such a thing, Su Zi would’ve swatted them down with a single palm strike and tossed their broken body off a mountain.

But with two Golden Core disciples personally acknowledging him as their master, he dared not speak out of turn.

The air grew unbearably awkward.

Lan Yue tilted her head, breaking the silence with a gentle, curious voice. "Is something the matter?"

Snapping out of his daze, Elder Su Zi quickly straightened, coughing into his fist to hide his embarrassment. He hesitated, just for a breath, before awkwardly cupping his hands to a Qi Refining cultivator.

"Su Zi welcomes the... ho-honored... ma-master... to Red Lotus Sect."

His voice cracked faintly at the end. He had faced demons and rogue cultivators without flinching, but now, his knees felt unsteady as he lowered his head to a boy half his age.