Celestial 'War God' Return-Chapter 356: Inner Courtyard

"Yes," Huangfu Lingxuan immediately explained to his granddaughter, Huangfu Meizhen, about their cultivation aptitude. "I’ll leave them to you, and you can manage everything yourself."

"Yes, Grandfather." Huangfu Meizhen was still shocked by Xing Xing’s black-rank cultivation aptitude. She didn’t expect that three of the ten people in front of her would have such high cultivation aptitudes, and one of them would have a gold-rank cultivation aptitude, which the people in her sect never had. "My grandfather has explained to you about our sect, right?"

"Yes."

"First, I want to know your names."

Tang Xiao and the others introduced themselves to Huangfu Meizhen.

Huangfu Meizhen looked at their faces one by one and softly said, "Tang Xiao, Tang Yin, Xing Xing, Tantai Lingyan, Mu Qingge, Mu Yan, Sun Xiang, Jessica, Zhao Yuxian, and Yu Xiaoling. I will ask one of the elders to prepare your sect identity, and you guys just need to activate it by injecting your qi into it later."

"Yes."

After she contacted a male elder and informed him of their identities and cultivation levels, Huangfu Meizhen spoke to them again. "Tantai Lingyan will be the new elder of this sect because her cultivation has reached the Tyrant Level."

Tantai Lingyan nodded at her as she glanced at Tang Xiao with a playful smile.

"Mu Qingge, you have reached the Middle Emperor Level, so you will become a core disciple."

"Okay." Mu Qingge nodded.

Huangfu Meizhen looked at Tang Yin, Xing Xing, Mu Yan, and Sun Xiang. "Since the four of you have reached the Xiantian Level, I will place you in the inner courtyard to become inner disciples."

"Yes." The four women nodded.

Huangfu Meizhen sighed as she observed the other three women, especially Yu Xiaoling, who only had white-rank cultivation aptitude. She knew that they were also Tang Xiao’s women, but their cultivation aptitudes were not comparable to those of the other women.

Huangfu Meizhen wanted to place the three women in the outer courtyard, but she couldn’t do so because their cultivation already qualified them to become inner disciples regardless of their cultivation aptitudes. "You three will also join the inner courtyard."

"Yes, Sect Master." Yu Xiaoling was most relieved to hear that.

"What about me, Sect Master?" Tang Xiao asked.

Huangfu Meizhen massaged her forehead as she thought about Tang Xiao. She wanted to give him more privileges because of his gold-rank cultivation aptitude, but her grandfather asked her to keep it a secret. He was afraid people would find out and target him, especially those from the Shenwu Kingdom. "Since your cultivation is at the Lower King Realm, you will also join them in the inner courtyard."

"Yes," Then, Tang Xiao asked her. "Can you tell us about the nine halls, sect master?"

"Our nine halls are the sword hall, the spear hall, the martial arts hall, the blacksmith hall, the alchemy hall, the medical hall, the soul hall, and the dual cultivation hall." Huangfu Meizhen explained to them about each hall, but she was surprised because they didn’t show any interest in the dual cultivation hall, even though some of them were clearly dual cultivators, except for Mu Yan, Sun Xiang, and Tantai Lingyan. "I don’t know your talents in those areas, so you can go directly to the halls that interest you, and the elders in charge will take care of everything for you."

"Yes."

Not long after, a male elder walked into the room. He was slightly surprised by Tang Xiao and the others’ cultivation levels, especially Tantai Lingyan’s. He said nothing and handed ten identity plaques to Huangfu Meizhen, who distributed them to everyone.

Huangfu Meizhen gestured to Tantai Lingyan. "Elder Yan Cang, please lead Tantai Lingyan to the elder peak and introduce her to the others. She will be a new elder in our sect, and you can explain all the rules of our sect to her."

"Yes, sect master." Yan Cang led Tantai Lingyan to leave the room.

"Let’s go." Huangfu Meizhen led Tang Xiao and the others to the disciples’ area.

.

.

.

The inner courtyard lies in one of the valleys, where the air and water are thick with qi flow compared to the outer courtyard.

Each residence stands apart, separated by bamboo groves and rock formations. The buildings are ordinary with green bamboo for walls, curved tiled roofs, and stone foundations. Small streams flow between each residence, where lotus flowers bloom year-round.

Huang Meizhen pointed to the areas on the right and left. "The left area is for disciples with cultivation at the Xiantian Level, and the right area is for disciples with cultivation at the King Level. One bamboo house is occupied by two cultivators, so you guys can decide for yourselves and take the empty house."

"Shall we live together, Big Sis Yin?"

Tang Yin nodded to Xing Xing. "Let’s go, Xing’er. We’ll find a house for the two of us."

"You’ll share a room with me, Yan’er."

"Okay." Mu Yan followed Sun Xiang while waving to Mu Qingge. "Mom, I’ll live with Big Sis Xiang, so you don’t have to worry about me."

"Can three people live in one house, Sect Master?"

Huangfu Meizhen looked at Zhao Yuxian. "Normally, one bamboo house is for two disciples, but I can arrange for modifications if the three of you wish to live together."

"Please, Sect Master."

"Alright." Huangfu Meizhen called someone to take care of it. "You three can choose a bamboo house that suits you, and someone will meet with you to modify it later."

"Yes, Sect Master." Yu Xiaoling, Zhao Yuxian, and Jessica immediately set off together to find a bamboo house that suited the three of them.

"In that case, I will look for one that suits me, Sect Master." Tang Xiao walked to the area for disciples with cultivation at the King Level.

Huang Meizhen took Mu Qingge to the next area, which was specifically for core disciples like her.

Tang Xiao asked Xiao Ai to display the system map so he could easily find an empty bamboo house that suited him. However, he saw that two disciples occupied all the bamboo houses, except for one in the very back area, which only occupied one disciple.

Tang Xiao raised an eyebrow when Xiao Ai displayed the data for the disciple, mainly because that person was a female disciple.

===

Name: Huo Yan

Age: 35

Cultivation:

- King level: Lower rank

Veins:

- Fire Veins

Physique:

- Human Physique

Bloodline:

-

Legacy:

-

Element:

- Fire (Level 6)

===

Since there was no choice left, Tang Xiao went to the bamboo house and entered it. Huo Yan, who was cultivating on the bamboo bed, opened her eyes.

Her face was alluring, with fair skin. She has high cheekbones, a straight, slender nose, and soft lips with a red tint. She exuded a warm, seductive, and slightly dominant aura. Her hair has deep red tones in color, cascading smoothly down her back and over her shoulders, matching the flowing red gown that clings gently to her body.

Her face was calm, carrying a hint of seduction. Her red eyes are narrow and slightly elongated, giving her a captivating gaze. Her figure was slender yet curvaceous, with a defined waist and balanced proportions. She has slender arms, a narrow waist, long legs, and perky breasts.

"Are you a new disciple?"

"Did I disturb your cultivation?" Huo Yan shook her head at Tang Xiao. "I just joined today, and Sect Master Huangfu asked me to choose a house in this area. Since there were no vacant houses, I was forced to choose this one, but I didn’t expect you to already be living here."

"It’s okay, we can share this house." Huo Yan didn’t mind because she understood the situation. "However, I hope you don’t have any strange thoughts about me, or I’ll fight you."

"Don’t worry, I would never do anything like that to you." Tang Xiao sat on the bed across from her. "By the way, my name is Tang Xiao, and I come from the Qingquan Realm."

"My name is Huo Yan, and I come from the largest island in this realm."

"Oh?" Tang Xiao was a little surprised. "Why don’t you join one of the sects on the island, Senior Huo?"

"Senior?" Huo Yan furrowed her brows, thinking that Tang Xiao viewed her as old.

"I’m only 24 now."

"Eh? Are you really 24 years old now? How did your cultivation reach this stage so quickly?"

"Hehe," Tang Xiao chuckled. "Since we’ll be living together, I won’t lie to you, Senior Huo. I’m a dual cultivator, so my cultivation is improving at a rapid pace."

Huo Yan frowned in surprise, and her expression turned cold. "Did you join this sect because it has a dual cultivation hall?"

"No," Tang Xiao denied that. "Even though I’m a dual cultivator, I only dual cultivate with my wives, so I won’t join the dual cultivation hall. I no longer need to search for dual cultivation partners because all of my wives have also joined this sect."

Huo Yan nodded slightly before answering his previous question. "There are many sects on my home island, but I don’t feel like I fit in with any of them. I heard about this sect from my cousin, and I decided to join it."

"How long have you been with this sect, Senior Huo?"

"I joined this sect ten years ago, but I only rose to inner disciple three years ago." Huo Yan let out a disappointed sigh. "Compared to you, my cultivation is nothing, so I feel a little envious of you."

Tang Xiao shook his head. "Senior Huo, you’re an ordinary cultivator, and I’m a dual cultivator, so you don’t need to feel that way."