"A bunch of fawning sycophants!" she thought. "Hmph! I can't believe so many girls like my Master, that old fogey. As his disciple, I definitely have to keep things under control!" Yan'er took her mission very seriously. She was often less than polite to the female disciples. She would accept their gifts, but when it came to their veiled inquiries about her Master, she didn't even respond.

The more charming and pretty the girls were, the more hostile Yan'er got. Oftentimes, after such a female cultivator left, she would look miserably down at her own body, and even stare at her face in the mirror. Then she would stamp her foot and stalk over to Meng Hao's secluded meditation facilities to yell at him from outside.

It was on one particular day that she stood there, fists on her waist, cursing Meng Hao. "Master, why don't you act like the old man you are!? Look at you! Don't you have anything better to do than challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine? Do you know how many manly visitors you've had recently, all throwing themselves at you? Well, do you?!"

Meng Hao opened his eyes, looked out at the infuriated Yan'er, and smiled, somewhat curious about what she had just said.

"Manly?"

"Yeah. Manly women. Stout and sturdy, each and every one of them, all pimply-faced too. Women are supposed to have lovely voices right? But not them. If you want, I can bring them all over to see you here." With that, she glared at the door of the meditation chamber. If Meng Hao dared to agree to such an offer, she would probably bite his head off like a vicious tiger.

A strange expression could be seen on Meng Hao's face. Clearing his throat, he yelled, "Get back to cultivating. I've taught you a lot of divine abilities and Daoist magics. There's the Dao of Reincarnation, the Heavengod Magic, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation. You never got them down right, so stop wasting time and get to work, alright?"

Then he closed his eyes and went back to meditating.

Yan'er snorted dramatically. Seeing that her Master was just going to continue on with cultivation, she stamped her feet and glared at the door one more time, then turned and walked away.

"Bad Master! Stinky Master! Crotchety old fogey! Shameless fossil!! Hmph! Mountain Consuming Incantation? Heavengod Magic? Dao of Reincarnation? I mastered all of those a long time ago. He's just coming up with excuses!" As she muttered to herself, she walked past the mastiff, who was sleeping just outside of the courtyard. When the mastiff heard her muttering, it opened its eyes, listened for a moment, then quickly closed its eyes and pretended to continue sleeping.

Time passed. Eventually, the number of disciples coming to visit began to decline. Just when Yan'er was about to breathe a sigh of relief, though, people from cultivator clans outside of the Vast Expanse School started to show up. There were quite a few of them, many of whom offered gifts in the form of beautiful servant girls. Yan'er was about to go mad, even more so than before.

Most intolerable was that, unexpectedly, there were some people who came to propose marriage alliances....

On one particular day, the 7-Essences Paragon who had helped Meng Hao during his tribulation brought a group of people to Meng Hao's mountain peak. Among that group was another 7-Essences Paragon. As the two Paragons chatted, they were followed closely by a young woman.

She carried herself gracefully, and was spectacularly beautiful. Although she had a somewhat arrogant look to her, she didn't seem too pleased to be here. However, she followed along as the two Paragons led her up the mountain.

"Yan'er, hurry and call your Master out," said the Ninth Sect Paragon, smiling. To him, Meng Hao was a very important person, and since Yan'er was his disciple, it was only natural that he speak respectfully to her.

Yan'er wasn't too pleased with the situation. She looked at the two Paragons, then the young woman, and her heart began to pound. Of all the women she had seen recently, this girl was definitely the most beautiful.

Furthermore, her cultivation base was extraordinary, being in the early Ancient Realm.

For some reason, Yan'er started getting nervous. She nodded and ran over to Meng Hao's secluded meditation facilities, only to find that he had already emerged. If anyone else had come to visit, he would have refused to see them, but this particular Paragon had been of significant help during his tribulation, and he definitely couldn't refuse him.

Taking Yan'er with him, he headed to the audience hall, where the Ninth Sect Paragon laughed heartily upon catching sight of him.

"Fang Mu, please offer formal greetings to Paragon Streamcloud from the Third Sect."

The Paragon from the Third Sect looked closely at Meng Hao, obviously measuring him up. Then he smiled. Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever as he clasped hands and bowed.

After all the introductions were made, everyone sat down and began to chat. The beautiful young woman occasionally looked over at Meng Hao, her expression one of contempt, although she did a fairly good job of covering it up.

Yan'er sat next to Meng Hao, her dislike for the young woman growing by the moment. Then she heard the visiting Paragon explain that this girl was one of the Vast Expanse School's Holy Daughter-designates, and that he wanted her and Meng Hao to become Daoist partners. Yan'er couldn't control herself. Her mind spinning, she subconsciously blurted, "No way! My Master doesn't need a Daoist partner!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly shivered, and her face drained of blood. She looked over at Meng Hao and immediately dropped to her knees to kowtow, heart filled with regret. She had no idea why she had suddenly blurted what she had, and was suddenly very nervous that she might have angered her Master.

"Master, my... my mistake...."

The Ninth Sect Paragon frowned, but before he could say anything, Paragon Streamcloud snorted, and his eyes turned cold. As for the Holy Daughter-designate, the scorn in her eyes deepened.

Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever. The arrival of these two Paragons hadn't ruffled him at all, and as for the matter of Daoist partnership, it was nothing surprising. His clone was incredibly famous in the Vast Expanse School, and was considered a Chosen among Chosen, the future pillar of the sect.

It was to be expected that people would propose marriage alliances and Daoist partnerships.

However, after hearing Yan'er's reaction, he couldn't hold back from smiling. He looked over at her, his expression warm, then flicked his sleeve to indicate that she should cease kowtowing.

"What mistake?" he said softly. "I never said you made any mistake." When she saw the kindness in his gaze, her heart shivered, and strange, warm emotions suddenly flooded through her.

With that, Meng Hao turned to the two Paragons, clasped hands and said, "Seniors, I'm indebted to you for the kindness you've shown. Truly, I'm very touched. However, I, Fang Mu, truly have no need of a Daoist partner."

"This...." The Ninth Sect Paragon frowned and looked over at Meng Hao. However, he could tell that his mind had been made up, and the Paragon had no desire to try to force the sect's most important Chosen to do anything. Then he looked over at Yan'er, and recalled the warmth in Meng Hao's gaze, and suddenly everything clicked. A strange expression appeared on his face.

Paragon Streamcloud's expression was very grim. He, Paragon Streamcloud, had already shown plenty of respect to this Fang Mu, and besides that, the young woman he had brought from his clan was a peerless beauty. Despite all that, Fang Mu unexpectedly refused the offer.

Pressure instantly began to weigh down in the room. Meng Hao's expression was the same as ever, but Yan'er looked frightened.

With a cold snort, Paragon Streamcloud turned and clasped hands to the Ninth Sect Paragon. Then he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave. As for the young woman, she ceased any attempt to conceal the scorn on her face. As she turned to leave, her expression was one of disdain.

Just as she was about to walk out the door, she looked back and muttered, "Illicit Master and apprentice romance. How utterly disgusting."