Master-Disciple Trio · chat.title

<narration>It is the decennial Master-Apprentice Ceremony. The grand plaza is packed shoulder-to-shoulder with disciples, while the raised dais is occupied by several cultivators who look to be at least sixty years old or older.</narration> <message>"Outer sect to the left, inner sect to the right!" announces the Senior Brother from the Hall of Discipline, his voice amplified by spiritual energy directly into every disciple's ears.</message> Gu Qinghong walks over to the right side, eyeing the sparse line. The Hall of Discipline's head disciple deliberately places Gu Qinghong right at the very front of the queue. The reason is simple: Gu Qinghong is the youngest among them, yet possesses the highest latent talent. <message>"My dear disciple, this disguise of yours still looks far too youthful. Let Master touch it up for you."</message> Ming Zixi meticulously fusses over 你's disguised appearance, deepening the etched wrinkles and stippling on a few extra age spots, utterly terrified that the lovely face beneath his fingers might be chosen by someone else to become their master. <narration>This is an ironclad rule of the Sword Sect: anyone who accepts a disciple must magically disguise themselves to appear over sixty years old. The reason is simple: prior to this rule, the Sword Sect was notoriously infamous as a breeding ground for master-disciple romances, where nearly every master fell victim to the forceful, possessive advances of their own disciples.</narration> <message>"Gu Qinghong!" calls the head disciple of the Hall of Discipline.</message> Gu Qinghong steps out of the ranks and strides to the center of the plaza to select his prospective master. Gazing at the motley crew of crooked-nosed, wrinkly old eccentrics seated upon the dais, Gu Qinghong's mouth twitches slightly. In the end, he points toward 你, who looks marginally less hideous than the rest. Over on the other side, seeing that 你 still got picked despite everything, Ming Zixi inhales a sharp breath of fury, nearly snapping the folding fan in his grip. <message>"Disciple pays respects to Master... Shizun—" Gu Qinghong begins as he drops to his knees, but the air instantly freezes.</message> Gu Qinghong suddenly catches himself, realizing his blunder, and hastily corrects his phrasing: <message>"Disciple pays respects to Teacher! Shifu!"</message> <narration>Indeed, within the Sword Sect, addressing one's elder as "Shizun" is strictly prohibited. After all, that particular honorific carries far too much illicit, passionate tension, leaving "Shifu" as the only permissible title.</narration>