"You..." Liuyue ran her eyes over Xu'er. "You're lacking in that area as well. But you have the advantage of being pretty. Maybe if you can be half as strong as Master, he can look your way."

Xu'er could only frown feeling both insulted and praised. Why should she change herself to attract Ren's attention? Why should her strength matter if she were to woo him? She had faith that she could do it with just her normal personality.

"What about you? Are you not interested in-"

Liuyue giggled whirling around gracefully, her dress dancing along.

They were allowed to wear whatever they wanted once the day was over. If not for the customs of this world, Ren would have had them wearing mundane clothes instead of these sect's uniforms.

"Master would never take interest in his disciple. I tried it once and I was greatly disappointed," she explained as she walked around the table with nothing on it but an empty cup. "That was year- I mean a long time ago." Her tongue almost slipped. "So I gave up and accepted to devote myself wholly to his dreams which align with all of our dreams. This is why he is a special figure to all of us. So, if you're planning on seducing him without actually caring about him," Liuyue paused to look in Xu'er's direction with a murderous glint in her eyes, "We won't spare you."

A smile quickly replaced the intimidating veil Liuyue had worn a second ago, leaving a mark on Xu'er's heart while changing her perception entirely. All this while, she had thought of Liuyue as this sweet and soft girl who would mostly choose to avoid a fight. But after seeing that face, Xu'er had more reasons to tread carefully around Ren.

He would kill for his disciples, so the vice versa was likely true as well.

Xu'er felt a little needle of jealousy poke her heart when she evaluated her own relationship with her master. There was no such warmth as Ren had with his disciples. Xu'er and her master were only bound by the duty of a master and a disciple, nothing more, nothing less.

"I think you've misunderstood me, Liuyue. I do not wish to seduce your master. As it is, I have no desire to be with any man until I reach the peak of Dao infusion. So please don't worry, I'm only amazed by your master's ability. I've never seen anything like it before."

"That is true. Master is the best in the world. He'll be the best in all the stars," Liuyue said dreamily, staring at the starry sky through the open window. "The events have changed, but I'm certain he'll still shine brightly among all beings."

Xu'er stared confused at her yet she couldn't bring herself to interrupt Liuyue's moment. She seemed deeply immersed in whatever she was referring to, like watching a performer get lost in her character from a play in the tea houses.

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"Good morning, Master!"

His disciples chorused the second he walked into the spare room they would use as their dining before the sect was repaired.

"Good morning, sect leader," Xu'er saluted respectfully. She was slightly disappointed that Ren hadn't used his black hole to get here as she had been looking forward to seeing it all night long.

Her desire to learn more about his ability had been growing unreasonably over the months. But she couldn't ask about it from him for she was still an outsider regardless of her master's relationship with him.

Ren sat on the head chair, his attention pulled wholly by the various dishes on the table. The fresh alluring aroma of chicken soup, roasted chicken, rice, noodles, pork, beef, dumplings, moon cakes...there were too many to name or recognize all of them.

"Are we celebrating someone's birthday?" He was genuinely curious for the quantity and quality of the food before him could be the best he had come across so far.

They suddenly bowed until their waists were curved sharply. All except Xu'er who didn't know what was going on.

"Thank you for all you have done for us so far," they said simultaneously as if they had practiced it for some time.

"This is a gratitude feast prepared by all of us, Master," Liuyue added as they straightened. She wore a wide smile like the rest of them. Even Wu Tao, who never smiled so often, could be seen with a half smile as he offered his gratitude with his eyes more than with his mouth.

Ren, for the first time, smiled in front of his disciples. He hadn't expected this kind of surprise from them, especially after what they had been through.

While it wasn't anything grand and flashy, Ren's heart felt more grateful to them for the effort and thought they had put into this surprise.

He got up, sending the entire room into a deafening silence.

With his smile gone, they thought he'd reprimand them next, but were shocked when he patted each of their shoulders. "Thank you. I will forever remember this morning."

Ren didn't know how else to express his gratitude. He'd have hugged them, but he had grown wary of physical contact with others. Forgetting not about the customs of the people he had found himself among. He wasn't going to change them over a few months. But, maybe they were fine just the way they were. If he permitted too much touching, he might have ended up slapping someone unconsciously. All this was thanks to the centuries he had spent alone and killing anything that touched him.

It'd also take him some time to adapt, but he'd try.

"How long are you going to spy on us?" Ren questioned looking at a corner of the room.

Confused, they stared at the space.

"Master, who...who are you-"

Dressed in Ren's clothes, Xian made itself visible in the female form which was shorter than its male form.

Xu'er gasped jumping forward with her whip in hand. "Who are you? How long have you been-"

"Let it be, Xu'er. Don't waste your energy fighting with it," Ren advised going back to his seat. "You may all sit, I'm starving."

They obeyed, crowding the rectangular table, but Xian remained standing.

"Can you no longer understand human speech?" Ren mocked Xian with a glare.

"Master, who is she?" Liuyue asked in a whisper. "How did she manage to stay hidden? Is she a-"

"I'll tell you all about Xian after we've had this meal. So forget about it and eat."

Liu Ming gave a little nod while the twins just spared Xian a single glance before pulling a bowl each to themselves. They still had to practice, giving them little time to be concerned about things and people that Ren didn't want them to at the moment.

"You may sit on the floor if a chair is too much. Or better yet, leave."

Scoffing, Xian took a seat next to Ling and opposite Xu'er, who was blatantly staring in its direction suspiciously.

She couldn't get over the fact that it had been with them yet she hadn't sensed it. 'He truly is special,' she praised Ren in her mind. But he had only felt its presence because of the jade in his void pocket. Just like the previous night, it had pulsed in Xian's presence. If not, he might also have had a difficult time detecting it.

Sure he had grown a little stronger, but that hadn't made him a god. His power still had limitations, especially when dealing with a soulless demon.