"If we can enter the aristocratic families or sects, for us, it would already be considered a great honor," Liu Hong said with lowered brows. The ultimate goal of the seven sects' disciples was to enter the four great sects, but the threshold was too high and too difficult to reach. They could only through some channels, contact the disciples of aristocratic families, and then through those disciples, get in touch with sect disciples, desperately trying to get a position as an outer disciple, and then gradually advance.
"A great honor?" Xiao Man said softly, "Everything is earned through ability, there's no such thing as a great honor or not. They offer a price, we provide the effort, it's just a matter of mutual need. Why put ourselves in such a low position? It will only make people look down on us."
Xiao Man continued unhurriedly, "Whether it's aristocratic families or sects, they weren't always so prosperous. Perhaps, many years from now, you can establish your own sect."
An Yue clapped her hands, "Junior Brother Xiao, I knew you were a person with great ambitions. Is your goal to establish a sect?"
Xiao Man shook her head, "My goal is to become a Nascent Soul stage great cultivator!"
An Yue and Liu Hong both gasped. A Nascent Soul stage great cultivator. It should be known that in Cang Xuan Continent, there was only one Nascent Soul stage great cultivator remaining, and that was the sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect!
"After becoming a Nascent Soul stage great cultivator, will you establish a sect?"
Xiao Man pondered with her chin in her hand, then shook her head, "No, after becoming a Nascent Soul stage great cultivator, I want to find my family."
"Where are your family?"
"They are very, very far away. Only by becoming a Nascent Soul stage great cultivator can I find the way home." Xiao Man looked out the window. A snow-white horse was trotting towards them. The horse was unusually strange, with a single horn on its forehead, and a person was lying on its back.
This person was dressed in lake-blue embroidered brocade. The dark patterns on the brocade emitted a soft glow under the sunlight, like the blue sky and white clouds, looking exceptionally comfortable.
What attracted Xiao Man the most was the blood-red jade flute hanging from the person's waist. It had black tassels and swayed with the horse's movement, inexplicably causing one's heart to ripple.
An Yue and Liu Hong also stared at this person, feeling how comfortable and leisurely they were. Suddenly, their temples ached. Snapping back to reality, they saw Xiao Man watching the approaching person vigilantly.
"Don't look at the blood jade flute on his waist."
An Yue's face turned pale, "Is that thing problematic?"
"It can disturb one's mind and lead them into the other's illusion," Xiao Man exhaled, "This person is very dangerous. You should try to avoid him."
"We have no enmity with him, he wouldn't trouble us, would he?"
Xiao Man frowned, took out a bottle of pills, and handed it to An Yue, "If you encounter this person, take one pill into your mouth to refresh your mind and be prepared."
"Thank you, Junior Brother Xiao."
As they spoke, the horse stopped at the entrance, kicking the ground with a 'tok tok' sound.
The man lying on the horse's back slowly opened his eyes, rolled over, and dismounted. The attendant at the door quickly helped him to prevent him from falling.
"Young master, be careful."
The man steadied himself with the attendant's help, asked the attendant to feed the horse some grass, and walked inside on his own. Upon entering, he found that all the seats were occupied and walked towards Xiao Man's table.
"Fellow Daoists, there are no empty tables. Do you mind if we share a table?" The man looked at Xiao Man and asked with a smile.
Xiao Man looked at An Yue and the others. Neither An Yue nor Liu Hong refused.
"Please sit."
"Thank you." The man immediately sat down. Just then, the dishes Xiao Man and the others had ordered were served. The man glanced at the dishes on the table, his eyes lit up. Most of them were his favorites. "Do you mind if I eat with you? I'll pay."
"Okay."
The man's face immediately broke into a smile. He picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. An Yue looked at him in amazement, seeming shocked that someone could be so forward, not only sharing a table but also eating with them as if he were the host.
An Yue couldn't help but look at Xiao Man. To her surprise, Xiao Man didn't seem to mind the extra person at all, burying her head in her meal, as if the other person was just a guest sharing their table!
"Junior Brother Xiao..."
"The meat is good, Senior Sister, try some." Xiao Man immediately picked up a piece of food and gave it to An Yue, her demeanor natural and casual. Liu Hong was stunned and looked at the meat in An Yue's bowl, wanting to say something but stopping. Xiao Man saw this and immediately picked up another piece for Liu Hong, "Senior Brother, eat."
Liu Hong looked at the meat in his bowl, then at Xiao Man. After a moment, he also buried his head in eating. It was just a table-sharing guest, no need to pay attention.
Unexpectedly, the stranger sitting opposite Xiao Man handed his bowl to Xiao Man, looking at her expectantly with a smile on his face.
Xiao Man looked at the bowl handed to her, then at the person sitting opposite, and after a moment of silence, she picked a braised pork rib from his bowl.
The man was stunned, seemingly not expecting Xiao Man to take the braised pork rib from his bowl. "Why did you give them food but not me?"
Xiao Man gnawed on the rib, her beautiful eyes fixed on the man, and said vaguely, "You don't need anyone to serve you food, you eat more than they do."
The man looked at An Yue and the others, stubbornly holding his bowl in front of Xiao Man. "We are all eating at the same table, you can't be partial. Give me a piece too."
Xiao Man swallowed the meat in her mouth, spat out the bone, and reached out with her chopsticks to put a piece of green vegetable into the man's bowl. "You can't just eat meat, you need a balanced diet."
"I don't like this, you eat it."
"I don't like it either," Xiao Man shook her head and refused. She also liked meat, and this vegetable was what An Yue liked. From beginning to end, she had seen that the man had not picked up any food with his chopsticks, so she knew he didn't like vegetables either.
The expression on the man's face was somewhat indescribable. "You don't like it, so you give it to me?"
"I don't know what you like, so I just picked randomly." Saying this, Xiao Man put another piece of green vegetable in his bowl. "You're too picky, eat it all, don't waste it."
The man withdrew his bowl, looked at the green vegetables in it, and his handsome eyebrows furrowed into a '川' shape. He picked them up with great disdain, looked at them, and then tried to put some into his mouth. He closed his eyes and chewed slowly, as if eating poison.
Xiao Man watched with amusement. "Does it taste good?"
"It doesn't taste good, it's bland and tasteless, like eating grass." The man swallowed the green vegetables in his mouth with difficulty, and looked at the remaining green vegetables in the bowl with a troubled expression. If he ate them, they were hard to swallow; if he didn't eat them, they were an eyesore.
Seeing this scene, An Yue couldn't help but smile. When she first saw this person, she was almost captivated, and she was quite wary of him. She never expected him to be such an expressive person.