The term "registered disciple," as its name suggests, refers to a disciple who bears only the name of being a student without the substance of being one. A registered disciple cannot inherit the master’s teachings, and the master is not obliged to instruct the registered disciple. However, for the registered disciple, once their status is confirmed, they must serve the master like a true disciple. Should the master’s mood improve one day, or they find the registered disciple to be promising, they might formally accept them as an inner disciple. In the Cultivation Realm, cultivators usually take someone as a registered disciple for two reasons. One scenario involves repaying a favor or completing a transaction, taking a cultivator who doesn’t meet one’s standards as a registered disciple, allowing them to use one’s reputation for convenience, potentially even offering some treasures and cultivation technique secret techniques. The other scenario is much like Zhouyang and Guo Jinhong now, where a high-tier cultivator sees potential in a low-tier cultivator, wanting them to work for free but not wishing to truly accept them as a true disciple to avoid providing high compensation, therefore deliberately accepting them as a registered disciple. Thus, as a disciple, completing the master’s tasks is naturally expected. If a disciple dares to defy the master’s orders, they commit the grave crime of defying their mentor, and the master is entitled to impose the sect’s rules directly. Dıscover more novels at 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥 Guo Jinhong took Zhouyang as a registered disciple without even requiring him to join the Haoyang Sect, since registered disciples have no chance of inheriting the master’s teachings and naturally have no relation to the master’s sect clan. To put it bluntly, he just wants to exploit Zhouyang! He wants Zhouyang to work for him without giving Zhouyang the treatment of a formal disciple. Someday, when he’s in a good mood and sees that Zhouyang has done well in the past, he might reward Zhouyang with some gifts, but this doesn’t change the fact that he’s exploiting Zhouyang. Unfortunately, as the weaker party, Zhouyang knows he’s being exploited but has no room for resistance. There aren’t many people with the courage to commit suicide, and Zhouyang is evidently not one of them. Besides, even if he did end his life, it would only mean Guo Jinhong lost one subject of exploitation, affecting him not in the slightest. The ones truly hurt by it would be those who love Zhouyang dearly. Thus, Zhouyang’s only option is to endure temporarily, bearing the burden until he overcomes this hurdle. Once this hurdle is surmounted, he can wait twenty years to obtain the promised "Jade Liquid Golden Pill" from the Cyan Origin Sword Sect, after which he can simply return to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm and never return to the Land of the Far West. He refuses to believe that after discovering his disappearance, Guo Jinhong would truly go to the Boundless Sea of Sand Cultivation Realm to cause trouble for him. When he heard Guo Jinhong say he would give him a meeting gift, and saw the wide, beautiful eyes of Wang Qian embraced by Guo Jinhong, he instinctively felt something was off after various thoughts crossed his mind. Sure enough, when he saw that so-called meeting gift, he was completely stunned. The tightly closed hall door opened, and two women entered from outside. Zhouyang could say that he was acquainted with both women. One woman dressed in a moon-white gown was the Golden Core Female Cultivator Qin Zhiyun of the Qin Family, whom he had seen while attending the Qin Family Patriarch’s 900th birthday celebration at Wanhua Mountain, and who was Guo Jinhong’s currently most favored concubine. The other woman dressed in an ice-blue gown was the Great Brightness Immortal Palace Female Cultivator who had been auctioned as a "Dual Cultivation Cauldron" when he attended the underground auction. "What’s going on? Wasn’t this woman rescued by those cultivators from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace back then? How did she end up with Guo Jinhong again?" "How can an old lecher like Guo Jinhong be willing to give such a stunning beauty to me?" Zhouyang looked at the Great Brightness Immortal Palace Female Cultivator being led in hand by Qin Zhiyun, with an expression filled with uncertainty. Combining with the words Wang Qian said when entering the valley earlier, he already guessed that the meeting gift Guo Jinhong mentioned is most likely the Great Brightness Immortal Palace Female Cultivator being led in by Qin Zhiyun. "What’s the matter? Have you met Yue’Er before, dear disciple?" Seeing Zhouyang’s change in expression, a hint of curiosity flashed in Guo Jinhong’s eyes, and he couldn’t help but transmit a question. Zhouyang knew that insisting he hadn’t met her would arouse suspicion, so he immediately recounted his experience attending the underground exchange meeting. After all, this matter was nothing unspeakable. Guo Jinhong listened to what he said, couldn’t help but smile and nodded, saying, "I see, in this case, it turns out the ancestor has sent the gift to the right person!" After saying this, he transmitted his voice to Zhouyang again, explaining, "The ancestor has already investigated thoroughly. This woman’s original name was Situ Xuan Yue, belonging to a small clan within the territory of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace. Due to her outstanding talent, she was accepted as a disciple by Li Qiuyue, the Vice Hall Master of the Cold Moon Hall of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace, and was taught the fundamental Cultivation Technique of the Cold Moon Hall, the Taiyin Cold Moon Technique. She was greatly valued and favored." "However, Li Qiuyue’s favor was not entirely a good thing for this woman. The reason she was captured and taken to our Anti-Light Alliance for auction shortly after opening her Purple Mansion was because she was betrayed by a senior sister from her own sect." "Last time, the cultivators of the Great Brightness Immortal Palace actually rescued this woman, but unfortunately, their luck was not very good, and she was captured again midway and transferred to me, the ancestor." "It’s a pity that the cultivation technique I practice is naturally in conflict with the Taiyin Cold Moon Technique. If I were to absorb this woman, not only would it be unbeneficial for cultivation, but it could even be harmful." "Dear disciple, you possess the Qianyang Treasure Body, this Supreme Yang Body, and if you have the assistance of this woman’s extremely cold attribute Yin Yuan, the harmony of Yin and Yang would certainly achieve twice the results with half the effort, greatly advancing your cultivation." Guo Jinhong spoke convincingly, well-reasoned and evidenced, but if it weren’t for his prior forceful disciple-acceptance incident, Zhouyang might actually believe him. But now, Zhouyang dared not believe a single word he said. Regardless of whether Guo Jinhong’s words are true or false, even if they are true, Zhouyang sees no need to use such skills of dual cultivation and absorption to enhance his cultivation. Thus, after hearing Guo Jinhong’s words, he immediately showed a face of difficulty and said, "Grand Ancestor, please discern wisely. I have been affectionate with my Dao companion for many years, and have no intention of taking concubines. Moreover, I have severed ties with the Great Brightness Immortal Palace by slaying three Ninth-Layer Purple Mansion cultivators on the battlefield, forming a deep-seated enmity, so how dare I keep this woman from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace by my side?" Guo Jinhong, hearing this, displayed a satisfied expression and said, "Rest assured, this woman has already had all memories of her origins and background sealed by me, the ancestor, using Secret Technique. Now she has been trained by Zhiyun for many years, completely considering herself a cultivator of Wanhua Mountain Qin Family, named Qin Yue’Er!" He paused after speaking, looking at Zhouyang with deep meaning, and said, "Moreover, I, the ancestor, have planted a Divine Soul Restriction in her Divine Soul. As long as I, the ancestor, issue a command, she will regard you as her master and serve you, not daring to harbor any harmful intentions towards you. Otherwise, she will experience backlash from the restriction, suffering the pain of soul refining!" Zhouyang’s heart trembled, and he dared not say anything to refuse anymore. A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator planting a Divine Soul Restriction in a low-tier cultivator’s Divine Soul can help the low-tier cultivator resist a soul search by other high-tier cultivators, preventing the leakage of sect secrets if captured. Sects like Haoyang Sect, which are guarded by Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, have high-tier cultivators within the sect who generally accept this kind of Divine Soul Restriction. And since there is a Divine Soul Restriction to help low-tier cultivators resist soul searching by other high-tier cultivators, naturally there are high-tier cultivators who specifically research and create restrictions that can control others, known as Divine Control Art. This kind of Secret Technique, achieved by planting a Soul Control Restriction in another’s Divine Soul to control them, is termed Divine Control Art in the cultivation realm, a profound secret technique only Nascent Soul Stage cultivators can perform. Since the emergence of this secret technique, many Nascent Soul Stage cultivators have used it to enslave other low-tier cultivators as servants, prompting much resistance from cultivators. Thus, this secret technique, akin to the Soul Searching Technique, has become a publicly forbidden technique, with strict prohibition on its use by any cultivator. However, now in the cultivation realm, Nascent Soul Stage cultivators are the pinnacle of existence, the forbidden status of the Divine Control Art is merely a name. As long as figures like Guo Jinhong do not overstep, refraining from using Divine Control Art to control the cultivators of various sects within the Anti-Light Alliance, avoiding rampant capture and control, even if other Nascent Soul Stage cultivators know he uses Divine Control Art, no one will manage him. Zhouyang cannot guarantee that if he continues to refuse, whether Guo Jinhong might develop suspicion, opting to have him undergo Divine Control Art control, leaving him with no way out. Zhouyang can endure temporary humiliation for practical improvement but will never accept becoming a lifelong slave through Divine Control Art. It’s worth noting that Divine Control Art targets the Divine Soul directly, unless he can one day refine pills and form an infant, he cannot escape Divine Control Art’s control, and if Guo Jinhong subjects him to Divine Control Art, how could he allow him to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage! Fortunately, although Divine Control Art is formidable, it has one unavoidable limitation: it requires the controlled cultivator’s wholehearted cooperation in releasing the Divine Soul to perform. This limitation prevents Guo Jinhong from forcibly applying this secret technique to Zhouyang. He would not even test proposing Zhouyang accept Divine Control Art control, for once proposed, it would signify no alternative paths for both parties. Then Zhouyang would either accept Divine Control Art’s control, or they would clash entirely, leading him to eliminate Zhouyang to prevent future troubles. Evidently, he does not intend to kill Zhouyang, at least not yet. So when Zhouyang wisely refrained from refusing, tacitly agreeing, he immediately nodded satisfactorily and said, "Good, then it’s decided. In the future, remember to bring Yue’Er to visit the ancestor here every thirty to fifty years. The ancestor will check the restriction in her Divine Soul to prevent any issues." "Yes, disciple understands. Thank you for the ancestor’s generous care!" Zhouyang quietly acknowledged and thanked, yet deep in thought about Guo Jinhong’s intent in gifting Situ Xuan Yue to him. He absolutely does not believe Guo Jinhong is purely benevolent, attempting to alleviate tensions through this gift. His counterpart should surely realize that no matter the gift, it cannot compensate for the harm caused by forcibly accepting discipleship.