Qi Like Tar

It felt like a brick had just dropped on his head. Paike stared open-mouthed at Guan Li long enough that the boy looked up and noticed.

"What?"

With a sigh, Paike prepared to explain. "A personal disciple is a massive boon. Typically, they are all core disciples before they even get an elder's attention. Sometimes an inner disciple gets chosen at the same time as they are raised to the core sect. I think it is unclear whether that's just how it works or if the promotion is due to the elder taking them on. I'm definitely sure that it is, though. For you do be offered it in the outer sect..."

"So I would have to join the core sect?" Guan Li asked, crest fallen. "I guess I'll have to tell him no thanks. How do I do that politely?"

Paike paused. Honestly, he wasn't sure there was a polite way to turn down the offer to become a personal disciple of an elder. Such offers were not given lightly. They took years of searching and making a good relationship with an elder who matched their path. The only case in which one might be rejected was if another elder had made the offer; in that case, it would be between the elders in most cases.

But for someone like Guan Li to reject the request would surely be an insult. He would probably be fine, but why would he want to?

"Actually, I don't think you can say no politely. And I don't know, I have never heard of an outer sect member being offered the position." Paike said. "But why would you want to say no?"

"Well, members of the core sect are committed to it. I remembered Elder Chu explaining that." Guan said.

He was right. Most of the time, core disciples were those on track to become elders of the sect, or at least committed to staying beyond the minimum three years required without joining the army. How that worked with personal disciples was between the elder and the disciple.