The two people Xianhao Sect had sent to lead this disciple recruitment trip were the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder of the Martial Academy. Both were at early Golden Core cultivation, the highest cultivation in all of Xianhao Sect belonged to the Sect Master, who was only at late Golden Core.
At this moment, the Sixth Elder sat in the courtyard, his expression troubled. “We’re done for this time.”
“Look how flustered you are,” the Seventh Elder sat across from him, a mild smile on his face, sipping tea without a trace of urgency. “Don’t tell me you’re actually afraid of Ma Xiang.”
Ma Xiang was Ma Xiu’s father, and also the Hall Master of the Beast-Taming Hall.
“That bastard Ma Xiang isn’t easy to deal with!” the Sixth Elder said. “If it came to an open fight, I certainly wouldn’t be afraid of him, but you know exactly what kind of person he is, sinister, cunning, never forgets the smallest grudge, twists and turns like a maze inside. His only son came out with us on this trip, and now he’s lost his life. You think he’ll let us off?”
“We didn’t kill Ma Xiu,” the Seventh Elder said, his brow furrowing unconsciously at the thought of Ma Xiang’s character. “But he’ll probably vent his anger on the two of us regardless.”
“Not probably, definitely.” the Sixth Elder curled his lip. “The man’s lived five hundred years, taken countless concubines, and only got this one son in his old age. He’s spoiled that boy rotten and lawless. I can’t even count on one hand the number of disciples in the sect that kid has harmed.” His tone turned disgusted. “Senior Sister indulges them all far too much.”
The Sect Master of Xianhao Sect, Lan Xue, was the senior martial sister of both the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder.
The Seventh Elder said helplessly, “Well, Ma Xiang did once save Senior Sister’s life, after all! And Senior Sister rarely involves herself in sect matters anyway. But has anyone figured out how Ma Xiu actually died?”
“No,” the Sixth Elder’s head ached just thinking about it. Among their group, aside from the two of them, the highest cultivation belonged to the inner disciples led by Gu Qingyun and Ma Xiu. Although Ma Xiu’s cultivation wasn’t the highest, he carried a third-grade magic tool, plus a protective array plate and talismans from his father Ma Xiang. Aside from his status, even ordinary disciples with grudges against him rarely dared to make a move against him.
The highest cultivation among the village cultivators was only Qi Refining ninth layer, even less likely to be responsible.
“I went to investigate the scene last night. Judging from the extent of the destruction, whoever did this has cultivation of at least early Golden Core.”
“That’s impossible!”
The Seventh Elder’s brow knit as he set down his teacup. “Our Southern Region only has thirteen Golden Core cultivators total. Our sect has eight, Xianling Sect has five. Ma Xiu couldn’t possibly have been foolish enough to go provoke an elder of Xianling Sect!”
The Sixth Elder’s gaze lingered on the Seventh Elder’s slender, jade-like hand wrapped around his teacup. The Seventh Elder, noticing, kicked him under the table, his expression tinged with mild anger. “What are you looking at? We’re discussing serious matters here!”
The Sixth Elder coughed once, snapping back to attention with some embarrassment, his eyes darting about.
“When I said the other party might have early Golden Core cultivation, that was the lowest possible estimate,” the Sixth Elder rubbed his nose, his tone somewhat weak. “If it were me, I doubt even a full-strength strike could carve out a crater that deep and that large.”
“Is it possible they used an array plate or a talisman? No, that’s not likely either.” the Seventh Elder answered his own question and then immediately shot it down.
An array plate or talisman powerful enough to match a Golden Core strike would need to be at least third-grade. A single third-grade talisman alone could match the full-strength blow of an early Golden Core cultivator, but third-grade talismans and array plates were both expensive and not something one could simply buy on demand.
Third-grade magic tools and talismans weren’t the kind of common goods lying around everywhere.
Who would be foolish enough to use a third-grade talisman or array plate just to assassinate a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
If someone wanted to do that, a first-grade one would more than suffice.
“We head back tomorrow. Once we’re back at the sect, be on guard against Ma Xiang.” the Seventh Elder said.
Not only was Ma Xiu dead, there wasn’t even a scrap of him left. Ma Xiang certainly wouldn’t let this go easily. Neither of them was the type to kill casually, and since Ma Xiang had the Sect Master, their senior sister, protecting him, they couldn’t easily move against him either. All they could do was stay on guard.
“Right!” the Sixth Elder nodded obediently, he’d always listened to the Seventh Elder. “Did you find anyone you liked this time?”
The Seventh Elder shook his head, disappointed. “No.”
Xianhao Sect had seven elders in total. Aside from the Sixth and Seventh Elders, the other elders each had numerous disciples under them, if not a hundred, then at least twenty or thirty.
“Neither did I,” the Sixth Elder said, somewhat gloomily. “Why is it so hard to find a disciple that suits my eye?”
“Wanting a disciple now?” the Seventh Elder’s tone was cool. “This time I took in one with dual spiritual roots, decent aptitude, obedient enough, honest too. You could give it a try.”
“Are you talking about that kid from the Song family?” the Sixth Elder had some impression of him. “Dual spiritual root aptitude really is decent, but as they say, half a disciple is half a son, he’s still a ways off from being fit to be my son.”
The Seventh Elder shot him a sideways glance. “You talk as if the kid actually wants to be your son.”
“…” the Sixth Elder pursed his lips. “I’ve been busy cultivating this whole time, rarely get the chance to come out. I want to go take a look around. Are you coming?”
The Seventh Elder glanced at him without answering, stood up, and walked straight out the door. The Sixth Elder smiled and got up to follow.
The two of them walked through the village, drawing stares the whole way, villagers’ eyes filled with fear, envy, and flattery all at once. The Sixth Elder, unable to bear it any longer, pulled the Seventh Elder onto a secluded side path. As they walked, passing by an old, dilapidated courtyard, the Sixth Elder suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression growing somewhat excited.
“What is it?” the Seventh Elder asked.
The Sixth Elder blinked, walked over to the courtyard wall, and stood on tiptoe to peer inside. The courtyard was empty, not a single figure in sight. “I feel like… there’s something in there pulling at me.”
The demonic plant, lying against the windowsill, was terrified by these words and darted straight onto the bed, burrowing into Xu Yifan’s arms.
“What are you doing?” Xu Yifan was just asking when he heard someone shout outside.
“Anyone home?”
He didn’t answer.
The person outside shouted again. “Is anyone there?”
Xu Yifan rolled over, still not answering.
“Anyone home?”
Xu Yifan: “…”
“Anyone home?”
Xu Yifan: “…”
At first Xu Yifan had figured if he just stayed quiet, the person outside would shout a couple more times and leave. Instead, this person turned out to be a real oddball, alternating between “Anyone home?” and “Is anyone there?” over and over without end.
After about the time it takes for half a stick of incense to burn, even the Seventh Elder had had enough of him, and was about to speak up to call the Sixth Elder away, but the Sixth Elder pushed open the courtyard gate and walked right in.
The Seventh Elder hastily grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?” Although they were cultivators of the Immortal Path, and most villagers would surely be overjoyed to have them visit, showing up “uninvited” was still discourteous, and besides, it was obvious no one was home just by looking.
“I’m going to find my disciple.” the Sixth Elder said, blinking.
The Seventh Elder said, startled, “What?”
The Sixth Elder pointed toward the house. “I have a feeling my disciple is in there.”
The Seventh Elder’s brow slowly furrowed.
They’d known each other a long time, and he trusted the Sixth Elder’s fairly sharp sixth sense. If he said his disciple was in there, that meant whoever was inside shared a master-disciple bond with him.
Xu Yifan waited a good long while before the two finally came in.
The Sixth Elder pushed open the door, saw the person curled up on the bed, froze for a moment, then broke into wild joy, dashing to the bedside in a single bound. “Chubby boy, so you were home after all! Then why didn’t you answer?”
Xu Yifan glanced up at him and found standing before him a young immortal master roughly his own size and build, radiating a powerful aura with intense pressure, clearly quite high cultivation. He gave the Sixth Elder a look and thought privately, you’re calling me chubby boy, so what does that make you—Chubby Man?
The Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder didn’t look particularly old, somewhere around twenty-eight or twenty-nine, but cultivators generally kept the appearance of their younger years after reaching Foundation Establishment, aging extremely slowly, and Golden Core cultivators could live to eight hundred years old.
Just going by looks, both the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder were exceptionally outstanding, each carrying a refined, gentle, scholarly air, their overall presentation was quite excellent, really. But for some reason, the Sixth Elder radiated an aura that screamed “don’t get close to me, I’m not decent, and when I go crazy I’ll actually kill someone,” his smile looking exactly like some sly old scoundrel, and as for his build… better left unsaid.
Cultivators were mostly lean and sturdy, very few were plump. When the Sixth Elder laid eyes on Xu Yifan, it was like a wanderer far from home finally catching sight of home itself.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and said with intimate delight,
“Chubby boy, I did the math, and you and I share a master-disciple destiny. Why don’t you submit to me, come with me, and live the good life from now on?”
The Seventh Elder: “…”
The Seventh Elder secretly pinched him, but the Sixth Elder was still beaming with joy. “Old Seven, just look at this kid’s build, his bearing, his looks, oh my, round and smooth like a pearl of fine jade, and what a full, broad forehead too [1]天庭飽滿, a phrase from physiognomy meaning a broad, well-formed forehead said to indicate good fortune jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3015878_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3015878_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });. Besides myself, I’ve never seen anyone else this round, this adorably, handsomely chubby.”
“…”
The Seventh Elder couldn’t possibly undercut him in front of an outsider. “Mm! Truly an auspicious countenance.” Those few words cost the Seventh Elder considerable effort, his throat practically parched from the strain. “This child has the look of wealth and prosperity, he’s sure to bring great fortune to our sect in the future.”
Xu Yifan: “…”
This guy was actually pretty great!
Talking so tactfully, it made him almost happy to hear it.
“Junior Martial Brother, you’re absolutely right.” the Sixth Elder laughed, glowing with radiance, and reached out to poke Xu Yifan’s soft belly. Xu Yifan rolled away to dodge him, and he didn’t mind at all. “Chubby boy, won’t you be my disciple and come back to Xianhao Sect with me?”
Xu Yifan honestly had no interest in any of this, he just wanted to lie there. But something seemed to occur to him, and he raised an eyebrow, sitting up to ask, “If I go to your Xianhao Sect, will there be food to eat? Can I sleep whenever I want? Are there handsome men to look at?”
“…”
The Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder both paused. Shouldn’t the question be, what benefits are there to coming back to the sect with you, are there cultivation techniques, are there pills, what can you teach me, that sort of thing?
Why was he asking about food and handsome men instead?
The Sixth Elder blinked, thinking only of coaxing him into coming along. “Yes, and yes.”
Xu Yifan immediately got up. “Then let’s go!”
The Seventh Elder: “…”
That was a bit sudden.
The Sixth Elder was overjoyed. “You’ve agreed! Then let’s be off!”
“Don’t you need to discuss it with your family, or at least say goodbye?” the Seventh Elder asked.
“No need,” Xu Yifan said. “There’s only me at home.”
“I see. Once you leave, it’ll probably be a long while before you can come back. Go pack up, bring whatever you need.” the Seventh Elder said, then handed him a spatial ring.
An item like this was something ordinary cultivators couldn’t even afford. Never turn down something free—Xu Yifan took it, said a quick thanks, and slipped it onto his finger without further ceremony, then picked up a small bundle from the head of the bed. “Alright, let’s go!”
This… felt suspiciously like he’d already been prepared for this.
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