The Black Sheep Mountain Peak was as peaceful as always, a phenomenon that one may not expect, knowing the secrets it hid. After all, the mountain peak was home to a handful of children of destiny. This generation in particular was one of the most terrible ones, containing nearly half a dozen such individuals with the potential to rise to the top of the world of cultivation.

But Kong Ye knew better by now. It was exactly this reason that had prompted Xuan Zi to take a large number of extra precautions, including secretly manipulating said disciples toward certain directions to keep them in check. The moral ambiguity would be a question here that many righteous cultivators may not want to face. But Kong Ye knew that man too well; Xuan Zi wouldn't be bothered by the ethics of his actions in the slightest.

Nevertheless, Kong Ye was glad that life was proceeding peacefully for those kids, which in turn spared the rest of the sect a great amount of potential trouble.

After visiting Xuan Zi, he had decided to begin the apprentice recruitment process immediately. The first round of the planet-wide tournament was in sync with his plans rather conveniently. It would be best not to waste any more time.

But Mu Ran, his first target, appeared to be absent, his hut deserted. Han Xuhan's hut was the closest one from there. So Kong Ye headed in that direction.

In hindsight, he felt that Mu Ran being absent was a good thing. According to his system, that boy was unnaturally wary of him for some reason. To lessen Mu Ran's hostility, recruiting his closest friends first would be a good strategy. If Han Xuhan could put on a few good words on his behalf, the recruitment attempt would have much better chances of success.

By the time Kong Ye caught sight of Xuhan's hut on the hilly terrain, he could hear multiple people shouting at each other inside.

"Stop, you idiot! That's not how you compress qi! Did you leave your brain cells back in the heavenly river? Look at how I do it!" Han Xuhan yelled.

"Hahaha, you did it even worse than me!" The gleeful shout of his first minion Zhanxian followed.

"Both of you are absolutely trash! Look at me!" A voice Kong Ye couldn't recognize came next. Xuhan's second minion, perhaps?

"Damned birdie! How are you doing that?" Zhanxian exclaimed.

"Hmph, so what if you have some talent when it comes to practical cultivation? I have more experience compared to both of you. Listen to me..."

Kong Ye shook his head after hearing Xuhan's weak attempt to reign in his minions. This kid's future would be dire if this type of scenario continued for long.

"Disciple Xuhan, are you busy? I have something important to discuss with you," he said loudly enough to drown out the shouts coming from the hut. The occupants inside instantly fell silent. After a second, Xuhan opened the door, appearing rather disheveled.

Often, Kong Ye wondered why the young man let his minions push him around so much. He certainly wasn't a soft-hearted child, that much Kong Ye could glean from their regular interactions. Perhaps he would get an answer when he earned the kid's trust and recruited him as an apprentice.

"Ohhh, good evening, elder. Please, come in!" Xuhan exclaimed, opening the door wide and gesturing at him to enter. Then he turned around and shouted at one of his minions.

"Zhanxian, go make some tea !"

Kong Ye entered inside behind him, his eyes taking in the sight of the two undead minions rushing toward the kitchen. The room inside was full of residue from various types of precious materials and resources that almost no disciple of his status could purchase. Kong Ye's eyes widened as he realized that there were signs of three different individuals using up the resources lavishly.

"Please, take a seat," Xuhan said as he plopped down on a clean part of the mattress on the floor. Looking around, Kong Ye realized that that was the only clean portion of the mattress. In the end, he was forced to take out a cushion from his system storage while Han Xuhan wasn't looking.

"Please do tell me what it is that you'd like to discuss with me, elder." Xuhan looked exhausted as he spoke. Without beating around the bush, Kong Ye got to the point.

"Are you aware of the tradition of apprenticeships in this sect?"

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"I've heard some seniors mention it a few times, yes."

"Then I'll make this brief. The apprenticeship allows you to recognize other elders with specific skills that you're interested in as your official master. Unlike your current relationship with Elder Daheng, the apprenticeship tradition forms a closer, deeper relationship between the master and the disciple. Right now, elder Daheng is your master in name only as you live at his mountain peak. But if you wish to, you can recognize other elders as your actual master who's going to actively teach you something that you want instead of just guiding you occasionally when you run into bottlenecks."

Han Xuhan narrowed his eyes and sat up straighter as realization seemed to dawn on him.

"You want me to -never mind, I'D LOVE TO BE YOUR APPRENTICE, ELDER!"

Kong Ye didn't know whether to applaud his cleverness or laugh. Initially, he was feeling rather hesitant to come out as the interested party since that wouldn't exactly befit his status as an elder. Usually, things were the other way around when it came to the skilled elders of the sect.

The disciples begged them for a chance to learn under their wings. But he was desperate for talented disciples. So he had decided to cast aside his dignity and shamelessly tell these childen that he'd like to have them as his apprentices. But Han Xuhan had spared him the embarrassment.

"Only...I'm not sure what you're going to teach me. Is there some particular skill you're good at, elder?"

"Don't worry about that," Kong Ye said confidently, waving Xuhan's concerns off. This was the easiest part of the process. His system could generate what his disciples asked from him. The only issue was that the disciple had to officially recognize him as master beforehand.

"I can teach you any skill you want. All you have to do is to just accept me as your master officially. After all, all skills taught to apprentices contain personal secrets."

Looking at him with a skeptical light in his eyes that gave Kong Ye a bad premonition, Xuhan asked the very question he was dreading.

"But elder, how am I supposed to know if the skill you can impart to me is suitable for me? Moreover, are you sure that you can teach me ANYTHING? I don't mean to be rude, but isn't that rather, uhh..."

"Boastful? Yes, I'm aware of how I sound to you. But when have I ever expressed my lack of knowledge about ANYTHING while teaching you and the rest of your peers, disciple? Have some faith in your favorite teacher, Xuhan."

Kong Ye tried his best to justify his words, knowing fully well that this recruitment attempt was going rather poorly. But what else could he say when this was the truth? Never having done anything like this before, Kong Ye realized that he should have taken more preparation before starting.

"How about this, elder?" Xuhan interrupted him halfway through his justifications, his eyebrows raised in a way that suggested that he didn't believe a word that came out of Kong Ye's mouth, but he was too polite to directly decline.

"I'm just a mortal who started cultivating a few months ago. I don't know what sort of wondrous skills and techniques are out there, like a frog in a well. I don't know what type of skill would suit me. But you, as a seasoned cultivator, do. Since we cannot come to a proper conclusion regarding which skills you can teach me, why don't you simply offer a few of the best skills that you think may suit me? I can sort them out and see which one interests me the most. Isn't that simple?"

Kong Ye felt the urge to throttle someone. Without revealing the existence of his system to others, he couldn't explain why they'd have to recognize him as their master before he could pull out cool techniques for them out of nowhere since there wasn't anything in particular he was famous for. He was a new teacher whose fame was solely dependent on his teaching style in regular classes. Who'd blindly put their faith in him?

Moreover, the seemingly airheaded kid sitting in front of him with an innocent expression on his face had just pulled the same move as Xuan Zi without any warning. By asking Kong Ye to show him the best techniques and skills in his arsenal, the boy was testing him to see his limits and gauge his capabilities...

Taking a deep breath, Kong Ye spent a large number of points he had painstakingly gathered to buy a one-time scanner that could be used on potential disciples who hadn't recognized him as their master. Due to how overpriced the item was, he could barely buy it once without cleaning clear his entire hoard.

Since the boy had forced his hand, Kong Ye was determined to take back his dignity in all its glory!

''Scan Han Xuhan, use the one-time scanner,'' He ordered the system.

[ Initiating Scan ]

[ Scan Completed ]

[ Presenting Data ]

[ Name: Han Xuhan

Race: ? ( Cannot process data due to the lack of data )

Ancestry: ? (No matches found)

Cultivation Base: Peak of the third layer of physique transformation

Comprehension: B+

Qi quality: C-

Dao Heart: C-

Dao Base quality: D+

Elemental Affinity : D

Raw Talent : D

( Expand this column to see the rest of the key merits )

Existent Issues That Require Immediate Guidance :

1» The subject's dao base has recently experienced a terrible mutation, resulting in a hodgepodge of an anomaly that'll never pass the heavenly tribulation. The issue should be solved before further mutations take place.

2» Subject practices a very poorly created technique that has no effect on his dao heart at all. This will eventually lead to an unbreakable bottleneck in the soul reformation realm. Not even the host himself can remedy it when that time comes.

3 » Subject's meridians were damaged since birth, and the recent extravagant usage of external treasures without caring about the consequences and the lack of customized, sophisticated techniques have led to hidden injuries that are increasing every cycle. By a rough estimation, subject's meridians will be utterly damaged beyond repair within a year if this continues.

( Expand this section to see the rest of the issues )

Current Impression of Host: mildly favorable

Overall Potential: B+

Further details, reward system for guidance and the disciples' perks can be unlocked upon recruitment. ]

Kong Ye froze as he took in the overflowing information full of confusing details. Race cannot be identified? Ancestry cannot be identified? How was that even possible?

His highest talent was his comprehension? That, he could understand. But the rest were downright awful! Even after expanding the column to see the rest of his talent section, he couldn't find anything above D+...

But those problems could be shelved for another day. Right now, the biggest issue was the imminent threat of Xuhan being crippled! Kong Ye couldn't let such a precious disciple waste away just like that!

But the brat hadn't accepted him as his master. How was he supposed to find a suitable technique for him to remedy the issue?

Eyes flashing, Kong Ye's face hardened as he contemplated his choices. In the end, there was only one solution he could think of right now. It'd be a bold path, full of ambition and hardships. But if Han Xuhan wanted to continue his life as a cultivator, this might be one of the few options left. Even if the boy chose him as his master, Kong Ye doubted the solution issued by the system would be more effective.

Briefly, he remembered his last conversation with Xuan Zi. What an irony of fate...

"Disciple Xuhan, do you trust me as a teacher?"

Gritting his teeth, Kong Ye asked the question in full seriousness. Perhaps his mental state was somewhat reflected on his face and in his tone because Xuhan suddenly looked rather solemn as he answered.

"Yes, elder."

Kong Ye grabbed a pen and a stack of papers from the floor and started writing furiously. He didn't need the system to generate a technique, not this time. This was a technique he was far too familiar with than he'd have liked to.

{ The Snowfall Garden Manual }