Han Xuhan's face was blank as he watched the elder offer the stack of papers to him that he had just finished writing on.

"You're giving me a cultivation manual? Just like that?" He asked Elder Kong, feeling rather confused.

Shouldn't they first discuss what sort of techniques the elder had? He could then choose one from them afterwards. That was the deal, right?

"I've just noticed an...issue with your dao foundation, Xuhan," Elder Kong said in a low voice. Xuhan felt his heart clench. He did not like the expression on Elder Kong's face, not at all.

Seeing him fall silent, elder Kong decided to press on.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but recently your dao tower has experienced some rather strange mutations, yes?"

Dumbfounded, Xuhan nodded. How the fuck did that guy even know that? HOW?

Meanwhile, elder Kong continued executing his uncanny skill of verbally bombarding his disciples with the knowledge he wasn't supposed to know.

"Secondly, your current cultivation technique, the one that summons skeleton minions, it's a very sloppy one. I haven't seen the entirety of its contents. But I see through your dao heart, disciple. There is nothing remotely close to sophistication or ponderous about your cultivation technique. It doesn't affect or guide your dao heart in any way!"

At this point, Xuhan's jaw was long hanging low. For a moment, he considered asking if the elder knew what the color of his underwear was. But then he realized that if the elder didn't know that too by now, there was no reason to prompt him to do so. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

"Correct or not?" Elder Kong said grimly. But before Xuhan could form a response, he started speaking again.

"I know it's correct. Anyways, what you need to do right now is to practice this technique I'm giving you earnestly alongside your current cultivation technique. Otherwise, you'll die a horrible death when you attempt to break through to the soul reformation realm. Unless..."

"Unless?" Xuhan caught onto that one word with all the remaining hope in his heart. Was there another way? A shortcut for him? Could it be?

"Unless you end up becoming crippled halfway through the physique transformation realm, completely dashing your chances of ever even reaching the bottleneck to the soul reformation realm which, if I might add, is a very, very plausible ending judging by the current state of your meridians. Seems like your extravagant methods of fast-paced cultivation are further damaging them."

"....Man, fuck cultivation."

After a long silence, that was the only response Han Xuhan could come up with. What was the point of cultivating anymore when he was just gonna end up crippled a few layers later?

The shock and despair enveloping his mind were hard to dispel. But he had been through similar experiences so many times in this world that at this point, he had automatically come to learn not to focus much on the negative thoughts trying to pull him down an abyssal rabbit hole of self-pity.

"How much does this cost, elder?" Xuhan asked in a depressed voice. All of his enthusiasm about becoming the elder's apprentice was killed off. Elder Kong gave him a blank look and handed the stack of papers over to Xuhan's outstretched hands.

"I told you, it's free. Consider it a gift."

Eyebrows raised, Xuhan sighed and put the stack aside. The issue with his dao foundation was a problem that hadn't surprised him too much. He had seen the signs, even though he hadn't understood them at that time. But the deterioration of his meridians was a devastating, unforeseen blow. Fixing the latter seemed like a bigger concern right now.

"Elder, do you have any way to counter the last problem? You told me that you could teach me anything as long as I accept you as my master. Are you perhaps skilled in any such secret technique that can remedy damaged meridians?"

Elder Kong's lips tightened into a thin line upon hearing his question.

"I cannot exactly guarantee that I'll be able to dig out the absolute solution to your numerous problems, but I'll keep you from being crippled as long as you follow my instructions. And make no mistakes, no elder of this sect has the skills to remedy your problems. I swear that on my dignity as a teacher."

Briefly, Xuhan considered whether he was being conned. He didn't believe any of that bullshit swearing. But the issues Elder Kong had pointed out were certainly plausible, yet the man looked rather desperate for disciples. Who could say for sure that he wasn't lying when he said that Xuhan's dao foundation wasn't going to get him to the soul reformation realm? He could have also lied about his damaged meridians becoming even more damaged too, right?

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

But then he remembered a certain fact. He, Han Xuhan, was one of the trashiest disciples of his generation. Even if Elder Kong was desperate for disciples, he wouldn't need to stoop so low to lure him in as an apprentice. Xuhan didn't have any treasure or cheat items on him that could attract powerful cultivators. The chances of Elder Kong lying were unlikely.

"Then there's not much to consider."

Calmly, Xuhan got up from the ground and clasped his hands together.

"Master, this disciple greets you."

........ .......... ..........................................

Kong Ye's eyes were focused on the system screen instead of Xuhan. Lines after lines of prompts from the system were flashing by on it.

[ Congratulations! ]

[ First official disciple accepted! ]

[ Registration Completed ]

[ Disciple Potential: B+ tier ]

[ Issuing Reward: One turn of the myriad wheel of scriptures - Increasing the chances of getting scriptures that focus on repairing meridians ]

A rough drawing of a wheel appeared on the screen and started spinning by itself. The lone pointer moved over blurred possibilities countless times before the wheel finally came to a stop suddenly before Kong Ye's heartbeat could even speed up in anticipation.

The name of the scripture that the pointer had stopped over slowly became larger and larger while the rest of the wheel faded away.

[ Name: Treasureholder ]

[ Description: This is a top-notch stealing technique that all thieves and rogues in the universe would trade their right hand away for. Cultivate this, and tread on the path of the Thief Monarch Shen Long, a founder of the Fingers Of The Universe. This allows you to steal even the most secure treasures! ]

[ Scripture Level: A tier ]

[ Scripture Type: Demonic ]

[ System's Remark: Welp, tough luck, host! Even though this isn't the thing you wanted for your new disciple, you can just give it to him later. The manual you gave him earlier will keep him busy enough for a while. ]

Kong Ye's excitement burst like a balloon. Suppressing his urge to curse out loud, he shelved the reward.

[ Does the host want to open the second reward? ]

Yes, dammit!

[ Opening Grandmaster Tier gift box ]

Three images appeared on the screen, three cards with stylized decorations, facing away from him. With the system's prompt, the cards turned around one by one.

[ First Card: Framework for a one-time searching talisman!

It can find any object within fifty square miles! ]

[ Second Card: Framwork for a short-distance teleportation talisman!

It can teleport you away from unstoppable attacks! The maximum distance is one hundred meters. ]

[ Third Card: A tier Cultivation Manual Augmentation!

Augment any A-tier cultivation manual the way you want to. As long as your plans of augmentations aren't illogical, Inspirations and analytical information shall flood your mind and create a beautiful masterpiece! ]

[ System Remark: Host, seems like your disciple has terrible luck. Even I'm feeling sorry for him. ]

"...."

Kong Ye gulped audibly, not due to disappointment or anger, but because he had seen a ray of hope!

"Disciple, trust in your master. The Snowfall Garden is a top-notch technique to strengthen your dao tower. Try to study it for a few days and comprehend its intricacies. Once you've gotten a good grasp on the basics, I'll begin teaching you my own interpretations and experiences. I'm certain that'll solve a great number of issues that you'll undoubtedly face soon.

"Moreover, this isn't even what I'm going to teach you as a part of your apprenticeship. You simply need this the most right now. Once we've solved the issue, we'll get to the main point of our agreement and you'll find yourself learning skills far beyond what the rest of the elders in this sect can teach you."

Seeing Xuhan looking rather convinced, Kong Ye felt his heart finally calming down. His mysterious, knowledgeable master persona was finally working!

Now, he just had to execute the main step he had recruited Xuhan for. After all, his system's main mission was never going to be completed with just Han Xuhan alone...

"Now that we've become master and apprentice, can I entrust you with a task, Xuhan? Think of it as your first repayment to your master."

Han Xuhan looked visibly relieved for some reason as he said that, something that befuddled Kong Ye.

"Of course, master. Just say it! I'll do my best!"

"You're close friends with Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou and Xiao Wu, aren't you?" Kong Ye asked, fully knowing it to be true. From his observations during their regular classes, he had noted that while Mu Ran, Yuen Zhou, and Xiao Wu were not on particularly good terms with each other, they all had a decent relationship with Han Xuhan. Nobody really liked Mu Ran due to his arrogant attitude, Yuen Zhou was a very reticent person who rarely spoke to anybody unless necessary and Xiao Wu was a good-natured child who maintained a friendly relationship with most of his peers, just like Xuhan.

"Yes, master. I am," Xuhan answered without any hesitation. But Kong Ye could see the dull glint of realization in his eyes. The boy had already guessed what his task was going to be, it seemed.

"If it's possible, find out a bit more about their aims in life. What they want to be, what are their short-term goals, whether there is any particular area of skills that they're interested in, and even which elder they want to acknowledge as their master. The more details, the better. Although you four are a part of the black sheep mountain peak, I find you lot to be rather full of potential, just waiting to be unlocked. It'd be great if I can manage to recruit all four of you as my disciples. On behalf of your master, can you slip in some tips suggesting that I can teach them the skills that interest them? You've already seen how easy it was for me to come up with what you need right now, didn't you?"

Master and disciple faced each other in a rather awkward staring contest once Kong Ye finished speaking. He knew his request was borderline crazy, almost coming off as pathetic. But his system's deadline was fast approaching. There was nothing else he could do except hope these cheap tricks would work. It was the main reason why he had put Xuhan so high up on his recruitment list. The boy was the only disciple 'resourceful' enough to help him execute the stunt.

"If you don't mind me asking, master...why are you so insistent on recruiting disciples? As far as I'm aware, it isn't exactly necessary for all elders to take in apprentices ."

Kong Ye felt a headache coming. It was a question he had expected to face, but hoped not to.

"Think of it as a bet, disciple. I promised a certain somebody that I'd guide the best cultivators in this entire world one day. Now, it's become sort of a competition between her and me. And I'm running out of time very fast."

It was a flimsy reason, but partially true, which was why Kong Ye could say it without feeling any guilt. His dao heart wasn't compatible with treachery and lies, as they were the worst qualities a teacher could have.

Han Xuhan thankfully did not press further into the issue, seemingly having guessed that he wasn't going to get a clear-cut answer. Kong Ye found himself being thankful to the heavens again that he had found such a sharp disciple.

"As you wish, master," Xuhan said with a tight-lipped smile.

"Good disciple." Kong Ye sighed and turned off the talisman inside his pocket.

[ Mind Mollification Talisman terminated. 2/5 uses left ]

[ Runtime: twenty minutes ]

[ Used Intensity: 42 % ( mild ) ]

[ Operation successful ]