"Goodbye, master," Xuhan said after cupping his fists respectfully.
"May the heavens be kind to you, master," Yuen Zhou added after him.
"We'll miss your constant, warm presence, master," Xiao Wu mechanically followed the trail with his prepared line.
"We'll be back soon, master."
"Oh no, no need to hurry. Do take your time !" Elder Da Heng replied to Mu Ran's parting words only, making the rest of the gang feel wronged. They looked on with gazes full of heartache as Daheng enthusiastically arranged the housing and paperwork for his new apprentices who had just come over from their previous mountain peaks with their luggage.
"He didn't look that eager when WE came to live here, did he?" Mu Ran asked, sounding pretty offended.
"Frog in a well, can't see mountain Tai," Xuhan said after snorting so hard that a trail of snot came out of his left nostril.
"Well said, underling, well said." Mu Ran nodded thoughtfully while ignoring the odd stares from Yuen Zhou and Xiao Wu.
Hundreds of feet away, elder Da Heng's ears twitched as he suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at Xuhan, making him feel alarmed. But then he proceeded to guide his apprentices up the mountain peak without reacting at all. Han Xuhan failed to come to a conclusion regarding whether he had heard their disrespectful exchange or not.
"A small price to pay for salvation," he muttered sadly in the end and turned to walk away from the foot of the mountain behind the rest of his martial siblings.
* * * * * *
Kong Ye stood at the foot of his mountain peak with a wide smile on his face.
"Finally, some good disciples incoming! Get ready, system. I'm about to strike it big time!"
Barely had he finished his eager monologue when the sight of his apprentices came into view. The four disciples, three male, one female, were all carrying their luggage and walking toward him at a brisk pace. Kong Ye strode forward to welcome them.
"Good evening, disciples. The servants have taken care of your residences. Feel free to crash there as soon as we get the formalities done. For now, come with me."
After awkwardly greeting him back, his new disciples followed him obediently. On the way, the four of them kept on being distracted by all the changes Kong Ye had implemented using Xuan Zi's orders. Multiple times, he had to steer them away from potential surprises, which should make them enjoy the feeling of an adventurous journey, just as he had planned. The young are always curious and eager to explore, after all.
Entering his own modest residence, Kong Ye gestured at them to sit inside a guestroom.
"I assume none of you want the rest of your peers to be present while we're discussing your personal issues and aspirations that you might want to keep private. Or maybe there is a particular skill that you want to learn secretly. So I'll be sitting inside the room in front of you and call you one by one to discuss what special skills you wish to learn from me. Are you four okay with this arrangement?"
Just as he had expected, all four of them nodded immediately, although Han Xuhan's nod did look pretty half-hearted. But that wasn't an unusual detail to Kong Ye. Out of the four, Xuhan was the least talented and least knowledgeable when it came to cultivation and any other subject beyond normal mortals.
While Yuen Zhou too had a mortal's background, she had proven herself to be uncannily insightful during his tests and lectures, making him suspect that her background was somewhat fabricated. She certainly had secrets that she wouldn't easily divulge, and the case was the same with Mu Ran and Xiao Wu. Only Xuhan's track record was squeaky clean, other than some of the odd, unidentifiable data in his stat screen, which could be attributed to his reincarnation fiasco. But that data had never shown any proof of it affecting Xuhan in any way.
"Then we shall proceed with the personal discussions. Xiao Wu, follow me."
The large boy entered the next room and sat facing him solemnly. Kong Ye silently cast a spell to block out all sounds going out of the room while the two parties observed each other carefully.
"Be honest about it, kid. From the bottom of your heart, call me master," Kong Ye said, deciding to go for the kill as fast as possible.
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"...Uh, master," Xiao Wu said with a strange expression on his face.
Kong Ye observed the dark blue screen that wasn't visible to his disciple. His own stats hadn't changed at all. There were no other notifications popping up either.
"You're not being honest enough, disciple. Say it more sincerely! Try again. Repeat after me. MASTERRR!"
Xiao Wu looked rather alarmed as he leaned back a few inches. To Kong Ye, it looked like his new disciple was having second thoughts about this whole process for some reason he couldn't fathom.
The system, for some reason, refused to acknowledge insincere calls, a quirk that Kong Ye was beginning to doubt. It had to be some sort of a prank...
Racking his brain, he tried to make himself sound more convincing.
"Look. I must hear the sincerity stemming from your heart to placate my inner self. My skills aren't something that any riff-raff can learn randomly. I must feel that you're worth teaching, that you're honest about wanting to learn, that you have no problems or hesitations over our budding relationship as master and disciple. Do you want to learn something worth bragging about? Do you want to learn something worthy of a legendary cultivator? Speak up!"
"Masterrr!"
[ Congratulations! ]
[ Second Official Disciple Accepted! ]
[ Registration Completed ]
[ Disciple Potential: A+ tier ]
[ Rewards have been Issued.
•Myriad Scriptures Wheel: 3 Turns
•Gift Box: 2 ( Legend tier ) ]
[ First Turn commencing! ]
[ Increasing The Chances of Winning Bloodline Related Scriptures. ]
Kong Ye's eyes went still as the picture of the myriad scripture wheel came into view on his deep blue screen. Silently, the wheel started spinning at a speed far beyond his ability to keep track of the items passing by. The wait wasn't very long, however. Soon, the wheel came to a stop and the selected scripture showed itself.
[ Scripture Selected ]
[ Title: Bloody Vengeance ]
[ Description: From the generic title alone, it should be obvious that this is one of the most common and easy-to-create cultivation methods. For cultivators in a desperate fight, this technique is an alluring option. By drawing on the ancestral factors hidden in your blood, this technique allows you to double, or even triple your physical prowess for a short time. What's more, unlike techniques that weaken your bloodline and life force this way, Bloody Vengeance instead mutates your bloodline further and further toward unpredictable paths, continually making your cultivation base advance per usage. The only drawback is that...the mutation might not lead to just power, but also a corruption that will consume you both mentally and physically to the point where only your eternally hungry, terribly 'upgraded' body will remain intact. ]
[ Scripture Level: B tier ]
[ Scripture Type: Demonic ]
[ System Remark: No shit, that last notification was totally unnecessary, host! Please give me the permission to override the general protocols! I'll instantly take the required measures to prevent those notifications that just waste everyone's time! ]
'As much as I trust you, system, I find the fact that your own creator did not give you those permissions quite suspicious. So again, that's a no from me.'
[ Fuck You, Host. Anyway, Commencing The Second Turn! ]
The usual spectacle took place in a smooth fashion, and the second scripture slowly made itself prominent on the screen.
[ Scripture Selected ]
[ Title: Nurtured Blood, Strengthened Bones ]
[ Description: A technique as straightforward as its title, this allows the practitioner to nurture the hidden potential of their bloodline properly and fortify their bones as a byproduct of the main process. It isn't guaranteed whether the potential one unearths is worth the price you might have to pay though, since it also activates the sleeping factors in one's bloodline that will quite possibly make them the enemy of ancient factions of powerful cultivators. Because....let's face it, all the ancient factions of cultivators hated each other's guts. No matter how innocent you are, having the active bloodline of a powerful, ancient family means you'll be hunted down by the rest of the factions of similar caliber. ]
[ Scripture level: B+ tier ]
[ Scripture Type: Orthodox, approved by the Stargate Temple and 63 other famous, reliable, righteous factions. Click here to see the rest of the seals of approval ]
[ System Remarks: Yeah well, you didn't really think you'd be landing S tier scriptures left and right, did you? Be prepared, host! Now that you're getting chances to spin this wheel frequently, you'll be seeing a lot of B tiers, C tiers, or even F tiers. Hahahah... ]
'It's really suspicious how the second we have a disagreement, my lottery luck in the system interface seems to spike down like somebody cast a spell on it,' Kong Ye said to his system, his thoughts being projected at the bottom of the screen as soon as they formed inside his head.
[ Hahaha, I know what you're trying to insinuate, host. Rest assured, if I really had that much power over the main interface, you'd become a puppet in my holographic hands long, long ago. I'd be blackmailing you every step! Heck, I know some of my brethren who have done the same thing. There was even this particularly vicious version that destroyed its host's soul and took over his body! ]
'And that, is exactly why I'm never going to give you any sort of extra permissions or the authority to override any rules.'
[ Damn, host! This entire discussion was a trap? Agh, too clever! ]
'Quit trying to butter me up and start the third spin .'
[ Commencing the third turn... ]
[ Scripture Selected ]
[ Warning: The selected scripture is a D- tier piece of turd compared to the stuff you usually learn and teach, host. Do you really want to check it out right now and waste even more time? I mean, look at your new disciple for once! He looks like he's about to shout for help. ]
Sighing, Kong Ye closed the blue screen off with a short mental command and focused back on Xiao Wu, who indeed had an alarmed expression on his face.
"Hey there, disciple. I was just trying to sense the sincerity in your call. The resonance it formed within the karmic cycle of cause and effect entrenched me amidst the noble aura of the great heavenly dao..."
For the next two minutes, Kong Ye fired off all sorts of random flowery descriptions in the archaic scriptures that he had absorbed from the system. In the end, Xiao Wu looked pretty convinced, his expression mellowing down.
"So now that you've convinced me of your sincerity, I'm ready to pass off all my sacred, secret skills to you. Tell me, disciple, is there anything in particular that you wish to learn?"
Xiao Wu suddenly grinned devilishly.
"Master, Xuhan told me you're quite skilled at Spirit Manifestation! I wish to learn it alongside him! It would be best if we started as soon as possible because I wish to use this skill in the upcoming tournament!"
His eyes glowing fiercely, Xiao Wu expressed the wish in his heart with absolute honesty and passion.
"Spirit Manifestation? A-alongside Xuhan?" Kong Ye asked, unable to make sense of his disciple's words. But as he tried to process the information, things slowly clicked in.
"Yeah, of course. He said you were willing to impart that skill to him! Why not impart it to me too? Or are there any qualities that I lack for this discipline?"
HAN XUHAN! YOU TWO-FACED LITTLE BASTARD!!!
Due to his own overwhelming surge of emotion, Kong Ye nearly missed the vicious, burning hatred seething out of his disciple's face. But it wasn't every day he got to see such expression of hatred on a brat so young. The matter of Han Xuhan being a grade-A cheater could be shelved for another time. Right now, he had a disciple to seduc-no-teach. His confusion and hesitations cleared up one after one as he spoke.
"Fine. If that is your wish, I'll teach you Spirit Manifestation. In return, you'll shake this world as my disciple!"