"Well well well, what a pleasant surprise! It seems unnecessary to further drag things out under the guise of secrecy when all four of you seem to have decided to come clean with each other and pursue the same skills! You, disciple Mu Ran...you're the only one who hasn't yet expressed the urge to tackle multiple skills at once under my tutelage. Are you sure you want to keep it that way?"

Among the four disciples, Han Xuhan was the only one to not become a bit confused upon hearing Kong Ye speak. As the orchestrator of the entire mishap, Xuhan knew he had screwed up, but there really wasn't any feasible way to solve the problem now. He simply decided to maintain his silence and looked at Kong Ye with an innocent expression.

"What? Everyone is pursuing multiple skills?" Mu Ran whipped his neck around and faced Xuhan instantly.

"Underling, didn't you say you wanted to learn astral warfare just now?"

His smile strained, Xuhan decided to 'confess'.

"Boss, I'm not so incredibly intelligent that I could come up with that safety measure for you on the spot. I originally had my own plans too. Brother Xiao Wu and I had a serious conversation a while ago where we both had decided to learn the cultivation technique of spirit manifestation. So I guess I ended up pursuing two different skills in that way."

Mu Ran nodded, his expression pretty understanding. Kong Ye maliciously grinned at Xuhan while nobody was looking at him. Han Xuhan felt more relieved than anything. At least his cover wasn't blown, although Xiao Wu did look rather suspicious.

Turning to look at their new master, Mu Ran solemnly said,

"In that case, I too wish to study multiple skills under your tutelage, provided you do not have a problem with it. Do you, master?"

Xuhan sneakily elbowed the idiot in the back hoping he'd tone down that arrogance in his tone. Elder Kong sure didn't look particularly gratified to see his disciples going to extreme lengths in taking advantage of him.

"Ah, how refreshing it is to see youths like you four being so passionate when it comes to cultivation! Why not, why not...Of course, I'm willing to impart to you whichever skills you are interested in. But are you sure you have what it takes to meet my standards? Because when I teach a skill, I expect my student to become the best in that discipline, surpass even myself in terms of prowess and make their names renowned all over the world. Are you confident that you have what it takes?"

Kong Ye spoke rather viciously, giving off the aura of a man who had nothing left to lose. Xuhan and Co. exchanged awkward looks with each other, all four of them unable to sense what the other three were trying to express silently.

The silence was broken by Mu Ran in the end who declared,

"Of course, trust in me, master. I am absolutely confident in achieving this. Just teach me your skills and I'll surpass you so fast that you'll regret ever teac- I mean, you'll be proud of me even on your deathbed!"

Han Xuhan despondently shook his head. His martial brother was beyond cure. Why did he even think he had a chance to reduce Mu Ran's fatality anyway? The best he could do was to stay out of the line of fire.

"While I cannot claim to have the talent to reach your standards, master, I too promise to do my very best and make you proud. Maybe one day, my name as your disciple shall resound as loudly as martial brother Ran throughout the world."

This boastful claim came from Yuen Zhou, who had a faint smirk surfacing at the corner of her mouth as she spoke. Although she didn't sound as overbearing as Mu Ran, it undoubtedly came off as pretty bold.

His expression unreadable, elder Kong Ye gazed at Xiao Wu, who pushed his chest out proudly before speaking his piece.

"You heard me already back inside the room, master. I WILL do whatever it takes to reach that goal, regardless of the adversities that befall me, regardless of how many enemies block my way. I shall reach a height in the art of spirit manifestation that'll birth legends of my prowess at the most distant corners of the world of cultivation!"

All eyes turned toward Han Xuhan simultaneously as Xiao Wu's atmospheric speech ended.

Han Xuhan scratched the bridge of his nose absent-mindedly and sighed. He had just remembered a wise saying, a wise saying that couldn't be credited to Mu Ran.

"I...uhh, I'm not really confident of achieving anything like that, master. I guess I'll just hang around and have fun."

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Honesty is the best policy. Why lie when nothing is stopping you from speaking the truth?

In any case, he had already accepted Kong Ye as his master long before any of his martial siblings did. Why did he have to make an embarrassing boast to prove himself?

Absolute silence hung inside the room. Han Xuhan's peers looked thunder-struck at his audacity....no, in fact, Mu Ran was starting to look like he had had a revelation of some sort. He was nodding subtly as if approving Xuhan's powerful words. A wizened smile was slowly crawling into his face.

Fortunately, elder Kong intervened before Mu Ran could verbally support his underling. Unfortunately....elder Kong's words turned out to be even more stunning.

"How disappointing! Among the four of you, only little Xuhan, the one with the worst potential, can see Mountain Tai! I guess always being the worst in many aspects helps in cultivating such a mindset. But regardless of that....only Han Xuhan's answer was actually acceptable in my book. The rest of you seem to have no idea what you're boasting of. Hahaha, the upcoming tournament will see to that issue! For now, I'll still accept your pleadings and teach you multiple skills...If you earnestly call me MASTERRR !"

Han Xuhan had a nonplussed look on his face as he surveyed the faces of his peers for some hints as to how to react to Kong Ye's declaration, because he didn't trust his own brain to come up with an appropriate reaction.

Then he came to a sudden realization about what he had just done.

He had gone against the norm, subverted expectations of others publicly, and done something bold and brave....

A shiver ran down his spine as Xuhan understood just how close he had come to becoming enveloped by the protagonist halo, even though it had been a rather smart decision to speak honestly just then.

No no no...He had to avoid those pitfalls! Next thing he'd know, he'd be one of the black horses of the tournament, getting constantly set up against overpowered opponents with a customized moral compass. He couldn't let that happen!

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu seemed more perturbed by something else entirely.

"Er...master, I already called you master. Do I gotta say it again?"

"Okay, you're excused. But you three are not!" Kong Ye pointed at Han Xuhan, Mu Ran, and Yuen Zhou, his expression bleeding with impatience and anticipation so intense it made the three have second thoughts about complying with his commands.

"What is it? Weren't you all so eager just a minute ago? What happened to that spirit of yours? Go on and say it. Repeat after me, MASTERRR!!!"

"Er...Master!"

"Master !"

"Master!"

Xiao Wu looked on with a twisted shade of schadenfreude on his face as his martial siblings repeated the phrase with varied types of complicated expressions.

Yet their compliance seemed to enrage Kong Ye for some reason.

"Not sincere enough! Are any of you having second thoughts? Is there anyone among you harboring ill intentions? Why can't I hear the sincerity inside your heart?"

Exchanging confused looks, they tried again.

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Still not honest enough! Again! Xiao Wu, demonstrate to them how you did it."

"...." Xiao Wu looked like he wanted to protest.

"Is there a problem? Did your sincerity leave your heart as soon as I promised to give you the Spirit Manifestation technique?"

Xiao Wu sighed and tried to demonstrate by passionately repeating the word.

Repeatedly, they were made to call the man 'master'. Only after a dozen attempts did Kong Ye finally stop commanding them to repeat themselves.

"Did it work this time?" Xuhan asked hopefully.

"....." Kong Ye stared ahead with an empty gaze, completely ignoring Xuhan's question.

"He did that inside the room too when I called him master. Apparently, he's trying to glean our sincerity through some archaic techniques that entirely escaped my comprehension," Xiao Wu said after a moment of silence.

Han Xuhan inspected the faces of his peers as Kong Ye seemed to fall into a very lengthy, dazed stupor trying to glean the sincerity of their call this time.

Mu Ran, predictably, looked annoyed. As soon as their eyes met, he leaned toward Xuhan and made some wild gestures with his eyebrows. Xuhan had no idea what he was trying to imply. It could've been anything ranging from 'underling, this guy dares disrespect me' to 'I think I have a new kink'.

But he nodded along emphatically anyway, trying to emulate Mu Ran's bizarre facial gestures.

Satisfied, Mu Ran leaned back and stared at Kong Ye suspiciously.

Then Xuhan proceeded to inspect Yuen Zhou, whose eyes were glued on Kong Ye, a chilly atmosphere radiating off her face that made Xuhan want to pray for Kong Ye's future wellbeing. It was clear as a day that she had felt offended.

Xiao Wu, however, looked rather resigned to his fate. The burly youth showed no curiosity towards their master, standing there ramrod straight with his gaze embroiled in deep thoughts.

"YESS! OH YEEAHHH! WOOOOHOOO!!"

The sudden shout nearly made them jump. The source of the sound turned out to be Kong Ye, who had finally stopped daydreaming. The ecstasy on his face made Xuhan do a double take. What exactly had happened to make their master happy?

Did he manage to gauge their sincerity?

That wasn't something to be so delighted about, was it?

"You lot seem truly sincere, judging by my calculations. Fine then, I'll not hold back any longer."

With a demented smile, Kong Ye retreated inside the room where he had interviewed Xiao Wu. Xuhan and Co. stood where they were, feeling more and more confused as seconds turned into minutes yet Kong Ye didn't return.

Nearly half an hour later, Kong Ye finally popped out of the room holding a giant stack of scrolls in his arms.

"Since all four of you seem interested in astral warfare, I've delved into my collection of ancient tomes and retrieved two different techniques for you, my disciples. Both techniques focus on cultivating one's astral body. Have a look and choose whichever you personally prefer. Your master excels at both."

Kong Ye then dumped six scrolls on a table and divided them into two parts, one for each technique.

"And there is also a really neat Divination skill available among my collections. My mastery of it isn't half bad. So that's two of the three techniques," he added while piling up the rest of the scrolls.

"Why does the ink on the scrolls look so fresh? It almost looks like somebody has just written these manuals." Yuen Zhou said inquisitively.

"It's a magical spell. I'll teach that to you later if you want."

"Master, where is the spirit manifestation technique you promised to teach me?" Xiao Wu asked, alarmed.

"Ah, that's a slightly complicated issue. I, your master, have mastered so many different skills that I can't even carry the written versions of them around because the number of scrolls involved is astronomical. While I did learn a few spirit manifestation techniques in the past, I don't have the manuals on me in person. I could of course write down the details of the ones I have memorized. But that raises a few safety issues that I'm sure you don't want to face. So wait a day or two for me to contact some friends and ask for their help in transferring the manuals here. You'll be free to practice it afterward. Sounds good?"

Xiao Wu nodded, looking slightly disappointed. Meanwhile, Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou practically leaped toward the scrolls on the table like starving predators inside a chicken coop. But right before their hands could touch the scrolls, Kong Ye caught them by the sleeves in the blink of an eye.

"Heheh...did you think this entire process is that simple?" He said in a smug tone.