In a closeted and small cabin sat Xue Lan on a table. He had worn his signature tang suit with a coiled blue dragon infront, the suit also had golden edges.

On the other end of the table sat Wung Dao - who wore clothes Xue Lan saw as lacking in finesse - the shabby typical clothes of a cultivator just with the additional touches of a swordsman.

Xue Lan sighed.

Months ago he had launched an attack towards Wung Dao in an attempt to force him to duel with him - but well , it ended with Wung Dao not fighting him wholeheartedly, ultimately resulting in Xue Lan forfeiting the forced match.

Ironically, 3 months later Xue Lan was now In the same cabin he and Wung Dao had wrecked - and he was drinking tea!

That red eyed disciple of his didn't know about their meetings though, probably because everytime Xue Lan paid a visit to Wung Dao , the pale disciple was out hunting somewhere or doing rigorous training in the forest - atleast that's what Xue Lan assumed he was doing.

'hmm , this tea tastes good....'

Xue Lan thought.

He glanced at Wung Dao who had his eyes closed.

In the world of martial artists like them , closing your eyes infront of a possible enemy could be regarded as disrespect as that was considered a way of undermining them. But then again , Wung Dao as a genius swordsman had crazy accurate senses so it probably wouldn't make much of a difference fighting and detecting attacks with his eyes closed.

Xue Lan had been sitting in the heavy silence in almost an hour , this was now his 8th visit ever since that fight - yet , he couldn't exactly start a conversation with Wung Dao even then.

'I thought I could use the tea in order to make him relax and more trusting...'

Xue Lan thought.

It was a bit understandable though , Xue was like a trespasser , invading Wung Dao's home 8 times just to bring him tea , pour it , drink then leave. It was 9 if you counted the time when he destroyed the cabin. Wung Dao hadn't uttered a word since then , but simply silently drank the offered teas without the fear of being poisoned , and then Xue Lan usually left of his own accord due to the awkward tension.

What would he say as a conversation starter anyways - 'how about we destroy your house in a fight once more?'

Xue Lan finally gave in. He couldn't continue with this dreaded cycle.

" So... Where is that disciple of yours? "

Xue Lan asked while taking a sip , he saw Wung Dao's eyes twitch as his eyelids opened and he sunk his eyes at Xue Lan.

" Why do you want to know? "

Wung Dao refuted in a cold voice.

" Relax , I won't go after him. Killing another man's disciple is cowardly in the martial world just as it is to poison them , you know that very well. "

Xue Lan responded in a casual tone , Wung Dao simply stared unresponsively in silence.

'Should I just cut this bastard down right this moment?' was what Xue Lan predicted Wung Dao was probably thinking at that silent moment.

Xue Lan knew that he should've atleast tried to attack Wung Dao in the times he had paid a visit , yet strangely, he couldn't bring himself to do it, even though that was what was expected of him.

" Your disciple seemed to be a deviant the last time I met him , how is he adapting to the change ? "

Xue Lan asked, seeing that Wung Dao was not willing to disclose his disciple's whereabouts.

A deviant was basically a person who used mana. Compared to Qi , mana was quite pathetic in Xue Lan's eyes and he was sure Wung Dao shared the same view as him.

However a deviant wasn't completely a lost cause , they could be converted to the Qi side and ascend like a cripped bird that has regained it's ability to fly. Well , given that the deviant survives the conversion process. Unfortunately or rather fortunately, there were no records of that happening yet.

Judging by the fact that the pale disciple was leisurely in the forest and a tombstone hadn't been erected for him , Xue Lan assumed he had somehow survived being converted.

" He is still a deviant."

Wung Dao abruptly said.

"What?"

Xue Lan reacted.

How was he still a deviant? This just didn't make sense. A deviant to a martial art master was useless to have as a disciple , as useless as having a wooden knife. The fact that the pale kid was still hanging around with Wung Dao meant that the kid had already undergone his disciple initiation. Yet , he was still a deviant ?

There was nothing a Qi martial artist could teach to a deviant , their power systems were just too different to bridge any knowledge through. A Qi master instructing a deviant would be like an alchemist teaching an ordinary fish how to make a pill.

'Wait unless....'

Xue Lan's mind began spinning around as he thought of a particular rumour about Wung Dao the Heavenly Sword Saint - he was once called out by one particular martial art young master for being once a deviant , the young master referred to him as being an impostor amongst real cultivators.

If Wung Dao was truly once a deviant then surely he probably knew a few things about advancing as one , which would explain why the pale disciple was still around.

Xue Lan stared instinctively at the calm Wung Dao.

By the time he was finished with his speculations , Wung Dao had already finished his first tea and was on his second.

The martial art master that had called Wung Dao an imposter in public had brutally lost his life to the 'imposter'. Xue Lan was however different from him though , he didn't exactly know how strong Wung Dao was - which was why he wanted to challenge him in a fight.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Fighting another martial artist was the same as gauging their strength and comparing it to yours , but of course one needed to be more or less on par with the master they were challenging - otherwise their head would be send flying.

Most of the time when a master gauged another master's strength , they were either usually plotting against them or were planning to - behind the scenes. The gauge would be a wager deciding if their plans would succeed or go awry due to the victim's exceeding strength or backing, Xue Lan had no doubts that Wung Dao had refused his challenges to avoid being plotted against.

In any case , even if Wung Dao was slightly stronger than him , Xue Lan with his famous iron defence and a thousand elephants strength believed in his ability to resist most of Wung Dao's attacks - even if it meant he wouldn't be able to counterattack.

Xue Lan took another look at Wung Dao.

The man was so relaxed and with a nonchalant attitude, like nothing on the world could topple him.

'Tch, but of course this bastard is really strong - this piece of information I have attained probably won't negatively affect him even the slightest'

Xue Lan silently cursed , he had been hoping to use the matter of Wung Dao of being once a deviant as a bargaining chip to manipulate him in the near future by threatening to expose him. But Wung Dao's strength reminded him that Wung Dao wasn't called the Heavenly Sword Saint for nothing.

So what if he was once a deviant? Wung Dao had now become a powerful expert that exposing his past wouldn't change much , his sword would simply sweep through the heads of any weak martial art master foolish enough to pick a bone with him.

It was basically like shaking an immoveable tree.

" Why didn't you convert him though? "

Xue Lan asked. The least he could do is to gather a bit of information.

Wung Dao was quick to answer the question , as if he had been expecting it -

" To answer your question , I shall ask you a question - as a strength path master , if someone had tried convincing you to pick another path in the early stages of cultivation, would you have complied? I think not. You see , each and every person has their own set of beliefs and values they hold in their hearts. If my disciple believes the mana path is good for him, then maybe it is good for him. After all , you can direct and take a horse to a river but you can't force it to drink. "

Wung Dao said in a solemn voice , before going back to drinking his tea again.

'This Wung Dao really won't give me a straight answer eh- ? What a stubborn bastard!'

Xue Lan lamented, but no matter how much he cursed - he couldn't force Wung Dao to answer his questions the way he wanted him to.

'This is proving to be difficult , perhaps I should just give up. The clan leader will have to understand'

Xue Lan thought in his mind.

Xue lan had been sent by the clan to gauge Wung Dao's power and apprehend him if Xue Lan was stronger than him.

A few years ago Wung Dao had publically killed a young master who had called him out for being a deviant , that 'young master' was infact a clansman part of Xue Lan's clan - a genius even. But before the clan could squash Wung Dao for such an act and prevent his growth, he had disappeared like a ghost and was never to be seen again.

The iron palm clan had gained enough information about him from those who had watched Wung Dao execute their clansman : that he was a man with long black hair , a black bandana with the word Dao engraved on it and had cold eyes that made even the warmest lake free over. That was enough information about Wung Dao for him to be engraved in the clan's heart and be the clan's next target of hatred.

Imagine the clan's rejoice when news of Wung reappearing spread 12 years later!

The clan leader - Wen Rong had immediately sent a clan elder to subdue him but kill if he resisted , nobody could have expected the clan leader to be killed instead!

They learnt about Wung Dao's title of Heavenly sword Saint days after the brutal murder of the unfortunate clan elder , it was only after the event that Wen Rong had given another clan elder - Xue Lan, the task of finding every detail of Wung Dao he could grasp his hands on.

It didn't take long for Xue Lan to figure out that Wung Dao was far stronger than before, already obvious with the feat of him killing a clan elder alone. He also found out that Wung Dao had recently returned from the far away northern lands , which explained why he had suddenly disappeared when the clan was looking for him.

Xue Lan had also learnt that Wung Dao was nice to those who were kind to him but brutally merciless to his enemies.

There were stories of a black haired man wearing a bandana engraved with 'Dao' saving villages from hunger and slavery , but of course there were stories of the same man mercilessly killing whatever powerhouse that stood in his way - whether it was a group of cultivators, clan leaders or elders that challenged him.

This piece of information was more than enough for the Iron palm clan to lower their heads like a dog reprimanded by its master. It was too dangerous to launch an assault at Wung Dao with the little information Xue Lan had brought.

Although the stories showcased Wung Dao as a strong man - they didn't tell his exact strength. Even the names of the people Wung Dao had killed in his path of advancement couldn't be exactly used as a scale to measure him as they lived in the northern lands and their individual strengths were unknown to the southern lands.

However, the hatred in Wen Rong's heart couldn't be easily be erased. He hadn't lost only a genius clansman but a grandson , brutally killed in public. That didn't mean however that he could brazenly attack Wung Dao , as a clan leader he needed to be in the clan incase they were attacked by other clans

Which was why he had once more sent Xue Lan on a task - the task being challenging Wung Dao in a match. Xue Lan was different from the rest of the elders , he was a person the clan leader could confide in - a person who was just slightly weaker than the clan leader himself. Xue Lan challenging Wung Dao would be like the clan leader doing so himself.

That had been a year ago , Xue Lan had issuiedbchallenges to Wung Dao in the form of taunts whenever he saw him in public ,only to be faced with stark rejection everytime.

Xue Lan impersonated the impression and image of a cultivator crazed to challenge strong masters, this was vital as Xue Lan didn't want anything that could trace back to the clan.

Wung Dao left the northern continent a few months after returning , leaving for the continent of deviants. Xue Lan unfortunately had to follow him to this unfamiliar territory due to the task he had been given. Who knew if Wung Dao wouldn't have disappeared forever if he had escaped his sight ?

It was only just a few months ago that Xue Lan had actually taken the bold action of brazenly launching an attack in Wung Dao's home - he couldn't continue playing the cat and mouse game any longer, it was already suspicious to follow someone to an entire continent just for a fight anyways.

In their fight , Xue Lan hadn't been bold enough to launch any strong attacks but simply launched provocative attacks.

However now - after the visits he had been paying to Wung Dao who wasn't alarmed, Xue Lan was starting to realise that he would never be able to truly fight Wung Dao at his full power.

'Sigh, I wonder , what I am doing with my life? Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to just abandon the clan all together - I have no family or friends there'

Xue Lan had no doubts that the clan had infact been using him, he had willingly accepted such treatment in the belief that he was doing what was best for the clan, but after being away from the clan for so long , he didn't know if that belief was even right. He had even refused getting a concubine and a family , thinking they would only derail his usefulness in the clan.

'hmm , have I been nothing but a tool for the clan?'

Xue Lan thought. At the end of the day, he didn't share the same hatred for Wung Dao as Wen Rong, nor was Wen Rong's grandson that was killed by Wung Dao related to him in any way except for being a clan member , Wung Dao's actions were even somewhat justified in Xue Lan's eyes and Wen Rong's relentless pursuit at revenge now seemed to be a bit...petty

" I'll be taking my leave. "

Xue Lan said to Wung Dao who simply just nodded , the man's nonchalant attitude to was still surprising to Xue Lan.

Xue Lan took his belongings and left , moving at a speed that would put bullets back on earth to shame.

On his way he caught sight of a pale man with red eyes leaning on a tree with visible caution. Xue lan couldn't help but laugh.

'You've sure have a lot ahead to deal with , boy'

Xue Lan thought as he passed without Wung Dao's disciple noticing him.

'looking at someone steadily grow and wish for their best , I wonder if that is what it feels like to have a disciple'

Xue Lan thought.

Because if it did , Xue Lan would have had a disciple a long time ago.