Chapter 292: Of Masters And Minions

At dawn, Elder Kong Ye watched the first rays of the sun color the distant peak of the Salted Fish Mountain, and a deep frown appeared on his face.

This mountain was as peaceful as always, a phenomenon that one may not expect, knowing the secrets it hid. After all, it was home to a handful of children of destiny, brats who loved trouble and attracted dangers like flies towards food.

This generation in particular was the most frightening one, 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 Sect Master Xuan Zi to take a large number of extra precautions, including indirectly guiding the 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 understood his Sect Master too well. For the greater good, 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 his last visit to the Sect Master’s chamber, he had decided to begin the apprentice recruitment process as quickly as possible. The sudden news of the mandatory tournament had caught him off guard in the middle of his preparations, but he later found it to be a blessing in disguise.

The Sect’s arrangement in preparation for the tournament was in sync with his plans rather conveniently. He could start executing his plans without any further adjustments.

But after heading uphill, his plan went awry. Mu Ran, naturally the first target due to his lack of cunning, 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 not necessarily a bad thing. According to his system’s evaluation, that boy was unnaturally wary of him for some reason.

Perhaps it was an idiot’s blind instinct towards danger... ahem, not that Kong Ye thought of himself as a danger to his disciples...

To lessen Mu Ran’s hostility, recruiting his closest friends first would be a good strategy. If Han Xuhan could put in a few good words on Kong Ye’s behalf, the attempt to recruit Nu Ran would have much better chances of success.

By the time Kong Ye caught sight of Han 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 my foundation tower today? 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. Han 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 could only shake his head helplessly after hearing disciple Xuhan’s weak attempt to rein in his minions. This kid’s future would be dire if this type of scenario continued...

"Disciple Xuhan, are you busy? I have something important to discuss with you!"

Standing outside the yard, he yelled loudly enough to drown out the shouts coming from inside the hut. All three voices instantly fell silent. After a second, Han Xuhan opened the door, appearing rather disheveled.

Was group-cultivation supposed to look like this? How pitiful!

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!" Han Xuhan exclaimed, opening the door wide and gesturing at him to enter. Then he turned around and started shouting at his minions again.

"Zhanxian, we’re receiving a respected guest. Why aren’t you cleaning up the mess?

"And Tun Shi Tian, go make some tea! If I catch you trying to poison my tea again-"

"Oh no, disciple Xuhan, I’m not much of a tea enthusiast. No need to bother with all that!" Kong Ye hurried to say. But that only caused his disciple embarrassment.

A teacher refusing to drink his disciple’s tea... really didn’t look like a good opening to a deeper relationship.

A moment later, Kong Ye entered the hut, his eyes taking in the sight of the two skeleton minions rushing toward the kitchen. The living room was full of residue from various types of precious materials and resources that almost no ordinary disciples could purchase.

Kong Ye’s eyes widened as he realized that there were signs of THREE different cultivators using the resources lavishly.

"Please, take a seat, Elder," Han Xuhan said as he plopped down on a clean part of the mattress on the floor. Looking around, Kong Ye realized that it was the only clean portion of the mattress.

In the end, he was forced to take out a cushion from his spatial storage while Han Xuhan’s attention was on his minions.

"Please, do tell me what instructions you have for me, Elder." Han Xuhan looked exhausted as he spoke. Without beating around the bush, Kong Ye got straight to the point.

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

"I’ve heard some seniors mention it a few times, yes." Han Xuhan’s response was mechanical. But Kong Ye wasn’t fooled. He could see the light of realization flash in his eyes.

"Then I’ll make this brief. The apprenticeship ceremony allows disciples to recognize Elders with specific skills that they might be interested in as their 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 only in name, as you live on 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."

At that moment, Han Xuhan unexpectedly yelled out at the top of his lungs.

"IF YOU DON’T MIND MY POOR TALENT, I’D LOVE TO BE YOUR APPRENTICE, ELDER!"