Chapter 455: Greed

Even so, for the Jiang family, having produced a martial talent as rare as Jiang Wang, one appearing only once in a thousand years, had already drawn the full attention of the martial world. If a second talent of equal caliber were to emerge, it might well backfire and bring disaster down upon the Jiang family instead.

For this reason, only a very small number of people within the Jiang family knew about Jiang Si's true situation.

The Jiang family had pushed only Jiang Wang into the spotlight, while Jiang Si remained hidden in the shadows, unknown to the outside world.

Of course, there was another important reason as well. Although the twins Jiang Wang and Jiang Si both possessed similarly extraordinary martial gifts, Jiang Wang was far more devoted to martial cultivation, while Jiang Si had little interest in the martial path and did not take it particularly seriously.

As a result, Jiang Wang's progress in cultivation had far surpassed Jiang Si's, which was also why the Jiang family placed greater importance on him and worked to make his name known to the world.

At this point, Jiang Wang withdrew his gaze from his sister and continued addressing the question the Jiang family head had raised earlier, "Rumor has it that the Eighth Prince of Great Li grew up scattered among the common people from childhood, and almost no one knows anything about his experiences in his youth. Even so, given that he now possesses martial cultivation surpassing even the Assassination Saint at not yet twenty years of age, I would guess that he must have shown equally astonishing gifts in his younger years as well."

At this, Jiang Wang's eyes, bright as stars, narrowed slightly, and he continued, "What's more, a prince who grew up scattered among the common people, without access to top-tier martial arts or the resources of the Great Li imperial family for cultivation, and yet who displayed abilities shocking to the entire world from the moment he emerged, must have had opportunities and secrets beyond ordinary imagination, beyond his own natural talent alone."

As Jiang Wang saw it, natural talent alone was not enough for martial cultivation. One also needed to study top-tier martial techniques and cross-reference various schools of martial arts against one another, as well as nourish the body with precious medicinal pills and elixirs.

At those words, the Jiang family head seemed to understand something, and a look of realization crossed his face, "So then, Wang'er, are you interested in whatever secrets that Eighth Prince of Great Li might be carrying?"

At this, the Jiang family head's brow furrowed once more, and a look of difficulty clearly crossed his face as he looked at Jiang Wang, "But if you choose that Eighth Prince of Great Li as your master, you would have to give up the Hall Master of the White Tiger Divine Hall and the Tower Master of the Mirage Tower. You should know that both of them think extremely highly of you."

"Besides, you understand well enough that someone with formidable martial cultivation is not necessarily a good teacher. Even a Martial God might not necessarily be able to teach every student well."

At those words, Jiang Wang shook his head, "I understand the reasoning behind what Father says, Father, and I know very well what I want."

As he said this, a confident expression crossed Jiang Wang's still somewhat youthful face, "Throughout the martial world, no master has ever been limited to taking only a single disciple. So who is to say that a single disciple cannot have multiple masters at once?"

"With my martial gifts, why couldn't I have all of them?"

At those words, the entire pavilion fell suddenly silent. The Jiang family head, the two elderly men, and Jiang Si all turned to look at Jiang Wang at once.

"Brother, I would advise you not to be so greedy."

Jiang Si, dressed in her jade-green skirt, widened her eyes. She had little interest in pursuing the martial path herself, but her twin brother was so excessively obsessed with martial cultivation that he had become almost insatiably greedy about it.

Even so, Jiang Wang paid this no mind. As he saw it, throughout the entire Western Desert's martial world, countless people were eager to take him on as their disciple, to the point that White Emperor City had organized this unprecedented discipleship gathering specifically for him.

The current situation was that he was the one choosing a master, not the other way around. Of course, though Jiang Wang's standards were extraordinarily high, there were still a handful of figures throughout the Western Desert's martial world who could meet them.

If he could become a disciple of all of them at once, he would gain access to countless supreme techniques, secret arts, resources of medicinal pills, and instruction from the very top experts of the martial world. Naturally, the more such masters he had, the better, as far as he was concerned.

"Actually... Wang'er's idea isn't entirely without merit."

At this point, the Jiang family head suddenly spoke, his expression shifting slightly, "To be honest, I once entertained a similar idea myself, thinking of gathering the finest group of martial masters in the entire martial world to teach the two of you, brother and sister."

"But I was afraid it would expose both of your extraordinary talents, so I had to abandon the idea. Unfortunately, there are no walls in this world without cracks for the wind to pass through, and Wang'er's reputation has already spread throughout the martial world. There's no longer any need to hide it. If the Hall Master of the White Tiger Divine Hall and the others agree to this, I would naturally give my full support."

At those words, Jiang Si glanced at the Jiang family head and Jiang Wang, and said, "Father, Brother, you two think rather highly of your chances, but have you considered that those lofty giants of the martial world, so proud of their own standing, would agree to share a single disciple?"

"If you ask me, human greed knows no bounds, and the wise thing to do would be to simply pick the single strongest one and study under them."

"If Brother keeps going down this insatiable path, I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually wants a Martial God as his master too."

The young and confident Jiang Wang gave a light laugh, entirely unbothered, "A Martial God isn't out of the question either. With my martial gifts, even if a Martial God searched the entire martial world, he wouldn't find another disciple as gifted as I am."

At those words, the Jiang family head nodded with a touch of wistfulness, "It's a pity the Western Desert is so remote and isolated, and that the three Martial Gods of the martial world move in such elusive and untraceable ways. Otherwise, I would genuinely consider having the two of you seek out a Martial God to study under."

At those words, Jiang Si's slightly plump cheeks went blank for a moment, and she gave a few awkward laughs, ultimately saying nothing further.

At this point, the Jiang family head rose to his feet and looked at Jiang Wang with an expression of deep satisfaction, "Wang'er, that you already harbor such grand ambitions at your young age fills your father with pride. Even so, there's no need to rush this matter. Let me first go and test the waters with those parties involved, and then we can discuss the matter more thoroughly."

With that, the Jiang family head clasped his hands toward the two elderly men in the corner of the pavilion and said, "I would ask both of you uncles to keep a close watch over Wang'er and Si'er. I have important matters to attend to and must take my leave for now."

The two elderly men gave a slight nod. The Jiang family head then said a word of farewell to his son and daughter and departed from the pavilion.

...

After leaving the pavilion, the Jiang family head, accompanied by the old servant who had come to deliver the message, made his way to his study.

"Stand guard here. No one is to enter without my permission."

The Jiang family head instructed the plainly dressed elder with a cold, indifferent tone, then turned and entered the study, locking the door behind him.

He did not leave immediately, however. He stood quietly behind the door, carefully sensing his surroundings, and only once he had confirmed there was nothing unusual around the study did he step forward into the inner chamber.

The Jiang family head then rapidly flicked out several dozen bolts of force with his fingers, striking various points in the walls and floor from memory. Before long, the floor tiles beneath his feet began sliding silently open, revealing a stone stairway leading down beneath the earth.

At the sight, the Jiang family head descended the stone stairway with practiced familiarity, and the floor tiles behind him slowly closed together, leaving the study above completely empty.