"Ji Hanming?"

Bai Yuan looked surprised.

He hadn’t expected the person arriving so late at night to be Ji Hanming.

They hadn’t seen each other since he had refused Flying Eagle Castle’s invitation over a year ago.

Ji Hanming watched Bai Yuan descend the stairs.

He was here, of course, specifically for Bai Yuan.

Otherwise, with his status as the Sixth Young Master of Flying Eagle Castle, the Five Flavors Pavilion wasn’t worth a special trip.

"Senior Brother Bai, it’s been a while."

Ji Hanming cupped his hands in salute, his tone less prideful than usual.

Bai Yuan was not only a True Disciple of Huwei Arts Hall but also an Yijin Martial Master. An Yijin Martial Master this young had a boundless future and was worthy of his respect.

A complicated expression flickered in his eyes.

Bai Yuan’s genius far surpassed his imagination. The last time they met, he was just an Outer Disciple. Now, he had become a powerhouse in Qinghe, on equal footing with him.

A year ago, he was already forging his bones while Bai Yuan was just tempering his skin.

Now, he had just broken through to the Yijin realm, reaching Bai Yuan’s level. In reality, that meant he had fallen behind.

Bai Yuan nodded.

With his current strength, there was no need to go out of his way to get on good terms with Flying Eagle Castle.

Seeing Bai Yuan’s attitude, Ji Hanming sighed inwardly.

"Junior Brother Bai, I came this time to clear up a misunderstanding. I did not instruct Zhu Huan to give you trouble, but he was indeed trying to curry favor with Flying Eagle Castle."

His attitude was sincere, and he didn’t try to distance himself from the incident.

Bai Yuan’s expression was indifferent.

"If that’s all, Senior Brother Ji, I’ll be leaving now."

’I admit, Ji Hanming is a bit better than I imagined, and what he said is probably the truth. But so what?’

’At this point, I’m not going to befriend a faction just because of a few nice words.’

Ji Hanming watched Bai Yuan, who was about to turn and leave, his expression growing even more complicated.

’With the Divine Mansion Sect’s recruitment ceremony imminent, I naturally want to forge as many connections as possible. You never know when they might pay off during the event.’

’It was a shame. A single misjudgment back then had caused him and the young man before him to go their separate ways.’

’But he didn’t regret it.’

’As a fellow genius, he had his own pride. Even if he could do it over, he wouldn’t have thought much more of Bai Yuan, who was just an Outer Disciple at the time.’

’Of course he wanted to enter the Divine Mansion Sect.’

’Although he was a genius, there were still two or three others like him in Qinghe County.’

’Coupled with the fact that the Divine Mansion Sect’s rules were utterly unpredictable, he couldn’t help but feel insecure.’

The last time the Divine Mansion Sect came to Qinghe to recruit disciples, they had the participants form groups for duels. Ji Hanming had come to win Bai Yuan over for this very reason, but unfortunately, he had failed.

’Even if I’m alone, I’ll still carve a path to victory!’

Ji Hanming’s gaze grew determined once more.

...

「Early morning.」

「Huwei Arts Hall.」

"Greetings, Master."

Bai Yuan wasn’t arrogant just because his strength had surpassed Old Xue’s. He respectfully offered a cup of tea.

Old Xue took the teacup and took a sip, gazing at his disciple with satisfaction.

He leaned back contentedly in his lounge chair.

He had been in a great mood lately, not only because Bai Yuan’s prodigious talent was becoming more apparent by the day, but also because of Chu Yuan’s situation.

Nourished by the restorative diet Bai Yuan had prescribed, Chu Yuan was actually showing signs of change.

He had specifically invited the most famous physician in Qinghe County, who was utterly amazed by the situation.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before Chu Yuan woke up.

How could he not be happy?

"How are your preparations for the Divine Mansion Sect’s recruitment coming along?"

Old Xue asked.

"I practice my saber every day. I dare not slack off."

He had been leading the Martial Arts Hall disciples into the mountains to search for the remnants of the Soul-Chasing Tower, killing wild beasts on the side. The targets for his saber practice were, naturally, the people from the Soul-Chasing Tower and the Liu Family, as well as the fierce beasts of the mountains.

Seeing that Bai Yuan wasn’t the least bit anxious or flustered about the recruitment, Old Xue nodded in satisfaction.

"The Divine Mansion Sect never makes sense when it comes to recruitment. Just do your best. The Martial Dao is vast; this isn’t the only path."

Bai Yuan’s interest was suddenly piqued.

Although he had already broken through the Yijin Pass, he was still a complete novice regarding the power structure of Huanglong Prefecture.

In this world, no Martial Artist would be bored enough to write a book explaining these matters, so he’d never had a chance to learn about them.

"Master, I don’t quite understand."

He was sincerely asking for guidance.

Old Xue took another sip of tea before continuing.

"In forty years, the Divine Mansion Sect has only accepted six disciples from Qinghe. Besides those few lucky ones, there are, of course, other paths."

"For example, you could join the Huanglong Army. The Huanglong Army is managed by the Court, the benefits are excellent, and there’s no shortage of Cultivation Techniques or famous masters. It’s a good place to go."

"Furthermore, besides the Divine Mansion Sect, there are many other powers in Huanglong Prefecture. Celestial Sword Mountain and Forging Valley are both excellent choices."

"If your talent is exceptionally high, you could even go to the sects in Ling Province. However, it’s been many years since a prodigy of that caliber has come from Qinghe."

Bai Yuan listened intently, nodding along.

’In short, the Divine Mansion Sect was the best choice in Huanglong Prefecture, with the Huanglong Army being the next best option.’

’But even if he couldn’t get into the Divine Mansion Sect this time, he had no plans to join the army.’

’Joining the Huanglong Army came with too many restrictions, which would hinder his ability to maximize his unique advantage.’

’He had an ace up his sleeve.’

’At worst, he could just grind in Qinghe for a while longer before heading to Ling Province to look for opportunities.’ 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Your grandmaster, the Black Evil Elder, is a Junior Grandmaster himself. The Blood Tiger Saber technique he passed down is enough for you to study for a lifetime. It doesn’t really matter whether you get into the Divine Mansion Sect."

Old Xue finished, offering Bai Yuan a final word of comfort.

’Bai Yuan already knew about the strength of that dark-faced, fiendish old grandmaster of his.’

’A man who could trade blows evenly with his level-70 self was naturally no weakling.’

’Just as Old Xue had said, the hierarchy in the Divine Mansion Sect was extremely rigid. Not just anyone could access the best Cultivation Techniques right after joining.’

’A disciple from Huwei Arts Hall had once overcome every obstacle to join the Divine Mansion Sect.’

’But three years after joining, he was still just an Outer Disciple.’

’The strongest Cultivation Technique he could access wasn’t even as good as the Blood Tiger Saber. But even so, word was that he had still broken through the Strong Organ Pass a few years ago.’

’This was why so many geniuses fought tooth and nail to join the Divine Mansion Sect.’

In a small county like Qinghe County, there had only been a mere four Strong Internal Martial Artists over the past several decades.

And one of them, Old Xue, was an outsider, so he didn’t really count.

This just went to show that the saying, "Ten years to Yijin, a lifetime for the organs," was no joke. Countless prodigies ended up stuck at the Yijin Pass, unable to advance another inch for the rest of their lives.

Trying to become a Grandmaster through sheer, patient grinding was nothing more than a fool’s dream.

Breaking through a realm was like rowing a boat upstream: if you don’t advance, you fall back.

Bai Yuan smiled faintly.

He could, of course, recognize the comforting tone in Old Xue’s words.

There had been many prodigies in Qinghe who, after failing to join the Divine Mansion Sect, had lost their will and never recovered.

"I will do my best, Master."

Old Xue smiled knowingly.

’Doing his best is good enough.’

’If you lose, you lose. You just have to win it back next time, that’s all.’