"Disciple Bai Yuan greets Master!"

Bai Yuan rested a hand on his Firewood Cutting Saber and dropped to one knee, his voice incredibly resonant.

BOOM!

The crowd below erupted like a boiling pot.

The most excited among them were the disciples of Huwei Arts Hall. Even though they weren’t the ones becoming an Inner Sect Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect themselves, they still shared in the glory.

Xiao Qiaoniang was also in the crowd, her beautiful eyes sparkling as her heart swelled with delight.

The entire city was now buzzing because of her man.

"Good, very good!"

Old Xue shot to his feet, feeling completely vindicated.

Who said the Black Sha lineage couldn’t amount to anything? He might not be much, but his disciple had become an Inner Courtyard Disciple of the Divine Mansion Sect, and his master was Dong Wanjun himself!

Tie Tu and Ji Chang’s expressions were grim.

They hadn’t expected their own disciples to be defeated in such a manner.

Bai Yuan joining the Divine Mansion Sect alone wouldn’t have bothered them so much. But once Bai Yuan became an Inner Sect Disciple, his status would skyrocket, putting him on equal footing with them. He was bound to cut into their interests.

In the past, the disciples from Qinghe County who entered the Divine Mansion Sect were all from the Iron Saber Gang, Flying Eagle Castle, or the now-exterminated Liu Family.

They held the slots for the Divine Mansion Sect firmly in their grasp.

The only disciple from Huwei Arts Hall twenty years ago had been an outsider.

But Bai Yuan was different. Far too many people in Qinghe County had connections to him.

But what was done was done. With Dong Wanjun present, they had no chance to act and could only give up resentfully. Otherwise, if they offended a deadly fiend like Dong Wanjun, their two families stood to lose not just silver coins, but their lives.

...

The disciple acceptance ceremony ended, and the crowd dispersed.

Only Dong Wanjun and his three disciples remained in the County Magistrate’s Office.

"Junior Brother Bai, my name is You Shengnan. I’m from Bai Chuan County," You Shengnan introduced herself.

Bai Yuan cupped his fists in return. "Greetings, Senior Sister You."

Like Qinghe, Bai Chuan was a county under the jurisdiction of Huanglong Prefecture. The only difference was that Bai Chuan was a major county, countless times stronger than Qinghe.

A rare smile appeared on Xiongshan’s face.

"My name is Xiongshan. Master adopted me when I was young, so I don’t know where I’m from."

Xiongshan was a ferocious demon in a fight, but he showed a simple and honest side to his junior brother and sister.

Bai Yuan smiled faintly. "Greetings, Senior Brother Xiong."

After the three had introduced themselves, Dong Wanjun finally spoke, his tone light. "You three are my only disciples. From now on, just focus on your training."

He looked at Bai Yuan and said, "When you return to the sect, the Inner Sect Disciples still have to go through an assessment. But with me around, those old geezers won’t make things too difficult for you."

Bai Yuan bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Master." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Dong Wanjun said, "The Blood Tiger Saber you’re practicing now and the Tiger Form-Crane Style are conceptually linked. For now, master both of them first, and then I will teach you other cultivation techniques."

Hearing this, Bai Yuan couldn’t help but ask in confusion, "Master, aren’t we told not to casually switch cultivation techniques?"

Martial artists not casually switching cultivation techniques was practically a consensus among the martial artists of Qinghe County. Old Xue had taught him the same.

Because cultivating a single technique requires a massive amount of time, even if one does switch, it’s usually to a similar technique. Otherwise, all previous effort is wasted, and one has to start over.

But from the sound of it, his master, Ren Tu, intended to teach him many cultivation techniques, which made Bai Yuan curious.

Dong Wanjun immediately scoffed. "That’s just the talk of the ignorant. It doesn’t apply to you and me."

"The Martial Dao is the art of killing. Blindly pursuing breakthroughs will only turn you into a pretty, useless embroidered pillow."

"Others can’t do it, but I can. You are my disciple, so naturally, you can too."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow.

’That’s some serious arrogance.’

But thinking about the rumors in the Jianghu about his new master, it made sense.

Dong Wanjun’s methods were very much to Bai Yuan’s liking.

Of course, the main reason was that it perfectly suited how his ’cheat’ worked.

If he could master hundreds of skills at the Grandmaster level, or even the Legendary level, he might even be able to fight the Grand Ancestor Emperor of Xuan Yang.

Besides, he had already tasted the sweet benefits of having many skills.

"Any kind of skill can become a tool for you to kill," Dong Wanjun said meaningfully.

Bai Yuan nodded seriously.

"I still have some matters to attend to. This is the sect’s token. Take it and report to the sect gates first."

Before his voice had faded, Dong Wanjun took a jade pendant from his robes and handed it to Bai Yuan. It was shaped like an old woodcutter.

This Jade Pendant was the symbol of the Divine Mansion Sect. You Shengnan and Xiongshan also had one hanging from their waists.

Legend had it that the old woodcutter was the Founding Ancestor of the Divine Mansion Sect, which was why the tokens of all its disciples throughout the generations were made in his likeness.

With everything explained, Dong Wanjun departed in a graceful flutter.

"Junior Brother Bai, we have to hurry back to the sect gates to report, so we won’t stay any longer. You should also report to the sect soon."

You Shengnan smiled and cupped her fist at Bai Yuan.

She had long since read Bai Yuan’s profile, so she naturally knew that her new junior brother still had many things to take care of.

"Oh, right. Inner Sect Disciples are not allowed to bring attendants. Only Elders and disciples at the True Disciple level or above have that privilege."

"Thank you for telling me, Senior Sister."

Clearly, You Shengnan was referring to Sister Qiao.

The matter between Bai Yuan and Sister Qiao was no secret, so of course You Shengnan knew.

"Junior Brother Bai, see you at the sect."

Xiongshan gave a simple, honest smile and left the County Magistrate’s Office with You Shengnan.

Bai Yuan saw the two of them off.

’Looks like I’ll have to become a True Disciple before I can bring Sister Qiao to the Divine Mansion Sect,’ he thought to himself.

...

When Bai Yuan returned to the small courtyard at the Martial Arts Hall, Xiao Qiaoniang was in the ancestral hall, piously kowtowing.

It was called an ancestral hall, but it was really just the west wing room where Sister Qiao used to live, now furnished with the memorial tablets of the Bai Family’s parents.

Sister Qiao had done the same back in Baisha Town, and that hadn’t changed since they moved to the city.

To Sister Qiao, the Bai Family’s parents had been extremely good to her.

If not for her gratitude for their kindness, she wouldn’t have endured all those hard years in the small wooden cabin with his predecessor.

"Father, Mother, Brother Yuan is successful now," Xiao Qiaoniang murmured softly, not noticing at all that Bai Yuan had come up behind her.

Bai Yuan wrapped his arms around Sister Qiao from behind.

"Ah!"

Xiao Qiaoniang let out a surprised cry, but the familiar scent slowly calmed her down.

"Brother Yuan, when did you get back?"

"Just now."

Bai Yuan’s words were gentle. Since he was so close to Sister Qiao’s ear, the warm breath from his mouth made the back of her ears turn bright red.

"Sister Qiao, I’ll be leaving for the Divine Mansion Sect to report in soon. I can’t take you with me for now."

Xiao Qiaoniang smiled gently. "I know."

Her man was going out to do great things; there was no sense in him always dragging his wife along. Even the illiterate women in Baisha Town knew such a simple truth, so of course she did too.

"Brother Yuan, you can go without any worries," Sister Qiao added.

Bai Yuan’s heart softened, and he swept Sister Qiao up into his arms.

"It’ll be a long time before I can come back. I’ll have to make up for it all in the next few days."

Sister Qiao nodded silently, nestling shyly in his embrace.

...