Martial Sage from the Vajra Skill

Chapter 345: Chapter 193: Becoming a Disciple (Part 2)

He had been studying the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture for nearly half a month. Although he had yet to reach the Entry Level, his Heart Spirit and five senses grew sharper by the day, becoming extremely keen. He could feel a majestic aura, as imposing as mountains, emanating from the characters.

The person who wrote these characters must have imbued their Martial Dao Will into them, which was why he had this feeling.

Passing through the gate, he saw an open area before him. Several magnificent, golden-roofed palaces stood there, with people occasionally passing in and out of them.

"This is the true Li Fire Peak," said the disciple who had led them up. "I’ll first take Xu Yang and Xiong Kun to see Elder Tie Fu and Elder Huoyun, then I’ll take the rest of you to receive your assessment tasks."

From their previous conversations, Xu Yang knew this person’s name was Lu Chuping, and that he was a disciple of the Master of Li Fire Peak.

"Oh, right, Xu Yang!"

Lu Chuping seemed to have remembered something and said, "Elder Tie Fu is unwilling to take you as a disciple. The Peak Master has arranged for you to study under Elder Huoyun. If you’re not willing, you can still back out now."

’What the hell?’

’Elder Tie Fu rejected me, and the Peak Master assigned me to Elder Huoyun?’

Xu Yang froze.

Although he didn’t particularly care who his master was—he had simply picked an Elder other than the Peak Master at random—he knew that under these circumstances, he wouldn’t be welcomed under Elder Huoyun.

If he were Elder Huoyun, he wouldn’t welcome a disciple like this either.

"This disciple is willing to follow the Peak Master’s arrangements," Xu Yang hurriedly said, cupping his hands.

How could he dare to refuse at a time like this? A refusal would offend both the Peak Master and Elder Huoyun, and he feared that no other Elder on Li Fire Peak would take him after that.

It didn’t matter if he wasn’t welcomed. He wasn’t expecting to find a powerful backer just by getting a master anyway. As long as they didn’t deliberately make things difficult for him, it would be fine.

Judging by the Purple Sun Sect’s style, the relationship between a master and disciple was probably similar to that in a Martial Arts Hall. Only a select few would be favored by their master and groomed as a successor.

Lu Chuping nodded in satisfaction. "Elder Huoyun is actually a very good person."

He actually thought Xu Yang was luckier than Xiong Kun. On the surface, Xiong Kun had smoothly become a disciple of the master he wanted, but anyone who knew Elder Tie Fu was aware that he despised people who came to Li Fire Peak only after failing to join Medicine King Peak.

In the future, life under Elder Tie Fu would likely be even harder for Xiong Kun than it would be for Xu Yang under Elder Huoyun.

"Is Elder Huoyun here?"

Lu Chuping led the small group to the front of a side hall and asked the disciple guarding the entrance.

"He is!" one of them answered.

Lu Chuping nodded, then turned to Xu Yang. "This is Elder Huoyun’s hall. Go on in by yourself."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Lu!"

Xu Yang straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and cupped his hands. "Outer Disciple Xu Yang requests an audience with Elder Huoyun."

"Come in!"

A moment later, a dignified voice came from inside.

Xu Yang’s expression turned serious. He stepped into the great hall, and a strange, clean fragrance filled his nose. In an instant, his mind felt clear and his Heart Spirit grew calm.

’If I had this strange fragrance to aid me when studying the Blood Prison Heart Blade Scripture, my progress would surely double with half the effort.’

This wasn’t the first time Xu Yang had seen Elder Huoyun, so he was somewhat familiar with his appearance.

At the far end of the hall, Elder Huoyun sat cross-legged on a large, gilded chair. Beside him, blue smoke curled up from a simple, antique incense burner—the source of the refreshing, exotic fragrance he had smelled.

He strode forward and announced in a clear voice, "Disciple Xu Yang pays his respects to Elder Huoyun."

Elder Huoyun opened his eyes. Instantly, two sharp glints of light shot out from them, and the dim hall seemed to brighten for a moment.

The hairs on Xu Yang’s arms stood on end. He felt as if he were being stared down by a ferocious tiger; before this person, he was as insignificant as an ant.

’Celestial Essence!’

’This must be a Celestial Essence Strong Person, a realm beyond Marrow Cleansing.’

"You were originally supposed to study under Elder Tie Fu, but the Peak Master assigned you to me. Are you unwilling?" Elder Huoyun asked calmly.

"This disciple wouldn’t dare!"

Xu Yang quickly shook his head. "The Elder is also a renowned master this disciple admires. To be able to study under you is my good fortune."

Elder Huoyun smiled faintly. "You’re a clever one. Don’t worry, this Elder is not so petty as to hold this against you. Just work hard and be diligent from now on."

From Xu Yang’s words, he understood that the boy was worried about having things made difficult for him, so he immediately clarified his stance.

It was just the way of the Purple Sun Sect; there were too many disciples who were second or third choices. If one were to be petty about it, most disciples would have to have things made difficult for them.

Xu Yang breathed an inward sigh of relief and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Master. This disciple will certainly cultivate diligently from now on and not bring you shame."

Elder Huoyun nodded and looked toward the entrance of the hall. "Go and fetch Gao Lin."

"Yes!"

A voice answered from outside. Elder Huoyun turned his gaze back to Xu Yang. "For now, you are only my Named Disciple. Only when your Cultivation reaches Marrow Cleansing Minor Achievement can you become my Inner Disciple."

"At that time, we will hold the formal discipleship ceremony."

Without reaching Marrow Cleansing, one wasn’t even qualified to be an Inner Disciple.

"This disciple will not disappoint Master’s expectations. I will become your Inner Disciple," Xu Yang said in a solemn voice.

Elder Huoyun nodded. "From now on, if you have any questions regarding your Martial Dao cultivation, you may come and ask me once every half-month."

Just as he was speaking, Gao Lin strode in from outside and bowed respectfully. "Disciple Gao Lin pays his respects to Master."

Xu Yang also hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Senior Brother Gao."

Gao Lin smiled and nodded but didn’t speak, keeping his gaze fixed on Elder Huoyun.

Elder Huoyun said, "Take Xu Yang to get registered, pick up his Inner Sect Disciple token and corresponding benefits, and arrange his living quarters."

"Yes, Master!"

Gao Lin cupped his hands and looked at Xu Yang. "Junior Brother Xu, come with me."

Xu Yang cupped his hands. "This disciple takes his leave!"

After speaking, he turned and walked out of the great hall with Gao Lin.

"Junior Brother Xu, if you wanted to join Li Fire Peak, why didn’t you come ask me?" Gao Lin asked with a laugh after they left the hall.

"I didn’t want to trouble you, Senior Brother Gao," Xu Yang replied.

He didn’t like owing people favors, and he also hadn’t expected that with his top-three finish in the Outer Sect competition, Tie Fu would refuse to take him as a disciple.

’I picked one of the four Elders at random, and I just had to pick the one with the worst temper.’

Gao Lin shook his head. The two soon arrived at another hall. Gao Lin went forward to state their purpose, and after registering Xu Yang, a disciple there handed over a waist token, a few books, and several sets of clothes.

The clothes were the uniform of an Inner Sect Disciple. There were several styles for daily wear and for training, the most conspicuous feature being the large purple sun embroidered on the chest.

Xu Yang looked at the books. One was called the *Inner Sect Disciple’s Code of Conduct*, another was the *Thousand Forging Technique*, and the last was the *Iron Refining Hand*.

Gao Lin told Xu Yang to put his things away first, and the two of them left the hall.

"The core legacy of our Li Fire Peak is the Li Fire Technique. However, this technique is incredibly domineering; you aren’t even qualified to practice it until you break through to the Celestial Essence realm."

"The skills that entry-level disciples receive are mainly related to the Weapon Forging Skill."

"This *Thousand Forging Technique* and *Iron Refining Hand* are the foundational methods for weapon forging. Once you’ve reached Minor Achievement in both cultivation techniques, you can learn other methods."

Gao Lin smiled. "Of course, if your ambition isn’t in smithing and you’re dedicated to the Martial Dao, you don’t have to study it. Many of our fellow disciples on Li Fire Peak don’t specialize in weapon forging."

Weapon forging also burns through money, just not as much as alchemy.

To learn the Weapon Forging Skill, you also have to spend your own money to buy materials for practice. Although a piece of iron can be forged repeatedly, it loses its fundamental properties after three to five times, which is detrimental to improving your forging skill. You still have to buy new materials.

Moreover, some precious materials are more expensive than gold or silver by weight.

"I want to give it a try!" Xu Yang said with a smile.

Gao Lin nodded. "Study them for a while first. Once you have a decent understanding, you can go to the Forging Pavilion to practice. Cultivating the *Iron Refining Hand* and *Thousand Forging Technique* requires real hands-on work."

"But you should be mentally prepared. The path of weapon forging, in truth, requires even more talent than alchemy."

He wasn’t surprised by Xu Yang’s answer. Who among those who joined Li Fire Peak didn’t want to become a Weapon Forger? It’s just that many gave up after studying it for a while and discovering they lacked the talent.

He wasn’t trying to scare Xu Yang; the talent required for weapon forging was indeed greater than that for alchemy.

Therefore, he actually wasn’t optimistic that Xu Yang could become a Weapon Forger.