560 Young Master (1/2)
”Master?”
Fang Yuan froze for a moment. He scrutinised the youth and smiled.
”Good...very well, I shall take you in as my disciple. A word of warning though. You shall place your life in my hands with no regrets!”
”I won't have any regrets as long as I get to learn swordplay from you!”
Ge Nie shouted out his answer.
”Alright!”
Fang Yuan flicked his fingers. He was more than happy to have found another guinea pig and passed down an order to Hei Zhong.
”Hei Zhong, help this person settle down and impart to him the first chapter of the Great Yin Technique!”
”Yes, master!”
Hei Zhong bowed to Fang Yuan and looked at Ge Nie with sympathy. At the same time, he felt a sense of kinship towards age Nie. After all, there was another person sharing his plight.
”Thank you, master!”
Ge Nie was elated at having been accepted as a disciple by Fang Yuan and kowtowed profusely. This hardy youth obviously had no idea of what Fang Yuan was capable of.
”Alright, that's one irritating insect settled!”
Fang Yuan flicked a stone towards the wall.
”Bang!”
Under the astonished gaze of Ge Nie, the part of the wall that got hit suddenly moved. A large piece of cloth dropped to the ground to reveal a human figure.
”Like him, I'm here to seek an audience with you, yet you treat me differently!”
The new arrival was a man in his thirties with a flowing beard and a pair of dreamy purple eyes. He had a strange and mysterious air about him.
”It is because he came in peace while you...are up to no good!”
Fang Yuan had picked up his sword.
The bearded man was startled upon seeing that and turned his palms outwards hurriedly.
”Wait...we are on the same side! I'm only here to send you an invitation on behalf of my master!”
”Who is your master?”
Fang Yuan was prepared to draw his sword.
'You'll find out when you get there!”
The bearded man gave Fang Yuan a secretive smile and vanished into the ground.
”The Five Elements Escape Technique? Could he be from the School of Naturalists?”
Hei Zhong's pupils constricted upon witnessing the bearded man's exit.
”Hmm…”
Fang Yuan smiled coldly.
This was a technique that could be countered even by the Sword Sage Cao Qiu in one sword move. Fang Yuan waved a hand and a bamboo slip fell into his hand.
”Juxian House?”
Fang Yuan looked at the date and venue written on the slip.
”Looks like it is a place set up by one of the feudal states in Shangyi for the purpose of attracting talent...it is self-explanatory indeed. I shall head over there to find out more!”
Supernormal forces existed in this world and there were 800 feudal states in the Shang Dynasty, which was too much for the Shang King to handle effectively. Thus, the flow of talent remained largely unregulated.
This had led to the emergence of the phenomenon known as the Contention of the Hundred Schools of Thought. The various feudal states placed premiums on capable people with special talents and treated them respectfully.
The more powerful feudal states even constructed buildings known as talent houses that received and housed talents from all over the world.
”I wonder which feudal lord is backing this school…”
Fang Yuan tightened his grip on the bamboo slip and crushed it before letting the powder sift through his fingers.
...
The next day.
Fang Yuan left Hei Zhong to watch over Ge Nie and the fox girls as he headed over to the talent house with an iron sword in hand.
The talent house stood on a large plot of land in the city. Although the city was bustling, the immediate vicinity of the building was peaceful. There was the occasional passerby but they never ever went near the talent house.
A few armed guards stood by the gates to the talent house. They were big-sized, muscular, bright-eyed and had callused hands. They radiated a ferocious aura from their bodies and were forces of nature.
Upon noticing that Fang Yuan's approach, the guards hardened their gazes and blocked his path with their swords.
”Who goes there?”
”Hmm?”
Fang Yuan frowned.
”This is a talent house and I see myself as a talent. Am I to be denied entry?”
The right thing to do was for Fang Yuan to produce the bamboo slip invitation that he had received the day before. However, Fang Yuan had found something to be rather strange.
No one in their right mind would place a whole gang of intimidating guards in front of a talent house.
Besides, these armed men looked like they could take on multiple fighters each. Their abilities were wasted on guard duty. If men like them were assigned to every talent house, it would be terribly inefficient!
'So...is there someone important living in the talent house right now?'
Fang Yuan did some silent guesswork.
”It's you, Mister Jie. My apologies…”
At that moment, the man with the flowing beard walked out of the talent house and bowed to Fang Yuan.
”'My name is Mo Ge and I have been waiting for you on the orders of my Young Master! After you, Mister Jie…”
He then went on to admonish the guards.
”Are you all blind? How can you not recognise Mister Jie, the man who defeated the Sword Sage? Apologise to him now!”
”It's Master Jie!”
The stern expressions of the guards turned into looks of awe and astonishment.
They were swordsmen themselves. How could they not have heard about the sensational events of the previous day?