The Male Lead Makes His Appearance

[Ziju An looked back at this junior martial brother of his and smiled lightly. "Naturally …" He paused and Xue Chang Fu's face lit up. Unfortunately, Ziju An still continued his response. "I'll follow the Sect Master's arrangements."

With the white robe lending a shimmer to his face and that smile on his lips that made his eyes curve slightly, Ziju An made a very amicable impression. The other men in the room couldn't help but look at him and wait if he would say anything else. What kind of insight might this great master impart them?

Xue Chang Fu smiled back even more brightly. He lacked Ziju An's enigmatic charisma, though. "Your glib tongue surprises me each time anew. The Sect Master is asking for your opinion, not what you're going to do. In the end, won't you do whatever you want anyway? But I tell you, you won't get around taking in a disciple this time! I don't care who it is but you will take in a disciple!"

Ziju An continued to smile. "Is that so?"

"Ah?" Peak Master Su couldn't help but be startled when he heard that. "Sect Master, what do you mean you don't care who it is? Didn't the royal family send word that they were sending the youngest prince over? Since you aren't accepting any disciples this time shouldn't Peak Master Ziju take him in?"

Xue Chang Fu pretended not to have heard anything and just continued to look at that senior martial brother of his. "So, how do you want to find your disciple? The usual tests or do you want to add anything else?"

"If the Sect Master wants to add tests, then naturally this one won't have any complaints."

"Mn. And what are your thoughts about adding a test?"

"The Sect Master certainly has a good test in mind."

"Actually, I don't. So what test can you think of?" His lips curved up a little further. Ah, he really wanted to see how his senior martial brother Ziju would manage to talk himself out of this one!

Ziju An stood up and smoothed out his sleeves. "If even the Sect Master can't think of a suitable addition to our tests, then how could my humble self think of one? If there is nothing else, this one still has some things to do at Fu Yun Peak."

"There is still another thing!" Xue Chang Fu sat up straighter and presented a beautiful smile that made the other men in the room shudder.

Just what had their sect master thought of this time?

Ziju An didn't even stop walking and carried on toward the gate. He was obviously declaring that he didn't have time to waste here. Well, who could fault him? They had already sat there for an hour and nothing much had happened besides two of their peak masters arguing pointlessly.

Xue Chang Fu didn't care about his refusal to stay anyway. He didn't even raise his voice. "I want you to personally oversee the test. You don't have to go and watch the recruitment in the towns and cities but at least for the admission test here at the sect, you should be present. That way you'll be able to get a more thorough understanding of the possible recruits and can choose your future disciple unhurriedly."

"Mn. I understand." Ziju An opened the gate, stepped outside and closed it again. He didn't forget to give Xue Chang Fu another smile before it closed completely.

In the end, he could only sigh, though. It seemed he'd need to be there for the whole test, wasting a lot of time. Wouldn't they try to talk him into accepting that prince as his disciple anyway?

He turned away and flew back to his own Fu Yun Peak. He wouldn't stand for it. Their Jin Shan Sect wasn't subject to the Jin Kingdom but was rather the reason why the kingdom could have been built and sustained until now. Who would dare attack them if there was a Jin Shan Sect behind the kingdom? So why should they cater to what the royalties wanted? No, the status a disciple had in the mundane world shouldn't play any role in their getting a master.

And just like Peak Master Fan had said even talent wasn't the most important thing. The most important would always be the personality. A good cultivator had to have a goal and had to pursue it relentlessly. He needed to be tenacious and hard-working, unflinching in his ways. But he also needed to be someone who wouldn't rashly advance without paying heed to his surroundings and his own abilities.

A disciple only needed to have a healthy body and a healthy mind as a basic qualification. Everything else could be imparted to him. That was what he as a master was for, after all. He would teach him and help him find his way.

The only thing he couldn't give him was a goal and the will to fight. This fire had to flare up in his heart on its own. And the disciple would need to nourish it on his own, too. That was the only thing he as his master couldn't do for him.

Ziju An smiled when he thought of it. Ah, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take in a disciple. As long as his junior martial brother Xue stayed true to his words and let him choose his disciple on his own he wouldn't mind teaching the person. Considering that …

Ziju An took out a paper crane and wrote down a message before imbuing a bit of his spiritual energy and sending it out. Then, he left his palace and the Jin Shan Sect as well and went down the mountain.

He entered the city at its foot and found a place to stay. Now that he had decided to take in a disciple and seriously teach it, he wouldn't do it half-heartedly. No, he wouldn't just watch the admission test in the sect. He would look around for his disciple early on. Maybe he would be able to decide before the admission test began.

Who knew maybe even this Jin He City would bring him a surprise?]