Adam observed the man’s harsh face and icy blue eyes before his eyes trailed up. Attached by a golden silk ribbon in a ponytail, a few white spots sprinkled the man’s raven-dark hair.
Then, he gawked in wonder as his eyes widened at the man’s actions.
His white and golden robes fluttered as he stomped softly on the sword beneath his feet. Propelled by the movement, it whistled in a graceful silver arc through the air before it landed in the sheath attached to his belt!
Yet, even if the show impressed him and Misha, elder Yun remained unemotional, as if it was normal.
Instead, he gestured for the man to enter.
"Welcome, elder Shen. I called for you to carry over these two promising kids’ registrations." He threw the two testing stones to elder Shen. "I believe you can drop your hard facade for once and show them some warmth."
Shen snickered as he caught the two stones.
"You know how high my standards are, old fox. I won’t accept anyone without a high affinity."
Despite his words, he squinted at Yun’s innocent smirk. Then, he opened his fist to watch the stones.
Upon seeing the result, his eyes enlarged, and his voice cracked in disbelief.
"A high affinity for all five elements? And the other! A high affinity to nature!"
Without wasting a second and his heart pounding in his ears, he rushed inside and kneeled before Adam and Misha to gaze them in the eyes. His earlier hard face melted, and his lips rose into a warm smile as his voice dripped honey.
"Welcome to the Jin Long sect. My name is Shen Wu. I’m the second inner sect’s elder and the treasury’s manager."
Meanwhile, Adam rolled his eyes at his shenanigans.
’I saw it coming a mile away. Just out with it, and ask us to become your disciples... so we can refuse.’
As if to echo his sarcastic thoughts, Shen continued.
"I’m the most powerful inner elder and can get you a lot of cultivation resources. So, why don’t you both become my disciples? I promise to help you reach the Golden Core Realm in a year."
"I don’t want to disappoint you, but we’re joining the sect with a clear goal." Noticing Shen’s quivering lips, he continued. "We want to become the sect leader’s disciples and learn his sun-grade cultivation technique."
Misha winked at him and stepped forward. "We can still stay in contact and be friends. If you need anything, call for us, and we’ll do our best to help such a kind elder."
Faced with their determined eyes and politeness, Shen tucked his fingers around his chin. Yet, he shook his head a second later.
"You’re both extremely talented, but the leader only accepts the most outstanding individuals. To give you an example, the last time he accepted a disciple was twenty-three years ago. And even back then, he did it only because that girl had an affinity for space." He patted their shoulders gently. "Without one of the most potent elements, he won’t even look at you. Forget about the sun-grade cultivation technique. But if you trust me, we can ascend to the core disciples’ and elder’s positions by working together."
Despite his excellent offer, Adam’s and Misha’s simultaneous head shake caused his brows to twitch.
"Listen well. The leader won’t come down from the mountain’s peak before next year, anyway." He clapped his hands. "Here is what I propose: learn under me until then. Once he returns, you can try your luck with him and his ridiculous selection process."
Yun chimed in, his old voice confirming Shen’s words.
"You can trust him. Even if he looks scary with his usual stone-cold face, he’s an upright cultivator. That’s why he manages the treasury."
A brief silence descended onto the room as Adam pondered.
Then, Misha gripped him by the shoulder and dragged him a few meters away.
"What do we do? If we accept, we’ll have an influential backer until the leader returns."
Adam sighed. "True, but he’ll monitor our progress daily. I don’t know if we can trust him with our secrets. And honestly? I’d rather not gamble."
Misha tapped her finger on her lips pensively before she shrugged.
"We can just tell him the valley’s beasts trained us at worse. Their guardian beast already knows, anyway." She clasped her hands and stretched them above her hand as her lips curled into a bright smile. "I say we should ask him for a one-month try. If he respects our privacy, we continue. If he’s too nosy, we’ll leave."
He scratched his head before he returned her smile and raised his thumb.
As they returned to explain their offer to Shen, he couldn’t help but marvel at Misha’s positivity. Somehow, she always came up with solutions that would please every party without confrontation, something he couldn’t do.
Just like that, Shen nodded and patted their heads.
"Here is what we’ll do. I’ll come to meet you at the end of each week to check on your progress and give you cultivation resources. We’ll officialize our relationship if everyone is satisfied after a month." He raised his finger, his voice turning stern. "But if you slack the entire week, I’m the one who’ll end it."
With everyone pleased, Yun completed the registration process.
Then, he handed them two inner disciple uniforms—the same as the two guards they met earlier—and a jade token engraved with their names.
After bidding him goodbye, they exited with Shen through another door and emerged into a bustling city street.
The scent of medicinal herbs wafted from alchemy labs while the rhythmical clangor of hammers striking metal echoed from the smithies. The enticing smell of food followed as they passed by restaurants managed by busy disciples.
Yet, Shen ignored the familiar outer area despite their sparkling eyes and guided them to the inner area.
Adam noticed the difference between them in the blink of an eye.
The buildings looked much better, and the few disciples he saw exuded a grace absent from the previous ones. More than grace, it bordered on aloofness.