Chapter 67: Arrangements

Tomorrow is another day, and life goes on. Although Lu Houer still struggled to fully comprehend Wang Jingyuan's logic, he forced himself to pull his spirits together.

As for Feng Qingyang, he acted as if he had taken gunpowder, frantically driving the newly returned Sword Sect Three Fools to accept disciples and impart arts as quickly as possible. He looked precisely like an overbearing mother who urges her child to get married, have children, and settle down the moment they graduate from college.

However, Feng Qingyang's urgency was not without reason. Thanks to Wang Jingyuan's previous maneuvers, quite a few scions of martial arts families now wanted to join Mount Hua. Following the logic of dark-cultivation web novels he had read in the past, Wang Jingyuan formulated a disciple-grading system and handed it to Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun agreed without even glancing at it, so all the original disciples on Mount Hua now became inner disciples, while true transmission disciples numbered three and only three: Wang Jingyuan, Linghu Chong, and Yue Lingshan.

Those who arrived bearing "tuition gifts" were uniformly classified as outer disciples, while children from impoverished families who simply wanted to come up the mountain for a meal became chore disciples.

Outer disciples were only permitted to learn basic swordsmanship and basic internal cultivation; those who showed impressive progress within three years would enter the inner sect. Those who progressed slowly would either await the annual assessment or be sent down the mountain to handle the sect's mundane affairs, effectively becoming patrons for the Fuwei Security Agency.

Chore disciples were given only a set of boxing techniques and simple external arts to temper their physical strength; after completing three years of chores and passing an assessment, they could enter the inner sect. If they failed the assessment, they would wait another three years. If they remained on the mountain for six years without entering the outer sect, they would either become permanent chore laborers or be sent down the mountain.

Recently, a large number of outer disciples had joined the sect with decent aptitudes. According to their swordsmanship talents, the Sword Sect Three Fools each selected one disciple to become an inner disciple.

Because the current generation of disciples had not experienced the Sword-Qi conflict, there was virtually no lingering hatred. Coupled with Yue Buqun and Feng Qingyang's deliberate efforts to downplay the rift between the Sword and Qi factions, the disciples of both factions got along quite harmoniously.

Today, Lin Pingzhi, serving as an inner disciple, was waiting early at the mountain gate. Relatives from his maternal family—the Wang family of the Golden Saber in Luoyang—had arrived. The visitors were his two cousins, Wang Jiajun and Wang Jiaju.

The letter had stated they would arrive early in the morning, but Lin Pingzhi had waited until near noon before finally seeing the two of them arrive with servants, carrying heavy bags and luggage up the mountain.

As Wang Jingyuan was preparing to head down the mountain, he saw Lin Pingzhi making pleasantries with some people outside the gate. Wang Jingyuan walked over for a closer look and exclaimed, "Yo, is this another grievance... I mean, an outer disciple? Whose child is this?"

Lin Pingzhi was just about to introduce them when Wang Jiajun stepped forward and declared, "Our ancestor is none other than the Golden Saber Hero, renowned as invincible across Zhongzhou."

"Hiss!" Wang Jingyuan drew a sharp breath, looking the two of them up and down. "Zhongzhou? Uses a saber? May I ask if your esteemed ancestor's surname is Zheng?"

Wang Jiajun frowned. "Our ancestor is the Golden Saber Hero, Elder Wang Yuanba."

Wang Jingyuan's face instantly drooped. He had thought he stumbled upon a crossover easter egg planted by the production team, but it turned out to be just Lin Pingzhi's maternal family. "Oh, I remember now. Your trip up here must include some 'tuition gifts,' right? Let me have a look."

Seeing Wang Jingyuan's attitude, Wang Jiajun was about to flare up, but then he saw Lin Pingzhi—who had just collected tuition gifts himself—respectfully hand the secret manual they had submitted directly to Wang Jingyuan. Feeling uncertain, Wang Jiajun suppressed his anger.

Wang Jingyuan casually flipped through the manual and puzzled, "This isn't even a saber technique?"

Wang Jiaju blurted out, "How could our Wang family's saber technique..."

Wang Jiajun stopped Wang Jiaju and said, "This Thunder-Rushing Fist is also a treasured manual of our Wang family, and its power is formidable."

Wang Jingyuan asked, "Do you know this boxing technique?"

Not knowing what he was getting at, Wang Jiajun could only reply, "Slightly."

Slightly? If he knew it, that made things easy. Wang Jingyuan opened the manual, pointed to a specific chant, and said, "Explain this line to me."

The *Thunder-Rushing Fist* was a manual the Wang family had acquired from goodness knows where, usually taught to younger family members to temper their muscles and bones. Although these two young Wangs were idle and incompetent, they were relatively familiar with this boxing technique.

That was because their grandfather, Wang Yuanba, often brandished his golden saber to supervise their martial arts practice.

Wang Jiajun carefully explained the chant to Wang Jingyuan...

[Wang Jiajun is imparting *Thunder-Rushing Fist* to you]
[Do you wish to learn: Yes / No]
[Yes]

Wang Jingyuan casually flipped through a few more pages and said, "I've learned it. Come spar with me. Take this!"

With that, he threw a punch. Wang Jiajun hurriedly raised his arms to block, but Wang Jingyuan landed two or three punches that shattered his guard, sending him crashing to the ground.

[ *Thunder-Rushing Fist* proficiency +10 ]

Wang Jingyuan flicked his hands in disgust. *Damn it, what kind of trash level is coming to pollute my skill library? I wonder if this game has a skill-forgetting service.*

Looking at the two of them with waning interest, Wang Jingyuan said, "A manual of this grade doesn't quite make the cut. However, considering Little Lin's sake, the two of you may join as outer disciples. As for this manual..."

Wang Jingyuan picked up the manual casually, channeled his Violet Qi Divine Skill to drive his Heart-Shattering Palm, and the entire manual turned into fragments that drifted slowly from his palm. "This manual won't need to enter the sect's scripture library."

Patting Lin Pingzhi on the shoulder and giving him a look that clearly conveyed, *You better remember this favor from your old man,* Wang Jingyuan headed down the mountain. Wang Jiajun, lying on the ground, was frantic and furious; he leaped abruptly to his feet, intending to hurl curses.

Instead, Lin Pingzhi instantly struck his acupoints. Seeing this, Wang Jiaju wanted to shout out reproaches, but Lin Pingzhi sealed his acupoints as well.

Once Wang Jingyuan had walked far away, Lin Pingzhi released the acupoints of the two young Wangs. The moment they were freed, the pair began to clamor: "Cousin, whose side are you on?!"

Lin Pingzhi shot them an irritated look. "That is True Transmission Disciple Senior Brother Wang. I advise both cousins that it is best not to offend him."

Their eyes widened in round stares. "So he is that Wang Jingyuan? That being the case, cousin, what about your family's heirloom *Exorcising Sword Technique*?"

Having received a letter from his mother, Lin Pingzhi naturally knew why his two cousins had come up the mountain. He said indifferently, "Up and down Mount Hua, only Senior Brother Wang has mastered the *Exorcising Sword Technique*. Furthermore, the reason I advise my two cousins not to offend Senior Brother Wang is not only because he is a true transmission disciple, but even more so because he has shown immense grace to our Lin family. If anyone angers Senior Brother, our Lin family will certainly not let it pass as if nothing happened."

A trace of vexation instantly surfaced on both their faces—not because of Lin Pingzhi's attitude. They knew full well that only a small fraction of the wealth they had brought up the mountain was for their own use; the vast majority of it was intended precisely as a gift for this Wang Jingyuan.

After all, as the only person in the world who had successfully practiced the *Exorcising Sword Technique*, even though he was undoubtedly a peerless talent, who knew if he might have summarized some useful cultivation tips and tricks?

The opportunity to curry favor had just slipped away in vain. They would simply have to bide their time and seek another chance gradually.