Chapter 49 Discussing Talent and Seniority

  The young man took a deep breath, his mind racing with thoughts and ideas, he didn't even know how far his imagination had flown. It was as if he already possessed the highest level of cultivation, just like what Xuan Kong had described, with roads leading to heaven and doors entering the earth.

  Xuán Kōng drummed up his strength and spoke out the benefits of being under his own tutelage.

  Like water cannot drown, fire cannot burn; also like what steps on sun and moon without a shadow, enters metal and stone without hindrance...

  All these are nothing, just ordinary skills. In short, turning thousands of words into one sentence is: "Child, you have a great fate with me, don't decline anymore. Why not quickly bring tea to worship as a teacher and stand there foolishly?"

  Young people also think they are experienced, but after personally experiencing this danger tonight and seeing the wonderful method of Xuan Kong flying sword beheading demons, their hearts have already been shaken. At this moment, being blown by Xuan Kong again, how can they not be moved?

  However, his family discipline is very strict, and for a time he has not yet made a decision after weighing the pros and cons.

  Wang Qi smiled and said: "This young man wants to kowtow but dares not, I'm afraid it's because the elders at home are too severe."

  The young man puffed out his chest and said, "I'll do what I want, what can Father say?"

  Xuan Kong felt a few hidden breaths lurking in the shadows when he saw this young man, and guessed that these were guards sent by the young man's family to protect him. Knowing that this person was not ordinary, Xuan Kong did not want to get involved, so he let him go alone to compete with the giant rat.

  It was only when speaking with him that his heart would flutter, and strangely, he found that this young man shared a master-disciple bond with himself.

  This is the cycle of cause and effect, Xuan Kong didn't realize that it was a bit strange, how did he not calculate this emotional connection before?

  He continued to deduce and surprisingly found that the prosperity of the Shan Pai Taoist sect still had a great opportunity tied to this young man. Although he couldn't see clearly what it was, Xuan Kong's nature was originally bold and unrestrained. Since he couldn't grasp the key for the time being, he simply put it aside and first took this young man under his wing before considering anything else.

  Young people also think in their hearts, feeling that since they have sneaked out of the house, why not just follow their own nature and do things?

  Having made up his mind, he didn't drag his feet. Seeing the teapot on the table, he poured a cup and held it over his head with both hands, then knelt down with a "thud" and said respectfully: "Disciple Wang Jun, I humbly request that Master take me as an apprentice to teach me the Taoist arts. I am willing to go through boiling water and walk through fire!" Xuan Kong was overjoyed when he heard this, and he took the teacup from Wang Jun's hand with renewed energy.

  He didn't care about the cold tea water and swallowed it all in one gulp, including the tea leaves.

  Haha laughed and said: "Alright, alright, after drinking this cup of tea you will be the first great disciple of Xuan Kong!"

  "Wang Jun knocked his head on the ground: 'Disciple Wang Jun, has seen Master!'"

  Xuan Kong's cultivation was profound, but his emotions had been fluctuating wildly over the past few days. He forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart. He stretched out his hand and released a gentle stream of true yuan, supporting Wang Jun Dao as he stood up: "My disciples don't need to use these empty formalities. I'll drink your tea if you kowtow to me; from now on, we're family."

  He was so excited that he almost blurted out the phrase his senior brother often said when recruiting younger brothers: "After drinking this cup of wine, we are all brothers!"

  If this gets out, it'll be a breach of social hierarchy!

  Wang Qi saw that his senior brother was excited, and the words coming out of his mouth started to become half-black and half-white. Although he had also been a traveling merchant since childhood, he didn't fully understand the dark language of Xuan Kong either. He quickly coughed lightly several times, calling back Xuan Kong's soul.

  "Hmm!" Xuán Kōng saw Wáng Jūn, and his heart was even more delighted.

  Two eyes swept around the room, finally landing on the treasured sword at his waist. A sly smile spread across his face as he made a hand seal to dull the sword's edge and tossed it to Wang Jun. Seeing that Wang Jun didn't understand what he meant, looking at him in confusion, Xuan Kong chuckled and said:

  "You joined our sect today, and you can't just enter the Xuan Kong Sect without a gift. Other sects' disciples bring treasures as gifts when they join, although our Cangshan Sect is newly established, we also have rules to follow."

  This precious sword was won by him after he had attained a small degree of success in the study of the Tao, in the great cave of Emptiness and Clearness on Mount Dee, where he engaged in a contest of magical powers with the Immortal Chyntoh. He afterwards himself discovered the art of killing men with the sword, and again subjected it to the process of refinement.

  It's actually not inferior to the famous Purple and Green Sword of later generations, but it's hard to say how much more effort was put into it. However, for his own first disciple, he was generous with it.

  With a flick of his wrist, he gave it away, without even furrowing his brow.

  At this time, Wang Jun finally reacted and realized that since he saw the Xuan Kong Yu Shi Xian Jian, he knew that this treasure was not ordinary. However, thinking that he had just accepted Xuan Kong as his master and received such a precious artifact, he felt greedy in his heart but still cupped his hands and said: "I dare not trouble Master to spend effort."

  Xuan Kong's face turned serious, forcing Wang Jun to tie his sword around his waist. Only then did he smile and say: "You've entered my sect, so I won't hide it from you. The generation ranking of the disciples in our Cui Mountain Sect is 'Wu Xuan Tong Sheng' four characters. Your master was offended by your ancestor, now the ranking is temporarily still under the 'Xuan' character."

  "Now you're under my roof, but I still don't know how to address you."

  "Wang Jun hastily said: 'The disciple will follow whatever Master decides.'"

  Xuan Kong smiled faintly and said, "You are my eldest disciple, I also cannot let you down. Let's start with this, I will give you a Taoist name, 'Zi Xu'. Wait for me to wander in the mortal world for half a year, then bring you back to the mountain, and after begging our ancestor to agree, we will record your name in the Luoshan Sect's genealogy."

  Purple is the most noble of all colors, and even imperial families use purple to refer to themselves.

  Emptiness is the intention of heaven, supreme and unmatched.

  Xuan Kong gave Wang Jun the Taoist name "Zi Xu" and entrusted him with many hopes. How could Wang Jun not know? He choked back tears, saying: "From now on, my Taoist name will be Zi Xu Zi, thank you, Master, for giving me this name!" Wang Qi also shook his head, hung his book bag low, and recited in a low voice:

  "Zi Jue's name is indeed a good one, it's majestic and reverent, only befitting a divine being! Elder Brother Zi Jue has truly lived up to his name!"

  Xuan Kong Qidao said, "These two lines of poetry have a strong ancient flavor and conform to the style of Taoist literature. I wonder who wrote them?" He looked at Wang Qi with his eyes, but he didn't believe that this young man from a merchant family could write such elegant and refined couplets.

  Wang Qi's face turned red under Xuan Kong's gaze, and he said with embarrassment: "I don't know either, it's just that the treasured pearl passed down in my family has these two sentences engraved on it, I thought they were fitting so I recited them casually."

  Xuán Kōng let out an "oh" and was very curious.

  Wang Qi saw Xuan Kong's skepticism and pulled out a small, irregularly-shaped jade bead from his sleeve. He smiled and said, "This bead is made of smooth, pale green jade and was acquired by my ancestors at a low price from a declining family in Lintao."

  He sighed again, "It's just a pity that this pearl is round and lustrous, but its shape is not regular. It has been placed in our shop for decades, and no one has asked about it. It was only when I insisted on leaving home to come to Mount Lu to learn Taoist magic that my mother secretly put it in my bundle as a keepsake."

  If it wasn't for accidentally seeing this human-shaped pearl looking lovely, with all four limbs intact and eyebrows lifelike, he wouldn't have brought it along. It had been forgotten for a long time, but at this moment, he suddenly remembered the two lines of poetry carved on the back of this small figure, and only then did he think of bringing it out.

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