Chapter 53: The Disciples’ Great Outburst
Lu Changfeng and Xuu Shaoying had a pleasant conversation.
Perhaps because he had been miserably suppressed by Hu Wan since childhood, Xuu Shaoying harbored some resentment toward him and hoped someone would teach Hu Wan a lesson.
So, he took the initiative to tell Lu Changfeng many details about Hu Wan’s personality.
Lu Changfeng just listened as if it were a story.
The two of them ate and drank for over an hour.
After Xuu Shaoying insisted on paying the bill, the two parted ways outside the restaurant.
Walking alone on Five Horses Street, Lu Changfeng lightly circulated his qi and blood, and the alcohol in his system was instantly expelled from his back.
His mind became clear once again.
Lu Changfeng began to think about his next steps.
He first glanced at the copy refresh time on his interface.
Name: Lu Changfeng
Root Bone: Upper A Class X2, Middle A Class X3
Talent: High-Grade Talent [Swordsman], High-Grade Talent [Sword Heart], High-Grade Talent [Sword Vein], High-Grade Talent [Flying Swallow], High-Grade Talent [Fist Martial Arts], High-Grade Talent [Saber Extremity], Low-Grade Palm Technique.
Realm: Blood Forging Sixth Layer
Blood Forging Technique: [Le Mountain Angry Vajra] Perfection. [Fengtian Forging Body Saber Skill] Minor Achievement.
Martial Arts: [Storm Sword Technique] Perfection, [Blood Burst Step] Perfection, [Antelope Leaping Skill] Perfection, [Falling Leaves Saber Technique] Perfection. [Long-Armed Great Ape Fist] Minor Achievement, [Blood-Drinking Frenzy Saber] Minor Achievement
Martial Arts Insights: Storm Sword Intent (Intermediate Sword Intent) (Swordsmanship power increased by 150%), Falling Leaves Saber Intent (Basic Saber Intent) (Saber Technique power increased by 55%)
Copy Interval: 15 days.
There was still half a month left on the copy interval.
If nothing unexpected happened, Lu Changfeng would choose to copy Zhao Xingtian’s Root Bone.
Of course, he didn’t rule out making a different choice if he encountered a Bloodline Talent or another High-Grade Sword Technique Talent.
’The Martial Arts Hall is about to see a huge boom in new disciples. I can raise the entry requirements a bit.’
’I should keep the maximum number of disciples in the Martial Arts Hall at around three hundred.’
’Also, I wonder if anyone will covet my Swordsmanship...’
’However, according to Senior Brother Zhou Feng, opening a Martial Arts Hall on Five Horses Street is equivalent to joining the Five Horses Street Martial Arts Hall faction.’
’You naturally receive the protection of the Five Horses Street Martial Arts Hall’s influence. The top figures on Five Horses Street are those three Bone Refining Realm hall masters.’
’A single Bone Refining Realm expert isn’t much on their own, but with the combined strength of all of Five Horses Street, not even the Martial Arts Families and Sects can completely ignore them.’
As Lu Changfeng was pondering, a figure appeared beside him.
It was Zhao Xingtian, who arrived with a gust of fragrance, his face slightly pale.
Lu Changfeng was speechless. ’Is this guy really making Misty Rain Tower his home?’
"Don’t look at me like that. I feel very at ease in Misty Rain Tower. My mind is unusually tranquil, and the process of my Jade Bone transformation has greatly accelerated."
"In a few months, I’ll be able to leave your side ahead of schedule."
"You, on the other hand, have been quite the hot topic lately. I’ve even heard rumors about you in Misty Rain Tower."
Lu Changfeng raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"I was afraid you might get into trouble, so I left Miss Xiangling to come and check on your safety," Zhao Xingtian said.
Lu Changfeng thought to himself, ’He’s probably just afraid that if I really die, his state of mind will become unstable, and his progress towards the Jade Bone Realm will be greatly slowed down.’
"The rules here in Jiangnan Prefecture are a bit different from our Yunyang Prefecture. There shouldn’t be any major problems," Lu Changfeng said.
Zhao Xingtian nodded and handed him a small, sword-shaped whistle.
"If you run into trouble, blow this, and I’ll come."
Lu Changfeng took the whistle. "Thanks."
"Don’t mention it. I’ll be taking my leave then." With a flash, Zhao Xingtian disappeared among the rooftops.
Lu Changfeng shrugged and soon arrived safely back at the Martial Arts Hall.
He took advantage of the night to cultivate for several hours.
After washing up with Chunzhu’s assistance, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
「The next morning.」
Lu Changfeng’s sharp senses were jolted awake by the ruckus in the Martial Arts Hall.
He had still underestimated the shockwave created by a Blood Forging Martial Artist manifesting a tangible Sword Intent.
Nearly every young person in Jiangzhou Prefecture who loved the Sword Dao but couldn’t find a proper way to learn it had shown up at the Changle Martial Arts Hall.
Some were children just over ten years old, accompanied by their families.
The crowd was already in an uproar, surrounding Xianghe Square, where the Changle Martial Arts Hall was located, until it was completely impassable!
Chunzhu, feeling sorry for Lu Changfeng after his tiring match the previous night, hadn’t woken him up.
When Lu Changfeng dressed himself and arrived at the Martial Arts Hall’s training ground, his scalp tingled at the sight.
Chunzhu and Hei Niu were leading a few disciples, registering and recruiting new disciples according to Lu Changfeng’s standards.
But their progress couldn’t keep up with the number of people flooding in from outside.
Lu Changfeng shook his head and decided to handle it himself.
First, he called Hei Niu and the others over and had them arrange the crowd into five lines.
Soon, the lines were formed.
Hei Niu brought over a grandmaster’s chair, and Lu Changfeng sat down at the head of the lines, directly opening his interface to observe the Root Bone and Talent of the applicants.
With a single glance, Lu Changfeng clearly saw the Root Bone and Talent of the first five people in line.
Their Talent was zero, and the best Root Bone among them was a Lower B Class.
"None of you pass!" Lu Changfeng said bluntly.
"Master Lu, wait a moment!" A portly old man stepped out from the accompanying crowd on the side.
Lu Changfeng looked up. Although the man was portly, he had a Middle A Class Root Bone and a Middle-Grade Fist Technique Talent.
His aura was deep and mellow; he was clearly a Martial Artist at the Tendon Transformation Realm.
"Master Lu, I am Elder Yani Quan of the Yani Family. My grandson, Yani Hong, is extremely passionate about Swordsmanship. I hope Master Lu can accept him. I, Yani Quan, will surely present you with a generous gift!"
Yani Quan walked over to stand beside one of the five youths at the front of the line—the one with the Lower B Class Root Bone.
Cui Tianyu, who came from a wealthy family and was well-informed, leaned close to Lu Changfeng and said, "Master, the Yani Family is one of the Eight Great Martial Arts Families of Jiangnan Prefecture. They are known for their proficiency in Fist Technique, and their family is very powerful..."
Lu Changfeng understood. ’Since I’ve decided to make my way in Jiangnan Prefecture, these social obligations are unavoidable.’
So, Lu Changfeng nodded. "Alright. Since he is so fond of Swordsmanship, Hei Niu, take Yani Hong for entry. Give him a set of the Martial Arts Hall’s Named Disciple robes and a standard-issue longsword."
The Martial Arts Hall’s standard-issue disciple robes and longswords were all handled by Chunzhu, who had procured items of rather good quality.
Named Disciples wore blue robes, ordinary disciples wore white robes, and True Disciples wore black robes.
"Thank you, Master Lu!" Yani Quan wasn’t the least bit angry that his grandson was only a Named Disciple.
This was because, aside from Hei Niu, Lin Yan, and Cui Tianyu, Lu Changfeng had all other disciples start as Named Disciples.
Once they achieved some success in cultivating the [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill], Lu Changfeng would naturally promote them to ordinary disciples, who would then receive his more personal guidance.
Setting this threshold wasn’t because Lu Changfeng wanted to limit his disciples, but to motivate them. The more ordinary disciples and True Disciples there were, the happier Lu Changfeng would be.
Yani Quan left his grandson and departed.
Lu Changfeng continued to survey the Root Bones and Talents.
From time to time, people from various factions would use their connections to slip a few disciples in.
Lu Changfeng smilingly accepted all their gifts and took these "connection-based" students into the Martial Arts Hall.
In this way, it took the entire morning for the crowd outside the Martial Arts Hall to finally disperse.
And within Lu Changfeng’s Martial Arts Hall, there were now two hundred and twenty-three new Named Disciples.
Chunzhu was smiling happily because, between the various tuition fees and gifts, she had taken in over ten thousand taels of silver that day.
This was real income, instantly dispelling the sense of urgency Chunzhu had felt from the Martial Arts Hall having no revenue and just burning through its savings!