As the duo walked down the steps leading to the gate, a young man with long black hair and shining gray eyes ran up to them and bowed.
"Welcome back, Elder Tian." He said.
"Oh, Long Bo, it's been a while." Long Tian responded with a slight smile.
"You are back faster than expected." Long Bo said.
"Yes, I was lucky enough to find the disciple I was looking for in just two years." Long Tian chuckled.
Long Bo looked at Zhi You and asked "what's your name, kid?"
"Zhi You." Zhi You said with a friendly smile.
"How old are you?" Long Bo asked again.
"Fourteen" Zhi You already confirmed he was fourteen. He looked just like he did when he was fourteen on earth.
"6th layer of the Qi Refinement realm at fourteen is not bad, but I am sixteen and already reached the 9th layer of the Qi Refinement realm." said with an arrogant expression.
Long Tian furrowed his brows, but he didn't interfere. He would not always be there to protect his disciple.
Zhi You said, "Good for you" with a smile.
'What's wrong with this kid?' he thought.
"I challenge you for the position of Elder Tian's disciple." He said while pointing at Zhi You.
"I refuse" Zhi You immediately rejected.
Long Bo was stumped and did not expect Zhi You's immediate refusal.
"Are you scared?" was the only counter Long Bo could think of.
Zhi You wanted to laugh but he held it in. Who does Long Bo think he was talking to? A kid…
"Master, don't we have to go to the main branch hall?" Zhi You asked with a curious expression.
Long Tian could only smile and said "Let's go."
He was not worried about Zhi You's safety or actions. Zhi You was his disciple, who in the Long clan would dare to hurt him. The best they could do was challenge him and give him a few bruises and fractured bones. As for Zhi You's refusal to fight, he knew Zhi You recently started cultivating and did not have any arts of his own.
Long Bo stood there with a furious expression. He clenched his fists and swore to beat up Zhi You.
As to why Long Bo wanted to be Long Tian's disciple so badly was because of who Long Tian is. He is a late-stage Golden core realm cultivator and a Grade 3 alchemist!! That means that his disciple will have almost unlimited access to pills and potions up to the Golden core realm or maybe Nascent soul if he breaks through in both cultivation and alchemy!
Every youth of the Long clan would be willing to do anything to become Elder Tian's disciple. This means that the person who becomes Elder Tian's disciple would be under a lot of pressure and scrutiny.
Long Tian led the way to the clan's main branch hall. On the way, they received a lot of stares and people whispered among themselves, but no one dared to come up to them.
Zhi You had a calm expression but inwardly he was uncomfortable. The last time he had this many people staring at him was for a class presentation in college.
The duo eventually arrived at the main branch hall. When they walked in, they attracted everyone's attention.
"It's Elder Tian."
"He's back already?"
"Did he find a disciple?"
"Is the little boy next to him his disciple?"
"Why is the boy wearing oversized robes?"
"I know right? he looks stupid with those robes on."
Although the people were whispering, Zhi You could hear some of what they were saying. He blushed a little when someone brought up his robes. 'It was either these robes or be naked' he thought.
"Elder Tian, you returned," an elderly man said to Long Tian then he looked at Zhi You. "Is this the one that has what it takes?" he asked.
Long Tian had a stiff smile on his face. "Elder Zen, I did not know you would be here today."
"Hmph...the rest of the elders are inside." Elder Zen scoffed.
"I will go meet them right away, I will see you later." Elder Tian said and quickly walked away.
Zhi You followed.
The duo made their way into a room. In the room, six elderly men were having a conversation but they were interrupted by the duo's entrance.
"I'm back and I found a disciple," Long Tian announced.
The six elderly men looked at Long Tian, then Zhi You.
Zhi You felt the pressure of multiple spiritual senses scanning him. He did like it, it felt like they saw through every part of him, his secrets and soul.
Zhi You took a step behind his master.
Long Tian scoffed and shielded Zhi You with his spiritual sense.
"What makes him different?" an elder asked.
"Don't worry about it." Long Tian said.
The elders were used to Long Tian's personality.
"The clan's five-year competition, to see how the young cultivators of the clan have progressed, is coming up in two years." another elder said. "I look forward to seeing what he could do."
Long Tian nodded.
"Oh, where is the Patriarch?" Long Tian asked.
"He is currently cultivating but he said you should go see him when you get back, " an elder said.
Long Tian nodded and lifted with Zhi You in tow. They rode a carriage to a building a few minutes away. The building had a simplistic design, It looked like a big cottage. It was surrounded by a crystal clear lake and beautiful plants were growing around the building. There was a wooden bridge that led to the front entrance.
Zhi You was mesmerized by the beauty of the place. He felt like he was looking at an immortal paradise.
The duo stepped off the carriage and walked towards the bridge.
"Long Tian, I did not expect you back so soon." a deep yet mellow voice said.
Zhi You was startled. He looked around but he did not see anyone.
Long Tian bowed and said, "I have returned."
"Come in" the voice instructed.
Long Tian led the way into the cottage. Zhi You was nervous but he still followed.
When they walked in, the cottage was vacant except for a middle-aged man who looked no older than forty-five years of age. He floated midair in a lotus position and was surrounded by water particles and bubbles.
He smiled when he saw the duo.
"Greeting Patriarch, " Long Tian bow slightly. Zhi You did the same.
"I see you finally accepted a disciple, " the man said with a warm smile while looking at Zhi You.
"Yes, I found someone with the level of alchemic talent I was looking for." Long Tian said with excitement in his voice.
"A King-level alchemic talent?" the patriarch said with surprise. He knew Long Tian was looking for someone with high alchemic talent.
"No. He has a peak Emperor level alchemic talent." Long Tian laughed.
The patriarch's eyes widened and his mouth almost fell open. Almost.
He examined Zhi You and asked, "What is your name, boy?"
"Zhi You" Zhi You answered.
The patriarch smiled warmly and asked, "Would you like to join my Long clan?"
Zhi You was confused, wasn't he already a part of the clan as he was a disciple of an elder.
The patriarch understood why Zhi You was confused and explained. "While you are a disciple of an elder, you will not have access to all the clan's resources and the clan will not do everything it can to raise you. You will have to rely only on your master to provide resources."
Zhi You understood. He didn't mind joining a clan especially when it was one of the five big clans. Also, he needed all the help he could get in this new world. He didn't even know how to fight and he needed more information about the world.
"Yes, I will be willing to join the Long clan, however, I want a master to instruct me on the ways of the sword and free access to the library." Zhi You said with a smile.
"Are you negotiating with me? Quite the nerves you got there." The patriarch said with a smile that was not a smile and released a little bit of his aura.
The surroundings immediately turned icy cold. Zhi You fell on his knees and couldn't get up. His smile was now upside down. He couldn't even speak. He felt helpless, his life wasn't his own anymore. He was scared, he hated this feeling. Although, he was sure the patriarch would not hurt him. Every inch of him hated this feeling. He tried to resist but his body would not listen to him.
Luckily, the pressure disappeared as quickly as it came.
"Welcome to the Long clan, from now on you will be Long You." The patriarch said with his usual warm smile.
"I will fulfill your request. Go wait outside, I have a few things to speak to your master about." The patriarch said.
Zhi You stood up with trembling legs and turned to leave.
"Oh and I'm sure you already know this but do not tell anyone about your alchemic talent." the patriarch reminded.
Long Tian watched the events happen with an indifferent expression. In his opinion, it was Zhi You's fault for trying to negotiate with someone levels above him. In this world, you can only negotiate if you have enough power.
As Zhi You walked out the door, he heard a voice.
"Strength is what really matters."
He clenched his fists. He learned an important lesson today. To avoid being put in a similar situation in the future, a hunger for his own strength was born.