When Han Hua saw Liming Long standing in the hall with a bewildered look she hurriedly walked to stand infront him.
After a few moments of silence Liming Long looked at Han Hua with sweat all over his face and forced some words, " Saint... Saintess Han, y-you shouldn't lie to this old man. That boy... didn't you say he was skilled at using a dagger?"
Han Hua stood there silent before finally nodding her head in agreement. " That's right I personally witnessed it myself, though I was half conscious at that time. The only way to describe his movements was nothing less than beautiful. I feel that if he had my current cultivation he could have easily killed Cai Liang.
Zhu Hong who was listening to everything silently couldn't help but be shocked as this is the first time Han Hua has ever held someone in such high regard especially a man. Although she was shocked she plain curiosity could be seen on her face, she wondered what could make Liming Long, someone who was her senior in terms of age and cultivation sweat like a pig.
Seeing their looks Liming Long finally calmed down a little and said, " I went to test the boy's skills by sneaking into the shack and attacking him however even while he was asleep his body consciously or unconsciously dodged my attack. Even though I suppressed my realm it was still a feat worthy of praise, however that wasn't the end as after only a few minutes of suppressing him with martial techniques he suddenly started to counter attack and match my tempo. That too only lasted for mere minutes because as the fight went on he completely started dominating me in close combat even without a weapon."
Han Hua and Zhu Hong stood there wide eyed and pure disbelief could be seen on their face. [ How could a mere junior who just started cultivating match senior Liming. Even if he did suppress his realm the amount of experience between them was as vast as the sky!] The two thought.
Seeing their faces Liming Long decided to show them proof. He started to take off the top half of his robes which turned out to be a puffy robe as underneath one could see the chiseled body he was hiding. However what shook them the most were the bruises on his body the size of a fist. It was clear to them that even though he had the advantage in experience he still suffered under the boy's hands.
" This all happened when we fought, at first he seemed to be very uncomfortable as he could barely react to my punches but it changed when he started parrying and throwing punches of his own. Though they were slow, it was as if he wasn't used to his own body. As time passed though his attacks became sharper and quicker making it harder to dodge. If I hadn't released some of my cultivation I would probably be seriously injured."
Zhu Hong was the most shocked at this information, she had infact treated Varian the most harsh and hearing that Liming Long had to release his cultivation to deal with him she unconsciously imagined what would happen if Varian had cultivation equal to hers. It was at that moment she decided to have a different approach towards him even if she doesn't like him very much.
" So senior, did he accept to join our sect?" Han Hua asked in a somewhat hesitant tone. She had long wanted to repay his life saving favor and letting him join the sect was her way of doing so. Although they treated his injuries, they weren't particularly life threatening it couldn't fully return the favor.
Liming Long nodded and started to explain the situation to them about the weird questions he was asked on so on.
After talking for a while they all realized something... they didn't know his name. They all looked at each other with disbelief.
* * *
A day after the confrontation with Liming Long, Varian made his way down the mountain after washing up his body. He was told to wait at the foot of the mountain untill he was picked up.Fater waiting a few more minutes Liming Long appeared and told him to follow him.
While they were walking Liming Long suddenly asked, " What is your name? I have been calling you 'boy' or 'kid' for some time now."
"...Varian."
That was all he got in reply to his question. Meanwhile Varian on the other hand was secretly troubled. When he said his name a moment ago he had difficulty saying his last name, it was as if it was being erased from existence, though he didn't really mind it since his last name wasn't really important to him. He remembered that when he was only 4 years of age his mother put him up for adoption to take care of his older sister. His mother wasn't privileged and that was the only way she could think of giving him a better life was abandoning him.
When he came out of his thoughts he was already infront of a huge building with a long line of people. Even though he couldn't tell exactly his instincts instantly made him realize that these people are strong. Looking closer he could see a little stall set up with several elders working and writing things down. He looked up to see a sign that took him a couple seconds to translate, it said "Disciple Registration."
Without further wait he was put in the back of the line by Liming Long. It seemed he was being treated as impartially as possible so as to not draw attention.
[Realm: Body Quenching 5th layer]
[State: Expectant]
[Kills: 1]