Sun Chengwu wandered around the streets for a while, still feeling frustrated. Before he knew it, he had returned to the Martial Arts Hall. As he approached the entrance, he saw a group of burly men limping out of the hall. Being a local, Sun Chengwu immediately recognized them as the notorious Thirteen Eagles of Qiyuan City. His heart sank as he thought, "It's over; the hall won't survive this! I wonder how Xiao Guo is doing. I hope he's all right."
The Thirteen Eagles all kept their heads down, bumping into Sun Chengwu as they walked past, not paying him any mind. He hurriedly entered the hall, calling out, "Xiao Guo, Xiao Guo, are you alright?" Guo Xingyue had long sensed Sun Chengwu's return and calmly emerged from the training room, smiling as he replied, "I'm fine! It's such a beautiful day; how could anything be wrong?"
Seeing Guo Xingyue unscathed, Sun Chengwu let out a sigh of relief. "That's good! As long as you're okay, it doesn't matter if things are broken." Guo Xingyue chuckled and asked, "What are you talking about? What's broken?" Sun Chengwu paused for a moment and asked, "Did the Thirteen Eagles not make a move?" Guo Xingyue smiled and said, "Oh, you must be talking about those who just left, right? They seemed to hang around in the courtyard for a bit before leaving. I don't know what they were here for, so I didn't ask."
Upon hearing this, Sun Chengwu first relaxed but then his expression changed. "Oh no! The Thirteen Eagles have set their sights on our Martial Arts Hall! We're doomed; this hall can't stay open anymore." Sun Chengwu paced back and forth in the courtyard and then looked up at Guo Xingyue. "Xiao Guo, I'm sorry, but this hall might not be able to continue operating. Sigh, I've troubled you for the past six months. I'll calculate your wages and you should leave soon to avoid being caught up in this."
Guo Xingyue smiled and replied, "Master, you're worrying too much. I thought those guys were pretty friendly; they just stood in the courtyard for a bit and then left without saying anything. There's no need for you to worry." Sun Chengwu sighed, "Let's hope I'm just being paranoid. I really hope nothing bad happens."
The next day, as Sun Chengwu was conducting fist practice with a few apprentices, a commotion arose at the entrance. He hurriedly stepped out of the training room and saw the Thirteen Eagles standing in the courtyard. He thought, "Oh no, the worst has happened!" Sighing, he knew he had no choice but to confront them. He quickly approached and said, "What do you want? If you have something to discuss, just come at me. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
The Thirteen Eagles completely ignored him and walked up to Guo Xingyue, kneeling before him. "Master, we have come to pay our respects. Please take us as your disciples."
Guo Xingyue laughed and said, "You've got the wrong idea; I'm just a handyman. The true master is over there. If you want to learn martial arts, you should seek him out." However, the Thirteen Eagles continued to bow and insisted, "No matter whether you are the master or not, we only wish to be your disciples. Please, have mercy and accept us!"
Guo Xingyue had already scanned the Thirteen Eagles with his spiritual awareness and knew that they all lacked spiritual veins, making them unsuitable for cultivation. Even if they did possess spiritual veins, he had no intention of teaching them. This was a planet for demon cultivators; teaching them cultivation here would be akin to courting disaster. While he could teach martial arts, these individuals clearly had dubious intentions; teaching them would only aid in their misdeeds.
With a smile, Guo Xingyue shook his head, saying, "I'm just a handyman; I only know how to sweep the floor. Are you planning to learn how to clean?" Though the Thirteen Eagles were all large and imposing, they were not fools (only the foolish would be unable to operate in Qiyuan City). Realizing Guo Xingyue was looking down on them, the leader, while bowing his head, said, "What we do is just to make a living. Although we've bullied the weak, we've never taken a life. If you are willing to take us as disciples, we promise to turn over a new leaf and become better people."
Guo Xingyue felt a surge of amusement: was this an age-old trope? He recalled a tale from Pangu Star by a writer named Shi Nai'an, who wrote about "Water Margin." There seemed to be a similar scenario in that tale. He had heard storytellers recount this trope before, where rogues would change after finding a powerful master. Hmm, perhaps he could try the same thing.
Feeling playful, Guo Xingyue said with a laugh, "Alright, if you can follow my three conditions, I might consider accepting you."
The group of men bowed eagerly, "It doesn't matter if it's three conditions; as long as you accept us, even a thousand conditions would be fine!" Guo Xingyue pondered briefly, saying, "First, you will be under the banner of the Martial Arts Hall, not under me. Second, from now on, you must refrain from bullying the weak. Third, the tuition must be paid in full first."
The Thirteen Eagles found the first two conditions reasonable, but the third was somewhat absurd. However, they didn't dare laugh out loud; they wore smiles on their faces, forcing themselves to suppress their laughter as they said, "Thank you, Master, for taking us in. We will surely abide by these three conditions. Please rest assured."
At that moment, Sun Chengwu, who had been puzzled for a long time, approached in confusion and asked, "Xiao Guo, what play are you putting on? I can't make heads or tails of it."
Guo Xingyue laughed and pointed at the leader, saying, "First, introduce yourself and then explain the situation to the master. Oh, and hand over the tuition as well."
The leader respectfully responded and took out a bag of gold coins, handing them to Sun Chengwu. He then detailed the events of the previous day and explained that after discussing among themselves, they had decided to seek Guo Xingyue as their master to learn genuine skills.
Sun Chengwu stared at Guo Xingyue in disbelief. He could hardly believe that this young man, dressed simply and appearing kind-hearted, was a martial arts master who had single-handedly defeated the Thirteen Eagles, who had long dominated the area. It was important to note that while the Thirteen Eagles were not top experts, each of them had considerable strength; he himself could only handle two of them at once.
Sun Chengwu looked at the bag of coins in his hand, then at the ever-smiling Guo Xingyue, rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and then thoughtfully said to Guo Xingyue, "I didn't expect you to be a master. I misjudged you and treated you like a handyman. Please forgive me." Guo Xingyue smiled slightly and replied, "You're too polite, Master. I only know a little about martial arts, nothing to be called a master."
Sun Chengwu shook his head with a sigh, "If you're not a master, then I must be utterly useless. I also want to learn some skills from you. Please, since we've gotten along well, don't hesitate to impart your teachings." Guo Xingyue could only smile in silence.