Putting something on his back, Fanqia and Linmin helped him get quickly presentable before he went and greeted the old man, Senior Gang looked just as old as the last time they had seen one another, only that the elder seemed a bit dispirited.
"Edrick… I notice that you've made an awful lot of progress in energy circulation, did you use any resources for that? If not, you are one hell of a speedster, I remember when I was your age-" he coughed, noticing that he had already trailed of "-Me and other elders have debated long and hard, as to who would have the privilege of instructing you first… Well, actually we never reached an agreement so we played mahjong to determine it and we all got rolled over by Ku Xing, that bi- I mean, that witch…"
The elder shook his head with his eyes narrowed.
"I don't know how, but I am sure she cheated, like she always does! Like she did when we- I am trailing off again… I really would have liked to introduce you to my martial arts, there is no one who better represents the mantra of our Myriad-Arm Sect apart from our leader, than me, I would have shown you how to explode skull with your fists and a staff, but alas, fate is a fickle mistress… Like a certain woman…"
Edrick didn't say anything and just listened to the old man constantly losing track of what he was saying, clearly, a certain someone was living rent free inside of his head.
"...In any case, although wicked, evil, and dare I say, a most despicable character- Ku Xing is one of the best elders, the problem is justs that she rarely ever teaches anyone"
"Are her standards high?"
"No, they are frighteningly low- In terms of choosing pupils, at least… But few can handle her style, and her weapon cultivation is wholly unpopular, as she is a bowmaster, not to mention that she is from the Xing family, having a surname is already intimidating to most disciples, they are afraid of the nobles, and rightfully so! But the Xing, it's another story entirely"
"They are brutal folks, one might not see it at first, but these people will go to great lengths to maintain their prestige as a family of proud cultivators"
'Not that different from the Elt, in that regard…' the elder kept that part from himself, it was probably why she had been so eager to win, usually, she wouldn't even deign her fellow elders with her presence, Gang guessed that she wanted to see what an Elt was capable of, but the old man wasn't too worried, the Xing and Elt held rather close ties, the former were just less likely to join the more obscure sects.
"But that isn't too important, if you can handle it, her training is worth a lot, if you can't, it is just torture, like, actual torture just without questions to answer"
"She sounds like a lovely lady, when will I get to meet her?"
Gang was taken aback, as Edrick did not emit a lick of sarcasm with that sentence, looking genuinely interested in what she would do to him.
"Hum… She isn't one to move on her own, just go to the central building and ask around for her personal martial hall, you will recognise it because she never opens any window or lights any candles without good reason" spoke the elder.
"Seems like you are rather familiar with her? What do you think she will teach me first?" Anoteros was intrigued by the description of this Ku Xing already, she sounded like someone he could appreciate.
"Familiar? Me? Not at all!" Gang dismissed the idea with frightening speed "I would never get familiar with just a person, no matter what they may look like, or for certain of their attributes… Utter nonsense, everybody knows that a Xing woman is more venomous than a desert taipan and is also poisonous to boot!"
Realising that his strong defence was making it seem like the opposite of what he was saying was true, he wiped his forehead and coughed.
"I do not know how she will do things, she unfrequently gets anyone willing to train under her care and has always done things differently for each, but it has always been rather painful, I suppose she will first begin by testing your pain threshold- And I'll tell you that she knows that stuff, one of the Xing's familial cultivation method is called the 'pain sutra' and apparently, Ku Xing is outstanding at it"
"But don't you worry, this woman may be insane, lives in the dark and probably eats bugs- But she has never killed any disciple… Disciple of our sect, I mean, she has killed plenty of others, ask her about her kill count, she loves to speak about it, in fact, she makes one cut into her body for every person she kills on purpose-"
"On her body?"
"Yes, on her stomach and thighs for the most part- Crap… Forget I said it, and certainly don't say that I said that to her! Anyways, go meet her tomorrow just before nightfall, there is nothing weird about that, her sleep schedule is all over the place- But before that, let me test you"
"I was under the impression that you wouldn't be allowed to teach me anything, Elder Gang" Edrick said this but stepped further from his residence to an empty space, a sharp smile on his face.
'This guy… He doesn't seem afraid of Ku at all… He even… Looks happy about it? He is weirder than I thought…' Gang and every other elder had wanted to get to know Zixuan Elt through various sources, and although they had confirmed that the Elt Family had announced the birth of a baby boy by that name, which slotted perfectly with the young man before Elder Gang, they hadn't found any further information on him, like he was a ghost.
This was strange, a boy of such a natural physique, who had already made tremendous progress in energy circulation and had gotten married not once, but twice to two different women that were currently looking at him like he was the reincarnation of every deity- And yet, not a speck of information, such elusiveness was typically reserved to offsprings of poor talent, hidden from public eyes.
But Zixuan wasn't just impressive, his physique alone should have made the Elt want to have him around, show the Myriad-Arm Sect that they too, could breed powerful physical cultivators…
He was also the direct son of the patriarch and matriarch, not a cousin or bastard son, he was as pure-blooded as it got, there was no reason for his name to not be everywhere and for him to have not been accompanying his parents to be shown off and compared to other noble scions.
Gang had already been curious about the capacities of such a body without any cultivation or any other techniques upon meeting him, but now, his curiosity was heightened by the enigma that Zixuan Elt was, he who fancied calling himself Edrick Lucien Anoteros.
"Show me what you've got, Edrick"
"Elder Gang, do you have the means to heal a person on you?"
"Yes, I have a potion, why?"
"Then don't hesitate to strike me like you mean it, if that potion of yours can regrow a head, then crush mine" looking awfully giddy about it, Edrick was once again appearing as serious as ever.
"It isn't so powerful- But I get it" Gang did not show his surprise and raised his fists, Anoteros doing the same.