Chapter 290: The Stiff Swordsman

It was a bit like a disciple from a sect as high-level as Mount Hua suddenly inviting a street performer to their home to serve as a martial arts instructor. In this situation, the other party couldn’t help but suspect that you had ulterior motives.

If this street performer was actually a hidden master of the Jianghu, they would likely suspect that you had already discovered their true identity. If you were accompanied by a beautiful daughter, they would definitely suspect that you were plotting to get with their daughter.

Under these circumstances, it was unavoidable that the Sword Master before him would harbor the same suspicions as before. This made George, who had just read the other person’s mind, feel like he was about to go crazy.

“Weren’t you given specific details along with the notification before?” George asked while gripping the armrest of the walnut chair. Under his powerful grip, the wooden armrest nearly groaned at the same time.

“No! There was no such notification. I only came because you were looking for a sword technique instructor who specializes in skill rather than strength or speed. And the only fixed requirement is that the instructor must be at least at the peak of Black Lead. So, could you tell me the specific reason now?” Carlton Salvin’s stiff and formal answer made George feel that the other person was not avoiding the issue at all.

‘Then the Swordsman Guild failed to notify you properly when they sent the message. Hmm! Such a possibility is probably not very high, after all, they are a professional alliance on the Continent. Although there are differences between regions, the transmission of employer information should not have any problems. The most likely reason is that Sir Val deliberately hid this reason when contacting you.’ Thinking of this, George felt like he wanted to smash the plate in anger. ‘How much do you Knights love your face!’

It seemed that Sir Val and the other Knights did not provide clear and detailed reasons to the Swordsman Guild in order to cover up the fact that they were not suitable to teach George.

However, since the invited Sword Master before him thought that teaching a Knight Heir who could accept the inheritance was a very strange matter, this showed the rarity of the situation. In fact, the vast majority of Knights would never seek help from other physical profession practitioners even if they knew it would delay their apprentice’s growth.

From the current situation, those Knights had already lowered their pride to ask for help. Not telling those Guilds the details was because they did not want this behavior, which they considered very shameful, to spread from ten to a hundred people.

After all, people’s guesses are just guesses. If they were given such a definite answer, it could really make Bolerum Territory the biggest joke in the history of the Western Continent Knight community. After all, places like Guilds have many people and many mouths, and combined with the fact that information transmission between different regions must pass through many hands, the secrecy situation could truly be called a sieve with holes on all sides—purely a joke.

During this time, George thought about many things and finally understood the hard work of the Knights, but he couldn’t help complaining in his heart: ‘Hey, at least tell me when you do this! It makes my current embarrassment a real tragedy!’

Fortunately, George’s thinking speed was far beyond that of ordinary people, so he could naturally answer the Sword Master Carlton Salvin’s question after thinking back and forth like this: “In fact, according to my Knight instructor, my current combat style has gradually formed its own style. Under this situation, I need more guidance suitable for my skills. And the path of those Knights does not match my current situation.”

George, who understood the Knights’ worries, did not speak too clearly on this matter. Although he did not intentionally hide anything, he did explain away a lot of content for them.

“I see!” Carlton Salvin touched his chin with his hand and thought for a while before giving an answer. “If it is this situation, then I actually don’t have much confidence in teaching you either! This is the first time I have taught someone at this level!”

George nodded and gestured with his hand: “You can wait until the formal teaching begins to learn the specific situation before discussing this. Do you have any questions about your salary and treatment now?”

“There are no problems with this. The salary you gave me is quite generous.” Carlton Salvin rarely showed a very satisfied smile, but he quickly hid his expression and restored his previous rigid appearance. “However, this time I brought two apprentices who follow me. If possible, I hope you can arrange a job for them in the city. After all, young people need to know the difficulty of seeking knowledge and the hardships of life, otherwise they will find it difficult to grow up in their whole lives.”

George, as if thinking of something, asked with interest: “Do you mean they must earn their own tuition fees?”

“That’s right! As my formal apprentices, they must earn their own rewards through personal effort to pay for their learning costs. This is a tradition passed down in our school. I hope you can understand.” Carlton Salvin’s words were quite sincere.

“So, these two are the inheritors you selected according to the ancient methods.” George looked at the cold-faced man before him and felt a bit more respect.

You have to know that the master-apprentice relationship between Swordsman now is far less strict than that of Knights. In most cases, it has become a transaction between skills and money.

But that only refers to most situations. If you happen to meet a competent instructor, then this inherited master-apprentice relationship will follow the traditions of ancient times.

However, before training apprentices, traditional Swordsman required them to sign a contract of servitude. If the instructor accidentally killed the apprentice during training, they did not have to bear any responsibility. This method could truly be described as strict and rigid, making the number of apprentices who finally agreed to become formal inheritors very small.

It can be said that while the master chooses the apprentice, the apprentice is also choosing the master. It can be said that on this Continent, the number of Swordsman willing to spend time doing such things is becoming smaller and smaller.

These people, who have not been corrupted by money and enjoyment, who are determined to pass on their knowledge and skills, and who lay the foundation for future possible glory, are truly worthy of respect.

“No, they are not there yet! They are just candidates now, not my final choice. After a few years, when they have erased the impetuousness and impulsiveness of youth, I will take them to travel and adventure on the Continent.” Carlton Salvin’s expression did not change during the speech, but after the final pause, his voice seemed to become a bit lower. “If they can truly meet the final requirements of my school, they can receive the true inheritance.”

It seemed that he was not very satisfied with the current two candidates. Perhaps in his eyes, the possibility of meeting the final requirements was not very high. This showed not only that a famous teacher is hard to find, but also that a good apprentice is not easy to meet.

“Alright! As a Lord, I can only say one thing to you. Sometimes you cannot strive for perfection in everything, as that often leads to missing out on more things. If you think it is generally suitable, just let a small flaw go lightly!” Out of respect for someone’s carefulness in their heart, George kindly reminded him.

Carlton Salvin was silent for a long time. It was clear that his furrowed brows meant he was thinking about the proposal George had just made. However, obviously, the other person’s mind was still struggling.

After a while, Carlton Salvin raised his head and gave George an answer: “If in the end we still cannot find the most suitable person, I will consider your advice. But for now, I hope you can find two jobs for them to exercise their arm strength and physique. If possible, it would be best if you could also allow me to choose suitable apprentices within the Territory.”

“Choose apprentices?” After hearing this, George immediately frowned. He felt a bit dissatisfied with Carlton Salvin’s slightly greedy behavior. After all, among these apprentices, there might be people from George’s Territory. You have to know that at this time, the people of the Territory belonged to the Lord’s property. If the other person really took such apprentices away, it would be like digging the corner of the Territory.

Carlton Salvin also realized his behavior just now. It seemed that he had already made the other person a bit unhappy. He quickly explained: “Regarding the choice of new apprentices, I will choose at most one person. If the person belongs to the people of the Territory, I will pay the tax they should bear to become Freemen.”

Hearing the other person’s explanation, George understood that the Swordsman before him was not a single-minded person like Ben. As long as the other person’s request did not reach his bottom line, George shrugged: “Alright! If it does not affect the teaching quality, I agree to your request in principle. As for those two apprentices, it seems there is still a shortage of loaders and unloaders at the city warehouse. I can arrange for them to work there.”

“Thank you very much for your flexibility!” Carlton Salvin bowed to George to express his gratitude. “Then according to the previous agreement, my teaching will be from 2 PM to 4 PM on every even-numbered day. Although you have already found a house for me in the city, I still need time to settle down with those two apprentices. And it also takes time for us to get familiar with a new environment, so the earliest I can start work on time is in three days.”

“Alright! See you in three days. I hope we can get along well in the coming period.” George’s words indicated that the person before him could leave freely. Although he did not mean to kick him out, it could also be seen that George’s impression of this instructor was not very good.

“See you in three days!” After bowing again, Carlton Salvin turned and left the reception room. He clearly felt the employer’s coldness towards him, but he did not mind. Because he believed that once the formal teaching began, the other person’s impression of him would change greatly. He was confident in his strength and teaching level.

After all, not all people with high strength are suitable to be instructors. Not only must they be able to give the most reasonable advice, but they must also understand the students’ psychology—encourage when needed, strike when needed, and warn when needed. At the same time, they need a certain level of language expression ability, otherwise the sword theory will be difficult for learners to understand. To achieve these points, not only requires rich experience, but also requires sufficient talent.

After confirming that the Swordsman named Carlton Salvin had completely disappeared from his sight, George’s face suddenly changed and he showed an excited expression, because a new prompt sound from the System came into his mind: “Obtained a formal instructor for non-mainstream inheritance… Verifying current achievement difficulty… System reward distribution in progress…”

‘I didn’t expect even this would have a reward! I wonder how the System’s reward distribution mechanism works? For a long time before, there was absolutely no movement. But since there is a first time in this regard, can I create a few more instructors to get some rewards from the System?’ George’s mind naturally drifted there.

However, he quickly and very depressedly found that achieving such a goal was as difficult as climbing to the sky. After all, for Sir Val, his Knight instructor, the existence of any other instructor was slapping his face—from another angle, it showed that his teaching level was not up to standard.

It was fine that Carlton Salvin was proposed by Sir Val before. But if George really dared to make a similar request in front of him, he would let George know what the anger of a Legendary Powerhouse was. After comparing the “enemy and me” on one side, George decisively gave up this idea.

After returning to the room, George could not wait to sit in meditation. He wanted to see what his newly obtained reward was, and at the same time, he kept praying to the Multiverse in his heart—hopefully it is not something that cannot be used for a while!

In fact, except for the opening wolf pack tactics, George had never truly obtained a reward from the System that was useless. However, the previous magic book crafting method made George hesitate a bit now.

In fact, before this, most of the book production was already complete, only the final binding was needed to form it. Through conversation with Jinluoke, George learned more about Magic Items. But the more he understood, the greater his worry about such items naturally became. Before further in-depth understanding and confirmation, George decided to temporarily seal this item.

Familiarly entering the Tower Reaching the Sky, George once again sighed at its exquisite craftsmanship. With every increase in his own strength, the continuous increase and improvement of the power system, the Tower Reaching the Sky would undergo different changes. And now, not only was it becoming more exquisite, but it was also becoming more and more unpredictable.

In fact, George was very interested in those newly appearing insect scripts and bird seals. However, every time he concentrated his attention to take a look, he would feel dizzy and unable to understand. So gradually, he had to give up the idea in that regard.

This time, what floated on the altar was a jade slip surrounded by purple qi and flashing with lightning. Seeing this, George’s heart seemed to settle a bit, because the content this time was probably related to the Eastern system.

After gently touching it with his finger, the text of “The True Inheritance of Shangqing Shenxiao Induction Thunder Method” suddenly appeared in George’s mind.

According to the internal synchronized explanation, this is the lost Thunder Method General Outline of the Shenxiao School in legend, through inhaling and exhaling true Qi to feel heaven and earth externally, tempering the Dao heart, achieving unity of heaven and man, and transcending to immortality. This Thunder Method encompasses the meaning of heaven and earth’s yin and yang oscillation and cannot be summarized by ordinary “electricity” or “sound waves”.

What is recorded after the opening is: “The Heavenly Way is eternal, without good or evil, without constant or extraordinary, it cannot be spoken of, and this is named the Dao. The cultivation world usually has three response attitudes. The Thunder Method cultivation represents following heaven, the Body cultivation represents self-perfection, and the Sword cultivation represents going against heaven. Thunder Method practitioners follow the Heavenly Will, eventually uniting with the Heavenly Way. The Heavenly Way is my heart, following my desires without violating rules. Body practitioners become the universe themselves, forming their own system, self-sufficient in all methods, seeking within the body. Sword practitioners go against heaven, cutting through all bonds, with the heart as the sword, splitting the sky to see the nature, free and happy. All can achieve long life and see forever, becoming masters of creation.”

Seeing this, George had to complain: “I say, what kind of worldview is this! I never knew when the Taoist system of Tianchao had such a classification! Was I too ignorant before I transmigrated, or is this actually a product of some parallel world?”

Fortunately, the most basic issues of “Shenxiao” and “Shangqing” were not wrong, otherwise George would have thought that the brother was writing a YY novel and forgot to check the facts.

The Shenxiao School is a sect of Taoism. It evolved from the Celestial Master Sect of the three Talisman Schools at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. Representative figures are Wang Wenqing and Lin Lingsu. Shenxiao Taoist priests mainly practice the Five Thunder Talismans, claiming that practicing this method can command ghosts and gods, bring rain and thunder, eliminate harm and avoid disasters.

Its theoretical basis is the unity of heaven and man, the resonance between heaven and man, and the unity of internal and external. It claims that heaven and man are of the same body, and human spirit is connected with heaven and time, yin and yang, and five elements. This feeling must be responded to; and its foundation lies in the practitioner’s daily internal cultivation. If the practitioner’s internal cultivation is deep, wind, clouds, rain, and thunder can be summoned at will.

In fact, Emperor Huizong of Song highly admired the Shenxiao School and gave himself the title “Emperor Daoist Lord of the Church”. The name “Shenxiao” comes from the “Lingbao Wuliang Du Ren Shangpin Miaojing”. This scripture, based on the ancient theory that heaven has “Nine Heavens” and “Nine Layers”, identifies the highest layer as “Shenxiao”.

After recalling his religious knowledge before transmigrating, George felt that this true inheritance, except for the three response attitudes, looked quite reliable.