Volume 2, Chapter 28 – Diverging Paths

No further twists appeared. The group was escorted back to the dojo by the reinforcements from the Inspectorate Police.

On the way, Bai Shengju got a call from Bai Xiang, so he and Bai Lianzhou and a few disciples were already waiting at the base of the long stairway. Only when he saw Bai Xiang and the others get out of the car safe and sound did he finally relax.

“Grandpa.” Bai Xiang frowned at the sight. “It’s cold at night. You shouldn’t have come out.”

Autumn was deepening, and the temperature had dropped quite a bit. Nights lately were only a few degrees above freezing. If the wind kicked up, it was pretty dangerous for an old man.

“Now you’re managing me ?” Bai Shengju’s pride was a little bruised at being told that in front of so many juniors. He reached out, intending to knock her on the head.

But in the end he couldn’t bring himself to, and only tapped her lightly instead, his tone softening to match. “As long as you’re back. Come on, up with me!”

Only Bai Xiang could get away with that.

Watching from the side, Bai Lianzhou was speechless.

It wasn’t as if Bai Xiang was the only one who said things like that, but Bai Shengju was so stubborn that even when his sons tried to show some filial care, he’d talk back and mock them for meddling.

Old folks rarely admitted they were old. They always thought they were still young—“It’s just this little thing; how could I not manage?”

And then something really would happen.

And next time, they’d still dare.

Following Bai Shengju up the steps, the others relaxed as well. Quite a few disciples dispersed where they stood, heading back to their quarters.

“The dojo needs to expand.” Bai Xiang said this as she climbed the steps, still looking back at the crowd below.

By current assessment, Shenming Sword Dao counted as a “Yingwu-grade” dojo.

Even compared to other Yingwu-grade dojos, this place was small. Only the location made the land so valuable, drawing plenty of people to covet it in secret.

Leaving everything else aside, the upper limit on disciples for a Yingwu-grade dojo was five hundred. And if you wanted a proper, orderly dojo, then your promoted inner disciples and true disciples all had to live at the dojo.

Rеaԁ оո KаtRеaⅾiոɡСαfe

If you weren’t even willing to reside at the dojo, there was no way you were going to maintain it, work for it, or run errands for your teachers.

Which was why Yingwu-grade dojos usually took up a large footprint—at minimum, with dorms big enough to house two hundred disciples.

“I know.” Bai Shengju nodded. “I’ve already spoken to Guanshan. He says he’s started reaching out about this, seeing if we can acquire that building next door.”

The building next door.

Bai Xiang turned to the right, where a towering black silhouette stood.

It was a small office building, from what she remembered, only started in recent years. The construction had gone quickly at first, but for some unknown reason the pace had crashed, and now it was basically stuck.

With the Bai family’s current finances, even if they brought in a few more rich kids like Chen Shi, there was no way they could buy it outright at market price.

But judging from the stalled construction, the party in charge had probably run into funding trouble. With negotiation plus loans, there might be a chance.

Expanding the dojo would be a headache, and it was too early to talk details now. Bai Shengju only mentioned it in passing. Once he and the others were inside, he started asking Bai Xiang about the attack.

Bai Xiang only knew what she’d seen after getting out of the car; everything before that was filled in by the lively Hu Hu.

She didn’t exaggerate anything—but her voice was loud and full of energy, and with all her expressions and gestures, the disciples listened completely enthralled, half feeling as if they were there themselves, facing that blood-red sunset.

“Bombs… sniper rifles… and a lizard-man?”

Having heard the whole story, Bai Shengju stopped at the main hall doors, his eyes narrowing.

“Dao Lord Grandpa~” Hu Hu’s tongue was sweet; she was already calling him “Grandpa.” “With guts that big, they wouldn’t be Demon-Immortal Dao, Zhengwo Dao scum or something, right?”

“They’re not demon folk.” Bai Shengju shook his head.

They’re not?

Reаd oո КαtRеaⅾіոgCafе

The others were confused.

It had shown a Demon Aspect, and it still wasn’t a demon?

“No company would dare tie itself to demon sects like that.” Bai Lianzhou cut in. “It’s probably an augmented human—biochemical modification.”

“Oh!” Hu Hu finally remembered—she’d heard Inspector Han say something like that earlier too.

“Unauthorized biochemical modification is illegal as well.” Chen Shi frowned.

His family’s Jiangnan Pharmaceuticals was a competitor to Qingyun Pharmaceuticals, so he knew a bit about them.

Sure, he’d grown up hearing his father curse them for being black-hearted and shameless. But dabbling in augmented humans… wasn’t that pushing it a bit too far?

“They didn’t do it themselves.” Bai Shengju still shook his head. “It should be Wet Slaves … people coming over from Luohou.”

“When I was young, I went to roam over there too. Luohou isn’t like Great Yu, where every household has to be on the registry. Even in the cities, there are plenty of undocumented vagrants. The slums are filthy, and human lives are cheaper than weeds.”

“Biochemical modification, organ trafficking, paid drug trial volunteers—they’re everywhere over there.”

“Especially among the mercenaries and security companies active in that region,” Bai Shengju sighed, a bloody glint in his eyes. “They’re full of people like that.”

So they were illegals.

Bai Xiang understood.

Coming from Luohou to Great Yu, there were three normal routes: fly direct, fly with a transfer, or carve your own way through the wilderness and cross the wilds of the Nanshan mountain range.

That third way was dangerous and success wasn’t guaranteed, but every year, plenty of mercenaries still braved it.

The reason? Of course it was because Great Yu’s tongbao coins were worth too much.

Rеаd οn ΚαtRеaԁinɡСαfе

If they came here and took jobs from Great Yu nobles as privately kept enforcers, they could accumulate wealth at a frightening rate.

One Great Yu tongbao was worth one yuan. Exchanged in Luohou, it converted to over a hundred Luohou yuan—and a hundred Luohou yuan was enough to feed someone for several days.

So that was all it was.

Those people had either crossed the wilderness on their own or been smuggled in by the powerful, hidden in cargo holds.

“Biochemical modification is incredibly risky.” Bai Shengju turned to look back at the younger generation. “Yes, you can gain tremendous power for a short time—for example, that lizard-man you saw could even maul elderly Condensing the Aspect cultivators head-on. But that’s not the proper path. It’s very easy for rejection to set in, and in the end you turn yourself into a monster!”

“Lian Feng! Did you hear me?” He fixed his gaze on a short boy with his head down. “Don’t let this stuff cloud your mind!”

Everyone else turned to look as well, seeing the boy’s chest heave as he muttered, “Disciple understands.”

Bai Shengju’s expression eased, and he went on. “You have talent.”

“If you train the sword honestly, the day will come when you fulfill your wish.”

Bai Xiang was watching Lian Feng too.

She had a vivid impression of him because he was the only orphan among this batch of disciples.

His whole family had been slaughtered by demon folk from Zhengwo Dao. Only because he’d been young and scrawny, able to crawl into his family’s gutted corpse, had he escaped.

Lian Feng was fourteen this year. Before this, he’d drifted through life in a daze, spending his days on the curb outside the Jobs Directorate with a bunch of dark-skinned old laborers in vests, waiting for someone to hire him.

With that kind of background, under normal circumstances, learning the sword was a fantasy. But Lian Feng had set his heart on Shenming Sword Dao. He’d been willing to literally sell himself into slavery just to get in.

The others had all walked up the long steps. Only Lian Feng had come up on his knees, kowtowing the whole way.

Of course, Bai Shengju and the others couldn’t really put him down as low-born property. Seeing his sincere heart and tragic past, they still took him in.

Rеаⅾ oո КαtReаⅾіnɡСαfе

And the most important reason was that Lian Feng really did have talent.

When Bai Lianzhou tested him, he’d only demonstrated Shenming Sword once before asking Lian Feng to copy it. And Lian Feng actually reproduced seventy to eighty percent of it. His talent and memory were astonishing.

At that point, the matter was basically settled.

Waving a hand, Bai Shengju headed into the inner hall, and the others dispersed under Bai Lianzhou’s direction.

All of these disciples had insisted on staying at the dojo. Even when Bai Lianzhou told them they were short on rooms, they’d rather sleep on the training floor than leave.

“Come on!” Hu Hu grabbed Chen Jing and tugged her to the side. “I’ll get you set up!”

Hu Hu had wanted to live at the dojo too, but she was a girl and couldn’t really share with the boys. Until Chen Jing, with nowhere else to go, came in—and Bai Shengju relented, unlocking the room that used to belong to Jiang Haojing—she didn’t have an option. Now she could conveniently live with Chen Jing.

Naturally, she was thrilled. This was her first step toward becoming a core disciple!

Chen Shi, on the other hand, had to “head down the mountain.” He’d wanted to stay too, but with the rooms really full, he had no choice but to bail.

He didn’t go home, though, instead checking into a hotel across the street from the dojo. Knowing he had money, Bai Lianzhou only reminded him to be careful and let him go.

Ma Yue was sharing a room with Lian Feng and Xu Shu. Watching Bai Xiang’s back recede into the distance, he quickly caught up to the younger boy and said, “You heard what the Dao Lord said.”

“Mm.” Lian Feng kept his head down as he answered.

Ma Yue was eighteen; Lian Feng was fourteen. He saw the kid like a younger brother. Worried he’d take the wrong path, he reminded him again, “I’ve heard about augmented humans. They implant demonic beast flesh into the body. The process is agony, and the mortality rate is sky-high.”

“I know, Senior Brother.” Lian Feng glanced up at him, then dropped his head again.

“I wouldn’t be that stupid.”