Chapter 278: Taking a Disciple

At this moment, the Third Lake Prefecture fell dead silent.

All eyes focused on the figure standing in the sunlight.

Nobody, not even the Old Man on the steps, expected the Old Man—who had struggled to survive even ten exchanges just moments ago—to obliterate the phantom opposite him with a single slash.

Then, under the crowd's trembling gazes, the Old Man slowly ascended the steps.

Forty-fourth gate: passed in two exchanges.

Forty-fifth gate: passed in two exchanges.

Forty-sixth gate—

Sixtieth gate: also passed in two exchanges!

The Old Man seemed completely Reborn and Remade. With every step he climbed, he used the first exchange to figure out his opponent's moves, and by the second, he would almost always cut them down in a single strike!

"He's done it."

The Old Man on the steps muttered, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

He didn't know if someone had prepared those paintings in advance, and he hadn't even caught a glimpse of whoever threw the final one, but he knew the Old Man at the bottom of the steps had succeeded!

If the Old Man's previous ceiling was merely to become the next him, he was now certain that the Old Man surpassing him was only a matter of time.

It wasn't even entirely impossible for him to touch the legendary realm of Martial Cultivation!

"Heaven does not doom our Martial Dao."

He stood up, looking at the Old Man who was about to challenge the next gate, and quickly called out:

"You can stop."

His tone wasn't a warning, but a suggestion.

It bordered on a plea.

"..."

The Old Man looked up at the Old Man on the steps.

Thinking of the deeds of the Old Man before him, he fell silent for a moment, halted his steps, and said:

"Name the third trial."

Seeing him stop, the Old Man on the steps let out a sigh of relief.

Not just a genius, but a smart man too.

He believed that if the Old Man continued to challenge the gates, he would definitely succeed in clearing all one hundred.

But then things would become somewhat difficult to control.

If the Vice Prefecture Lord, or even that certain person, found out, the Old Man would immediately be dragged into the vortex of Minhu.

He didn't want the Old Man getting tangled up in that mess before he had fully matured.

"The third trial is the Trial of the Martial Heart," he said slowly.

"For this trial, anyone currently in the Third Lake Prefecture can challenge you, and all cultivation restrictions will be lifted."

"Survive for one hour, and you pass."

"Rest assured. Having passed the first two trials, you have already earned the War-Quelling Drum's recognition. Even if you lose the third trial, your life won't be in danger."

"Furthermore, with me here, absolutely no one will dare lay a hand on you."

At these words, the eyes of the crowd on the ground went wide.

Everyone from the Third Lake Prefecture recognized the Old Man.

The person backing the current head of the Martial Guild, the Martial Instructor closest to the Eighth Tier in hundreds of years, an existence known as the Minhu Martial God.

These numerous titles alone were enough to illustrate the Old Man's status.

For him to say those words was practically announcing to everyone that he was going to protect the Old Man.

It was even foreseeable that the Old Man's meteoric rise was now guaranteed.

"I am Ma Yi'an. From the day I began practicing martial arts until now, I have only ever taken one personal disciple. Are you willing to be the second?"

His words confirmed the crowd's suspicions. Then, seemingly afraid the Old Man might have some misgivings, he smiled. "Don't be fooled by the fact that we look about the same age. I am a Third Trade sword cultivator, and I have learned a longevity technique. I am actually over three hundred years old. Even if I have lost all hope of advancing to the second tier, living another thirty or forty years won't be a problem."

Hearing this, the crowd fell into shock once more. This Old Man was actually speaking so much of the nonsense he usually detested, all just to take a disciple.

But recalling the Old Man's performance, everything seemed perfectly reasonable.

Yet to everyone's surprise, the Old Man fell silent for a few seconds before saying:

"It is my, Liu Fu's, great fortune to receive Senior's favor, but—"

"No! But my ass!" In his car, listening to the news Xiao Xin relayed, Yan Jing's eyes widened. He was so anxious he wanted to drive into the city right then and there with a megaphone, screaming, "Agree! Agree to it!"

"..."

The Old Man didn't seem to expect the rejection either. His narrowed eyes widened slightly, and then he laughed:

"Is it because you already have a master?"

Down on the ground, everyone felt their limbs go cold and their heads spin. When the Old Man declined the elder surnamed Ma, they all thought the Old Man would fly into a thunderous rage. Instead, he was actually still smiling.

Recalling this Old Man's exploits from a century or two ago, the crowd broke into a cold sweat. It was only because this was Liu Fu; if it had been anyone else, there probably wouldn't even be ashes left of them by now.

Facing his question, the Old Man shook his head:

"I have never had a master."

"Then why?"

The Old Man continued to smile.

"I, Liu Fu, already have a Master Household. From ancient times until now, there has never been a precedent for a Martial Instructor acting as someone else's butler. I do not wish to sully your esteemed reputation."

The Old Man cupped his fists, his attitude sincere:

"But without my Master Household, the current Liu Fu would not exist. Therefore, asking me to leave my Master Household is absolutely impossible."

"My Master Household is in trouble. Rumor has it that one who successfully completes the Heavenly Gate Challenge can make you agree to five requests. That is the reason I came here today."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the Old Man burst into laughter.

The laughter spread, resounding through the sky like the beating of ten thousand drums, making everyone's scalps tingle.

"Interesting, incredibly interesting! Liu Fu, if you agree to become my disciple, let alone five requests, I, Ma Yi'an, will agree to a hundred! As for this Master Household nonsense, I couldn't care less."

Pausing for a moment, the Old Man narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly:

"But if you refuse to take me as your master, let alone five requests, I won't agree to even one."

!!!

The crowd on the ground widened their eyes.

This Old Man, whose name would echo through the ages and who had established countless merits, was actually throwing a shameless tantrum?!!

The Old Man also stared wide-eyed, completely caught off guard by this turn of events.

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, a line of ink leaped out from a scroll falling from the sky:

"Agree to it! Agree!!!"

Looking at the ink, the Old Man let out a long breath:

"In that case—Liu Fu greets his master!"

Saying this, the Old Man didn't dawdle and immediately kowtowed three times.

The Old Man, of course, noticed the ink falling from the sky and smiled:

"This Master Household of yours is quite something."

"Sit tight, Xiao Yu, we need to go."

Yan Jing started the car and slammed the gas pedal to the floor.

This was exactly why he hadn't followed Bi Jie and his companion into the city. He had to be here for the Heavenly Gate Challenge, but he couldn't get too close.

The vast majority of people in Minhu weren't normal, let alone old monsters like this one. Just coming to the outskirts of the city was already a massive risk.

Now that he saw the Old Man was basically in no danger, he needed to start taking evasive maneuvers.

"My Master Household is just an ordinary person."

Hearing his words, the Old Man immediately stood up in a panic.

If his young master died, what would be the point of him taking on the Heavenly Gate Challenge?

Looking at the Old Man, he readied himself for the fish to die and the net to break.

"Look at you, just look at you! No temperance at all! Do you think I'm that unreasonable of a person?"

Seeing the Old Man's expression of viewing death as returning home, the Old Man's eyes bulged.

"No—Master is definitely not!"

The Old Man came to his senses and tried to calm down as much as possible. "Please punish me, Master!"

"I'll let it slide this time."

The Old Man was in an exceptionally good mood today.

He also knew that there wasn't much affection between him and the Old Man right now; all these formalities were just empty posturing.

So, with a sweep of his long sleeve, he announced:

"The third trial begins! Whoever wishes to challenge Liu Fu, step up to the platform!!!"

Everyone's scalps went numb.

Seriously, who would dare go up?

Losing meant death, and winning meant death too.

If anyone still couldn't read the room at this point, they really deserved to die.

Unexpectedly, right at that moment, a voice rang out.

"I'll challenge him!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes went wide, eager to see who was in such a rush to get reincarnated.

But when they turned to look, it was actually an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old Youth.

"Don't go! Don't go!"

Someone spoke up urgently, not wanting the Youth to throw his life away on the stage.

But the Youth insisted on going his own way, leaping up the steps and sprinting all the way to where the Old Man was standing.

Panting heavily, he looked at the Old Man, his eyes bloodshot and his gaze conflicted, unable to speak for a long time.

The Old Man's gaze went blank.

Then he hardened his face and said:

"When running, especially uphill, what is the most important thing? I taught you this, didn't I!"

"After all these years, have you still not improved at all?"

...

The Youth never expected this to be the first thing the Old Man said. Completely flustered for a moment, he scrambled to answer:

"I was just in a rush! I know it's about keeping your breathing steady and focusing on the power in your steps, neither too fast nor too slow. It's a—"

"Enough with the nonsense. Since you're here to challenge me, come at me."

The Old Man cut the Youth off and said:

"Since you've taken the stage, you must fight with everything you have! Since this is a martial bout, regardless of whether it's been agreed to stop before drawing blood, you must always—" "—always magnify the opponent's possible treachery ten thousand times over, and be prepared to die."

The Youth finished the Old Man's sentence.

The Old Man paused for a moment, then nodded:

"Your memory isn't bad. Make your move."

As soon as the words fell, the Youth sprang into action. He closed the distance with a single stride and thrust his right hand toward the Old Man's chest, while his left hand went in the complete opposite direction, clawing toward his waist. His moves were clean and sharp, without the slightest hesitation.

Two-Directional Hands!

This was a technique of pure offense without defense, a common choice when facing an opponent several times stronger than oneself. Unexpectedly, the Old Man reached out as well, forcefully enduring the Youth's two strikes to plant a palm firmly against his neck.

In a single move, he had seized the Youth by the throat.

Feeling the grip around his throat grow tighter, the Youth shut his eyes in resignation and yielded.

The Old Man let go, and the Youth dropped to his knees, gasping heavily for air.

He looked at the two torn holes his hands had left in the Old Man's robes, his eyes filled with confusion:

"Why didn't you dodge?"

He knew that given his own level of strength, the Old Man could have easily evaded such a simple Two-Directional Hands technique.

The Old Man didn't answer. Instead, he turned his back and said in a deep voice:

"You should have hidden a Single-Edged Sword under those hands!!!"

Hearing this, the Youth suddenly seemed to understand.

His lips trembling, he almost broke down in tears. Kneeling on the ground, he kowtowed to the Old Man seventeen times in a row:

"Whenever it is an elder's birthday, the younger generation should kowtow. These seventeen kowtows are what I, Liu Meng, owe you, Father."

"You don't need to feel like you owe me anything. Without you, the current Liu Meng would not exist."

"Back then, Mother—"

"Enough."

The Old Man took a deep breath:

"Practice your martial arts well from now on. Seeing the way you look, I can tell your stepfather treats you well. That is enough."

"If you run into any trouble in your life, come find me later. I'm not dead yet, so get out of here!"

As he spoke, Weird Energy surged around the Old Man, transforming into a massive dark-gold hand that scooped Liu Meng up and deposited him back into the crowd.

While grasped in the giant hand, Liu Meng kept shouting:

"Mother was forced into it back then! When she saw you the other day, she fainted from crying several times—"

"I know, I know it all."

The Old Man murmured, his eyes turning red.

Old Man Ma watched his expression, his face calm.

When a martial artist questions their fists, they must also question their heart.

This was exactly why the final stage of the Heavenly Gate Challenge was called the Trial of the Martial Heart.

For tens of minutes afterward, no one else stepped up to challenge him.

The Old Man cast his gaze down toward the crowd:

"Where is Xu Chengyi? Is he not here?"

As his words fell, everyone's burning gazes turned toward a panic-stricken Xu Chengyi in the crowd.