Chapter 4: Show Off


    Who is this young man?


    In front of the confused and curious eyes of the Second elder, ude retracted his sword, and the light surrounding him disappeared all of a sudden.


    Absolute silence filled the area. ude looked at the second elder and he returned his gaze. Nobody spoke.


    After a short while, the Second elder sighed and said, "I now understand why you asked me to hand you a spot in my faction. You feel like you''re talented enough to join. And you may be right."


    The second elder hesitated for a second before he spoke. "But right now, you are still only a fourth rank Earth realm cultivator. The Invisible Sword Technique is definitely a high ranking martial art, and being able to cultivate it does indicate that you are indeed, talented. But the sword technique is just one of many martial arts that can propel you to great heights in the future. And looking at you, someone who is already seventeen years of age and yet have only reached the fourth rank, I can''t say that I''m confident about how you utilise your skills. I can definitely see the potential, but I do not know if you have the ability to bring it out. After all, if you really did, you wouldn''t have been an outer disciple in the first ce."


    He nced at ude and said, "Basically, what I''m telling you is that I don''t have the confidence nor the guarantee to add you to my faction. One faction only allows ten students, and I''m afraid I cannot afford to spend my resources on someone whom I''m not confident in. I''m sorry."


    "Then don''t," ude nced at the Second elder and replied calmly, and the second elder looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"


    "Then don''t spend your resources on me," Lin shrugged his shoulders as he exined his words. "The inner disciple exams are in two months, and I''ll make sure that I''ll get in. I''ll prove to you that I''m worthy of being a part of your faction, and you can monitor my progress and decide for yourself whether I''m worthy or not."


    He snapped his fingers and continued, "In the meantime, you can just act as if you owe me a favor, and help me out without actually spending any of your resources. And at the same time, I''ll be able to use your name to get out of unnecessary problems. I''ll get insurance from your name, and you''ll get to know whether or not I''m a great addition to your faction. This way, if the conclusion that youe to is not to your liking, you wouldn''t have lost anything."


    ude nced at the Second elder nonchntly as he finished speaking. "How about it?"he said calmly. "I don''t know about you, but it does seem like a pretty good offer to me."


    "It does sound good, but why would I need to take such a risk in the first ce?" The second elder took a deep breath as he spoke. "After all, I already have a talented group of people waiting to be selected into my faction."


    "I know you have a talented team of disciples under you." ude''s voice was very calm yet self-confident. "But I also know that the third elder has an even talented group of individuals on his side."


    The Second elder''s eyes twitched but he didn''t say anything. He just waited for ude to continue. "I know that the Academy headmaster is going to be retiring soon. In three years, maybe even less. And I know that second elder and third elder are the most favoured amongst the elders to win the seat. But in the end, it all depends on what the headmaster decides." ude enunciated each and every syble. "From the looks of it, the third elder has a better chance at winning. He has a better batch of students at his side, far better than yours."


    ude put his arm up to stop the elder from speaking. "I know that I may be overstepping my boundaries by saying all of this, but I feel like I have to say it. I''ll prove my worth to you, and I''ll make sure that you give me a spot in your faction. And in return, I''ll make sure that you win the headmaster''s position. That is my offer."


    ude had a resolute look on his face as he finished speaking. The Second elder thought for a few seconds, before turning to look at him with admiration in his eyes.


    "Ha ha ha...you are one special boy, aren''t you? I can''t believe you were able to persuade me," the second elderughed as he patted ude''s shoulder and dered loudly, "Alright, from today onwards, you shall be under my supervision. Nothing special. Just to protect you from any unwanted problems. I shall notify the rest of the elders. But if you show enough promise in theing examinations, I''ll make sure that you get a spot in my faction. It''s my pleasure to meet a young talent like you, ude!"


    "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Second Elder. Now, as you have be a backer of mine..." ude stopped and turned around to look at the entrance, and the Second elder followed his gaze. Far away, he could see someone dashing towards his home, with killing intent surging out of them. He squinted his eyes to see who the person was.


    Elder Thomas?


    ude turned back to look at the second elder with an innocent smile, and a bad feeling suddenly welled up in the second elder''s heart.


    ".. I''m going to need your help, second elder!"