Chương 93: Azure Peak Sect - Home

The enormous gates of the Azure Peak Sect towered before us. What should have been a welcome sight appeared far more foreboding. Since leaving the Two Suns' World, it seemed like such a long time since I had last visited the sect.

"Home, sweet home," Wei Lin exclaimed tossing his arms up over his head.

"After all the traveling, I'm a lot more grateful for my bed now than ever before."

"At least we got what we came here for," Lin Mei said.

"Even though the trip was more exciting than we expected."

"Well," I said turning to the two brothers who'd been carrying Rocky for hours, "this is where we part ways. Thanks for your assistance." When the brothers heard this, they basically dropped Rocky; although Rocky did not appear to be disturbed, he simply let out a grinding sound, similar to a yawn.

"So," Zhao Yu moved his feet back and forth.

"We should probably…"

"Actually," I interrupted as an idea hit me, "I have a proposal for you both." It was immediately apparent that the nature of the two brothers differed. Zhao Xing's eyes narrowed with skepticism, whereas his younger brother's face displayed hope.

"What do you say about working for the Azure Peak Sect?"

"Yes!" Zhao Yu shouted out before his brother could respond.

"I'm tired of living and constantly looking over my shoulder, worrying if the Mountain Tiger Gang will finally find me…"

"Shut-up!" Zhao Xing hissed, nudged his brother with his shoulder. However, the damage was already done.

"How old are each of you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I am thirty-five years old," Zhao Yu responded promptly.

"My brother is forty." Their answer almost made me wince. Given the world we lived in, those who lacked access to sufficient cultivation tools typically required longer periods to develop. Even then, to reach their respective stages without sect backing showed decent talent.

"I understand," I replied.

"Considering your age, becoming outer disciples might be difficult. But," I continued before their faces could fall too much, "I think I might be able to secure positions as sect servants for you both."

"Servants?" Zhao Xing spat the term as if he had recently consumed poison. For a moment, his qi flared before he regained control.

"I am not going to be anyone's errand boy. And besides," his gaze shifted to Liu Chen, "why not have the boy's master pull some strings? A Life Realm cultivator could—""You're the ones that tried to steal from us, and now you're acting as if we owe you favors?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"Also, Liu Chen is not actually anyone's disciple. He is not even affiliated with the sect…yet." Zhao Xing's face lost its color as he realised what had happened. His eyes flickered toward the sect guards standing nearby, and then returned to me. I could literally see him comprehend just how badly he had been duped.

"That's what happens when you try to always be smart!" Zhao Yu pointed at his brother.

"This time, someone else managed to outsmart you instead." Zhao Xing spun around to his brother.

"Why do you always oppose me?"

"Oppose you?" Zhao Yu's grin disappeared.

"I'm trying to keep us alive! Stealing from the gang and fighting with sect disciples…one of these days your plans are going to kill us both!"

"I'm trying to give us a good life," Zhao Xing protested, however his voice weakened.

"More like a quick death," Zhao Yu mumbled. For a moment, Zhao Xing remained silent. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work! I knew even he was starting to question himself. While the brothers began to argue, I shrugged and headed toward the gates.

"The offer remains open if you want it. Feel free to play hardball, it makes no difference to me. I'm sure that there are many other people who would greatly appreciate stable employment opportunities and access to basic cultivation supplies."

"Wait!" Zhao Yu yelled out and stepped forward. The sudden movement caused several Defense Hall disciples to adjust their stance and raise their qi-laden fingers at their fingertips; however they calmed upon seeing he was not attacking…he was on his knees pleading.

"Please I accept!" Zhao Yu begged.

"I'll be the greatest servant you've ever had!"

"Yu, stand up! Show some dignity…" Zhao Xing's face contorted with embarrassment. Although this was embarrassing in every sense of the word, I had to admit that there were practical advantages to having someone like Zhao Yu in my debt. His cautiousness and pragmatic nature could prove beneficial, especially given his cultivation level.

"Get up," I said with a nod.

"Let's go."

"Brother…" Zhao Yu looked back at Zhao Xing with a look that implored him to let go of his ego and join him. Zhao Xing dramatically portrayed great anguish before surrendering and throwing up his hands in frustration.

"Fine! Fine," he sighed.

"But I am only doing this for you. Someone needs to watch your back and protect you, otherwise, you'll get taken advantage of." That made me smile. I never had a brother, so it was nice to see strong brotherly bonds. As we proceeded towards the gates, Wei Lin stepped forward and handled the administrative aspects of things. I was never very skilled at that anyway.

"These two are being recruited as servants," Wei Lin explained pointing at the brothers. The members of the Discipline Hall exchanged glances and one nodded.

"Follow us," he told the brothers.

"We need to complete the regular security checks." As the brothers were led away, Rocky instantly reverted back to his natural form and stretched his large stone limbs with a grinding sound causing several of the remaining guards to jump. One guard even drew his sword before Wei Lin intervened.

"The stone elemental and the boy are potential recruits as well," Wei Lin explained.

"We met them during our travels." The disciples exchanged looks among themselves.

"The elders will want to meet this young man. Stone Guardians are extremely rare, especially ones that possess human companions." Liu Chen leaned close to Rocky's leg and his earlier confidence deserted him in light of official scrutiny.

"Do... do I have to?"

"Don't worry," I said kneeling beside him.

"The elders just want to make sure that Rocky is properly registered within the sect. We'll see you soon enough, okay?"

"You promise?" His voice sounded weak.

"I promise," I replied, ruffling his hair which caused him to groan.

"And Rocky will stay right by your side." It was obvious he wasn't too happy with separating from us, but he nodded. As they walked away, I felt bad for him. The kid seems to have been through a lot more than most.

"He'll be fine," Lin Mei said reading my expression.

"The elders won't pass up an opportunity to obtain a stone Guardian as a member of the sect's military strength, especially one who has attained the sixth stage of Qi Condensation."

"Plus," Wei Lin added as we entered into the main area of the sect proper.

"The boy has talent. That explosion of energy we saw? That might be typical for a Soul Bond, but his ability to use it without suffering the side effects isn't." I nodded, but I wondered whether this kind of attention would ultimately be good or bad. As we continued walking, we encountered numerous groups of outer-disciples who viewed us curiously, possibly due to our worn appearances and evident fatigue.

Several of them appeared prepared to approach Wei Lin, presumably in order to learn about our recent travels or attempt to cultivate favor with us, but something in our facial expressions deterred them from approaching further.

"Look at them all scurrying around," Wei Lin muttered.

"The resource distribution must be coming up soon. Everyone's trying to improve their position before then in preparation for the Outer Sect Tournament."

"I'd almost forgotten about that," Lin Mei sighed.

"I'll need to make sure my herb gardens are producing well if I want to maintain my current allocation."

"You can use my contacts if you need to," Wei Lin offered, followed by a grin when Lin Mei raised an eyebrow.

"What? I'm allowed to help my girlfriend, aren't I?" he shrugged.

"Your girlfriend, hmm?" Lin Mei's eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I don't remember agreeing to that title officially..."

"What?" Wei Lin's face fell.

"But…I mean, I thought..."

"You're really going to make him ask you officially, aren't you?" I laughed. Lin Mei just smiled sweetly while Wei Lin sputtered. It was good to see them like this. After everything we'd been through, they deserved some normal couple drama. A commotion from the direction of the training fields caught our attention. There was a group of outer disciples gathering around something.

"Should we check it out?" I asked, but Wei Lin shook his head.

"Probably just another cultivation prodigy showing off," he said with a hint of bitterness.

"Ever since Song Xiang's promotion to Legacy Disciple and Wu Kangming's surprise win over Zhou, everyone with half a spark of talent thinks they're the next chosen one." We were just passing by when a familiar voice stopped us cold.

"Disciples Wei Lin, Lin Mei, and Ke Yin." I turned slowly, already knowing who I would see. Senior Sister Liu stood there in her trainer's robes, looking exactly as she had the day we left, but something was different, and that something sent a chill down my spine. She was smiling.

"Where," she asked pleasantly, "have you three been these past weeks?" The temperature seemed to drop several degrees despite it being a hot day. I exchanged glances with Wei Lin and Lin Mei, all of us were thinking the same thing: We were in so much trouble.