Chapter 241: CH. 241 | The Sect Disciple’s Arrogance

The next day.

Lin Tian and Wei Hutong stood outside Lin’s Blacksmith, carrying the supplies they’d need to teach proper forging techniques for making weapons.

"You think they’ll actually show up?" Wei Hutong asked. Lin Tian nodded.

"It should be soon. We just need to wait a bit," Lin Tian answered.

Wei Hutong listened and nodded back. An Yue was already inside the shop, minding the place and helping any customers who dropped by.

The two of them waited there for quite a while, occasionally glancing up at the sky, checking for any sign of their escort.

But by the time eight in the morning rolled around, no one had come.

"Guess they’re not coming," Wei Hutong said, "Should we just head to the sect ourselves, Brother Lin?"

Lin Tian let out a short breath and glanced at Wei Hutong. He gave a brief nod, then set off walking with him, leaving Xiayu Village behind.

The route to the Lingxian Sect meant traveling out past both Xiayu Village and Yanzhe City. That would take them a fairly long distance, all the way to the ruins of Gui City.

Once they reached those ruins, they’d find a wide dirt road leading straight up toward the peak of Lingxian Hill, where the sect itself stood.

He took the cart to get there, cheap, fast, and not too tiring.

Lin Tian was determined to show up anyway since Ya Fei had personally invited him, whatever the reason for their escort not showing up, it clearly wasn’t a good sign.

Lin Tian drove the cart away from Xiayu Village and Yanzhe City, with Wei Hutong sitting in the back, occasionally chatting with him along the way.

The two of them talked about all sorts of things, but Lin Tian found himself curious about the change he’d noticed in Wei Hutong’s behavior lately. Eventually, the young man came clean.

"I’ve fallen for a woman. We’ve been seeing each other," Wei Hutong admitted, "We use whatever free time we have to meet up, and the only place I could really think of was that tavern."

"So that’s why you’ve been going there four times a week, to have dinner with her?" Lin Tian asked.

"Yeah, she’s a tailor’s daughter. Her mother’s old and frail now, so she’s taken over most of the work," Wei Hutong answered, "She’s kind and cheerful. She’s even willing to accept me exactly as I am, limitations and all."

Lin Tian nodded, offering him a few words of advice, especially about working hard and the importance of trust in a relationship.

In his view, those two things mattered most if the pair of them wanted to truly understand and trust one another.

Only with both in place could a relationship grow toward something like marriage.

"Marriage, huh? I don’t know, Brother Lin. With how tight my finances are right now, that feels pretty far-fetched."

"Not necessarily," Lin Tian said. "If you trust me and keep working hard for me, it’s not out of reach at all."

They eventually arrived near the ruins of Gui City. Lin Tian turned the cart and drove it up the dirt road leading toward Lingxian Hill.

From where they were, they could already make out the grandeur of the Lingxian Sect in the distance.

The cart came to a stop when two cultivators appeared, blocking their path. "Halt! What are you two doing here?"

Lin Tian climbed down from the cart and clasped his hands together respectfully, "Immortal Master Ya Fei visited my blacksmith shop yesterday. She invited me here to teach the disciples of the Technique and Weapon Hall the art of forging."

"You? You must be joking! You’re nothing but a mortal. What right do you have to teach us, cultivators?!" one of them snapped.

"My apologies. I only came because I was asked to."

"If we’re not actually needed here, we’ll leave right away," Lin Tian said.

Just as he turned to climb back onto the cart, a sharp, commanding female voice rang out across the area, stopping him in his tracks.

Lin Tian and Wei Hutong both turned toward the sound. A woman approached, flanked by two other female cultivators.

"Wait!"

"They’re the blacksmiths Elder Ya Fei invited. Let them through."

The two outer disciples nodded, then channeled qi into Lin Tian and Wei Hutong’s bodies.

She explained that the orb of qi would grant them passage, without it, the sect’s protective barrier would block them entirely.

Lin Tian and Wei Hutong nodded obediently. The two of them began climbing what looked like thousands of stone steps leading up to the peak of the Lingxian Sect.

Wei Hutong’s face turned pale almost immediately.

"They want us to walk? Up all these stairs?" Wei Hutong asked, stunned.

"Just do it, Brother Wei."

The two of them made their way up the steps carefully. Wei Hutong lagged behind before long, his body worn out, and when he glanced down at the drop below, he looked visibly afraid of heights.

Eventually, they made it to the main courtyard of the Lingxian Sect. There, they saw dozens of disciples training out in the open, far more than either of them expected.

There, they were met again by the same female cultivator from earlier, her face striking and radiant under the sunlight. Wei Hutong found himself staring, a little dazed.

"You’ll be teaching the disciples of the Technique and Weapon Hall. It’s located on Mount Tianxun."

The woman extended her hand, conjuring two flying swords for Lin Tian and Wei Hutong to ride.

She told them to climb aboard and stay calm, keeping their balance steady throughout the flight.

Lin Tian listened and complied. Wei Hutong did the same, though his face betrayed a fair amount of nervousness.

The two of them flew off, guided by the woman, toward the peak of Tianxun, where a number of hall disciples were already training, Li Huan among them.

Noticing two mortals arrive at their hall drew the attention of one of the core disciples, who walked over to question their identities. The woman explained everything in detail.

"He’s the finest blacksmith in this whole region. Elder Ya Fei invited him personally to teach you all the art of forging and crafting the best possible weapons," the woman said.

"Tch."

"I refuse to have some mortal teach me how to forge iron. I’m a true cultivator, a core disciple of the Lingxian Sect. My rank and status are far above his!"

"Why should I bow my head to him?!" the man snapped.

He wasn’t the only one who felt that way, others echoed the same sentiment.

But the inner disciples, ranked lower than the core disciples, had no real choice but to fall in line with the order.

"Don’t let Elder An Yue’s absence turn you all so stubborn!" the woman said firmly.

"Listen! This has nothing to do with Elder An Yue. This is about pride."

"Tell me... if he tried teaching you how to fight when you already understood combat better than he ever could, would you actually listen?" the man asked.

"You know how to forge iron?" the woman asked.

"It’s just turning iron into weapons, it’s not exactly difficult. I could probably do it blindfolded."

The man stepped closer to her, then jabbed a rude finger in Lin Tian’s direction, "Tell that mortal to leave. The disciples of the Technique and Weapon Hall don’t need to learn anything from him!"