Elder Xue Du

The next day.

Wei Fei came to visit.

He brought his "appointment letter" and found Wei Tu to complain.

After seeing Wei Fei's "appointment letter," Wei Tu felt that Wei Fei was in a worse situation than himself, only receiving the official post of "Battalion Instructor."

The position of Battalion Instructor required teaching the troops in the battalion martial arts and drills once every three days. It was not only troublesome and exhausting but also considered low in status among the military officials within the battalion.

"I'm just waiting for my fourth brother to get promoted and help me out now."

"I just hope he doesn't forget what he said when we became sworn brothers."

Wei Fei gave a self-deprecating smile.

Compared to Wei Tu's optimism, he was still bothered by Prefect He's suppression.

After all, his family wasn't lacking money.

With no hope for his future, the position of Battalion Instructor clearly wouldn't significantly improve his status.

"Fourth Brother is a man of integrity; he shouldn't forget us brothers."

Wei Tu comforted him.

He knew that Fu Zhizhou was the key to their Righteous Society's alliance of four brothers. If Fu Zhizhou went back on his word, the alliance would become a "joke" in the hearts of the three as time passed.

"I'll wait a year or two and see."

"Time will tell."

Wei Fei shook off his dejection and smiled.

Compared to Fu Zhizhou, Wei Fei clearly trusted Wei Tu, his fellow county resident, more.

Two days later.

Wei Tu and Wei Fei took up their posts, serving as "Commander" and "Battalion Instructor" in the garrison troops of the county yamen.

Everything went smoothly in the garrison troops; neither of them faced ostracism from colleagues or targeting from the soldiers under their command.

This wasn't due to a good military atmosphere but rather the lax state of military preparedness. Less than half, or even a third, of the officers and soldiers reported for roll call each time.

"The world is about to fall into chaos."

Seeing this scene, Wei Tu recalled what his father, Wei Bao, had told him about Baiyang County three years ago when he returned to Changming Township.

Seven-tenths of the grain in the public granary had been embezzled by the officials of Baiyang County, and the remaining three-tenths was mostly old and rotten, not new grain from the previous year.

It was a microcosm of the larger issues.

If a rebellion were to break out in Qingshan County, Wei Tu didn't believe these garrison troops could withstand an assault from the rebel army.

A civilian uprising in Qingshan County.

It only needed one natural disaster.

"This matter has nothing to do with me."

"The deep-seated problems in Zheng State cannot be changed by me alone. Acting rashly might even hand Prefect He my 'confession' on a silver platter..."

Wei Tu shook his head and began to turn a blind eye to the "lax state of military preparedness" of the Qingshan County garrison troops.

He knew history well and knew the fate of those officials in his previous life who had aspired to reform.

Five days after taking up his post in the garrison troops.

Wei Tu finally met the elder from "Wu Yun Tower" that Fu Zhizhou had mentioned in his letter over ten days ago.

"Are you Martial Master Wei?" In a small alley, a man in his sixties blocked Wei Tu's path and asked with a smile.

His hair and beard were white, and his temples were slightly prominent. He appeared old, but every movement he made was remarkably vigorous.

"And who might you be?" Although Wei Tu had some guesses about this person's origins, he couldn't be sure.

—If there were such an "extraordinary person" in the county town, they wouldn't be unknown.

"Elder Xue Du of Wu Yun Tower!" The old man smiled slightly and revealed his identity without concealment.

"I, Xue, have come to Qingshan County Town this time specifically to invite Martial Master Wei to join our Wu Yun Tower."

"If Martial Master Wei agrees, Wu Yun Tower will spare no effort to cultivate him..."

"I dare to guarantee that if Martial Master Wei joins Wu Yun Tower, he will have the opportunity to become an Innate Realm Martial Master before the age of fifty."

"An Innate Realm Martial Master lives for two hundred years."

Xue Du stated the conditions of Wu Yun Tower, word by word.

As he finished speaking, Wei Tu's heart was immediately moved.

It was then that he finally understood why Fu Zhizhou had repeatedly warned him not to agree to Wu Yun Tower for the sake of profit.

The conditions offered by the Wu Yun Tower were simply too generous.

An Innate Realm Martial Master lives for two hundred years.

Joining the Wu Yun Tower offered the chance to extend one's life by a whole lifetime.

Who could possibly resist such an offer?

Especially for Wei Tu.

His "Late Bloomer" Destiny would only become more potent with a longer lifespan.

After achieving the status of an Innate Realm Martial Master, perhaps he might even be able to pursue the Immortal Way that might exist in this world.

"Wei is already an official of the court. Since I've joined the government, this Wu Yun Tower... I must decline their offer..."

After a few moments of hesitation, Wei Tu finally suppressed the desire in his heart. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"This is an Innate Realm Martial Master we're talking about?" Xue Du frowned and asked a few more questions.

After three years of martial arts training, he had achieved this much. He didn't want to let go of Wei Tu, such a promising talent.

"Thank you for your appreciation, Elder Xue, but Wei is not passionate about the Martial Way. The Martial Way is merely a tool for Wei to pursue fame and fortune."

Wei Tu shook his head and continued to refuse.

Hearing this.

Xue Du could only give up. He sighed, casually tossed a token to Wei Tu, and said, "If Martial Master Wei changes his mind, you may bring this token to Copper Pot Mountain, where our sect has a representative to welcome you."

With that, Xue Du flicked his large robe, stepped onto the alley wall, and like a crane soaring through the clouds, he ascended to the two-zhang-high eave. Within a few steps, he vanished without a trace.

"Lightness Skill?" Wei Tu's eyebrows twitched slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately made a guess about Xue Du's strength.

Although External Martial Masters were often stronger than Internal Martial Masters in terms of raw power, in certain aspects, External Martial Masters were far inferior to Internal Martial Masters.

Take the Lightness Skill that Xue Du had just displayed, for example.

While Wei Tu could use leverage to leap onto the two-zhang-high eave, his movements were nowhere near as graceful or effortless as Xue Du's.

Furthermore, from Wei Tu's observation, Xue Du was not only an Internal Martial Master but had also practiced some External Stance Training...

"However, what he said likely contains inaccuracies. He himself is already quite old and hasn't even reached the Innate Realm... How could he expect us, who join later, to easily reach the Innate Realm Martial Master stage."

"Moreover, the government has already set its sights on the Wu Yun Tower. The Wu Yun Tower is no longer a safe haven..."

Wei Tu shook his head, pushing the matter of the Wu Yun Tower to the back of his mind.

However, as he was leaving, Wei Tu thought for a moment and secretly buried the token Xue Du had thrown to him under a large Chinese toon tree in the alley.

The next day.

Wei Fei informed Wei Tu that Xue Du from the Wu Yun Tower had also visited him once, but he had flatly refused.

Wei Fei's reason for refusing the Wu Yun Tower was the same as Wei Tu had anticipated. Besides the agreement made at the Prefectural Yamen... there was another point: both of them realized that the Wu Yun Tower was destined to be a sinking ship.

Boarding it now would be tantamount to seeking death.

No matter how great the Wu Yun Tower was as a martial arts sect, it couldn't compare to the Zheng State court. This was the consensus among them, and indeed all Martial Masters.

Otherwise, why would the Wu Yun Tower recruit them, Martial Scholars, and establish their own "court" to cultivate disciples? Wouldn't that be better?

Their act of recruiting Martial Scholars into their sect precisely proved that they were inferior to the Zheng State court and could only resort to such measures.

After refusing the Wu Yun Tower's invitation.

Wei Tu's life returned to its monotonous peace, day after day.

Until—

The Provincial Examination for this year concluded, and the Provincial Examination ranking list was delivered to the Qingshan County Yamen.

"Fu Zhizhou actually made it onto the Provincial Examination list, ranking ninth..."

After reading the list, Wei Tu and Wei Fei, while happy, also felt a sense of unease.

Originally.

Fu Zhizhou's background was already better than the other three they had sworn brotherhood with.

Now, with Fu Zhizhou passing the Provincial Examination and becoming a Martial Graduate, his status had leaped ahead of theirs by a large margin. He would be appointed as an eighth-rank martial official...

Whether he would remember their past pact and be willing to honor it was unpredictable.