Taking a Disciple

"Ha-ha, not bad. Who are you, sneaking around and hiding?" Yang Xuan said smugly, swinging the battle-axe in his hand through the air a few times.

The Taoist was startled. "Friend, I'm just a corpse-driving Taoist from the Maoshan Sect. I bear you no ill will. I know a thing or two about driving corpses. I saw the corpse aura soaring into the sky from far away. Our Maoshan creed is to oppose evil and fight it for life. I had to come and take a look."

It was gradually getting dark, so he could not make out the Taoist's features clearly. Only now could he get a rough look at him. So it was the Four-Eyed Taoist.

"Taoist, what should I call you?"

"This poor Daoist is Four Eyes. What is your surname, friend?"

"Just call me Yang Xuan. By the way, where are you driving these corpses this time?" Once he learned that the man was Four Eyes, Yang Xuan's tone softened a little.

"This time I'm going to Shaanxi, but I need to stop at Ren Family Town and stay with my senior brother for a few days."

"Ren Family Town? Can you take me with you? I'm going there too. I only ran into this zombie because I got lost," Yang Xuan said excitedly.

"Then let's travel together. I'm going there anyway. However, our journey will be rather slow, so don't complain about the pace."

And so, the two of them set off toward Ren Family Town with a procession of zombies.

Ah, ha... He stretched lazily. They had finally reached the town.

"Four Eyes, I'll go into town to take care of something first. I'll come over tomorrow. You've been asking why I came to Ren Family Town, haven't you? I came to seek Uncle Nine and become his disciple."

Four Eyes wore a dumbfounded expression. Someone this formidable still needs to seek out his senior brother to become a disciple? After thinking it over, he decided he still had to tell his senior brother. Yang Xuan was simply too fierce, and he could not figure him out at all.

The town was not very large, yet it even had a Western restaurant. Wherever there was bustle, there were pawnshops. "Boss, this watch and this gold bar. Sell them outright."

With money in hand, he rented a room. Of course, he had to eat a huge meal. Yang Xuan was starving. Damn it, he wondered how powerful he had to become before he could solve the problem of eating. If this continued, he might have to eat an entire pig every day.

"This dish is good. This one won't do—it's too spicy. This one's too salty. The soup is pretty good." He ordered fifteen dishes in total. People in this era were still quite sincere, and the portions were generous. Unlike in the main world, where the plates were huge but the portions were... ha-ha, barely enough for a cat.

"Bing, look at that guy. He's dressed so strangely, and he can eat like a horse," a small-time hoodlum said to the fellow sitting beside him.

"He can eat that much? Let's eat him to death. He looks pretty rich. How about we..." The two hoodlums exchanged a glance.

The two hoodlums sauntered over. "Friend, that's quite a spread you've got here." As he spoke, one of them sat down. Without saying anything else, he picked up his chopsticks and prepared to eat, planning to bleed this fat sheep dry.

Yang Xuan had been in a good mood. He had found Ren Family Town and even learned where the charity cemetery was. Fighting the zombie had left him feeling thoroughly refreshed. Now all he needed was to eat his fill, take a bath, and sleep.

Where did these two troublemakers come from? I was having such a good time eating, and I was already thinking about what to do next. "The two of you, get lost," Yang Xuan said without even looking up.

"Kid, Brother Bing eating your food is giving you face. After we finish, give us some tea money too, and you'll have no trouble today," one of the thugs said.

Damn it, they really did not know when to stop. Yang Xuan did not waste words. He slapped each of them once, punched them in the stomach, then dragged the two dead dogs outside and threw them out.

They were asking for it. "Boss, the bill."

After that, things were simple: find lodging, buy clothes, buy gifts—buy, buy, buy.

The next day.

After swallowing the last bite of breakfast, he headed toward the charity cemetery.

Knock, knock, knock... Is anyone there?

A fellow who was half-asleep opened the door. Hmm, what a comical watermelon haircut. He looked prematurely aged and ugly. This had to be Wen Cai.

Still groggy, Wen Cai asked, "Who are you looking for this early in the morning?"

"I'm here to seek Uncle Nine and become his disciple. My name is Yang Xuan."

"Yang Xuan? You're Yang Xuan? Good, come in quickly. My martial uncle talked about you all day yesterday."

"What did he say about me? He didn't badmouth me, did he?" Yang Xuan followed Wen Cai inside.

As they spoke, they arrived in the main hall. Wen Cai, Four Eyes, and Uncle Nine were all there. How nostalgic. Back when he watched zombie movies, he would be terrified whenever zombies appeared. Then Uncle Nine would show up, and he would instantly stop being afraid. A little stubborn and old-fashioned, but righteous by nature, Uncle Nine vaguely reminded him of his master, Li Shuwen. It's been so long since I visited Master. Fortunately, I still have plenty of time.

"You're Yang Xuan?" Uncle Nine asked, sizing him up.

An old man with graying hair and a stern expression was questioning him.

"Yes, I'm Yang Xuan. I want to take you as my master and learn the Maoshan Taoist Arts, Uncle Nine," Yang Xuan said with a fist salute.

"Actually, there's no need for you to take me as your master. If I'm not mistaken, your martial cultivation has already reached the Grandmaster level. In all my years, I've never seen such a young Hua Jin Grandmaster. My junior brother said that you could withstand a jumping zombie head-on. You clearly have extraordinary talent. With your aptitude and martial arts, reaching the pinnacle of cultivation would be no worse than learning Taoist arts. Why bother studying our Maoshan Taoist Arts?" Uncle Nine's words left Yang Xuan rooted to the spot. "That's right. My psychic abilities, physical strength, National Arts realm, and inner cultivation have not reached their peaks. Could the path I'm taking really be wrong? In the real world, I'm already invincible. Although I still can't ignore missiles or nuclear bombs, ordinary firearms can no longer threaten me. In the movie worlds I travel through, I can remain safe as long as I'm careful, and it's easy to become invincible. So why am I working this hard?"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha, why worry about all that? I'll do whatever I want. Wasn't that my goal when I first obtained the system? To achieve harmony with nature and great freedom, to make movie endings fit my preferences because I enjoy watching movies, and to experience the plots for myself. Who cares what kind of power it is? As long as I like it, that's enough." Once he reached this realization, Yang Xuan felt the realm he had been unable to improve for so long suddenly begin to loosen.

"Uncle Nine, I, Yang Xuan, practice martial arts and Taoist arts because I want to pursue what I enjoy and see what the pinnacle of martial arts looks like. Any system can help me draw inferences from one example. I hope you'll agree to take me as your disciple," Yang Xuan said firmly.

"Not bad. You have excellent talent, though your temperament is slightly lacking. Still, being able to affirm your path in such a short time is truly impressive," Uncle Nine said with satisfaction.

"Four Eyes, bear witness for me. I've decided to take Yang Xuan as my disciple," Uncle Nine said happily.

"Senior brother, you're really lucky. A disciple this good is impossible to find even with a lantern," Four Eyes said enviously.

The Four-Eyed Taoist's guts were turning green with regret. If I'd known he wanted to learn Maoshan arts, I should have taken him as my disciple. I can do it too! Ah, forget it. If I can't get a disciple, taking on a junior martial uncle isn't bad either. His eyes slid toward Yang Xuan with a slightly lecherous look.

Yang Xuan vaguely felt someone watching him, and the gaze seemed ill-intentioned. When he turned around, he saw Four Eyes leering fiercely at him. Yang Xuan glared fiercely back. Four Eyes was badly startled.

It took Yang Xuan an entire half-day to finally be freed from the complicated proceedings.

Becoming a disciple of the Maoshan Sect was truly complicated. Yang Xuan was like a puppet on strings, doing whatever his master instructed.

Sigh, who came up with these rules? This felt more exhausting than fighting ten zombies.

A-Xuan, you're a disciple of the Maoshan Sect from now on. Oppose evil and fight it for life.