While Jade Sea Daoist was still agonizing over the matter,
Beishan Yin suddenly let out a sharp shout from the other side.
"You beast, why aren't you kneeling?!"
Everyone looked over in astonishment.
They saw Beishan Yin glaring at Beishan Hu, his face full of anger at his failure to live up to expectations.
"How had I taught you normally? I told you to cultivate diligently in the estate and cause less trouble outside, but you never listened. You even thought your little bit of strength was fairly impressive among your peers."
"But look at Young Master Xia Mang. As a member of the imperial clan, he did not stay in his tribe to enjoy the protection of his elders. He came out alone to travel and seek a master... Doesn't his drive to improve, his heart for seeking the Dao, stir you at all?"
"I..."
Beishan Hu knelt there blankly, his face full of confusion.
"I am also to blame for having spoiled you too much in the past." Beishan Yin shook his head. "Forget it. I will not pay the four thousand jin of Essence Liquid you owe Young Master Xia Mang from the wager. If you cannot produce it, then go serve at Young Master Xia Mang's side as his follower to repay the debt."
"What?" Beishan Hu froze.
A follower?
Wasn't that just a retainer or lackey?
To put it more harshly,
it was barely any better than being a servant.
There simply was no formal master-servant title.
I, Beishan Hu, foremost among the two great young nobles of Anchan Commandery, was supposed to become someone else's follower?
Father, you were selling your son over just four thousand jin of Essence Liquid?!
This had to be a joke.
"Young Master Xia Mang."
Beishan Yin sighed. "My son Beishan Hu will be entrusted to you from now on. Though he may be disappointing, he is fairly familiar with the affairs of Anchan Commandery. With him following you, things will be much more convenient for you here in the future."
"Father!" Beishan Hu panicked.
"Shut up." Beishan Yin glared at him. "Why have you not greeted Young Master Xia Mang?"
"I..." Beishan Hu looked around blankly, feeling that everyone around him was watching a good show.
Especially his sworn enemy, Beishan Baiwei.
If Beishan Yin had not been present, he likely would have burst into laughter and started mocking him already.
"Hu'er, this youth comes from the Xia Mang Clan of the imperial family, and his talent is peerless. If you follow him wholeheartedly and help him grow, your future will no longer be limited to this single commandery of Anchan. As for the ridicule of others... those who accomplish great things do not concern themselves with trivialities. I am your father. Would I harm you?"
Hearing his father's voice transmission, Beishan Hu immediately calmed down.
That was right.
The Beishan Clan was a feudal lord clan that occupied all of Anchan Commandery. It was incomparably ancient and powerful.
But if one looked across the entire Great Xia Dynasty, there were far too many forces stronger than the Beishan Clan.
Especially the Great Xia Imperial Clan, the Xia Mang Clan.
The commanderies directly controlled by the tribe's main bloodline alone numbered more than a hundred.
If he could truly use Xia Manggan to enter the circles of the Great Xia Imperial Clan and gain connections...
"Beishan Hu greets Young Master."
Beishan Hu was already kneeling on the ground, so it was convenient. He simply turned toward Xia Manggan and bowed deeply.
"Young Master Hu is really going to become someone else's follower?"
"That's absurd!"
"Just because that person is from the Xia Mang Clan of the imperial family?"
"What was he thinking..."
The younger generation watching from afar all cried out in astonishment, their faces filled with confusion.
Yet the nearby Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals all showed admiration in their eyes.
Among the candidates to become the next Marquis of Anchan, the one with the greatest support was the father of Beishan Yin and Beishan Baiwei, Beishan Heihu.
The two were evenly matched in strength, but their personalities were entirely different.
Beishan Heihu was like an ancient beast, born with a fierce and domineering aura that made people tremble at the sight of him.
He acted with extreme forcefulness and possessed immense prestige within the Beishan Clan's armies. He was a natural-born general.
Beishan Yin, on the other hand, was a true hero skilled at concealing his strength and enduring patiently.
He usually appeared unremarkable, but whenever he truly revealed his methods, they often produced remarkable results.
Take today's performance of "publicly rebuking his son," then having his son directly become a follower.
The depth of his intentions, the far-reaching nature of his plans, and his decisiveness in acting without hesitation
were things ordinary people could not compare with.
Now it depended on whether this monstrous young genius of the Xia Mang Clan would accept Beishan Hu.
The Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals all turned their gazes toward Xia Manggan.
"Let's make this clear first."
Xia Manggan appeared to be speaking to Beishan Hu, but he was actually addressing Beishan Yin. "If you become my follower, I will not make any promises to you. On the contrary, if your actions displease me—"
"Young Master Xia Mang, rest assured. If my son behaves improperly, you may dismiss him as you please." Beishan Yin smiled. "At that time, the four thousand jin of Essence Liquid he owes you will be presented to you with both hands by Beishan Yin."
Xia Manggan smiled.
What a clever move.
With just two sentences, Beishan Yin limited Beishan Hu's service as a follower to the matter of four thousand jin of Essence Liquid, leaving Beishan Hu a way out.
If Xia Manggan deliberately sent Beishan Hu to do something dangerous in the future, Beishan Hu could simply repay the four thousand jin of Essence Liquid.
That would count as settling the debt, and he would no longer need to continue following him.
Naturally, he would no longer need to obey Xia Manggan's orders either.
"Get up."
Xia Manggan instructed Beishan Hu.
"Yes, Young Master."
Beishan Hu answered, then decisively rose to his feet and went to stand behind Xia Manggan.
"Ding." "The host has successfully taken in 'Beishan Hu.' You have gained 166 Fortune Value. System reward: 830 Merit Points!"
Hearing the notification by his ear, Xia Manggan devoted a thread of his consciousness to checking his Personal Panel.
He saw that the [Fortune Value] section had become 353/10000,
while [Merit Points] had reached 1265.
It had risen explosively in an instant.
[Beishan Hu's Fortune Value is 332... Taking someone under my command grants half of their Fortune Value? That is far more worthwhile than making people shocked and awestruck.]
Xia Manggan thought to himself,
[In that case, obtaining the 10,000 Fortune Value needed to evolve the Primordial Chaos Universe into its next form will not be too difficult.]
Beishan Yin and his son had been playing off each other earlier.
With the insight of someone who had once been a supreme ruler in his previous life, Xia Manggan naturally saw through their little scheme at a glance.
But it did not matter.
They were merely using each other.
Besides, accepting Beishan Hu required Xia Manggan to give up nothing,
yet would grant him many conveniences and resources in Anchan Commandery in the future.
Why not?
He also wanted to test whether taking in a follower would cause his Fortune Value to change.
Since making people shocked and awestruck could earn Fortune Value, there was no reason taking in followers would not.
Sure enough.
The gains were tremendous.
He had gained two chances to use "Super Epiphany" at once.
Seeing how quickly his son had adapted to his new identity and role, clearly having taken his words to heart, Beishan Yin felt gratified.
He nodded slightly and gave Beishan Hu an encouraging look before speaking again. "Young Master Xia Mang, since you came to Anchan Commandery to seek a master, have you already chosen where you wish to go?"
"The Black-White Academy." Xia Manggan looked toward the only person among the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals who appeared as a young man: the incomparably handsome white-robed youth.
Beishan Hu behind him was very perceptive.
When Beishan Yin had asked his question, he had already secretly transmitted the identities of all the Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals to him.
Thus, he knew that this man was the current headmaster of the Black-White Academy, Jade Sea Daoist.
Upon hearing Xia Manggan say "Black-White Academy,"
everyone thought, As expected.
They then turned to look at Jade Sea Daoist, wanting to see whether he would directly accept Xia Manggan as a disciple.
"From the first to the third day of the twelfth lunar month, all sect outposts within Anchan City recruit disciples together."
Jade Sea Daoist said, "If Young Master Xia Mang wishes to enter our Black-White Academy, you may go to the Academy yourself when the time comes and participate in the entrance examination."
"Headmaster Jade Sea," Beishan Yin said with a smile, "with Young Master Xia Mang's talent and strength, your entrance examination should be a sure thing, should it not?"
Jade Sea Daoist hesitated briefly before finally nodding lightly.
If a peerless genius who had successfully comprehended a trace of Great Dao True Intent and entered the Great Dao of Life and Death could not pass the entrance examination,
then the Black-White Academy might as well shut down early.
After all, it would never be able to recruit any disciples.
"Then why not directly admit Young Master Xia Mang, Headmaster Jade Sea?" Beishan Yin suggested with a smile. "It would save wasting another month of time..."
"Rules are rules. They cannot be changed lightly."
Jade Sea Daoist looked at Xia Manggan. "Compared with talent, strength, and one's Dao Comprehension Realm, our Black-White Academy... values Dao Heart more."
The first update is here. Brothers, if you have votes, please cast them. Recommendation votes are free, and if you do not use them today, they will go to waste.
And there are monthly votes too. Today is the last day; keeping them unused would be a waste. Suifeng is not competing for rankings right now—there is no point even if he does—but having more monthly votes makes the work's achievements look better, hehe.
Before you continue