Leaving

After the dust settled, Liang Bo, Chen Feng, Lu Hua, and Jiang Xiaoman followed Ma Wen to a side hall to sign the agreements.

Of the four newcomers recruited by the True Martial Sect this time, Liang Bo alone received the treatment of a direct disciple, while the other three received only the treatment of inner disciples.

Once the agreements were signed, the four officially became members of the True Martial Sect. Each received an identity token and a booklet introducing the True Martial Sect. In addition, Liang Bo reported the names of Xiao Qing, Zhao Wu, and Xie Jia to Ma Wen. They would serve as Liang Bo's attendants and be granted permission to become outer disciples.

Once all the necessary procedures had been completed, Ma Wen waved a broad hand and took the four of them to the finest restaurant in the city for a meal. Afterward, they returned to their respective homes to prepare for their departure from Wan City.

Thus, this year's Martial Academy Grand Competition came to a perfect close.

The greatest winner of this competition was undoubtedly Liang Bo, who had taken first place. Not only had he successfully entered the True Martial Sect as a direct disciple, but he had also won his wager against Sima Kai and earned one million taels of silver. He had now become a young talent renowned throughout Nanyang Prefecture.

If Liang Bo's performance in the retest—using saber techniques at the level of man and saber becoming one, along with internal strength cultivation of at least the fifth grade, to effortlessly dispatch a fourth-grade demon beast—had merely made his name somewhat known in Nanyang Prefecture, then this time, his overwhelming victory over Sima Kai with his bare-handed techniques had truly made his reputation resound. People now understood that Liang Bo's sabersmanship was not merely sharp; his fist and foot techniques were equally formidable. Coupled with movement techniques that had long reached the consummate level of the basic grade, as well as his powerful internal strength cultivation, many realized that a young prodigy was rapidly rising.

As for the greatest loser of this competition, it was undoubtedly Sima Kai. Not only had he lost the wager and one million taels of silver, but he had also ultimately missed his chance to join a top great sect such as the True Martial Sect. He could only enter the Mystic Origin Sect, a sect ranked toward the bottom among the thirty-six sects.

Moreover, because of his defeat in this wager, the support he received from the Ruyang Prince's Residence had also diminished considerably. It was said that even the current Prince of Ruyang was dissatisfied with him.

Yet even so, a debt still had to be repaid—and repaid quickly. Both he and Liang Bo would soon leave Wan City for their respective sects. If he did not repay the money soon, Liang Bo might spread word everywhere that he owed money and refused to pay it back. Once his reputation turned foul, his fate would only become worse.

However, one million taels of silver was no small sum. Even for Sima Kai, who came from the Ruyang Prince's Residence, it took immense effort to produce it. In the end, on the third day after the arena battles, Sima Kai scraped together funds from every possible source, borrowed considerable outside debt, and finally gathered one million taels of silver to deliver into Liang Bo's hands.

Having received the money, Liang Bo was naturally overjoyed. He immediately laid out a grand banquet at Wan City's largest restaurant, inviting Zhao Wu, Zhao Zhao, and other friends and relatives to drink and celebrate.

After the celebration, however, the time for farewell finally arrived.

Liang Bo was all right. After all, he had only come to this world a little over a month ago, so he did not feel much about leaving Wan City. Instead, he felt a faint excitement.

But Zhao Wu and Xiao Qing were different. They had both grown up in Wan City, and now that the time to leave had come, they could not help feeling somewhat sad.

Xiao Qing especially had grown up in the mansion. She had rarely even gone outside its gates, yet now she suddenly had to leave the familiar environment behind and head to the utterly unfamiliar True Martial Sect to cultivate. Her heart was even more reluctant to part.

But no matter how reluctant they were, the road ahead still had to be walked.

Three days later, early in the morning, many members of the Liang Clan gathered before the gates of Liang Mansion. They had all come to see Liang Bo off. For the Liang Clan to produce a direct disciple entering the True Martial Sect was an incomparably glorious matter.

After all, even Liang Xing in his day would have received only the treatment of an inner disciple had he joined the True Martial Sect. Yet Liang Bo had directly obtained the treatment of a direct disciple as the first-place winner. His achievements clearly surpassed Liang Xing's.

"Liang Bo, once you reach the True Martial Sect, you will be one of its direct disciples. After arriving there, you must train diligently and never grow arrogant or complacent. Remember, beyond the heavens are higher heavens, and beyond every person stands another. Once you become slack, your cultivation and strength will cease to advance!" Before the mansion gates, Liang Wen smiled as he instructed him.

"Rest assured, Uncle. Your nephew would never dare to slack off," Liang Bo said with a bow. Though he had not known the clan head Liang Wen for long, he was still deeply grateful to him.

"I believe you. All right, go now. Don't keep the others waiting too long." Liang Wen gently patted Liang Bo on the shoulder.

Liang Bo nodded lightly. "By the way, Uncle, some days ago, I borrowed several martial skill manuals from the Library Pavilion. I left some writing in one of them. If you have time, you can go take a look."

He was naturally referring to the secret art Eye of Truthpiercing. He had already noted on it the catalyst needed to cultivate the secret art, as well as the cultivation process. However, to avoid trouble, he had not mentioned it to anyone else. Only now, as they were about to part, did he tell Liang Wen.

Liang Wen was visibly stunned, but before he could ask anything, Liang Bo had already walked toward Zhao Zhao, who had also come to see him off.

Dressed in a goose-yellow gown, Zhao Zhao was radiant beyond compare as she smiled at Liang Bo. Her beautiful eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words, filled with melancholy yet also brimming with envy. But when it came down to it, she merely said, "Take care," and spoke no more.

Liang Bo nodded lightly. "Zhao Zhao, you take care too." He knew that although this girl acted as if she did not care, it was impossible for her to feel no regret over her failure in this year's Martial Academy Grand Competition.

After exchanging a few words of encouragement, Liang Bo looked toward the distance and gave a slight nod. The other members of the Liang Clan were gathered there. His relationship with the Liang Clan had improved somewhat over the past month, and now that he was heading to the True Martial Sect, the clan members had all come to see him off.

Still, Liang Bo ultimately held little goodwill toward those people, so he merely nodded at them.

On the other side, Zhao Wu was also saying farewell to his family. After this parting, who knew what year or month it would be before they met again?

At last, amid the blessings of their friends and relatives, Liang Bo, Zhao Wu, Xiao Qing, and Xie Jia boarded a carriage and joined Ma Wen, Chen Feng, Lu Hua, Jiang Xiaoman, and the others. They then bade farewell to Wan City and set off into the distance.

According to Ma Wen, the True Martial Sect's mountain gate lay in Langya Prefecture on the coast of the Eastern Sea, several hundred thousand li from here. Over such a vast distance, if they traveled only by carriage, they likely would not arrive even in one or two years.

Therefore, according to the plan, they would first head to Anyang Prefecture north of Nanyang Prefecture. There, after waiting for the newly recruited disciples from several surrounding prefectures to gather, they would ride flying demon beasts specially bred by the sect to their destination.