Poor Aptitude, Not Enough Wits

As his words fell, the vast banquet hall suddenly fell so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

The Mu Residence's senior members all looked grim, and Mu Jun's scalp tingled at what he heard.

"Find him! Hurry, go find him!"

One of the Mu Residence's senior members spoke up.

The steward hurriedly acknowledged the order and rushed off.

"Peak Master Lu, please don't take offense over Fan'er."

In that short time, Mu Jun's forehead had become covered in beads of sweat the size of beans.

"He didn't mean any harm. He wasn't deliberately trying to deny you face. Please don't take it to heart."

The other senior members of the Mu Residence grew nervous as well.

If they lost the chance for a junior of the Mu Residence to enter Hidden Origin Peak over this, it would be...

"There's no need to be so nervous, Residence Master Mu."

Lu Changzhi shook his head with a smile.

"I was merely curious."

"Earlier, you said that Mu Fan's aptitude was poor, Residence Master Mu. What did you mean by that?"

Hearing Lu Changzhi's question, Mu Jun breathed a small sigh of relief.

He didn't seem very angry.

There was still room to maneuver, then.

He hurriedly said:

"Unlike his two older brothers, Mu Fan only has upper-grade yellow-level aptitude. And when it comes to cultivation, he doesn't quite have the wits for it. There are many things he can't understand, so he's made little progress in all these years."

"How old is he, and what realm has he reached?"

"He's already twenty-one, but he's only just reached the Qi Gathering Realm," Mu Jun said. After a pause, he explained:

"He probably knew he had no chance, so he didn't want to come for fear of making the Mu Residence lose face. Please don't blame him, Peak Master Lu."

"Only just reached the Qi Gathering Realm?"

Lu Changzhi marveled inwardly.

Yellow-level aptitude, Qi Gathering Realm cultivation.

This Mu Fan was quite good at hiding himself!

"Don't worry, Residence Master Mu. I won't blame him."

Lu Changzhi spoke, his gaze lingering on Mu Jun for a moment before he said:

"As the saying goes, a tiger father has no dog son. Yet Mu Fan is your son, and he's supposedly this poor? Now I'm even more curious."

"Let's wait for him to come."

Hearing "a tiger father has no dog son," Mu Jun looked somewhat uncomfortable.

But the boy really had been born to his wife...

At that moment, another senior member of the Mu Lineage spoke up.

"Peak Master Lu, whenever Mu Fan goes out, he's very hard to find. I'm afraid..."

Hearing this, Lu Changzhi called on the system in his mind.

Sure enough, Mu Fan wasn't even within its current detection range.

"In that case, I'll go out and look for him myself."

With that, Lu Changzhi stood and said to Mu Jun:

"Do you have anything bearing Mu Fan's Qi?"

"Peak Master Lu, there's no need for you to go to such trouble..."

Mu Jun was about to dissuade him, but when he saw Lu Changzhi's expression, he took something out after all.

Seeing this, Xu Kun also rose and followed.

"Changzhi, could it be that you've taken a fancy to this Mu Fan?"

Xu Kun asked on the way.

Lu Changzhi nodded.

"But Residence Master Mu already told you about his talent," Xu Kun reminded him.

"Cultivation isn't just about talent and aptitude," Lu Changzhi said, shaking his head.

"Mu Fan was worried about making the Mu Lineage lose face, so he simply didn't come. Isn't that putting the bigger picture first?"

"He knew he'd likely offend the Five Symbols Sect, yet he still chose not to come. Doesn't that take courage?"

"Everyone else came, whether their talent was strong or weak, but he alone acted this way. Isn't that individuality?"

"Hiss-"

Xu Kun drew a sharp breath and looked at Lu Changzhi in disbelief.

When he put it that way...

It seemed...

To make quite a bit of sense?!

"Then I'll look for him on your behalf."

Xu Kun took the object bearing Mu Fan's Qi and closed his eyes.

His divine sense spread out in all directions, vast as a sea of mist and clearly perceptible.

After a long while, Xu Kun frowned slightly and opened his eyes.

"That's impossible."

"Could Mu Fan have fled the city overnight?"

At the same time, a system notification sounded:

"Mu Fan's location found."

As the voice fell, a light appeared, pointing the way.

Lu Changzhi laughed and said:

"Follow me."

The two then traveled for a while.

At last, they arrived at a market.

Night had fallen, and business was booming.

People came and went along the street.

Lu Changzhi's gaze settled on the second floor of a tavern.

A young man sat at a table by the window, holding a cup of wine and looking at the scenery.

It was Mu Fan.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Lu Changzhi went over and sat down across from Mu Fan.

Mu Fan turned to look at him, his expression a little languid. When he saw Lu Changzhi, he froze for a moment, then glanced at Xu Kun, a flicker of surprise passing over his face.

There was some surprise in Xu Kun's eyes as well.

The young man before him matched Mu Jun's description in both aptitude and realm.

Only his Qi was different.

"I don't like noise. Why don't you two find another seat?"

Mu Fan spoke in a somewhat languid voice.

Inside, however, he was not so calm.

His system could see other people's true identities.

The two men before him were both peak masters of the Five Symbols Sect.

They should be the same two who had visited the Mu Lineage today.

But why had they come to him?

That shouldn't be possible.

He had clearly used the system to change his Qi and appearance.

Had they discovered his true identity?

There was no reason for that.

"There's no need to change seats."

Lu Changzhi said:

"We came here specifically for you."

"We saw that you have an extraordinary bearing and a unique fate, so we came to ask whether you'd be willing to develop yourself elsewhere."

Mu Fan looked deeply at Lu Changzhi, then suddenly asked:

"I have a question."

"What is it?"

"How did you discover my identity? Tell me, and I'll fix it next time."

Hearing this, Lu Changzhi couldn't help smiling.

"Then let's stop speaking in riddles."

"Mu Fan, are you willing to join Hidden Origin Peak?"

He went straight to the point.

Mu Fan smiled and said:

"To be honest, I was surprised when I first saw you."

That was indeed the truth.

According to the information displayed by his system, Lu Changzhi's realm wasn't high. He was only in the Dao Platform Realm.

There was nothing exceptional about his aptitude or anything else, either.

But he was shown to have reached a very high level of accomplishment in things like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Keeping birds and fishing, growing flowers and plants...

He was a kindred spirit, just like Mu Fan.

"But as for joining Hidden Origin Peak, I'll pass," Mu Fan said, shaking his head.

"Tell me your reason."

Lu Changzhi smiled and asked.

Xu Kun looked over as well.

He was also curious why Mu Fan would turn down such an invitation.

For an ordinary person, the chance to join a major sect like the Five Symbols Sect was absolutely a heaven-sent opportunity.

"It's simple." Mu Fan took a sip of wine and said leisurely:

"Because I'm lazy."

"But it's still an opportunity," Xu Kun couldn't help saying.

Mu Fan suddenly smiled.

"People only see opportunity and fame, and spend their whole lives toiling for them. Little do they know that human desire has always been boundless. The more you pursue, the more you'll want to pursue, until you're caught up in it."

"Behind all that splendor, beneath that fame, who knows how many things there are to shoulder?"

"I'm lazy. I have no interest in those things, and I can't be bothered to pursue them or shoulder them. Joining the Five Symbols Sect is indeed an opportunity, but it isn't important to me."

"So I'm afraid you two will be disappointed today."