Chapter 94: The Fighting Arena

"So, let me repeat again," said the old man after settling himself on the chair behind the counter.

"What is it that you are looking for? Is it simply a weapon or something that matches your spirit?" he leaned in the counter and asked in a solemn tone. 

Le Fang ling could feel him waiting for her answer just by looking at his pale eyes that were boring a hole through her.

"Master," she said in a humble tone as she bowed down in front of him in respect.

"I seek your guidance."

"Cough," the old man was a little bit startled when he heard her all him master. No one had done it in many years if his seclusion of living like a mortal. He had  given up on taking in apprentices and disciples after he was betrayed by one of his own student.

"Why do you call me master young lady?" he asked as  he straightened himself on the chair.

"I am a mere cultivator who is similar to mortals," he shook his head slowly as he glanced at her.

"I am a poor wandering cultivator that has nothing better to do than make low quality weapons for normal people," he said with a profound smile that could not hide his wisdom and experience that had been cultivated over years of his life.

"This old man in tattered clothes and worn out shoes," he flashed  an apathetic smile as he continued to speak.

"Can he ever be able to enlighten you?"

Looking at him , le fang ling was a bit astounded. However, she quickly regained her composure and raised up her lips in a hooking smile.

"Master, I believe your clothes and shoes don't reflect what your true essence is."

"Rather, I choose to believe what I witnessed with my own eyes and my own judgment." Le fang Ling looked at him and added.

"After all, what we see may be deceiving. Truth lies underneath the layer of the fabrics we see."

"So, I wish for master Yi Feng to be the one who guides this student in finding the thing that I am seeking for." Le fang Ling fell down on her knees and gave him a deep bow.

Yi Feng listened to her speak and was silent for a while even after she was finished speaking. He looked at her sincere bow as her words revolved around his mind.

He really had no wish to get back to the path of cultivating and taking I disciples. He was happy with his simple life at this mortal realm.

He did what he loved without having to care for anything else. He had no pressure from anyone to make anything for them that went against his moral values.

Right now, his earning was very less. He lived his life eating bread and soup that was bought using the only source of income he had; making furniture for mortal.

He made simple and harmless weapons, thus, all of the weapons in his shop were blunt, heavy and low grade. They were better than what the mortal people were used to getting form other blacksmiths but at his weapons and tools definitely outshone them.

He just wanted to show her what it truly meant to master a weapon and make it a part of your very own soul. The art of true weapon cultivation was already lost…

The cultivators barely used their weapons for fighting except in  a few case scenario.

So, he was in dilemma whether he should accept her request or deny her completely.

"Young lady, may  I know your name?" He inquired after thinking the things through.

"This humble disciple's name is Le Fang Ling." She immediately  responded to his question.

The eyes of the old man widened in the mention of her name.  the subtle change in his reaction was seen by Le fang Ling.

"Le is my family name and seeing the look on master's face, I am pretty sure you know my origin." Le Fang Ling made sure her cursed bloodline was known to him before they moved on further to this whole thing.

Once they were in, there was no turning back for either of them from this.

And she also did not want her family name to come in between of her training. At this point, she even hoped to discard her family name at some point but thinking back to how the family treated her before, she had no choice but to keep it.

She had to be a part of this damned family for the foreseeable future.

"Well, I have lived long enough to witness and see many things." Yi Feng shook his head nonchalantly.

"Yes, master." Le Fang Ling said nothing as she kept on kneeling on the ground. The old man had not said anything about accepting her.

The old man furrowed his brows in a tight frown when he saw that the young lady was not budging from her place.

'If I did not say anything, shouldn't she take it as me refusing her request? Why is this damned brat still here?' He could not help but shout inside his head looking at her.

"I do not take disciples, Miss Fang ling," he placed his hands on the table as he looked at her with irritated eyes. He knew he had to make this girl take off her mind off of him for being her master.

"Well, you can start now, master." Le fang Ling sprang up from the floor and looked at him with expectant eyes. Nagina who had been silently watching all of this could not take it anymore and she too decided to be a part of the begging.

"Old man, I request you to help my host." Her voice was neutral and somewhat lifeless but each of her words were spoken with sincerity.

"You two.." he looked at the two girls who were kneeling in front of him with a sweaty face.

Right at the moment, the door of the store opened and a guy entered as he called out his name.

"Old man, I came to ge-" he stopped midway when he saw the scene that he had been least expecting.

Toe beautiful young maiden in distress were kneeling in front of an old early in the morning…

He unconsciously gulped down the saliva on his throat.

"Ahh, little Bai,"the old man looked up from the two girls and his vision landed on the young man who had entered his shop scratching his hairy face.

His face twisted in a frown upon seeing him enter the shop looking like some hooligan.

"What did you come here for?" he said with a little bit of irritation.

"Sorry, looks like I came at wring time!" The man shouted out at the top of his lungs as he fled the scene as fast as he could.

"…."

"…."

"….."

Three dumbfounded faces stared at the open door as they tried to digest what just happened here.

'This sure does look a little misleading,' Le Fang Ling understood why the man acted like the way he did. But she could not help it. She had no choice apart from doing this.

She had to get the man to teach her everything she needed to learn about weapon spirit and also get her  own sword forged.

"Arghh!"  yi Feng rubbed his temple in a little bit of frustration.

"Alright, I give up, " he sighed as he motioned to both of them to stand up from the ground. He did not like the idea of making them kneel on the ground and neither did he want another episode of similar case as to what happened before.

"Thank you, I will make sure you do not regret taking me in." Le Fang ling smiled as she proceeded to shake his hand out of excitement.

"But!" The man raised his hand away from her reach and stepped a few steps back to maintain the requited distance. He was still not fully in the support of the idea of taking her in as his disciple.

"I will give you a small test." He stroked his beard with a little bit of killing intent emitting form his eyes. He really hoped the girl will forget about taking him as her master.

He did not want to be burdened of taking care of a young sapling! He was simply too unmotivated for this.

'This test looks nuts.' Le Fang Ling felt shivers running down her spine upon feeling his chilling gaze.

Gulp

She took a deep breath and clasped her hands into a fist.

"I am ready to take the test that you want me to do." She said with a determined gaze.

'I failed!'

Fake and invisible tears rolled down his face as he decided to do it.

"Alright, young lady. I hope you are ready for what is about to come." He said as he approached her. He was just hoping on the chances of the young lady backing away herself or failing the test.

"Here," he threw a normal sword in her way.

Le fang Ling caught hold of the sword as if it was some kind of hot potato.

"You might need it." he gave a scornful smirk to her as of asking her to back away right now.

"Understood master," Le Fang Ling took hold of the sword as if her life depended on it.

"I will not let you down master!" she smiled exuding positive and bright lights.

'No please! Let me down. I hope you let me down.'

He chanted a few spells and as soon as he was done with it, a large formation appeared on the floor they were standing.

They disappeared from the room and reappeared somewhere far away at a place that reeked of alcohol, sweat and blood.