“You’ve also been assigned to the Eastern Academy of green shirts? 8th Yard? Haha, this is really good. Doesn’t this mean that we’re roommates now?” Ding Hao said, feeling pleased as well; he had a good impression of the resilient and stubborn teenager.
“I still haven’t had the opportunity to thank you for giving in to me that time. If it weren’t for the 10 bonus points I earned during the test of willpower, I wouldn’t have been able to be accepted into the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Once I get too old, there won’t be any hope of me ever becoming a martial artist anymore,” Zhang Fan said.
He was genuinely, extremely moved.
The gentle-looking teenager standing before him who was smiling slightly was someone who had changed his destiny after all.
“You don’t have to thank me; it was the fruits of your own tenacity. If you had given up from the beginning, I wouldn’t have been able to help you in the end anyway,” replied Ding Hao.
“Haha, to think that my child would have such good luck. He’s continually met benefactors on his journey and now he’s even become roommates with you,” said Zhang Fan’s father with a hearty laugh, even wanting to pass all of the special local produce he obtained from hunting to Ding Hao.
The straight-talking hunter was of huge build, and his naked torso was covered in animal hide. His body, which seemed to have been made out of molten iron, was thickly covered in scars—obviously the doing of fierce beasts. This was an experienced hunter who had gone through countless battles.
As they were talking in the yard, the sound of footsteps came from outside.
A teenager dressed in a purple long robe with an exquisite piece of white jade pinned on the purple sash tied on his head came in, eight burly bodyguards wearing hide armor following closely behind.
The skin of the youth in purple was white, and he kept squinting his long and narrow eyes. He had a nose like an eagle’s beak along with thin lips and he was slim and tall. There was an unconcealed arrogance and haughtiness of his look.
There were a total of three stone rooms in the eighth yard, and three disciples on the waiting list of the sect could be assigned to reside in it.
The hook-nosed teenager clad in purple was most probably the other roommate of Ding Hao.
“Hmm? Such bad luck. Why are there so many lowly hunters here? Does it mean that me, your esteemed Highness, has to live with these low-class people?”
The youth in purple frowned upon seeing so many people in the yard. He was mumbling in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft—it was just the right volume for everyone present to hear.
Zhang Fan’s expression changed instantly and he wanted to charge forward immediately.
“It’s fine, kid, it’s fine. Don’t be hasty…” said the old hunter as he grabbed hold of Zhang Fan.
He knew that from a young age, the thing that his son could not bear the most was to hear other people insult his useless father. He was worried that once Zhang Fan caused trouble out of a moment’s folly, he could be expelled by the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect, and that would erase all his hard work.
Zhang Fan was forcibly held back by his father and eventually lowered his head.
However, Ding Hao noticed that the teenage hunter was still clenching both his fists tightly, and because he had used too much force, his knuckle joints were protruding out. Obviously, he was trying extremely hard to control the rage inside him.
“Hmm? The second room turned out to be an annex. Is there a mistake somewhere? How could they assign the annex that meant for a lowly servant to me, a young master?”
The hook-nosed teenager clad in purple was extremely displeased after coming before the second room and taking a look at it. He immediately turned toward Ding Hao, who was standing at the entrance of the first room, and a shred of joy appeared in his long, narrow eyes. “Hey, kid, come here. Let’s change rooms!”
His tone was extremely arrogant and did not suggest any room for negotiation.
Little did he expect Ding Hao to be even more arrogant.
Ding Hao turned to Zhang Hao and the others before laughing. “I’m known as Ding Hao. From now on, we’ll be fellow disciples and roommates. Let’s take care of each other,” he replied before immediately turning and walking toward his room.
He did not even bother to throw the youth in purple a glance all this while.
“Damn it, our young master hasn’t done speaking with you yet, you brat…” exclaimed one of the guards in leather armor angrily. He leaped into the air and threw a punch toward Ding Hao’s back.
“Watch out!” shouted Zhang Fan in shock.
Unexpectedly, Ding Hao did not even bother to turn his head; it was as if he had grown a pair of eyes on his back. He counter-attacked with a punch of his own, and it met head-on with that of the guard in leather armor.
“Crack!”
The sound of bones breaking rang out.
“Ah…” the guard in leather armor cried out.
It was as if his arm had struck a hammer—his entire right arm had been twisted into an unnatural angle.
The flesh on a portion of the guard’s fist had split open and blood from the wound spurted out. His body, which was more than 50 kilograms, flew backward in the air like a kite whose string had broke and crashed heavily into the wall of the yard, causing a loud bang before it slid slowly to the ground.
It turned out that he had immediately fainted.
The expression of the youth in purple changed drastically and he was about to blow up before seeming to have remembered something. “Ding Hao? You’re Ding Hao? That Ding Hao who’s ranked at 100th position on the nominal roll?” he said in surprise.
This time, the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect had enrolled a total of 2,020 disciples on its waiting list, and those that managed to get ranked the first 500 positions were all extremely strong. Furthermore, Ding Hao’s name had begun to spread within the first day of the test, and compounded by the fact that he was ranked 100th on the nominal roll had proofed that he was an outstanding candidate out of all the entire 2,000 over disciples.
Even though the teenager in purple was arrogant, he was ranked far behind the first 500 positions. Naturally, he could not afford to offend a strong student such as Ding Hao.
He began to feel wary of Ding Hao, and his expression changed. In the end, he did not continue to speak further.
There was only a spirit of defiance and savagery in his long and narrow eyes.
What made him feel even more insulted was that Ding Hao had never even taken a look at him all this while. Instead, the latter pushed open the stone door to the first room and stepped into his quarters.
The expression of the youth in purple kept changing, as he grunted coldly before gathering his bodyguards, who in turn carried a huge amount of his daily necessities, and storming into the second room.
“Ding Hao, so this teenager is the legendary Ding Hao that possesses god-like genius.”
The old hunter’s eyes shone.
He paused before patting Zhang Fan’s back and instructing his son in an extremely serious tone, “Kid, remember, you have to sincerely make friends with your senior brother Ding from now on. You’ve met a good benefactor this time, son. Perhaps your life will undergo some defining changes because of having a roommate with such great potential!”
Zhang Fan nodded seriously.
“Rest assured, Dad. I also feel that senior brother Ding is extremely warm, just like a real elder brother,” he replied. As he reached this point, he pouted unhappily before continuing, “Dad, I’m now a disciple of the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect. Don’t call me ‘kid’ from now on, it’s so awful.”
“Hahaha, you little brat!”
The group of hunters laughed heartily on this bright afternoon.
A pleasant and treasured memory was captured at this very moment.
—
The first three days when they just entered the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect were the most relaxed for the disciples on the waiting list.
The 2,000 over disciples on the waiting list were allowed to move around freely. They had ample time to bid farewell to the families, friends, and bodyguards who had been accompanying and standing guard by them as well as familiarize themselves with and acclimatize to the surroundings on the mountain. Throughout these three days, there was no training arranged for them.
After three days, all non-relevant personnel had to immediately leave the Swordsmanship-seeking Mountain once it was past the time allowed.
As such, the high-spirited teenagers bid farewell reluctantly to their closed ones and remained behind in the Swordsmanship-seeking Sect by themselves. They would now embark on the arduous journey of training.
