Shuddering, Tie Ying turned his stiff neck only to falter back at the familiar face.
“Gui Hu!”
Tie Ying, Kui Gang and Yue’er cried at once. While Tie Ying looked positively shocked, the other two had a mixed reaction.
Now even the great top inner disciple had shown up at the Labor Office.
Zhuo Fan asked, “You know each other?”
He sized Gui Hu up and his eyes lit up, “7th layer of Radiant Stage! Just what did he do to get sent here? Did his master just let him go?”
“Uh, master, have you forgotten how you blew him off at the last inner competition in one sweep? He is Grand Elder’s prized pupil, best inner disciple Gui Hu.”
Kui Gang nodded, learning Gui Hu’s situation from his father and Yue’er from Yue Ling.
Zhuo Fan paused, then nodded, “Oh, him. But his savagery was quite heavy then, unlike now. He must’ve made great headway in his mentality and heart.”
“Master, you even forgot an expert like him?” Kui Gang sighed.
Zhuo Fan shrugged, “I never even took him into account when I just gave the broom a whirl. Or am I supposed to remember every ant that steps under my shoe?”
“Awesome, master!” Kui Gang and Yue’er chuckled.
While Gui Hu was a top expert to them, Zhuo Fan saw him as an ant.
[This is the gap!]
Gui Hu picked up on the situation from Zhuo Fan’s face and lamented having held no impression on this monster.
[He never even registered my presence from how weak I was.]
While Tie Ying was shell shocked and incredulous, “G-Gui Hu, what are you doing here?”
“Yeah, you should be well on your way as an elite.” Zhuo Fan gave Elder Yuan a curious glance.
Elder Yuan inspected the roster and found the answer, “Steward Zhuo, Gui Hu has been here for two days. They say he stole a pill and Grand Elder banished him in rage.”
“Steal? The best inner disciple to become elite, having everything handed to him, stole?” Zhuo Fan eyed him longer, “You came for me, didn’t you?”
Gui Hu hid his shock, then gave a slow nod.
Tie Ying shed his shock in favor of a moronic look, “Ah, so you came for revenge. But what kind of grudge must’ve pushed you so far as to fall so low to pursue it?”
No matter how much of a dump the Labor Office was, it was under the sect’s protection.
For Gui Hu to kill a laborer, he could only do it by lowering down to his target’s level since the sect’s rules forbade hurting anyone lower than him.
But the price was inconceivable and even stirred up doubt in Tie Ying.
“Buzz off, who are you calling a moron?”
Gui Hu rebutted, then stared at Zhuo Fan hard as he recalled his master’s words.
[You are the product of your environment.]
[I am not adept in the matters of the heart while Impermanence Five’s mentality evolved so much thanks to being around High Venerable which made their domain a murder weapon.]
[If you seek to go further on your path, walk by the kid’s side. As for being some laborer, ha-ha-ha, High Venerable has a saying I most approve of: ‘the strong are everywhere’.]
[The path you tread is your own, not the sect paving it for you…]
Master’s guidance rang in Gui Hu’s ears and he shouted, “Zhuo Fan, I wish to follow you!”
“Why!”
“Train my heart!” Gui Hu was blunt.
Zhuo Fan nodded with a smile, “Come right over.”
“Wait, master!”
Kui Gang said, “Grand Elder cherishes his disciple and if he is letting him come here, it must be with a twisted plan in mind. Moreover, won’t it affect the grand design of yours and the Sect Leader?”
Zhuo Fan snickered, “Runt, your caution is ill-placed here. We have only just begun and there’s no way for those oldies in the inner sect to catch wind of anything. Don’t you find sending their disciple just to probe me so soon a waste? More than anything, his eyes are friendly. He is definitely here to train and nothing more.”
“Ha-ha-ha, I feel the same. Gui Hu is too pigheaded and impulsive to be a good spy. Even if his master gave him such a task, it will butt heads with his nature. But I feel the sincerity in his eyes in wishing to learn.”
Elder Yuan sighed, “How rare, some youths are willing to brave anything to walk their path. Grand Elder is a true visionary to know what his disciple needs the most, ha-ha-ha…”
Kui Gang shrugged at Zhuo Fan and Elder Yuan’s attitudes.
While Tie Ying’s mind was out of commission. He grabbed Gui Hu, “Senior brother Gui Hu, you’re telling me that you want to follow him? You’re the greatest in the inner sect yet you’re fawning over a wastrel? Have you lost all dignity over just one failure?”
“You know nothing, but I’ll humor you. That man right there on the stage made me feel powerless. Among this entire Labor Office, I will follow only him!” Gui Hu snorted.
Tie Ying watched him go with a shocked look.
[What the hell is going on here? Since when was Profound Heaven Stage cultivation amazing?]
Zhuo Fan’s enticing voice once again drew attention, “People, brother Tie Ying raised a valid question that I am going to answer right now. The resources are not a problem, they will come from me. Don’t believe me? Take a closer look at my disciples.”
Zhuo Fan pointed at Yue’er and Kui Gang who stepped forth to reveal their gaudy trinkets.
Everyone’s eyes reddened, picking up on the thick spiritual energy wafting from them. No matter how many rumors they heard, seeing them all dolled up had their blood boiling.
Tie Ying couldn’t think straight.
[Of for the love of god… two disciples armed to the teeth in 8th and 9th grade demonic treasures is unheard of! Even among venerables and elders!]
[Since when did the Labor Office become a club for high rollers?]
“Fellow brothers, these children challenged inner disciples and yet came back alive and well. Why? Because what I offer, the elites can’t top. Stick with me and you’re set for life. All of you who wish to follow me, shout out my name, Steward Zhuo!”
“Steward Zhuo~”
He incited the crowd and they replied in kind, filled with hope and desire, as if he was their deliverer, a messiah.
Zhuo Fan flicked his hand and the hubbub grounded to a halt. Zhuo Fan turned heavy in his shout, “In order to follow me, there are some conditions, to thirst for strength. I have no need for loafers. Through a trial I’ll soon set up in the Labor Office, I will test each and every one of you if you’re worthy to join the elite Labor Office and deserving of my endless resources. I promise you that those who pass will become elders or venerables. You will no longer have to join the Asura Circle! And as for those who fail, sorry but you’ll remain as simple laborers waiting for death in the Asura Circle.”
Whoosh!
The shouting that was mounting faltered as the crowd turned silent. [Wait, we still have to pass a test? I haven’t cultivated in weeks!]
Zhuo Fan hammered it in, “If you are so afraid to even take this step to become strong, to join me, then you deserve your fate as ants. You don’t have the drive to thirst for power, you are weak! “
This reverse psychology worked its magic like a charm.
With a mix of encouragement and insults, many were driven, their spirits burned with a fire never seen for years as they stormed Zhuo Fan.
Tie Ying felt the crowd move past him, then his eyes steeled for going with them.
[Let’s see what a Profound Heaven cultivator has that can make so many fall for his words. For even the greatest inner disciple Gui Hu to follow him!]
They followed Zhuo Fan behind the mountain, to the cemetery where he shouted and made a sign, “Heaven Earth Profound Yellow. Four direction gates open!”
