Chapter 385: The Three Major Disciples

“Speak up! Which one do you want to choose?” Lin Dong pressed.
The three of them looked conflicted; clearly, none of them wanted to pick one.
Ignoring their pitiful gazes, Lin Dong said calmly, “If you can’t decide now, you can go back and discuss it. Once you’ve made up your mind, come to Lin’s Inn to talk to Manager Ma. Personally, I prefer you choose self-study. That way… Lin’s Inn will have three more guards. Of course, joining the sect is also fine.”
Niu Hong’s gaze became firm as he declared resolutely, “Master, I choose self-study.”
“Decisive enough, but…” Lin Dong said helplessly, “There’s no need to call me master. I have no intention of teaching you, nor will I give any guidance.”
Niu Hong grinned and said, “Since the spiritual skills were passed down by the master, of course we should call him master.”
It was a bit awkward, but Lin Dong understood. He said nothing, thinking of Old Ding. Even though Old Ding didn’t recognize him as his disciple and Lin Dong had never called him master, in his heart, Old Ding was still his teacher in this world.
Without the Sky-Controlling Art taught by Old Ding, he wouldn’t have gained such strength in just a few years, nor would he have had the qualifications to be forced into the Heavenly Sword Sect.
“If the master says nothing, it means he agrees,” Niu Hong said, immediately kowtowing three times.
Liang Ru and the others followed suit. Lin Dong didn’t stop them and said indifferently, “Let me make it clear again—I don’t have time to guide you. To be my disciples, you basically gain no benefits. Instead, you just add someone else to support.”
Niu Hong chuckled, “As long as there’s a connection, that’s enough. In the future, as guards, we can at least become team leaders.”
In the Great Han Nation, being a master was a very prestigious status, second only to parents. Although Lin Dong didn’t know everything about Niu Hong and the others’ personalities, he knew enough to be sure they weren’t the kind to disrespect their teachers. So, he skipped the test.
Though he claimed there were no benefits, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t give nothing at all. After all, they were nominal disciples. If they failed due to weak strength, he would also lose face.
He raised his arms, and instantly, Niu Hong and Liang Ru were lifted off the ground and grabbed by Lin Dong.
Spiritual energy flowed into his hands and then into their meridians. The next moment, Lin Dong was stunned.
There were surprisingly few impurities in their meridians. Though not as extraordinary as Tian Hao’s innate talent, they were still qualified to become elite disciples of a major sect.
“Haven’t you practiced before?” Lin Dong asked.

Niu Hong shook his head. “As a child, I begged on the streets and had no chance to learn martial arts. Later, by selling wild fruits and game, I gradually saved enough money for tuition at the academy, after which I was busy running a cloth shop. Eventually, I heard that learning martial arts later in life would make one progress much slower than others, so I gave up the idea. Today, seeing how impressive the master is, I’ve thought about learning martial arts again.”
Lin Dong was speechless. He had always believed that the Great Han Kingdom’s system for cultivating martial artists was almost perfect, leaving no genius unattended, but it seemed there were still gaps.
In the Great Han Kingdom, almost anyone who wanted to learn martial arts could do so. Those who entered the academy as children were filtered out if they lacked talent, while those with talent could choose to serve the Great Han Kingdom or accept its rule in exchange for support to ensure a stable life. Most geniuses then went to sects to become independent of the state.
In other words, as long as one truly had talent, even if the sects missed them, the Great Han Kingdom would not.
The only gap was likely in the academies.
Thanks to government subsidies, tuition at the academies was not high. At the county-level academies, accommodation and meals were provided for just one or two silver coins per year. Given the living standards in the Great Han Kingdom, even farmers, as long as they didn’t encounter a particularly harsh county magistrate, could usually get in. The problem lay with those who were just barely eligible—orphans, families of farmers oppressed by harsh county magistrates—whose numbers were also significant. Niu Hong and Liang Ru were two such examples.
“Master, um…” Niu Hong hesitated.
Lin Dong knew what Niu Hong wanted to say and waved his hand to stop him. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll give you the spiritual skills in a few days. For now, think carefully about what kind of weapons you want to use and what kind of spiritual skills you want to learn—fast, powerful, unpredictable… Once you’ve listed them, I’ll decide which skills to teach you. After all, trying to learn too many at once is inefficient. Learning three or four skills is enough; more would waste a lot of time practicing them, and the results might not even be better than focusing on a few. I, for example, have only learned two skills.”
Niu Hong remembered the strange ability Lin Dong had used to bring him here and quickly said, “Then I’ll learn the same as the master!”
Lin Dong shook his head. “One of my spiritual skills cannot be taught to others. If you want to learn something, you can only learn one of the movement-based skills.”
Seeing the disappointment on Niu Hong and the others’ faces, Lin Dong smiled and said, “I have plenty of ninth-level spiritual skills. By tailoring the teaching to each person’s aptitude, the results will be just as good, if not better, than learning from me.”

“Really?” The three immediately perked up. A ninth-level spiritual skill—there was nothing better than that.
“Nonsense. Why would I lie to you three?” Lin Dong waved his hand impatiently. “Enough, it’s almost time to close the city gates. Go back first, think it over, and then come to Lin’s Inn to see me.”
The three hesitated for a moment before nodding and standing up.
After they left, Lin Dong checked the injured Hundred-Winged Bird. He used spiritual energy to protect its inner core before entering a meditative state to cultivate.
As the sun set and the city gates closed, night fell gradually. Stars dotted the dark sky. Under their faint glow, Lin Dong stood up, grabbed the Hundred-Winged Bird’s leg, and suddenly shot forward toward the city wall.
Extending his consciousness outward to ensure no guards were nearby, Lin Dong lightly stepped onto the wall. With a few leaps, he flipped inside the city.
Flying swiftly across rooftops, he returned to the inn in no time.
Combining the stable with the breeding pen and activating its self-healing properties as well as the breeding pen’s simulation features, Lin Dong placed the severely injured Hundred-Winged Bird inside the pen before letting out a long sigh. As long as he asked Ma Chun to assign a guard to bond with the bird early the next morning, it would be able to show its true strength when the branch store opened.
After a day of hard work, he finally settled the matter of his mount. Back in his room, Lin Dong dismissed all distractions and focused entirely on cultivation.
Early the next morning, before Lin Dong even had to go look for Ma Chun, Ma Chun came to inquire about the Hundred-Winged Bird. After explaining everything and instructing Ma Chun regarding Niu Hong and the other two, as well as arranging for a guard to bond with the bird in the breeding pen, the matter was officially resolved.
That day, the story of hunting the Hundred-Winged Bird began to spread wildly throughout Lingnan City. All the major families and warriors suffered heavy losses, significantly weakening the overall strength of Lingnan City. More importantly, they returned empty-handed from this hunt—except, of course, for the mysterious man in black who appeared out of nowhere.
The warriors felt both love and hatred toward the man in black. He had saved them, but he also deliberately injured one of the Hundred-Winged Birds after capturing it, sparking fierce competition among them.
The result of the competition was that the Hundred-Winged Bird flew away.
Fortunately, although many were severely injured, the death toll wasn’t high—only over four hundred. A 40% casualty rate was a devastating blow to the surviving warriors, many of whom had brothers and close friends among them.

Forty percent of the casualties, although still far exceeding the expectations of various major families, were still above the minimum threshold. Most importantly, aside from the Liang family, the heirs of other families were still alive. This was the most crucial thing for these families. Heavy losses among the younger generation only reduced the family’s overall strength in the future, but if the heirs died, the family’s future would be in grave danger—especially for those families that couldn’t find another exceptionally talented heir, as it would be a fatal blow. Without a strong next-generation family head, the entire family would become a target for other families after the older generation passed away.

It could be said that, except for the Liang family, all the major families were deeply grateful to the man in black. Failing to capture the Hundred-Wing Bird meant only a loss of over a hundred thousand taels of silver—a sum that was trivial for these families. Their hunt for the Hundred-Wing Bird was merely to test their family members. The man in black saving more than half of the family members and heirs was equivalent to saving the entire family.

Of course, that afternoon, the major families posted bounties ranging from hundreds of thousands to a million taels each, just to obtain information about the man in black. In total, the amount amounted to over six million taels of silver. For a time, the entire Lingnan City was in an uproar. Yet, no matter how much turmoil there was, no one stepped forward to claim the bounties.

The man in black, who had saved all the families in Lingnan City, appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as silently. Like a shooting star, he caused a huge sensation in Lingnan City before disappearing without a trace.

Three days later in the evening, Ma Chun, along with Niu Hong and the other two, knocked on Lin Dong’s door. Among the three, Hua Wuqian couldn’t practice cultivation due to his contracted dantian until Old Ding and Yun Lan returned. Without spiritual energy, he couldn’t master any spiritual techniques. As for Niu Hong and Liang Ru, their choices pleased Lin Dong greatly.

Niu Hong preferred using a large, brutal sword and wanted to learn powerful, fast-acting spiritual techniques. Liang Ru, on the other hand, favored a flexible whip and wanted to master agile and unpredictable spiritual techniques. Both choices suited their personalities well, and in Lin Dong’s view, they were the best options.

As for spiritual techniques, Lin Dong had plenty, all of them at the eighth or ninth level. It would be easy for them to find the techniques they wanted to learn. As for weapons, since they were his nominal disciples, Lin Dong wasn’t stingy. He allowed them to choose any spiritual weapon from the eighth or ninth level obtained from Wuyou Cave, and he also gave each of them a set of lightweight armor.

Finally, there were the spiritual materials and pills to assist in cultivation. Lin Dong didn’t give much—just a few low-grade pills to each person. As for the abundant spiritual materials such as Qinglan Fruits, Wanhong Fruits, and branches of Lingyun Trees, as many as Lin Dong wanted, he didn’t bring them out, as Niu Hong and the others didn’t need such high-grade materials yet. In just one night, Lin Dong gained two more inexpensive disciples; if Huā Wúqiān’s atrophied dantian could be resolved, the number would increase to three.