Chapter 4: Ye Dafu

One month later, Xiao Nanfeng had left the Tianshu Empire and appeared in a town on the shores of the Eastern Sea.

The second floor of a teahouse in town had a large number of scrolls and documents on display to be sold, and Xiao Nanfeng was standing right there, going through each scroll carefully.

"Sir, why don't you have a look at these cultivation techniques? Our techniques are all the best of the best. They might be expensive, but they'll help you raise your cultivation as quickly as possible."

The owner of the teahouse relentlessly continued advertising to Xiao Nanfeng as he browsed, but Xiao Nanfeng happily ignored him. He was en route to an Immortal sect; would he really pick a technique from a small teahouse over that? Rather than look at the advertised techniques, he was much more interested in the dusty and weathered tomes that had been left untouched.

"These Taoist scriptures seem to be rather battered..." he commented, frowning.

The teahouse owner grimaced upon seeing what he was pointing to. "Those are specially discounted; they were part of my grandfather's collection, and have been placed here ever since. It's natural that they've accumulated wear and tear with age. If not for my grandfather having established rules against replacing the stock, I certainly wouldn't keep them on sale."

These Taoist scriptures were abstruse and incomprehensible, without any grounding in reality, and neither were they cultivation techniques. They had gone decades without being sold—surely the youth in front of him was asking just for fun?

"How much for these scrolls?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.

The teahouse owner looked stunned. "You want them? Wonderful! Take them all for a tael of gold!"

"Sir, you want a tael of gold for these ancient scrolls you haven't sold in decades?" Xiao Nanfeng frowned.

"My grandfather said he would take no less. You—aren't really going to buy them, are you?" the teahouse owner asked in surprise.

"What do you think?" Xiao Nanfeng waved a tael of gold at him.

"Haha, you're generous indeed, young sir! As thanks, please have today's breakfast on the house," the teahouse owner cried out in delight.

These battered old scrolls were taking up valuable shelf space. Now that they were finally gone, he could finally put up some new scrolls and manuals instead.

Xiao Nanfeng brought his dozen or so Taoist scriptures that he had never before seen to a table by the window. He flagged down a waiter, ordered something to eat, and began perusing them.

Just as he was getting into the flow, mocking whispers suddenly came from the neighboring table.

"That fool! He spent a tael of gold on a pile of trash, haha!"

"Boss, I bet he can't afford cultivation techniques and is hoping to strike it lucky with one of those trashy scrolls."

"Boss, he's definitely poor, for sure!"

A dozen richly dressed youths were seated by a neighboring table, and they were heaping praise on a certain young man in white among them. The young man airily waved a paper fan, arrogance clear on his face, as he criticized the surrounding patrons. The other young men seemed to hang onto his every word, causing his ego to grow the more he spoke.

Xiao Nanfeng glanced at the young men speechlessly. Where had these fools come from? Weren't they worried about offending those around him? And what did his scrolls have to do with any of them?

Xiao Nanfeng ignored them and buried himself deeper in his scrolls, immersing himself in their nuance and insight.

"Boss, will the Taiqing Immortal Sect's ships really stop by today?" one young man asked their white-clothed leader.

The leader airily waved his fan. "What? Don't you trust me, Ye Dafu?" [1]

"No, no, it's just such a major event. We all believe you—all our clans support the Ye clan, and we young masters will certainly follow your lead as well," the young man wheedled.

Ye Dafu, nodding in satisfaction, pointed out the window. "Do you see the carriages outside?"

Everyone looked toward the window. Indeed, the town was bustling with activity as countless ornate carriages rushed toward it from all over, all gathering by the quay and causing a traffic jam in the vicinity.

"Are these all people who will be competing with us for slots to join the Taiqing Immortal Sect?" The lackeys all looked rather aggrieved.

"The Taiqing Immortal Sect is renowned throughout the world for its strength. Is this not reasonable? You must know that even the emperor of our Tianshu Empire came from the Taiqing Immortal Sect himself," Ye Dafu exclaimed.

"We have to become disciples of the Taiqing Immortal Sect!" one lackey shouted in anticipation.

"The disciples of the sect are divided into two types, formal and nominal. Which sort of disciple you become will depend on your skill. Of course, I'll be a formal disciple for sure," Ye Dafu bragged.

"Ah? There are two types of disciples?" his lackeys pressed.

"The initial selection will occur later. There are three spots at which the Taiqing Immortal Sect's ships will stop along the coast. Only those qualified to become disciples will be allowed on the ship and sent to Taiqing Island. There, a second, more rigorous examination will be carried out to separate formal from nominal disciples," Ye Dafu explained.

"You really are amazing, Boss! You know everything!" a lackey praised.

"Of course! The Ye clan has a few disciples in the Taiqing Immortal Sect, so I'd know all this. The sect's ships travel around the coast annually, so if we miss the recruitment today, we'll have to wait a whole year. All of you had better give a good showing, you hear?" Ye Dafu boasted.

"Don't worry, Boss! We won't disappoint you." The lackeys rubbed their palms in anticipation.

"They're here! The ships from the Taiqing Immortal Sect are here!" shouted an excited voice from outside the teahouse.

Ye Dafu and his lackeys all rushed toward the window for a good view, and Xiao Nanfeng also turned his head.

Outside, far into the distance, was a palatial ship sailing toward the quay. "Taiqing" had been inscribed on the hull of the ship in an ancient script, conferring upon it a certain gravitas. The quay had been vacated for the day; the fishermen's crafts had to give way for the arrival of the Taiqing Sect ship.

"We greet the Immortal masters of the Taiqing Sect!" Voices of reverence rose and fell around the harbor.

As the ship slowly sailed to shore, a number of robed disciples could be seen on deck, peering down at those that had gathered by the quay in anticipation.

"Do you wish to join the Taiqing Immortal Sect?" a robed disciple shouted.

"Yes!" the onlookers chorused

"Those who have reached the sixth stage of physical Acquisition within ten years of age, or those who have reached physical Immanence within twenty, may board for free," the robed disciple continued.

His voice spread to the nearby teahouse.

"Boss, let's head over now! We'd better not dilly-dally," a lackey urged.

"There's no rush—all those on the ship are merely nominal disciples," Ye Dafu replied leisurely.

"He said that you can board for free if you're at the sixth stage of Acquisition by ten, and Immanence by twenty? What does that mean?" another lackey asked.

"It's a measure of talent and strength. Those talented enough to meet those thresholds will almost certainly become formal disciples after entering the Taiqing Immortal Sect, so they can naturally do what they want. The nominal disciples would hardly dare to make lives difficult for them."

"In that case, Boss, does that mean you can board the ship at any point?" the lackeys asked enviously.

Ye Dafu grinned smugly. "Naturally."

The robed man on the ship scanned the onlookers and continued, "All others interested in joining the Taiqing Immortal Sect must be below thirty years of age and will be recruited based on their talent and age. Line up by this quay—only the top three hundred will be recruited!"

The prospective disciples immediately began lining up at the quay to be tested.

"Boss, we should head over!" the lackeys implored.

"Very well. With your talent, all of you should do just fine," Ye Dafu replied confidently.

Half the lackeys trailed off in search of the recruiter; only two remained behind to finish their meal with Ye Dafu.

"Eh, Boss? Doesn't it look like that poor guy's boarding the ship too?" one lackey pointed out.

"Hmm?" Ye Dafu turned around to see Xiao Nanfeng having retrieved his rucksack and slowly putting the discounted scrolls he had just bought within it.

"Sir, thanks for your hospitality these last few days. I'll be setting off now."

"May you be apprenticed to a famed master," the teahouse owner replied courteously.

Ye Dafu and his two remaining lackeys eyed each other.

"That poor bastard looks like he's sixteen or seventeen, doesn't he? He's planning to board too? Without participating in the testing?" one lackey wondered in shock.

"We didn't have to participate because we met the base requirements for recruitment, but could he have done the same despite being three or four years younger?" the other lackey murmured.

"Has he already reached Immanence with his physical cultivation?" Ye Dafu's eyes widened.

Ye Dafu himself had tremendous talent at cultivation, and his clan bore great hopes for him. With his lackeys continuously praising and flattering him, Ye Dafu had grown bigheaded and confident of his genius—but if the youth before him had truly reached Immanence at such an age, didn't that mean he was even more talented?

1. 大富 = Dafu, literally meaning 'great wealth'. ?