The Science of Cultivation [Xianxia]

Chapter 168: Recruiting Students

“B-boss, is something the matter?”

Several seconds went by without any response, so Wei Ping began shaking Li Lang’s shoulders to bring him back to reality. As someone who had been by his side for years, he knew exactly how to handle him.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry about that. Just thinking about how this will be tricky,” Li Lang finally replied.

“Y-You’re right. They probably won’t l-let us take anyone with good aptitude.”

The two young men then directed their gaze at the group of young children awaiting their decision. Most of them had either grade one or two aptitude, but there happened to be one child with grade three aptitude. It was one of the top performers, which got Li Lang deliberating if it was worth trying to take him under their wing.

“We likely won’t be able to afford the price this Rigid Squall Sect asks for.”

“Should w-we just give up on him, then?”

“Hmm, I don’t think we have any other choice.”

“Then t-that leaves us with only t-two who passed.”

“That’s fine for now. We still have other places to visit, and we can only bring back so many. We also ought to ask if they’re willing to come with us to demonic territory first.”

With the matter settled, the two young men walked back over toward the group of children that had undisguised anticipation in their eyes.

“We won’t waste any more of your time,” Li Lang shouted. “There are two who have passed our tests. Xiao Dong, and Wu San, step forward.”

Those who weren’t chosen were visibly upset while the adults, off the side, were no different. One of the parents even voiced their outrage.

“How can this be? Our little Hai should’ve performed in the top two in every test!” She then directed a look at Xiao Dong, glaring daggers at him.

It wasn’t hard for the trio to see the animosity toward the young orphaned child, as the parent was upset that he managed to pass, but not their son.

“The criteria of the test aren’t something we will be discussing. We’ve already made a decision, but that doesn’t mean those who weren’t chosen were any worse. In fact, I can tell you that there is even someone who hadn’t been selected, possessing great talent that your local sect will be dying to recruit. There’s no need to be concerned.”

“Then the reason you esteemed cultivators aren’t picking them is…”

“According to your mayor, this is still the territory of the Rigid Squall Sect. We likely won’t receive permission to take them with us. On that note, Xiao Dong, Wu San,” Li Lang called out as he glanced over at the two young kids in question. “Are you two willing to leave the Vermillion Dragon province with us?”

Without missing a beat, the more scrawny of the two, Xiao Dong, immediately nodded. Wu San looked over at his parents, waiting for their answer before he, too, accepted the offer.

Li Lang then took out his Skyrunner and ushered the two kids onboard before taking to the skies. The small crowd who had watched the spectacle began to disband, with some families consoling their children.

Li Lang purposefully slowed down their vehicle as he saw Xiao Dong looking wistfully down at the crowd.

“There are still a few things I’ll have to speak to you guys about before you finalize your decision to come with us, so there’s no need for the long face.”

“Umm, no need. I won’t be changing my decision no matter what you say. I have a feeling I’d regret it if I missed this opportunity.”

His intuition isn’t too bad, or is it a lucky guess? Either way, the local sect may or may not recruit him. He’s got grade two aptitude, but is otherwise ordinary. Even if they did accept him, he wouldn’t be valued. Wu San, on the other hand, will never get accepted by any sect.

“If you’re so determined about your decision, does that mean you’re reluctant to part with someone?” Li Lang continued to inquire. “Maybe that other kid who was with you just now?”

That got Xiao Dong’s attention. He sighed and slowly nodded.

“We only have each other in this village. I worry about what will happen to him once he’s alone, but we made a promise. If one of us has what it takes to become a cultivator, we will try our best, no matter the cost. Only then will we be able to save ourselves, and each other.”

Li Lang shared a quick look with Wei Ping, who nodded back at him.

“In that case, we don’t mind bringing him along, too. But first, we’re going to have you sign this contract here.”

At the wave of his hand, Li Lang brought out two sheets of paper from his space ring. It caused the two kids to stare up at him, dumbfounded.

“What is that? And how did you make it just appear, like that?”

“We’ll go over those things eventually. You just have to know this is a binding contract. When signed, you must follow the terms on it, or you’ll be subject to punishment. In this case, it’ll just notify the other party if you breach the terms.”

Wu San nodded in understanding while Xiao Dong squinted his eyes at the pieces of paper with a scrutinizing gaze.

“Oh, that’s right. You can’t read, so I’ll read it to you. In the future, you’ll have to make sure you learn to read yourself, so you don’t get tricked into signing something you regret.”

“Uh-huh.”

Flashing a wry smile at the innocent kid, Li Lang began explaining the terms of the contract to the two of them. It was a binding contract of the lowest grade, something Li Lang managed to figure out during his time in the pocket realm. That meant it didn’t have the power to do anything more than notify the other party when the terms were breached.

As for the content itself, it was a simple nondisclosure agreement Li Lang drafted up.

The young children signed without much fuss, and the paper went into flames. Li Lang could sense some Qi drifting toward his head as the effect settled.

“Now, then. We’ll be going over our final destination. You can still choose to decline our offer, but then we’ll have you come along with us until we leave.”

“Umm, but why?” Wu San, who had been quietly sitting in the corner until now, softly muttered.

“That’s because our home base is in the Demonic Cultivator Territory.”

The two kids blinked blankly at Li Lang’s words. They didn’t really comprehend it right away. It took them an entire minute before their eyes suddenly widened.

“What?! You’re demonic cultivators?!”

“Not exactly. We don’t practice demonic techniques. It’s just that we stay there. It’s quite a bit to explain, so save your questions until the end. What you know about demonic cultivators are actually…”

Wei Ping purposefully circled around the village while Li Lang explained the basics as to why they’re based in the Luminescent Domain. It took quite some time to go over everything, and then even more time to answer their questions.

By the time they were done, it was already late afternoon. The trio sent the kids back to their place to gather their things so they could set off with them the next morning.

Nothing unexpected happened, and the day passed by in the blink of an eye. The next morning, under the watchful gaze of the entire village, the golden-brown Skyrunner flew up toward the horizon.

“So, umm, Master. When do we start learning how to cultivate?” Xiao Dong poked his head out of the compartment and asked.

Immediately after his questions, Long Yi’s guffawing could be heard in the back. It made Li Lang shake his head.

“You can call us teacher. We’re too young to be called masters, and your education will start once we get back to Emberglow City. For now, your main task is to learn how to read and write.”

“What about me?” Wu San’s voice sounded out from behind.

“You’ll have to be patient as well. Help Xiao Dong learn his words or do the same exercises you’ve been doing until now.”

Li Lang wouldn’t be starting any lessons until he gathered all their students together. It was just more efficient than starting over again once someone new joins. At the same time, he wanted to properly observe each of his students, to record accurate data for his experiments. It was too hectic to be doing that while on a journey.

With two new members in their vehicle, time passed by a lot faster than before. Perhaps it was due to the ever-so-curious children asking a barrage of questions, but no one minded, as they didn’t have anything better to do. In fact, Long Yi finally showed his usefulness during this time. He was surprisingly good with children, and he also had the energy to deal with them throughout their trip.

After an entire day of traveling, a large town came into view. It was the next stop in their journey and the first major city they came across within Vermillion Dragon.

“So this is the city of Qinglong,” Long Yi muttered.

At his words, the two kids quickly poked their heads out to get a better view of the city. It was an exciting sight for them, as they had never stepped foot outside of the village before.

For the regular folks, traveling was not an easy task. They moved about much slower, taking at least days to get anywhere. The trip from Mu Xia Village to Qinglong City would’ve taken them at least an entire week.

For Li Lang and the gang, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The view was similar to Xiang Yang. A large city indeed, but the lack of Skyrunners in the area told them it was just another mortal city.

As they landed near the gates, they could already spot a large crowd of guards standing at the ready to welcome them.