381: Chapter 381 Chaotic World, Mountain of Knives

"My Lord, my grandfather, my father, and several of my fellow disciples from Blade Mountain all wish to pay their respects to you!"

Qin He found it a bit difficult to ask, but he looked at Lin Xiao with great anticipation.

He hadn't seen his family for eight years since leaving Blade Mountain.

As a result, he had spent the entire day yesterday chatting with his family and fellow disciples.

With his experience in the Zhenbei Army and being the only subordinate the Prince of Zhenbei brought up the mountain, this honor truly made his family and fellow disciples green with envy.

Thus, since yesterday, everyone from Blade Mountain had been begging Qin He to arrange an introduction.

In fact, many martial artists from various sects wanted to pay their respects to Lin Xiao. To show their faces and exchange a few words would be a tremendous honor.

But what was the Prince of Zhenbei's status? He was a presence personally accompanied by the Old Celestial Master!

The Sword Saint and the Blade Emperor had even broken precedent to attend the Tianwu Grand Tournament. Could they really be there just to watch a bunch of kids fight? Was that even possible?

It was all because the Prince of Zhenbei had come!

Although the Prince of Zhenbei was currently 'below only one man,' even if Emperor Hong himself came, the three Great Grandmasters might not necessarily grant him such face!

To put it bluntly, if anyone was 'received' by the Prince of Zhenbei at the Tianwu Grand Tournament, it might even be recorded in the history books!

Therefore, people in the martial world didn't dare to approach and greet him rashly. This was an extremely serious matter; one slip-up could easily backfire.

Lin Xiao had seen through this long ago. A man lives for his reputation, and he didn't mind giving his old comrade a chance to show off in front of his family.

"Have them come over. There is still some time before the Prodigy Battles begin."

Qin He was overjoyed. He hurried over and brought a group of his family and fellow disciples.

"My Lord, this is my grandfather, the Great Elder of Blade Mountain, Qin Hengjiang."

"This is my father, the Hall Master of the Precept Blade Hall at Blade Mountain, Qin Xiaoyan."

"And my younger brother, my younger sister, my junior brother..."

Qin He introduced over a dozen people from Blade Mountain in one breath.

If not for Lin Xiao's extraordinary memory, he would definitely have been confused.

Lin Xiao felt that if this were his original world, he would at least have to give out autographs and take group photos.

Then these people would take the photos home, frame them, and place them prominently in their living rooms, telling every visitor that they had chatted with the Prince of Zhenbei!

"My Lord, this grandson of mine has a bit of a temper. He has caused you trouble!"

Qin Hengjiang had a somewhat majestic appearance, but in front of Lin Xiao, his face was covered in smiles, looking exactly like a little old man proud of his grandson.

"Haha, Elder Qin, you worry too much. In our Zhenbei Army, we only care about military discipline, not whether a temper is good or bad. A good temper can't kill barbarians; being a bit hot-headed is better!"

"Qin He has been killing enemies alongside this Prince since his time in the Border Army and has achieved great military merit. How can you say he's caused me trouble?"

Qin Hengjiang's face flushed with pride, and his originally somewhat hunched back straightened up.

Qin Xiaoyan, the father, was also in high spirits, sharing in the glory.

"My Lord, my grandfather, my father, and the others also want me to bring some fellow disciples to serve in the Zhenbei Army."

"But rest assured, I have already made it clear to them that the doors of our Zhenbei Army are wide open. Anyone can sign up or pass the Martial Examinations of the Northern Territory fair and square."

Qin He said, puffing out his chest.

"Mhm, you can remain selfless and impartial; you have done well. This Prince is very gratified."

Lin Xiao patted him on the shoulder.

Seeing this scene, the Qin family became even more convinced of Qin He's status under Lin Xiao, and the fellow disciples grew even more envious.

"However..."

Lin Xiao's tone shifted as he said, "If the disciples of your Blade Mountain and the Qin family can successfully enter the Zhenbei Army, it is only right that you look after them a little."

"As long as it complies with military regulations and no one can find fault with it, it's fine. Humans are not plants; how can one truly be emotionless?"

Qin He's eyes lit up, and he cupped his fists. "Thank you, My Lord!"

Saying this undoubtedly gave him even more weight in the hearts of everyone from Blade Mountain!

"Rest assured, My Lord. Although our Blade Mountain disciples are not as strictly recruited as other sects and their quality varies, if anyone dares to use their connection with Qin He to act imperiously in the Zhenbei Army, we will be the first to not let them off!"

Qin Xiaoyan hurriedly gave his son a guarantee.

"Qin He is a brother who has gone through life and death with this Prince. Naturally, his relatives will not be bad. This Prince naturally believes that."

Lin Xiao then asked as if casually, "By the way, Elder Qin, does your Blade Mountain still have a Supreme Elder surnamed Ji?"

Qin Hengjiang was taken aback. "Is My Lord speaking of... Elder Ji Wujiu?"

"That's right, that's the name. This Prince has learned that he seems to have a connection with the rebel Prince Bai, so I wanted to ask about him."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the Qin family members all grew tense.

"My Lord, please do not misunderstand. Although Elder Ji Wujiu is the maternal grandfather of Prince Bai, he has absolutely no connection with our Qin family!"

Qin Hengjiang waved his hands repeatedly, his movements so frantic they almost looked like tremors.

Lin Xiao frowned. "Elder Qin, this Prince does not like to hear those words. Since you are of the same sect and he is your senior, how can you say he has no connection with your Qin family?"

"This Prince is merely asking if he is still alive and what his movements are. I never said it would be held against your Qin family."

Seeing his father's face turn pale with anxiety, Qin Xiaoyan hurriedly interjected:

"My Lord may not know, but the situation at our Blade Mountain is quite special. It can be summed up in one word: chaotic! Extremely chaotic!"

"Oh? How so?" Lin Xiao became interested.

"Simply put, because the founding purpose of our Blade Mountain is to be brave and overbearing, and we worship combat, the internal strife within the sect is also extremely harsh."

Qin Xiaoyan said seriously, "To say nothing else, even my father, as the Great Elder, simply cannot control the disciples under the other dozen or so elders."

"If I, as the Hall Master of the Precept Blade Hall, want to punish a disciple who has broken sect rules, I must first consult with that person's master or clan elders."

"In other major sects, the disciplinary hall acts according to sect rules and there's no issue, but that doesn't work at Blade Mountain."

"One slip-up and two families will start fighting. Cases of entire clans being wiped out due to internal strife at Blade Mountain are not uncommon!"

Lin Xiao sucked in a breath. He had long heard that 'Blade Mountain is strong in a chaotic world' because its disciples were combative, but he hadn't expected it to be this ridiculous.

Even so, Blade Mountain was the sect with the largest number of disciples, mainly because the threshold was low and there were too many low-level disciples.

"Then where is this Ji Wujiu now?" Lin Xiao asked.

"Elder Ji left Blade Mountain many years ago, and his whereabouts are completely unknown. Some say he lived in seclusion in the Bai Princes Mansion for years, but no one knows if that's true."

Qin Hengjiang speculated, "Given his age, if he hasn't broken through to the Great Grandmaster Realm, there's a high probability he's already dead."

He's definitely dead, because I killed him.

Lin Xiao muttered to himself, then turned and asked, "Then are there still members of Elder Ji's clan at Blade Mountain?"