110: Recruiting disciples with benefits

Time flew by, and several more days passed.

On this day, a special guest arrived at the Li family.

"Greetings, Immortal Master."

Zhou Jingxing, leaning on his crutch, bowed with what he believed was elegant bearing.

"What is this?" Li Xiangyun looked at the scene in surprise.

Suddenly, Zhou Jingxing threw his crutch away, hugged Li Xiangyun's thigh, and wailed, "Immortal Master, you must take me in!"

Li Xiangyun gently tried to pull his leg away, but seeing it was stuck, he could only say with a dark expression, "Get to the point!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jingxing looked up and said pitifully, "Does Immortal Master still remember what happened at the Spirit Beast Sect a month ago?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyun already guessed Zhou Jingxing's intention, but he still played along and said, "I remember, what about it?"

Most importantly, he also wanted to see what the Ninth Prince of Great Zhou was up to.

So, Zhou Jingxing immediately began to recount the story with great emotion, "That day, Immortal Master gravely injured Crimson Sun Zhenren with a single sword strike."

"When the news reached the Imperial City, the Asked Dao Academy was in an uproar, and even Father Emperor was extremely furious when he heard about it, immediately dispatching people to apprehend Immortal Master."

"But Junior has admired Immortal Master since childhood, and on that day, it was Crimson Sun Zhenren who actively attacked Immortal Master."

"Immortal Master injuring him was purely self-defense, with no fault."

"Therefore, Junior naturally tried his best to defend Immortal Master. This leg injury was sustained while pleading for Immortal Master."

"Then I should repay you handsomely!" Li Xiangyun looked at Zhou Jingxing, who was kneeling on the ground, with a half-smile.

"This..." Zhou Jingxing originally wanted to say something more, but meeting Li Xiangyun's meaningful gaze, he gritted his teeth and said, "Junior wishes to become Immortal Master's Disciple, willing to serve him for life, never regretting it!"

After speaking, Zhou Jingxing, without further ado, kowtowed three times to Li Xiangyun.

Li Xiangyun watched this scene silently, pondering in his heart.

With his insight, how could he not see that Zhou Jingxing's true purpose was to use his power to contend for the throne?

Don't think that in this Cultivation world where strength reigns supreme, the throne is useless.

Firstly, the concept of Dragon Qi exists in this world. The so-called Dragon Qi is a mysterious power formed by drawing upon the Earth Vein Power and Power Of Faith of the Great Zhou Dynasty through the Imperial Seal.

This power can not only be used against enemies but also for Cultivation. With the current territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it can at least allow a Cultivator to Cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage without Bottlenecks.

Furthermore, becoming the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty brings an immense amount of resources.

With such conditions, who wouldn't want to be Emperor?

Therefore, what Zhou Jingxing said about becoming a Disciple was certainly a mix of truth and falsehood.

The same applied to his previous statements.

But undoubtedly, the benefits were greater.

Thus, Li Xiangyun was somewhat hesitant about whether to accept Zhou Jingxing.

Zhou Jingxing also realized this, so he quietly knelt on the ground without speaking.

After a long time, Li Xiangyun softly uttered a single word, "Alright!"

Such a simple word, yet to Zhou Jingxing's ears, it was like celestial music.

He looked up in surprise and said excitedly, "Really?"

"Naturally, it's true." Li Xiangyun looked at him and also showed a smile.

At least at this moment, Li Xiangyun saw the sincerity in Zhou Jingxing's eyes.

As for taking Zhou Jingxing as a Disciple, Li Xiangyun naturally had his own considerations.

Firstly, as Zhou Jingxing said, the matter of him gravely injuring the Asked Dao Academy Elder needed to be resolved eventually.

The reason why no one from the Asked Dao Academy or the authorities had come to demand an explanation for so long was clearly due to Zhou Jingxing's mediation.

If it were just this, Li Xiangyun would naturally not have accepted Zhou Jingxing so easily.

However, through this incident, Li Xiangyun at least confirmed that Emperor Yongchang had given Zhou Jingxing an opportunity to contend for the throne.

This point was very important!

After all, everyone knew that the Ninth Prince's birth mother was a Mortal from who knows where in the countryside, with no maternal family influence, and thus no chance to contend for the throne.

But in Li Xiangyun's view, these were not important; what was important was whether Emperor Yongchang would give him this opportunity.

And clearly, Zhou Jingxing had proven this through his actions.

After all, without Emperor Yongchang's tacit approval, Zhou Jingxing would not have been able to appear here.

One must know that, not to mention his own combat power, just the Ten Thousand Swords Sect behind him would not be inferior to other forces.

Since that was the case, Li Xiangyun could muddy the waters and greatly expand his influence by helping Zhou Jingxing contend for the throne.

Just as Zhou Jingxing wanted to use him to gain the throne, he also wanted to use Zhou Jingxing to win time for the Li family's development.

It could be called a win-win situation.

Of course, since he had accepted Zhou Jingxing, Li Xiangyun did not want it to be merely a simple exchange of interests, and moreover, he was not that kind of person.

Therefore, regarding this apprenticeship filled with interests,

his attitude was: as long as Zhou Jingxing did not do anything to harm the Li family, he would treat him as a normal Disciple.

Having received Li Xiangyun's affirmation,

the two then performed a simple apprenticeship ceremony.

No matter where, apprenticeship was an extremely solemn matter.

It wasn't just a matter of simply kneeling and kowtowing three times.

While the six rituals of apprenticeship might not be strictly followed, serving tea was still necessary.

"Revered Master, please drink tea!"

Zhou Jingxing lowered his head, holding the tea with both hands, and presented it to him.

Li Xiangyun reached out, took it, and after taking a sip, said, "You may rise!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jingxing quickly stood up, his back no longer hurting, his legs no longer aching.

Li Xiangyun smiled and teased, "What, your leg is better?"

Zhou Jingxing was a bit embarrassed and was about to pick up his crutch.

"Alright, stop pretending." Li Xiangyun said impatiently.

In fact, Li Xiangyun had long seen that Zhou Jingxing was not injured at all.

Or rather, Zhou Jingxing never intended to deceive him.

The so-called crutch was merely a prop for acting; there wasn't a single scratch on his body.

The reason for this was simply to find an excuse to speak.

Li Xiangyun knew this perfectly well but didn't think much of it.

On the contrary, if Zhou Jingxing had actually stabbed himself,

he would have considered whether to accept Zhou Jingxing or not.

After all, a person who is cruel to himself is naturally cruel to others.

And such a person is clearly very frightening.

Then, Li Xiangyun looked at Zhou Jingxing in front of him and said, "Normally, when you become an apprentice, you should give an apprenticeship gift."

"But Revered Master sees that you haven't prepared one, so I won't ask for it now. Don't forget next time!"

"Ah~"

Zhou Jingxing was dumbfounded upon hearing this.