High Elder Shatter Peak seemed entirely unconcerned by the reactions of the surrounding elders. While many of them looked as if they had just witnessed a disaster unfold before their eyes, the giant body cultivator merely folded his arms and looked directly at Little Bull.
For the first time since entering the hall, his expression lost some of its rough edge. The booming arrogance and confidence remained. The overwhelming presence even increased, but there was also a degree of sincerity within his eyes.
The man was clearly speaking honestly.
"Boy," High Elder Shatter Peak said. "Join Wild Peak."
Little Bull blinked.
The giant continued before anyone else could interrupt. "I’m serious."
The hall became quieter and even the elders that had been arguing moments ago stopped talking.
High Elder Shatter Peak pointed directly at Little Bull. "You have potential."
Little Bull scratched his head. "What is potential?"
The giant paused as several elders groaned. One elder muttered that perhaps this conversation would take another month. High Elder Shatter Peak thought for several seconds.
Then he gave a simple answer. "It means you’ll bee strong."
Little Bull immediately understood. "Oh."
The giant nodded. "Very strong."
Little Bull looked pleased.
The giant continued. "And if you join Wild Peak, nobody will bother you with all the nonsense that fills the rest of this sect."
This immediately caught Little Bull’s attention. "What nonsense?"
"Politics."
Little Bull blinked. "Politics?"
The giant nodded firmly. "Politics."
Little Bull immediately remembered many conversations he had held with Elder He Jian over the past year. Most of them had been carefully arranged by Lin Mu himself. Whenever the old man explained the workings of the sect, Little Bull would always ask simple questions.
Many of those questions eventually led to discussions about the Immortal Court, sect hierarchy, clan influence, elder factions and countless other matters. And every time such topics came up, Elder He Jian would eventually sigh.
Little Bull still remembered one particular conversation.
"Politics is troublesome," Elder He Jian had muttered while drinking tea.
At the time, Little Bull had asked why.
The old man had simply replied. "Because people stop saying what they mean."
Now that memory surfaced.
"No politics?" Little Bull asked hopefully.
"No politics," High Elder Shatter Peak replied immediately.
Little Bull looked toward Elder He Jian. "Elder He Jian said politics is bad."
The old recruiter nearly choked as several elders instantly turned toward him.
Elder He Jian felt his scalp go numb.
"Oh no..." he muttered internally.
High Elder Shatter Peak suddenly burst into laughter.
The giant pointed at the elder. "He Jian is smart."
Then he gave the old recruiter a large wink. The surrounding elders immediately narrowed their eyes as Elder He Jian felt his heart sink.
’Why me?’ he screamed internally. ’Why drag me into this?’
Several elders had already begun making mental notes. A sword elder quietly muttered that perhaps He Jian was secretly supporting Wild Peak. A formation elder wondered if the old recruiter was part of some larger scheme.
A law elder simply rubbed his forehead.
Meanwhile High Elder Shatter Peak remained pletely oblivious to the chaos he had just created. Or perhaps he simply did not care. Little Bull meanwhile seemed to be thinking seriously.
Then he asked the question that truly mattered. "So if I join Wild Peak..."
The giant waited.
"I can eat as much as I want?"
High Elder Shatter Peak grinned. "Yes."
Little Bull’s eyes brightened. "And fight?"
"Yes."
Little Bull thought for another moment.
Then another question appeared. "Can I go places?"
The giant laughed. "You can go anywhere."
Several elders immediately looked alarmed.
"Do things?"
"Whatever you want."
The alarm deepened.
"Fight people?"
The grin on Shatter Peak’s face widened. "Whoever deserves it."
At this point, the Discipline and Law Division elders looked physically ill. Several of them had already begun sweating and one elderly law elder looked ready to pass out.
High Elder Shatter Peak wasn’t finished. "If someone causes trouble for you, fight them."
The law elders twitched.
"If you accidentally cause trouble yourself, e find me."
The twitching intensified. "I’ll solve it."
From somewhere near the back of the hall, a voice quietly muttered. "With fists."
Several elders nodded immediately but High Elder Shatter Peak pretended not to hear it. Little Bull meanwhile was genuinely considering the offer.
Or rather Lin Mu was.
Behind the simple expression and innocent eyes, Lin Mu’s mind was rapidly analyzing the situation. The more he thought about it, the more attractive the offer became. His original mission had never changed.
He needed to locate the hidden vault and he needed to find the third ring. To do that, he needed enough freedom to investigate a sect that spanned an entire world. The problem was that most divisions would inevitably restrict him.
Sword divisions would assign training, Alchemy divisions would demand study, Formation divisions would require constant practice and Administrative divisions would drown him in responsibilities.
Even beast divisions would likely require specific duties.
But Wild Peak was different. Everything he had heard about it pointed toward one thing: Freedom.
It might be messy, chaotic and utterly dangerous, but it was freedom nonetheless. The peak apparently had little interest in rigid schedules. Their disciples wandered constantly. They received unusual missions. And their elders solved problems through direct action.
Their internal hierarchy seemed loose pared to the rest of the sect. Most importantly, nobody appeared particularly interested in monitoring what their disciples did every day. For Lin Mu, that was ideal.
Even the cultivation aspect wasn’t a problem.
Xukong had already explained that the Abyssal Horizon Veil Seal could be loosened gradually. As long as it was done carefully, Lin Mu could appear to make progress like a normal disciple.
It would require caution as too much power too quickly might break the seal entirely and too little progress would create suspicion. But it was manageable. pared to that, obtaining freedom within the sect was far more valuable.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, Little Bull finally looked up.
His expression remained simple and honest.
He had a straightforward expression that everyone had e to expect.
"I’ll join it."
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