Chen Fan looked at Meng Hao and laughed heartily. Hearts filled with happiness, he and Meng Hao transformed into beams of prismatic light that shot off toward the other Solitary Sword Sect disciples.
When the man named Li saw Meng Hao approaching with Chen Fan, he frowned.
“My Junior Brother is acquainted with my Master and wishes to visit him,” said Chen Fan coolly in explanation. “He will accompany us back to the Sect.”
The man named Li said nothing. He simply turned and transformed into a colorful beam that shot up into the sky.
“Little Junior Brother, after we get to the Sect, I’ll go implore Master to take you as a disciple. Then we can be fellow Brothers of the Solitary Sword Sect. It shouldn’t be a very big deal. I’ve never asked anything of Master, so there’s an eighty to ninety percent chance he’ll agree. Of course, I expect he’ll only accept you as a novitiate. However, his Cultivation Base is at the Nascent Soul stage, so being one of his novitiates is still a high position within the Solitary Sword Sect.” It seemed Chen Fan already had Meng Hao’s future planned out meticulously.
Meng Hao hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Elder Brother, for the moment, I don’t think that’s necessary. I actually have some matters I need to take care of.”
“Little Junior Brother!” said Chen Fan, his expression suddenly very solemn. “I understand that you don’t want to join another Sect. I felt the same way back then. I only wanted to be a member of a single Sect for my entire life. However… we are Cultivators. Our Sect is the foundation of everything, especially in the Southern Domain. Anyone who is not a member of a Sect is a rogue Cultivator. Regardless of Cultivation base level, rogue Cultivators make progress only with great difficulty. Years can be wasted, and the results can be in vain.
“You need to listen to me in this matter. The Solitary Sword Sect is the number one Sect in the Southern Domain. It’s Dao Reserves are incredibly profound. It’s a place where both of us can grow up.”
Meng Hao didn’t respond.
As they traveled, Chen Fan continued to give him advice, all the way until afternoon of the next day. Eventually, the Solitary Sword Sect’s main gate appeared up ahead. Finally, Meng Hao nodded.
Chen Fan’s smile grew wider as he gazed at Meng Hao with the kind warmth of a member of the elder generation looking at a junior. Although he wasn’t very much older than Meng Hao, in his eyes, Meng Hao was still that young scholar who had just joined the Sect.