Chapter 48 - Why Not...?

Ma Rong and Wen Cheng switched their attention to the purple-robed man.

"What solutions do you have, City Lord Fu?" Ma Rong asked.

"I wouldn't mind listening to a suggestion from City Lord Fu." Wen Cheng spoke as well.

The man in the purple robe was the city lord of the Scarlet city. His name was Fu Wen, and along with his wife Mo An, was in charge of the Scarlet City.

"Here is my suggestion. Since both of you want this disciple so much, why don't you both accept him as your disciple? This way you can both teach him, and he can be part of both of your sects." he said to the two sect leaders.

""Hmm…"" both the sect leaders fell into deep contemplation. Ma Rong looked at Wen Cheng and asked, "Tell me the truth. Why do you really want him?" she asked.

Wen Cheng was about to lie but instead decided to just tell the truth, "Your disciple has only cultivated for 10 days to reach the cultivation he is at now. He really is a genius in cultivation."

Ma Rong stared at him, too shocked to speak. She immediately turned to Alex and asked, "Is this true?"

Alex was surprised for a second. 'How did he know?' but soon realized that it must've been Luo Mei who told him. He had let himself speak a bit too freely at that time.

"Yes," he said softly.

"Is there any way you can prove it?" she asked him. She was having doubts since there was no way a person could cultivate bone tempering 2nd realm in just 10 days. At least not without incredibly fortuitous encounters.

Alex thought for a bit. "I don't have anything to prove it, but I can do this." He said as he opened his status and hit [Breakthrough]. He could break through about 3 times if he wanted to with the Qi he got from the pill but decided to stick with a single one.

Still, that was enough to cause a stir in the crowd. The elder, the sect leaders, and even the city lord and lady duo were surprised at how casually the young man in front of them just broke through.

Ma Rong asked with her eyes still wide, "Why are you in Hong Wu Sect if you have such talents in cultivation? You are wasted in our sect." She said. Even she believed that sending him to Tiger Sect was the right choice.

Alex simply replied," That was because I am really interested in alchemy, and have some talent in it as well."

Ma Rong sighed and said, "I understand what you mean. Being able to name all the ingredients in the test is good, but it's nothing compared to your actual talent in cultivation." Ma Rong was now trying to talk sense into him.

Wen Cheng was pleasantly surprised at the change in Ma Rong.

Alex on the other hand was starting to get nervous. ' I have an alchemy skill with the word 'god' in it. If it's anything half as good as it sounds, it will be a waste to not learn alchemy properly.'

"Ever since I was young, I can name every single alchemy ingredients I come across, and have an uncanny ability to recognize them in the wild." He said. He was spilling his own beans, gambling it at the fact that he would somehow get to have the cake from both of the sects.

"Name every single alchemy ingredient and recognize them in the wild? What do you mean?" Ma Rong was slightly confused. 'He doesn't even look 20, there is no way he could have lived long enough to see and remember every single ingredient in alchemy.' She thought.

In response, Alex brought out 3 storage bags and handed them to Ma Rong, and said," These are all the ingredients I gathered from the forest in the last 3 days."

Ma Rong took a look inside one of the bags. As soon as she saw what was inside the bag, she shuddered a bit. She immediately opened the other 2 bags.

'There are just too many shocking things happening, one after another today. This amount of ingredients is what we collect on both the gardens in a week, and this kid collected it in just 3 days? That too in the southern forest.'

The Great Elder came forward after seeing the sect leader basically stop doing anything. "What is wrong sect leader?" he asked.

Ma Rong didn't speak and simply passed along the 3 bags. When the Great Elder saw the bag, he was shocked as well.

Ma Rong looked at Wen Cheng and said, "I'm sorry, but it seems I can't let you have this disciple all to yourself. How about we share him just as City Lord Fu suggested?" she asked.

Wen Cheng knew there was no way Ma Rong would accept anything less after learning the young man's talents, so he simply agreed.

"That settles it then. Young man, from today on I, will take you on as my direct disciple, do you agree?" he asked.

"Yes, and I, as the sect leader of Hong Wu Sect, will take you as my direct disciple as well, do you agree?" Ma Rong took the opportunity to ask as well.

The elders and city lord duo were watching something extraordinary unfold in front of their eyes. Alex was too shocked and forgot to answer for a second.

As soon as he realized that, he spoke out," I agree.". The two sect lords smiled.

The Great Elder spoke from the behind and said," Young man, greet your new masters."

Alex immediately realized what he had to do, " I, Yu Ming, greet both of my masters." Alex bowed towards both Wen Cheng and Ma Rong.

Both the sect leaders smiled, and Wen Cheng said, "That settles it then. Let's go to your new sect now, disciple."

Ma Rong immediately chimed in, " No, he will stay in the Hong Wu Sect for now."

The sect leaders were once more starting to quarrel with each other.