"Greetings, all."

"Please, be a.s.sured that the injured young man is currently being treated and in no danger. Disciplinary Elder Lang has been imprisoned and will wait for an audience with the Sect Master, who will deal with him impartially and according to the long-established rules of the sect.

We, the Cedar Sect, do not tolerate any violence towards our people."

At that, the golden-haired youth smiled with great radiance.

"On that note, the Sect Master has generously announced tomorrow will be a sect-wide rest day! No one will have to do ANY work!!!"

The golden monkey let out a scandalised squawk.

The crowd of servants looked at each other excitedly. A day off!

"In addition, mmpph-" Dieter glared at his pet and pulled it off his face, freeing his mouth temporarily, "In addition, everyone is granted ten silvers as a reward!"

OOOOOHH! The crowd roared.

With tomorrow off and the Lantern Festival being a national holiday, didn't that mean they only had three working days this week? And adding to that they were being given ten silvers? That was the amount of money an ordinary person earned in a month…! As expected, the Cedar Sect really treated their people the best!

The golden monkey made a crying face. The Big Master would definitely blame it for not controlling Little Master! But what could it do? It was just a small monkey!

Some of the servants in the crowd got so excited their faces went red. They could go home and show off to their relatives!

As if he knew their thoughts, the youth smiled once more.

"Spend it however you wish. The Sect Master only hopes you all refresh yourselves!"

At this point, even remembering the b.l.o.o.d.y event that had just happened before couldn't dampen their spirits. Everyone was thinking of what they could do with their newfound time and money!

Van was also excited. Finally, he had a chance to visit Dragon City!

__________

[That night]

Under the moonlight, Van was sitting in his usual meditative pose.

Hu!

Van exhaled sharply then inhaled slowly, carefully controlling the flow of his breath according to the manual. A black vortex spun between his two furrowed brows, a vortex that seemed to inexorably suck in the spiritual energy within the surrounding air.

Through experimentation, Van discovered that when he cultivated with the black tornado – or rather when he cultivated with his 99th meridian, he could reach ten times the average speed!

The tornado state could not last long – ten minutes was his limit.

Van was not discouraged. He was confident that he could improve how long he could keep his 99th meridian open with practice. Besides, in only one night, he was already one-fourth of the way to the 3rd level of Qi Distillation!

It was the cultivation speed of a monster genius!

Van continued to cultivate into the early hours of the morning – until his fatigue overwhelmed him and his eyes could not stay open.

Two hours later, he rose with the dawn sun. He visited Hans and Freya.

"I will enter the 3rd level of Qi Distillation within the next 3 days," he said simply.

The older youths were quiet. However, they couldn't hide the glimmer of awe they held within their hearts. Having been thoroughly beaten by Van, and having his seal on them, they did not doubt his mysterious strength.

"You know what this means," Van followed, "I will soon become an Outer Disciple."

Hans nodded; his heart swung between feeling light and heavy. On one hand, having a strong backer was good. On the other hand, this backer held their lives in his palm. Once they were not useful, would they be disposed of like broken toys? His arm and leg had been healed now thanks to the support of his family, but they still twinged ocasionally.

Van understood the struggle in their eyes. The phantom brand ensured their obedience, but Van knew that the power gained from convincing their hearts could not be underestimated.

He looked them both straight in the eye and pulled himself up.

"I will become an Inner Disciple within the year. I will not treat you as Klaus has… If you perform well now, you will not be disappointed later."

Freya and Hans looked at each other, and then back at the young man who stood calmly before them. He was only thirteen and had the thinness of a youth being pulled up by their growth spurt.

Although they did not believe Van would be able to become an inner disciple within a year, they nevertheless nodded their heads, moved by the young man's overwhelming confidence. They put aside their past greivances.

They performed a deep and ceremonious bow.

"Master, your wish is our command."

Van nodded sagely.

The duo waited in silence for his next words.

The longer it stretched, the tenser they felt. What monumental task was he about to give them? a.s.sa.s.sination? Framing? Kidnapping? Whatever it was, they would give their best. Then, they would earn Van's trust.

Despite their painful backs, they held their bow.

hem!

Van cleared his throat.

"I am going shopping," he declared grandly, swis.h.i.+ng a long sleeve, "and I need some money."

Hans and Freya fell face-first into the dirt.

What killing? What kidnapping? Their Master just wanted some cas.h.!.+

__________

Riding in a cart full of other servants, Van ventured off into Dragon City with exactly three hundred and ten taels of silver in his pockets.

If he knew he would meet that annoying brat today... he probably would not have come out. How unlucky!