Chapter 184 — The Other Recruits

CHAPTER 184

The Other Recruits

“Do your disciples fight every day?” Gu Zhan asked.

Wei Chengyuan paused beside the recruitment table.

“Martial Palace provides regular instruction,” Wei Chengyuan replied.

“Every day?” Gu Zhan asked.

“Not every lesson is a fight,” Wei Chengyuan said.

“Then no,” Gu Zhan replied.

The courtyard went quiet enough to hear Nie Wufeng laughing beneath the awning.

Mu Shuyun covered a small smile with the edge of her sleeve. He Zhen looked as though he'd already decided not to begin an explanation about workshop schedules.

Gu Zhan turned toward them anyway.

“Yours?” Gu Zhan asked.

“Some disciples spend days on one difficult piece of work,” He Zhen replied.

“Does it fight?” Gu Zhan asked.

“Occasionally, if someone makes it badly,” He Zhen said.

Gu Zhan looked interested for one breath, then shook his head.

“No,” Gu Zhan said. “I'll stay with Master.”

Nie Wufeng stopped laughing long enough to look annoyed.

“You haven't asked me,” Nie Wufeng said.

Gu Zhan pointed toward the spear beside his chair.

“You still fight,” Gu Zhan replied.

The old master considered the explanation, then grunted and returned to his tea.

Lu Yong marked the refusal clearly. Runner-up Gu Zhan declined recruitment from all three sects. Nobody needed to pretend he vanished from the top ten because the offers didn't interest him.

Bai Chenxi accepted Hundred Flower Valley's offer after asking two practical questions about sword instruction.

Mu Shuyun answered without repeating the speeches she used for the champion. The swordswoman had already shown discipline, skill, and a willingness to learn from a defeat.

That suited the Valley's instruction.

Yuan Kuang accepted Martial Palace. His expression remained proud, though the public ceremony was quieter than the triumph he expected before meeting Gu Zhan.

Xiahou Lie chose the same sect after confirming that its body-cultivation teachers would correct his stance rather than forbid rematches.

Cao Zhenyu and Tan He followed under their own offers. Neither received the champion's right to dictate direct inner entry. They took the terms the sect chose to provide and signed them clearly.

Duan Yichen stood last among Martial Palace's new recruits.

“Ninth place,” Wei Chengyuan said, checking the record.

“Yes,” Duan Yichen replied.

“Hard earned,” Wei Chengyuan said.

“Yes,” Duan Yichen said again.

The delegate looked up at the repetition. Duan Yichen wasn't being rude. He simply didn't intend to apologise for the place that qualified him.

He signed the agreement and accepted the token.

From beside Artificer Hall's table, Shi Feng nodded once.

Duan Yichen returned the nod with a grin.

He Zhen called Gongsun Ce forward next.

“Inner court,” He Zhen said.

The prince looked at the paper and lifted one eyebrow.

“Because I finished third?” Gongsun Ce asked.

“Because you understand the work and keep correcting it,” He Zhen replied. “Third place helped us notice.”

Gongsun Ce smiled. That answer suited him better than being told the same reward belonged to every third-ranked candidate in the world.

He checked the workshop access and signed.

Sima Lan approached when her name was called.

The Moon Lake robe made several spectators whisper again. Great Liang's younger princess had left her household's expected path, reached the final ten, and declined to stand beside her injured brother's attendants.

None of those choices was free of consequence.

He Zhen put the offer in front of her.

“Outer court,” He Zhen said.

Sima Lan read it without changing her expression.

“The same rules as the other outer disciples?” Sima Lan asked.

“Yes,” He Zhen replied.

“No royal allowance?” Sima Lan asked.

“No,” He Zhen said.

She nodded and signed.

The delegate watched her finish.

“I like a patient fighter,” He Zhen said. “You kept looking for a useful step when the easy ones failed.”

“That step almost came too late,” Sima Lan replied.

“It came,” He Zhen said.

She accepted the outer-court token and closed her fingers around it. It wasn't the grandest offer in the courtyard. It was one she could use without waiting for her brother to approve.

That was enough.

Lu Yong checked the completed recruitment list before declaring the ceremony finished. The top ten received their offers. Gu Zhan refused his. Ling Qingzhu's earlier discretionary invitation remained a separate Valley decision, without a final tournament placing attached to her name.

A disappointed spectator asked whether the next candidate could inherit the runner-up's refusal. Lu Yong answered the question publicly before it became another argument.

“An invitation declined isn't a new tournament,” Lu Yong said. “The announced results stand.”

The courtyard began emptying in a rush of relatives, attendants, and excited new disciples.

Shi Feng stood beside the gate while Duan Yichen checked the Martial Palace departure time.

“Different boats,” Duan Yichen said.

“Same region,” Shi Feng replied.

“Then don't hide in a workshop for a year,” Duan Yichen said. “I'll come looking.”

“Bring medicine money,” Shi Feng replied.

Duan Yichen laughed and tucked the new token inside his robe.

Gu Zhan pushed through the crowd carrying his spear and looking pleased that no sect had managed to give him a training schedule.

“You'll have time to fight later?” Gu Zhan asked Shi Feng.

“Later,” Shi Feng replied.

“Good,” Gu Zhan said.

Nie Wufeng caught him by the back of the robe before he could turn later into another argument about the current afternoon.

The old master dragged him toward the street. Gu Zhan kept talking about spear angles until the crowd swallowed both voices.

He Zhen gathered the Hall's three signed records and finally let himself smile.

Gongsun Ce returned before the delegate packed the last paper.

“The workshop benches,” Gongsun Ce said. “Can an inner disciple use them immediately?”

“Under the posted rules,” He Zhen replied. “Expensive materials need approval. Break your own mistakes first, not the sect treasury.”

The prince looked at the puppet case and nodded seriously.

Sima Lan listened from nearby. Her outer token would give her fewer resources, but it didn't forbid study or advancement. She asked where those rules were posted and received an ordinary answer, not an assurance that a princess would be spared them.

Shi Feng liked that beginning. He'd see how fairly the rules were applied after arriving.

For He Zhen, it had been a good recruitment trip.