Chapter 108(1) : Han Xuhan Is Too Modest

"Underling, do you think it is possible that master Kong might not know what astral warfare is ? What am I supposed to do then ?"

"Like I said, you absolutely don't need to worry about that sort of possibilities, boss . Remember how calm I was during the apprenticeship ceremony ? It was because I was aware that our sect master had been operating very methodically . The elders already knew which disciple they wanted, and they definitely had informed the sect master of their choices . A large portion of the selection process was based on their choices . Those who weren't exceptional in any way were the only ones to be assigned to random apprenticeships based on sect master's whims ."

Stopping to take a breath, Xuhan quickly unravelled another few pieces of roundabout logic from his understanding of the overall situation and then twisted them a bit to give himself a better advantage .

"Well, I do understand that . I was honestly pretty disappointed that none of the pretty, female elders were available for apprenticeships . Otherwise, I'd have definitely been chosen by them, by hook or by crook . After all, no lady in her straight mind can keep their guard raised against THIS !" Mu Ran said as he gestured to himself emphatically.
"But how does the matter of the elders choosing their disciples beforehand help us in the overall picture ?"

Yuen Zhou snorted loudly enough for both of them to notice, and both underling and boss knew better than to argue with those who cannot see true handsomeness despite having perfectly functioning eyes .

"Oh, it does, boss, it does . You know, you should stop trying to bother your pure, untainted dao heart with these mundane schemes and undercurrents of the mortal worlds . Leave that stuff to me . As to how our current situation helps us, you in particular, let me explain .
Back when you told me that you were interested in this astral warfare skill, I instantly devoted a significant portion of my time and energy behind learning which elder in this sect could teach skills in that field . Can you guess who my arduous research led me to ?"

"Nope ."

"Yes ."

Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou responded simultaneously and then looked at each other in the eyes in a challenging way . But before their staring contest could lead to anything more meaningful, Xuhan popped his head inside their line of sight and broke their eye contact .

"Boss, can you not unleash your endless charm on pretty lasses while we're talking about something so important ?"

Yuen Zhou directed her calm, eerily cool gaze at him, her stance seemingly shifting, something that greatly alarmed Xuhan . He wasn't quite ready to face her head on yet ! Coughing awkwardly, he started firing away his entire arsenal of bullshit to distract both her and Mu Ran .

"Boss, my research led me to elder Kong Ye ! I had to pay quite a large sum of spirit stones to extract the information from an anonymous third party . Then I proceeded to confront the elder and with much hardship, I managed to make him confess about his incredible expertise in this field . Especially when it comes to abilities related to souls and astral extensions of oneself, elder Kong Ye's expertise is unmatched in this sect !"

Eyes widened and pupils dilating, Mu Ran's surprise couldn't be more pronounced .
"That's so awesome, Xuhan ! Marvellous job as always ! I don't know what I'd do without you, you know ?"

"Ahaha, boss, I was just doing my job ." Xuhan laughed, not the least bit fazed as he continued with his shameless antics . His skin had thickened considerably after spending such a long time around Mu Ran .

"That's not all though, boss ," he added as an afterthought, deciding to stir up the situation even more .
"After master confessed to me, I was about to contact you so that you can effortlessly bag the apprenticeship after you impress the master with your godly cultivation skills . For example, you could have shown off your fine qi control , your spell casting , your...uh...."

Xuhan trailed off into an awkward silence, realising that Mu Ran didn't have any other particular skill that he knew of . Mu Ran, who had been nodding along with him eagerly, suddenly looked dispirited as he seemed to realize that too .

"Yeah, we get it . Elder Kong Ye has always been pretty impressed by Mu Ran's skilful style of cultivation anyway . Go on with your story . What did you do then ?" Yuen Zhou sudddenly intervened, saving the conversation from falling down a darker pit . For that one save, Xuhan decided to forgive her earlier 'transgressions' .

"But right before I could contact you, I remembered a wise advice from a wise man . This world of cultivation is a cruel, dog-eat-dog system . Nothing can be guaranteed for sure here . What if elder Kong Ye was being dishonest for some reason ? What if the techniques he teaches you turn out to be harmful somehow ? I would never be able to forgive myself if that happened ! Such guilt, such a weight of responsibility would crush my dao heart !"

Mu Ran looked moved to the point of tearing up . Placing a hand on Xuhan's shoulders somberly, he opened his mouth to say something, but seemed far too overwhelmed by emotions to form a coherent sentence .

"The wise man...you're talking about me, huh ?" Mu Ran said in the end . Xuhan nodded solemnly .

Behind him, Xuhan noticed martial sister Zhou looking at him with impressed eyes . Once their eyes met, she mouthed, "awesome acting, martial brother ."

Feigning ignorance, Xuhan continued to weave his threads, his expression exuding serenity . The final bit of foundation was about to be laid . He couldn't skip that part .

"So I said to the elder at that time, 'Please, accept me as your disciple . I want to learn astral warfare .' My plan was to do a thorough investigation of the his teachings in person and make sure nothing sinister was hiding in there . Afterwards, I would relay the information to you, boss !"

"Xuhan, I-"

"It's okay, boss . Just like you , I found the name of the skill to be super awesome . I too, wanted to learn it . So I guess, in a way my motives are actually selfish, nothing to be praised of ."

"STOP !" Mu Ran interrupted him right there and clapped his shoulder heavily, making a few bones creak . His other hand clenched into a fist that he raised in the air slowly, Mu Ran declared, "You, Xuhan, are the best underling anybody could ask for . Stop downplaying yourself like that . I will not tolerate such ridiculous modesty from you !"