Jin nodded to himself. It was obvious that this powerful man would not just take in apprentices for nothing. There had to be a reason about it. The answer he gave satisfied Jin. It seemed honest enough. Regardless, he did admit to having reasons behind taking him in. As for what they were, even if it wasn't exactly what he said, he was likely not that far off. Jin tried to probe him further but Hae-Hyuk refused to give any details.

There was still one thing that remaiend a problem in Jin's mind. The Twenty-Two Suns Sect. If he didn't go back, what would happen? He could imagine a few possibilities...He decided to ask Hae-Hyuk about it. It was likely that the guy was far older than he looked and should know the truth.

Hae-Hyuk answered him: "They will consider you dead since you were still in Area 27 after the Empire lost. Even if you were to come back, they would probably think of you as a spy. Just give up on going back and become my disciple, Jin"

It seemed very plausible. Being considered dead was nothing short of the usual treatment. After all, surviving through a loss in a border war...Jin hadn't found any books intorducing the topic back then. Since they had the equipment to identify the participants...Yeah. It made sense.

If he came back, aside from his friends, everyone would consider him a potential spy. Well, if they didn't kill him first due to such suspicions. Maybe even his friends would doubt him. It's always been so much easier to doubt than trust after all. On the other hand, if he became Hae-Hyuk's disciple, he might be able to rebound. Traitor? Spy? No one would ever call him so.

He could just become a new and different 'Jin'. It wasn't like he was the sole 'Jin' on the continent or even in these lands. The only risk was to be betrayed by Hae-Hyuk but it was unlikely. He was so strong that it would just be stupid if he ended up being a scammer. And so, Jin decided.

"Alright, I, Jin, will become your disciple. Disciple Jin greets Teacher Hae-Hyuk!"

To which Hae-Hyuk clapped happily while muttering 'fantastic' a few times. He was glad to have finally convinced the kid. After all, he had observed him and saw how developped his battle sense was. Min-Su was already a genius on that point. But Jin? He had demonstrated capabilities far beyond what was supposed to be shown by someone his age. Hae-Hyuk truly felt the heavens were on his side.

With this kid, maybe getting that thing was no longer just a dream...

After they went back to the sect, they had a somptuous lunch. Then came the turn to have the tournament. The rules were very simple: "everyone under fifteen could attempt, and no spiritual energy allowed"

Some of the disciples trying their luck had reached the fourth stage of spiritual accumulation yet fought like body refinement warriors. It was exactly the kind of thing Jin enjoyed. Fights he could join in. True and manly one-on-one where techniques was the sole determining factor.

He had fought a lot with his life on the line these past few days, true, but that was different. He always put his life on the line to fight his best but the situation was no longer that of many against one. Here he would only have one thing to focus on: fight. Nothing else to ponder about. He had high expectations.

Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to join in. Only to spectate. The disciple fight was the reward for the tournament winner after all. It was a shame but those were the rules. Still, Jin enjoyed greatly the sights of those cultivators fighting purely through martial techniques.

Jin Hwan, the kid who delivered his challenge speech to Jin at the previous diner, unfortunately didn't make it. He was deafeated in the third round. Gone was his goal to challenge Jin. As for the winner? It was a dude called Ja-Kyung who used a broadsword.

As Jin was getting ready to go up, the guy decided to issue his challenge to Min-Su instead. Jin deflated as he sat back down, no dueling for him today. Hae-Hyuk couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, attributing to the ruefullness of youth...

Min-Su on the other hand grumbled all the way until he reached the stage. As he faced the guy with the broadsword, he asked him:"Why would you pick me?" to which the other guy answered: "The other guy looked like a madman all day"

Min-Su sighed as he internally agreed. Jin had indeed been jumping on his seat throughout the entire tournament... Because he wanted to go fight. Min-Su didn't want to bother and would have readily let him go. It was unfortunate that the disciples of this sect were frightened by the overexcited kid...

Since he had no choice but to do it, then he would. Min-Su took out his weapon from his pouch. It was a long sword with very thin double-edged blade. The color of it was very average, being the usual gray. Yet, as soon as he held it and took a stance, his whole demeanor changed. As he saw him from up in the stands, Jin had to admit that the kid was good. Just from observing this stance, one could see it. They could see that Min-Su was not a joke.

In a moment, the judge started the duel and as soon as it began, both youths ran towards each other. There were a dozen exchanges before Min-Su made his move. He deflected a downward slash of his opponent and use the rebounding force to spin his sword on itself by releasing slightly his grip on the handle. Yet even as he released slightly the grip, the sword remained held in his hand, he had only left enough space for the blade to spin on itself, negating all rebound and changing the power.

Then...there was no then. The brilliant use of the grip technique enabled him to move one step faster than the opponent and he managed to put his blade at the neck of Ja-Kyung. The fight ended in this way, with Min-Su winning easily. The gap in technique was just overwhelming.

Jin himself became many times more interested in Min-Su.