“Disciple?” Ye Jiao was stunned to hear the word from the man. She looked at the man strangely. She didn’t even know him and anything, but he wanted her to be his disciple. “Revered Elder, I’m afraid that I’ll only bring trouble for you.”

“Ye Jiao will be hunted down by the Imperial Family and Wei Family,” Lu Wan elaborated. “The two of them hate her father very much, so they will not spare his daughter on top of killing those two.”

Zhan Jing shook his head lightly. He had heard about Ye Xiao and Ye Ai Xia numerous times back in the past. The brilliance that the two of them showed was something that no ordinary person was capable off. Yet, the brightest light was crushed by other people to smithereens because of envy and jealousy.

“It’s only Chen Kingdom, isn’t it? There’s no need to worry, they can’t do anything to me,” Zhan Jing said haughtily.

Lu Wan jeered to his master. “That’s what you said to me back then, but you didn’t do anything to help me.”

Flick!

“Your debt should be collected by no other than yourself,” Zhang Jing replied calmly. “I can assassinate them easily, but why should I do that when you’re the one creating trouble?”

“Che, you’re a stingy master,” Lu Wan complained as he rubbed his forehead. His master really loved to flick his forehead whenever he made a thoughtless remark.

Ye Jiao blinked her eyes when she saw their relationship. She thought that the man was a powerful and unapproachable man just like the two rank 4 that she saw. However, this man looked no different than ordinary people. If not for the fact that he showed her that pressure before, she might not believe that this man was truly a rank 4.

“Who are you, Revered Elder?” Ye Jiao could help but ask.

Zhan Jing crossed his arm. “I’ll only tell you if you become my disciple.”

Disciple…

Ye Jiao didn’t have any strength right now. Even though she had formed her core, she had no idea how to use the Eon Energy properly. Rather than stumbling around trying by herself, it would be better to get a master that would help her. Besides, she wouldn’t be able to get out of the forest with her power alone.

Making up her mind, Ye Jiao stood up and walked to Zhan Jing’s direction. She stopped two meters away from the man and kowtowed to him.

“Disciple Ye Jiao greets Master.”

Zhan Jing laughed. “Good, that’s good.”

He threw a bracelet to Ye Jiao, which the girl caught. Her eyes widened when she saw the beautiful light brown color on the bracelet. “Master, this is?”

“This is my first gift as your master. It’s a storage tool that you can use. Just drop your blood on top of it to own it and then you can use it as you wish,” Zhan Jing replied with ease.

Ye Jiao beamed. “Thank you, Master.”

She bit the tip of her finger before dropping a blood right on top of the bracelet. At that moment, she could feel that there was some kind of connection with it. She put it on before picking up a rock and tried to think of putting it in. When it truly came in, her eyes widened in delight.

“She’s truly peculiar,” Lu Wan commented when he watched the girl experimented on putting the rock out again. When he first got his storage tool, he asked his master how to use it, yet this girl could figure it out by herself.

Zhan Jing nodded his head. “Ye Jiao, now I want you to listen to me.”

“Yes, Master,” Ye Jiao stopped playing with the bracelet as she turned to see her master. Her expression turned solemn.

“I come from Bao Fu. Have you ever heard of it?”

“Revenge*?” Ye Jiao blinked her eyes several times.

Zhan Jing shook his head. “Bao Fu is an assassin organization, the largest one in the four kingdoms. I’m a hidden elder there and my mission is to do every covert assassination that should be kept secret. My achievement is always kept hidden there.”

“That’s why they always treat you to be an odd member.”

Flick!

“Master!”

“Ignore this brat,” Zhan Jing said calmly. “By being my disciple, I have two paths that you can pick. You can either train outside the organization, which mean that I’ll personally make training for you or you can participate in the newbie training in the organization. Before you decide, let me explain them one by one.

If you want me to do personal training, I’ll put you in Lu Wan’s place because you don’t have any residence and it’s dangerous out here. I’ll only check on you once in a while. If you want to participate in the newbie training, I’ll register you and you have to stay in that place until you reach rank 1. Once you reach that rank, you’ll be given your first task as an assassin and then they will return you back to me because I’m your master.”

Ye Jiao furrowed her brows. “Why rank 1, Master?”

“That’s because there are a lot of ways of training after reaching rank 1,” Zhan Jing replied. “It takes longer from rank 1 to rank 2 rather than forming one’s core to rank 1. There’s training for that, but if you join it, you’ll be bound in the organization for the rest of your life.”

The thought that she had to work in an assassin organization for her entire life didn’t sound too good for Ye Jiao. After being confined for a long time, what she longed for the most was freedom. She wanted to explore the vast world and experience many things that she couldn’t before.

“Master, will I be given time to bury my Mom?” Ye Jiao asked first.

Zhan Jing nodded. “We’re not in a hurry. If you have made your decision, tell me.”

“I have made my decision, Master. I…”

….

Ye Jiao dug the dirt not far from the house and buried her mother silently. She refused the help from Zhan Jing and Lu Wan because she wanted to do it by herself. Her finger trembled as she put the rock on the edge and started to carve it.

Ye AI Xia

Her finger traced the engraving she made as her eyes were filled with resolution. She didn’t have anyone else in this world, but this was only the beginning. The path to be a martial art has just opened.

“Mom, Jiao’er will return one day and at that time, I’ll be much stronger than now.”

She picked up the white lily flower that her mother plucked before. When she dragged her body out of the hut, the flower fell to her mother’s side. This time, she put the flower right in front of the stone.

“Mom, in funeral white lily signifies that the soul of the deceased has returned to the peaceful state. Mom can be at ease because Jiao’er will be fine and Jiao’er will surely grow even stronger.”

Ye Jiao stared at the flower as the wind blew around them. The petal moved along in the rhythm, which made it look like dancing.

She closed her eyes before turning her gaze to the sky. “I have lost everything; you can’t take anything else from me. But I will gain much from this in my path as Eon Energy Master---I’ll not give up and someday, I’ll reach the peak.”

Slowly, Ye Jiao stood up from her place and bowed to the grave once more before turning her body around. This would be the start of a new path for her. It might be hard because she will be alone, but she would not give up. Her eyes were filled with determination as she looked at her master.

“Master, I’m ready.”