The person who appeared suddenly before Wu Yu was an expert who Wu Yu could not even expect to come into contact with.
She seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
Only some fading traces of starlight reassured one that she had indeed just arrived.
She was an enchanting woman wearing a purple sword lanyard. Her friendly expression and exquisite body clamored for attention.
In the moment that she appeared, the heated discussion fell silent.
"Shen Xingyu must have taken a liking to him." Wu Yu heard the remark and thus confirmed her identity.
Her purple lanyard fluttered. Her deep eyes were like a starry sky, but there was a gleam of craftiness in them.
She was the younger sister of the Galaxy Sword Sage, and also the master of this Li Canghai, the Earth sword rank disciple Shen Xingyu.
The moment she arrived, Li Canghai knelt in the air, respectfully saying, "Disciple Li Canghai pays his respects to Master."
Shen Xingyu waved it off, saying, "Rise, and consider why you lost, and where you failed. Go on back. You have yet to drop from the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals, and there is still a chance for progress."
"Yes!" Li Canghai was very deferent towards her, not even daring to lift his head to look at her. He bowed and retreated, moving off towards one of the lower positions on the Leaderboard of Swords and Immortals.
And now only Wu Yu remained facing Shen Xingyu.
"What does Shen Xingyu want? Could she be trying to take Wu Yu as her disciple?"
"This Wu Yu seems to already have a master. Although he's only a Huang sword rank disciple, he's still a benefactor. To change masters after a mere year... That's not too good, is it."
Because the Earth sword rank disciple Shen Xingyu had appeared, many had sat up to look at Wu Yu, the youth who had made a sudden appearance.
"Child, do you know who I am?" Shen Xingyu's eyebrows arched as she challenged him lightly. She drifted towards him through the air. The gentle breeze caught her strong fragrance and wafted it towards him.
"Junior knows." Wu Yu nodded.
"Weren't you quite the domineering one just now? Who is this now?" Shen Xingyu's mouth twitched as she sized up Wu Yu from head to toe.
After all, she was a martial cultivator at the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm. In terms of power and reputation, she completely outclassed Wu Yu.
Wu Yu only smiled, but did not reply. This was a difficult response to make. Best to keep his mouth shut.
"Alright, Elder Sister here won't fence with you anymore. Let me ask you: have you taken a master?" Shen Xingyu folded her arms, looking at him with bright eyes that emitted faint, purple light.
"I have. My master is the hall master of Futu Hall, a Huang sword rank disciple," Wu Yu replied.
He knew that the drama was about to start.
As expected, Shen Xingyu's eyes flicked downwards, and she said, "Who is Zhang Futu? Step forward."
Wu Yu was taken aback. She truly did not treat Huang sword rank disciples seriously at all.
Zhang Futu could only approach on his sword. But the crafty old fox still fixed his smile firmly in place as he paid his respects to Shen Xingyu, saying, "This humble creature is Zhang Futu. My respects to Senior Sister Shen."
Shen Xingyu looked him over, then said, "Zhang Futu, Wu Yu is your disciple. You are quite talented, to be able to raise such a talent. This was your hard work, but I will be honest with you: you are not able to give him a brighter future. The relationship between master and disciple is one that is guided by fate. That is why not even I can change your relationship. But you must know that for Wu Yu to go further, you have to let him go so that he can seek a better master. Otherwise, his future will be a dead-end. Understood?"
Zhang Futu bowed slightly, saying, "This humble creature understands."
Although Shen Xingyu had said this seemingly with the intent of accepting Wu Yu, she could not snatch a disciple in front of everyone. As a result, she did not press the issue, instead saying, "As for when you will release him to fly high, that will be your own decision. But from today onwards, I will watch over Wu Yu. The moment you waste his talent, that will be your oversight. If you lead him astray, that will be an even more grievous error on your part. His ability is faint now, and if you expose him to danger, there must be a limit. If anything happens to him, I will have a full accounting from you."
Although Shen Xingyu had not explicitly said that she wanted to accept Wu Yu as a disciple, each and every word was spoken with that implicit intent, and she was waiting for Zhang Futu to say the words himself.
At this point, Wu Yu understood well that although he was still Zhang Futu's disciple, Zhang Futu would not dare to do anything to him. Because with someone with as much as influence as Shen Xingyu watching, anything that happened to Wu Yu would be immediately known by her.
Even if Zhang Futu succeeded in his goal, he would not be able to continue abiding at Shushan.
"Alright, you may leave." Shen Xingyu waved Zhang Futu away. She had little interest in him, who was simply an ordinary Huang sword rank disciple.
However, even so, Wu Yu could not directly tell Shen Xingyu about Zhang Futu's plot. After all, he had yet to make a move, and he could not make unfounded accusations. Shushan had strict sect rules, and not even Shen Xingyu could violate those with impunity.
After Zhang Futu left, Shen Xingyu looked again at Wu Yu, her expression softening. A mesmerizing countenance that switched faster than one could flip a page. She circled Wu Yu a few times, even reaching out her well-manicured fingers to press against Wu Yu's muscles, exclaiming at how firm they were.
"I notice that your immortal treasures and dao techniques are all very ordinary, and your immortal treasure is roughly made - not even worth 30 merits. As for the dao technique, it seems to be the Triple Kill of the Heavens, which is also a basic Jindan dao technique. It does not suit your talent. Your master has been too lacking to not even provide something better for you. I suggest you go and finish some missions to earn merits and exchange them for immortal treasures and dao techniques. When you come back to challenge again, you might even rise further up the ranking."
She said this only because they were in public. Given her current interest in Wu Yu, she might have given them directly to him.
Wu Yu could see that she really wanted to get her hands on him. He knew that following a woman like that would be a thousand times better than following Zhang Futu.... Besides, she had a fearsome big brother.
It would not be appropriate for Wu Yu to immediately declare her his master. Shushan was a place that took propriety very seriously, and that included respecting one's master. No matter how evil Zhang Futu's heart was, he was still Wu Yu's master. If Wu Yu publicly turned his back on him, then he would be condemned - it was a serious character flaw.
Hearing Shen Xingyu's words, Wu Yu recalled that he might have won a major victory and brought his reputation to great heights, but he still needed to stabilize for a while. As a result, he thought quickly and said, "Senior is right-"
"Don't call me ‘Senior,’ you'll make me sound old. I'm not much older than you, just call me Sister Shen." Shen Xingyu continued to stare at him hungrily, as though she wanted to swallow him whole.
Wu Yu was overwhelmed by her favor, and said, "Sister Shen is right. When I was outside, I obtained a Corpse Flower, and I was just about to go and exchange it for immortal treasures and dao techniques."
Shen Xingyu was taken aback. "Corpse Flower? That's a good treasure, worth 1,000 merits! To a youngster of your level, it's a fortune. If that's the case, then delay no more. Go quickly."
She had thought to give Wu Yu a hand, although it was a delicate matter for her to intervene in - it might implicate her in disciple snatching. Luckily, he had a treasure like the Corpse Flower, which put her heart at ease.
She was a woman, so she was more thorough in her thoughts. From her Sumeru Pouch, she pulled out a purple plaque of authority, throwing it to Wu Yu. "This is my Earth Sword plaque. Showing it will be like having me there. Go to the Achievements Central Hall to make your exchanges. It has more treasures compared to the other Achievement Halls."
Upon closer look, Wu Yu saw that the plaque had a design on it, a curious and complex abstraction of the character for earth. It could not be copied easily, and Shen Xingyu was carved on the other side.
Wu Yu knew that with Shen Xingyu's name on it, this plaque could take him almost anywhere in Common Sword Domain, save the prohibited areas.
"Shen Xingyu actually gave even her Earth Sword plaque to him. Looks like this Wu Yu has it made."
"Sigh, that woman moved a step too quick! If I had known, I would have made a move earlier."
"You're no good. Shen Xingyu not only has the Galaxy Sword Sage as her senior, but she's young and good-looking as well. If I were Wu Yu, I would definitely choose her. Why would I choose an old bag of bones like yourself?"
Wu Yu accepted the Earth Sword plaque as the envious murmurs broke out around him.
Shen Xingyu again sought out Zhang Futu, saying, "Zhang Futu, bring Wu Yu to the Achievements Central Hall, and then to the other central halls. Chop chop. Make sure he gets up to his proper speed before the Battle of Swords and Immortals concludes."
This was amazing. But this time around, Wu Yu was his equal and had no need to fear again. Because from now on, Zhang Futu could not touch him!
"Go on." Shen Xingyu smiled. A young and beautiful woman like herself would make anyone feel good with her smile....
"Thank you, Sister Shen!" Today, he had met a benefactor, and Wu Yu was in a good mood. "When I obtain something satisfactory, I will return to this area to train. I hope to receive a few pointers from Sister Shen then."
"No problem. Go on then. Be good~" Shen Xingyu was liking him more and more, she had even said "Be good~"....
Wu Yu said that he would train nearby so that Zhang Futu would send him back here. He was still wary of Zhang Futu.
After he came down, the black-robed elder patted Wu Yu on the shoulder, saying, "Young man, work hard. Your future might even be in a seat on Shushan."
"Thank you for your blessing."
Wu Yu only realized now that seniors at Shushan were nicer than he had expected. Meeting Zhang Futu had just been a stroke of bad luck.
"Let's go." Returning to Zhang Futu's side, Wu Yu smiled slightly.
"Mm." Zhang Futu kept his face blank. He rose into the air on his sword, and Wu Yu hopped on as though he were little more than a ride.
The Mountain of Swords and Immortals was a magical place. Wu Yu's journey there had irreversibly changed his relationship with Zhang Futu.