Ninth In the World
chapter-41

Chapter 41: Be My Disciple

Even though the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts was one of the best universities in China, almost anyone could enter its campus. This was shocking to Di Jiu, as universities back in the Ji Nation would have been suspicious of strangers entering their campus.

“Excuse me! Do you know where the Institute of Martial Arts is?” Di Jiu asked a student as soon as he entered the Swallow Capital University.

The student looked at Di Jiu before pointing to the left and saying, “Follow this path all the way to the lake and you will see the building. You can only look at it from the outside, though. You will not be allowed to enter.”

Before Di Jiu could ask why, the student had already walked out of the campus.

The pavement on the left was four-lanes wide. It was rare to see such a spacious pavement on a campus, even back in the Ji Nation. This showed how prestigious the Institute of Martial Arts of the Swallow Capital University was.

The trees strewn along both sides of the pavement gave passers-by a sense of serenity. Although Di Jiu had never cultivated there before, he had a premonition that the level of Spirit Qi there would be higher than at any other place he had been able to cultivate.

There was a big lake at the end of the pavement. When Di Jiu stood by the edge of the lake, he saw the large characters on the other side clearly. This was the Swallow Capital University’s Institute of Martial Arts.

There was a thick iron door beneath the words. As soon as he saw the strict security at the iron door, Di Jiu realized that it would be impossible for him to sneak in like he had in Taiyue Island.

A stone bridge lay between the lake and the door of the institute. The reflection of the institute on the lake added charm and serenity to the scenery. It was almost like the ideal place for meditation rather than an institute of martial arts.

Even though Di Jiu knew that he would not be granted access through the main entrance, he still stepped onto the stone bridge.

According to Qi Xiang, Ji Xiaorong was currently at the Institute of Martial Arts. If he could not even enter the institute, then how would he find her?

…

Di Jiu did not speak as he stood outside the entrance of the institute. He knew that he would not be granted access anyway. It seemed like Qi Xiang had never been there either, as he had not known that the security there was so strict.

“How can I get in?” Di Jiu asked helplessly. The two guards were standing in silence without any intention of opening the door.

“You are not allowed inside. If you are neither a student nor a teacher of the Institute of Martial Arts, you will not be granted access unless you have received an invitation,” a slightly shy, crispy voice said.

The voice belonged to a teenage girl dressed in pink. A few strands of hair rested on her face, adding a sense of innocence to her beautiful features.

“Is there no other way to enter, Sister?” Di Jiu was puzzled by the girl’s speed. There had been no one behind him when he had first stepped onto the bridge. If the teenage girl had appeared behind him out of nowhere, then her speed had to be superb.

When she heard Di Jiu call her sister, the teenage girl blushed and asked softly, “Why do you want to enter?”

“I have a friend who is studying martial arts here, and I have to speak to her…” When he realized what her question had been, he asked immediately, “Are you implying that you might have the means to help me enter, Sister?”

The teenage girl seemed slightly nervous. She pulled at the corners of her clothes as she said, “I have come to register. My father thinks that I am so focused on practising martial arts that I have become antisocial. That’s why he made me come here alone to train… I could let you in if you have some urgent matter to attend to. They would allow one person to accompany me in for the registration…”

The teenage girl took out a registration token. The moment Di Jiu looked at it, he knew that it was real. He had owned one of these in the past, but he had given his registration token for Luo Bei University to Hu Li.

“Thank you so much! I am Di Jiu. How may I call you?” Di Jiu felt really lucky. It was no wonder that the teenage girl had walked there so quickly. She was clearly good at martial arts.

“I am Lu Xiaowan.” Lu Xiaowan held on to her registration token as she lowered her head. She rarely ever spoke to men, so her voice betrayed her anxiety.

A faint fragrance escaped her body, and if he looked down, Di Jiu could even see the short hairs around her ears.

“Thank you. I will take you out to dinner someday.” Di Jiu was in a really good mood. He had not expected to have such a pleasant encounter with a stranger. Lu Xiaowan was both beautiful and smart.

“Oh, it’s okay. It’s okay…” Lu Xiaowan waved her hand around nervously before she lowered her head and walked to the entrance of the institute. When she reached the iron doors, she lifted her head and retrieved her registration token.

When her hands were half-raised, she suddenly seemed to recall something. She turned around, looked at Di Jiu in panic and said, “I forgot to bring my ID…”

One’s ID and registration token were necessary in order to register at the Institute of Martial Arts. The enrollment fee was a small amount, as the larger expenses would be one’s expenditures during the actual martial arts training.

Di Jiu, who had been about to enter along with Lu Xiaowan, had not expected that she would forget to bring her ID.

“You could wait here for me, Big Brother. I’ll be back in a while.” It seemed that Lu Xiaowan had become more familiar with Di Jiu, as she no longer blushed as much. Although she was the one helping him, she was still speaking in an apologetic tone.

Di Jiu was about to say that he would accompany her to retrieve her ID card, when the doors of the Institute of Martial Arts suddenly opened. A lanky, white-haired man walked out, and several men and women followed behind him. They were all walking behind the white-haired man with a respectful expression on their faces.

As soon as he saw the white-haired man, Di Jiu took a few steps back. He was getting an otherworldly vibe from the man. It was almost similar to the feeling he got after practising the Major Conduit Internal Records.

He could sense that the man’s aura was stronger than the best Martial Master’s in the Ji Nation.

When Di Jiu took a step back, the white-haired man’s eyes landed on him. His gaze stayed on Di Jiu only for a while before it landed on Lu Xiaowan. “Spiritual abundance…” he said in surprise.

The white-haired man took a step forward and grabbed Lu Xiaowan by her wrist.

Lu Xiaowan tried to retreat, but she could not control her body. The man was holding her wrist firmly.

Lu Xiaowan’s heart sank. Given her abilities, even her master, Jia Qian, could not have grabbed her this easily. It was evident that the white-haired man was much stronger than her master.

“Pure gold spiritual root… It is indeed a supreme-grade pure gold spiritual root. Good, good…” the white-haired man said. Then, he stared at Lu Xiaowan before he added, “Would you like to be my disciple?”

Lu Xiaowan shook her head immediately and said, “No, I already have a master. Please let go of me.”

The white-haired man let go of Lu Xiaowan. When he opened his hand, a fireball appeared on his palm. As he relaxed his hand, the fireball escaped and blew up a rock the size of a grinding disc on the street.

Everyone present, including Di Jiu, was shocked. If only he had powers like that, Wu Bahu would not be able to catch him…

He was suddenly reminded of his father, Di Shan, who had been executed by Wu Bahu without being able to defend himself. If there had been such a powerful person in Wu Bahu’s arsenal, his father would definitely not have had the means to resist. It seemed that his previous theory had been correct. Wu Bahu had ordered someone to kill his father. The reason that no one had pleaded for Di Shan’s life had not been because his father had lacked prestige or character, or because Wu Bahu had great influence. It had been because a powerful person had overpowered his dad.

A powerful person like the white-haired man right before his eyes…

Lu Xiaowan watched in awe as the man moved with an immortal’s ability. Could there really be an Immortal Dao cultivation technique on the Fairy Planet? No, it couldn’t. Could it perhaps be a chemical phenomenon?

The white-haired man, who could clearly read Lu Xiaowan’s thoughts, smiled faintly and took a step forward. He flew straight into the air and hovered in the sky. After 10 seconds, the man landed on the ground and looked at Lu Xiaowan. “I move like an immortal. I could teach you all of my moves if you became my disciple,” he said.

Lu Xiaowan’s heart pounded hard against her chest. She had not taken the white-haired man’s words seriously before, but now she was a little shaken. Although capturing Di Jiu was her mission, she felt really attracted by those immortal moves.