Before leaving, Jason Chu didn't forget to take Charlie Zhao along. He understood that despite the current courtesy of the Semi-Divine Forgemasters, once he was gone, the sect elites might harbor jealousy or resentment toward her. After all, a Foundation Establishment wandering cultivator was still very vulnerable in a world rife with envy.
With Charlie by his side, Jason traversed a thousand miles in the blink of an eye. Arriving outside Shushan's mountain gate, he handed her the red-tinted sword that he had refined. "This is yours; take it with you," he said simply, preparing to return to Shushan.
"Wait! Master, please hold on!" Charlie exclaimed, startled by his sudden gesture. She hesitated as she reached for the sword, uncertain if she should keep it. "Master, this sword was created through your effort and skill. It belongs to you, not me."
Jason glanced at her, unconcerned. "I don't have much use for it. You should take it," he replied truthfully. A low-tier artifact like this wasn't of much value to him; creating one had become a simple task for him, no different from drawing breath.
Still, Charlie couldn't accept it without feeling overwhelmed. This was, after all, a legendary artifact—a treasure that would be coveted by any sect. Clutching the sword, she grew more anxious about drawing attention to herself. "Master, if I keep this, I'll be a walking target for every sect and demon in the region. The Hidden Assassins' Pavilion, the demonic cults…they'd all be after me!"
Jason considered her point thoughtfully. "You're not wrong," he acknowledged. "What's your plan from here on?"
The question caught Charlie off guard, and she was momentarily silent, feeling a pang of helplessness. She had originally planned to find her mother, then apprentice under a Semi-Divine Forgemaster to hone her crafting skills. But the recent tournament had disillusioned her with the very idea of seeking mentorship from such elders.
With a sudden spark of resolve, she ventured, "Master…would you be willing to accept me as your disciple?"
Jason raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised. It hadn't even crossed his mind to take a disciple—he'd grown accustomed to solitary cultivation over the years. Yet, considering his strength, accepting a disciple seemed only natural.
"Yes, if you have nowhere else to go, you can follow me as my disciple," he agreed, pleased with her diligence and innate talent. Seeing her disbelief at his acceptance, he nodded, amused.
Overjoyed, Charlie quickly knelt and formally greeted him as her master. "Disciple Charlie Zhao greets her Master!"
After making Charlie his disciple, Jason set out to return to Shushan with her, traveling at a breathtaking speed. Before long, they arrived at Shushan's gates, where Jason hesitated.
While he thrived in his quiet seclusion, he realized Charlie would need a formal identity within Shushan. "It's best for you to enter Shushan through an official identity," he explained. "They're holding a disciple recruitment ceremony right now. Go through it and later join me at the Swordmaking House."
Charlie's eyes sparkled as she interpreted his instruction as a personal test, one she was determined to pass to prove herself worthy.
With a nod, Jason disappeared, leaving Charlie to find her place within Shushan. Meanwhile, in Shushan's grand hall, murmurs filled the air as the elders discussed recent news.
"You're sure this isn't just a rumor?" August Xia questioned Julian Zhao. "Our lineage of forgemasters from the Swordmaking House flourished centuries ago, but it's faded since. How could a Divine Forgemaster suddenly appear?"
Despite his own disbelief, Julian Zhao nodded. "The renowned Ning Wei herself sent a message affirming that a Divine Forgemaster publicly declared his allegiance to Shushan."
Suspicion lingered in the air, and many elders, deeply cautious in this time of tension, nodded in agreement.
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