Chapter 3775: A Fellow Disciple

Lin Mu wished he could inspect the underlying formations. Unfortunately, doing so would require more extensive use of his immortal senses. That was currently impossible as Xukong’s seal remained active.

The Abyssal Horizon Veil Seal continued diverting his qi fluctuations into a separate spatial pocket. Breaking the disguise this early would be foolish. Thus Lin Mu could only observe normally.

Even so, what he saw was already impressive.

The pair crossed the plaza before reaching another district entirely. This area resembled a port, at least at first glance. There was one major difference. No water existed anywhere nearby.

Instead, hundreds of flying ships floated peacefully in the air.

Lin Mu nearly stopped walking as the sight was magnificent. Ships of every imaginable size occupied the area. Small transport vessels, merchant ships, courier crafts, combat vessels, and luxury transports.

All were like massive floating platforms and every one of them was an immortal flying ship. Thousands of disciples moved between them constantly; some loaded cargo while others unloaded supplies.

Some teams performed maintenance and Formation masters inspected inscriptions as the entire area buzzed with activity.

Little Bull’s mouth opened again. "So many boats..."

"They’re ships," He Jian corrected. "They fly."

"Flying boats."

The old man sighed. "Close enough."

Before they could continue, an excited voice suddenly rang out across the area.

"Elder! Elder He Jian!"

Both of them turned.

A young man came running through the crowd while waving enthusiastically. He appeared to be in his mid twenties. His robes bore the insignia of the Heavenly Stream Guardian Sect while a jade badge hung from his waist.

His cultivation had already reached the Immortal Realm.

The young man’s expression brightened further upon seeing the elder.

"Elder He Jian! You’re finally back!" He arrived before them and immediately bowed.

The old man smiled warmly. "Zhou Ren. It seems you’re still alive."

The young disciple laughed awkwardly. "I’ve been trying my best, Elder."

Only then did his gaze shift toward Little Bull as curiosity appeared in his eyes. He looked Little Bull up and down. The simple clothing. The rough appearance. The obvious lack of cultivation. The numerous scars. And the confused expression.

Everything about him looked completely out of place.

Zhou Ren blinked. "Elder... who is this?"

A mysterious smile appeared on He Jian’s face.

"This?" The old man patted Little Bull’s shoulder. "This is Little Bull."

Little Bull waved. "Hello."

The disciple waved back automatically. "Hello."

Then he paused and a second later confusion filled his face once more.

Little Bull grinned. "I can read."

For several moments, complete silence followed. Zhou Ren looked at Elder He Jian.

Elder He Jian looked away while suppressing a laugh and Little Bull continued smiling proudly.

A few seconds later, the disciple introduced himself properly.

"My name is Zhou Ren." The disciple said with a smile. "Senior Brother Zhou Ren from now on."

Little Bull nodded seriously.

"Senior Brother Zhou Ren." He repeated obediently.

The simplicity of the response made Zhou Ren smile even more. He could already tell that this new recruit was rather straightforward. Compared to many disciples he had met over the years, Little Bull seemed refreshingly uncomplicated.

The young man then looked at Elder He Jian. "Elder said Senior Brother was recruited too?"

"That’s right." Elder He Jian replied. "I recruited Zhou Ren nearly three hundred years ago."

Little Bull’s eyes widened. "Three hundred years?"

To him, that sounded like an impossibly large number.

The old man chuckled. "Yes. Three hundred years."

Little Bull looked at Zhou Ren with newfound respect. "You must be very old."

The disciple almost choked while several nearby sect members laughed.

"I’m not that old." Zhou Ren replied helplessly.

Little Bull nodded. "Okay."

A few seconds later he added. "But still old."

This time even Elder He Jian laughed while Zhou Ren rubbed his forehead. He had already begun to understand what kind of person Little Bull was. The young man truly spoke whatever entered his mind.

There was no malice in it. No hidden meaning. No attempt to insult anyone. He simply said exactly what he thought. Little Bull then looked between the two men as a question had appeared in his mind.

"Senior Brother."

"Yes?"

"Are you Elder’s disciple?"

The question caused Zhou Ren to pause. It was actually a reasonable thing to ask. Most people naturally assumed that the person who recruited them would also become their master.

Lin Mu himself was rather curious about the answer.

Throughout the entire journey, Elder He Jian had spoken about the sect many times. He had explained its structure; its divisions, its rules, and even many of its customs. Yet one thing he had barely touched upon was the relationship between recruiting elders and the disciples they brought into the sect.

This was the perfect opportunity to learn.

Zhou Ren shook his head. "No."

Little Bull blinked. "No?"

"I was recruited by Elder He Jian." Zhou Ren explained. "But my master is someone else."

Little Bull looked confused. "Someone else?"

"That’s right." The disciple pointed at himself. "My master is Elder Zhou Kai."

Little Bull stared, then his eyes brightened. "Oh!"

He seemed to have figured something out. "He is your father?"

The question made Zhou Ren laugh loudly. "What?"

"You both have Zhou." Little Bull pointed between him and the elder he mentioned. "Same name."

The disciple laughed so hard that he nearly bent over. Even Elder He Jian looked amused.

"No, no." Zhou Ren finally managed to say. "That is not how it works."

Little Bull frowned. "Then why same name?"

This time Elder He Jian answered.

"Our sect follows an old orthodox tradition." The elder explained. "When a disciple formally enters the lineage of a master, they inherit part of that master’s name."

Little Bull scratched his head. "I don’t understand."

The old man was patient. He had already learned that explanations needed to be simple.

"When Zhou Ren became Elder Zhou Kai’s disciple, he took the surname Zhou."

Little Bull finally understood. "Oh!"

The young man nodded repeatedly. "So Elder Zhou Kai is not your father."

"No."

"But still family."

"In a way, yes."

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