Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 420 : Huang Taichen (1)

Chapter 420: Chapter 420 : Huang Taichen (1)

Qiao Wei’s mouth fell open in surprise.

After regaining his composure, he told the young man to "Please raise your head."

Huang Taichen slowly raised his head, and his pair of brilliant but anxious eyes met with Qiao Wei’s. Despite the tangled mane of raven hair that framed his face, an undeniable youthful charm emanated from him.

"Shizun, please accept me as your disciple," Huang Taichen repeated before knocking his head to the ground in a kowtow.

Qiao Wei swallowed hard.

"Please rise to your feet."

"If Shizun doesn’t want me, I will not move from here," Huang Taichen stubbornly said.

"I can always drag you away by your ear," Zhang Fengxi teased the young man. "Do you prefer that?"

Huang Taichen’s face went red from rage when his eyes drifted to Zhang Fengxi. If Qiao Wei, his prospective shizun, was not there to witness their altercation, Huang Taichen had a torrent of obscenities that he would love to hurl at Zhang Fengxi’s face.

"Shizun, please," he went to beg Qiao Wei instead.

Qiao Wei heaved a sigh and pulled up Huang Taichen from his kneeling position.

"You cannot just stop people on the street and beg them to accept you as their disciple," Qiao Wei pointed out. "I don’t know much about you, how can I accept you as a disciple?"

"Shizun, you should not lie. You know aplenty," Huang Taichen said in reply.

"You punk," Zhang Fengxi laughed. "Did you spy around during the Discussion Conference?"

Huang Taichen’s ears were now as red as his face.

"What was so wrong with that?" He snapped angrily at Zhang Fengxi. "Just a bunch of old men meeting to discuss some old age cultivation world affairs, what is so special about that?"

"If it was not so special, why bother sneaking into Tian’an Jade Palace and secretly listening to the old age cultivation world affairs?" Zhang Fengxi asked with a snicker.

"That’s... That’s none of your business!" He snapped.

Their conversation was starting to catch the crowd’s attention, so Qiao Wei ushered Zhang Fengxi and Huang Taichen to the lamb skewers’ stall. They conveniently provided several tables and chairs to accommodate their guests.

"Welcome, welcome! Gentlemen, please take a seat! What would you like to order?" A cheerful woman greeted them when they took their seats at a corner table.

"Three portions of lamb skewers," Qiao Wei quickly said.

"I want three for myself," Huang Taichen’s face remained perfectly straight, devoid of even a hint of reservation.

"Make that five," Qiao Wei corrected himself.

"Thank you, gentlemen!" The woman was so happy that she practically floated away with their orders.

"I heard some stories about you from Sect Leader Shang, yes," Qiao Wei said. "But none of those stories came from you. I would rather you tell me in your own words, who you are and why you want to become my disciple."

Huang Taichen pulled both legs up the bench and hugged them to his chest. He then pinned Qiao Wei with a stare and pursed his lips at him in a childish manner.

"My name is Huang Taichen. My Mom’s name was Huang Yanzi. I don’t know my father," he murmured in a low voice.

Qiao Wei and Zhang Fengxi exchanged brief glances before Qiao Wei urged the young man to continue.

"Mom died when I was twelve years old. After that, I wandered the streets for three years. By chance, I found out that my mother used to be a disciple at Tian’an Shang Sect, so I came here, asking them to accept me."

Huang Taichen’s face crumpled when he recalled the bitter rejection he experienced at the palace gate.

He did not even get to meet his mother’s revered shizun the first time he came. The outer disciples of the sect turned him down as if he were nothing but a stray dog asking for food.

"They said no, so..."

Huang Taichen furrowed his brows.

"Do you want to become a cultivator?" Qiao Wei gently asked. "Like your mother?"

"... No."

Huang Taichen slowly shook his head.

"I just wanted a place to stay. I don’t want to wander the streets forever."

"Only cultivators are allowed to stay in a cultivation sect," Qiao Wei explained.

A burning passion to become a cultivator was rarely rewarded with an admission. With neither passion nor strong spiritual roots to move Shang Daoming, no wonder Huang Taichen was denied entry repeatedly.

"That’s a huge lie," Huang Taichen spat out. "Don’t tell me that the kitchen aunties cultivate. I don’t buy it."

"You are no kitchen auntie, though," Zhang Fengxi pointed out.

"I can be one," the young man stubbornly replied. "I only need a chance, that’s all."

Qiao Wei shook his head in disbelief.

"Although my Wushan Temple Sect is much smaller than the Tian’an Shang Sect, I can assure you that your lack of ambition will not help you to get admitted into my sect. I trust that the same applies to other sects."

Huang Taichen’s face turned sour.

Then, like a beacon cutting through the fog, the waiter emerged with five steaming plates of lamb skewers.

"Food is here!" He announced while dropping five plates of lamb skewers on the table.

Upon seeing the plates of delicacy, Huang Taichen’s eyes lit up like fireworks, his mood instantly brighter than the glow of the paper lanterns overhead.

"What’s the difference?" He ripped a juicy, diced lamb cube from the skewer, the succulent meat tearing apart with a wet plop.

"You heard what the old fart said. I do not have what it takes to be a cultivator."

"And yet you keep trying," Zhang Fengxi leaned on the table with his elbow pressing against the wooden surface. "Why?"

Huang Taichen sucked on his fingers with relish.

"Is that a crime?"

"It is not," Zhang Fengxi casually answered while pushing another plate in front of Huang Taichen. "But it is indeed a crime to smuggle a demonic beast into the Spiritual Mountain Competition, don’t you think?"