Charles Bolton, although he had learned a bit about Evelyn Spencer from his eldest disciple, didn’t know much—after all, Edward Miller himself wasn’t very familiar with this new apprentice, and there wasn’t much to discuss with Clifford Bolton, so he couldn’t help but ask a few questions.

Evelyn Spencer didn’t hide anything and answered each question. Still, he added a bit of embellishment, deliberately exaggerating the harshness of the elders in his clan who forced him to work as a shop assistant, even squeezing out a few tears and choking up as he spoke.

Charles Bolton sighed and comforted him, “It’s not a big deal if your relatives won’t take you in. Going through some hardship and learning more about people’s hearts isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since you’ve taken me as your master, just stay here at the temple. As your teacher, I will make sure you have a bright future.”

“Since you’ve become my apprentice, I should also tell you about my own background.”

“My family name is Zhang, and my Daoist name is Yuanqiao! I apprenticed under Grandmaster Feng of the Songyang Sect, as his second disciple. After your grandmaster passed away, because I didn’t get along with the head disciple, I burned incense before the grandmaster’s portrait, took my only disciple—your senior brother Clifford Bolton—and left to establish a new sect.”

“This temple is called Taiyi Temple, covering several dozen mu. It was once quite prosperous, but later fell into ruin due to war and has yet to recover. Over a year ago, your senior brother and I traveled here, saw the temple abandoned, and couldn’t bear to see the three deities dishonored, so we settled down, made myself the abbot, and, inspired by the temple’s name, founded the Taiyi Sect.”

“As for the Taiyi Sect right now! It’s just this old Daoist and you two little kittens.”

At this point, Charles Bolton couldn’t help but laugh.

He wanted to found a new sect, but the road was rough and full of hardships!

Even as a grandmaster of his generation, there were many difficulties—just recruiting disciples was a headache for Charles Bolton. If he opened his doors wide, countless people from the martial world would want to send their juniors to apprentice, but with such a mixed crowd, his sect would quickly become chaotic. So Charles Bolton was extremely cautious in accepting disciples; if not for Edward Miller’s recommendation, he wouldn’t have taken on a new apprentice so easily.

Having accepted a disciple, Charles Bolton was quite pleased. After making sure his disciples had eaten, he said to Evelyn Spencer, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll get up early with your senior brother to sweep the temple, then listen to my lectures. There will be other lessons in the afternoon—don’t slack off.”

Evelyn Spencer nodded repeatedly. After eating, he helped his senior brother Clifford Bolton clean up the dishes. Although he had only worked as a shop assistant for a few days, the pressures of life had made him learn quickly; he was nimble and attentive, which pleased both his master and senior brother.

Clifford Bolton escorted Evelyn Spencer back to his room. Not long after, he returned with a quilt and a bundle of straw, smiling as he said, “Our Taiyi Temple hasn’t been renovated yet, and living in the mountains is rather rough. Junior Brother Spencer, please bear with it.”

Evelyn Spencer felt a bit odd, thinking to himself, “A Daoist’s life is supposed to be austere, so why does Master say there’s no profit in the temple, and Second Senior Brother also mentions the rough conditions? Could it be… they haven’t really experienced hardship before? Is that why they feel apologetic when hosting me?”

“Oh, oh, oh, that’s wrong! Now I’m part of the sect—I can’t think of myself as an outsider anymore.”

Evelyn Spencer quickly said, “Senior Brother, what are you saying! I come from a poor family. Just a few days ago, I was sleeping in a woodshed, and before that, we didn’t even have bedding at home. If the temple is considered rough, then what I had before was inhuman.”

Clifford Bolton smiled slightly. When Evelyn Spencer first arrived, he was a bit cautious, but after following Edward Miller, he became less guarded and would occasionally reveal habits from his previous life. A poor family couldn’t have raised someone with such details—this senior brother of Taiyi Temple was sharp-eyed, but chose not to expose him.

He helped Evelyn Spencer arrange a few benches, spreading the straw and bedding, and said, “Tomorrow I’ll come wake you, so you don’t oversleep and miss sweeping the temple.”

Evelyn Spencer quickly thanked his senior brother. Seeing Clifford Bolton about to leave, he cupped his hands and said, “I’m still a bit lost after becoming an apprentice. Although I’m fortunate to be accepted by Master, I don’t know much about the Songyang Sect. If someone asks, wouldn’t I be embarrassed?”

Clifford Bolton laughed, “Alright, I’ll tell you a bit.”

“Our Songyang Sect is a branch of the Daoist Xuanhuang Dao, and besides the Daoist tradition, it’s also the leading sword sect in the martial world. Since Grandmaster Feng passed on his teachings to seven friends and established the Songyang lineage, it’s only been about a hundred years, but it’s already thriving and well-known.”

“Grandmaster Feng is a peerless figure of our time—only three or five people in the world can match his martial arts. Our master is his second disciple and has inherited all his skills; his martial prowess is almost equal to Grandmaster Feng in his prime.”

“Because our master was too outstanding, the head senior uncle didn’t like him, seeing him as a threat and making things difficult. Master had no choice but to leave the sect with me.”

“But when our master left the mountain, he burned incense for Grandmaster Feng. He didn’t break away from the sect, just started a new branch. In the future, when you travel the martial world, you can introduce yourself as a disciple of the Songyang Sect.”

“When you meet fellow disciples from Songyang, be polite, but there’s no need to humble yourself too much. If they don’t show proper respect, just treat them like a passing breeze.”

Evelyn Spencer chuckled and said, “Thank you for the lesson, Senior Brother.”