I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 83 - 82: Taking Another Disciple

Xu Qing walked in and saw Xu Xiulan and the others weeping over Dian Hongbo’s body, having already cried their eyes out. Wang Tuoba and the others wore somber expressions.

"Commander Wang."

Xu Qing walked over and stood beside Wang Tuoba.

"Hm?"

Wang Tuoba came to his senses, just now noticing Xu Qing. "Xu Qing."

"How did Brother Dian die?"

Xu Qing asked.

"..."

Wang Tuoba was silent for a moment, then told him the truth. "Yesterday, we went to Grey River Village to investigate the Blood Demon Sect. On our way back, we were ambushed by experts from the Sect."

"In the end,"

"Dian Hongbo fought to the death."

"The Blood Demon Sect."

Xu Qing murmured the name. "Commander Wang, last night, an unknown expert tried to assassinate Dian Hongbo’s wife and son. I was awakened by the noise and immediately rushed over, hoping to save Brother Dian’s family."

"But unexpectedly,"

"An expert calling himself ’Li Bai’ appeared and killed all the assailants. This man’s Swordsmanship was exquisite and his strength was immense. After killing the attackers, he simply left."

"So,"

Xu Qing paused for a moment before continuing, "I suspect the assailants who came to assassinate Brother Dian’s wife and son were most likely from the Blood Demon Sect."

"From this, we can deduce something."

"Brother Dian was ambushed by experts from the Blood Demon Sect, and then his wife and son were targeted for assassination. This means one thing: the Blood Demon Sect had him in their sights."

"Commander Wang, what do you plan to do now? How will you protect Brother Dian’s wife and son? The Blood Demon Sect failed yesterday, but they will surely come back to finish the job."

"Rest assured."

Wang Tuoba patted his chest and said, "Dian Hongbo was a Gold Medal Demon Exterminator for the Government Office’s Demon Extermination Agency. He rendered great service to the Government Office. We can’t just abandon his wife and son after his death."

"Next,"

"We will bring Brother Dian’s wife and son to the headquarters of the Demon Extermination Agency. They will live at the headquarters of the Qingfeng Town branch, which will be enough to guarantee their safety."

"Furthermore,"

"As for why the Blood Demon Sect targeted Dian Hongbo, our Demon Extermination Agency will do everything in our power to investigate and uncover the reason."

"That’s good."

Xu Qing nodded.

Afterwards, Xu Qing offered a few more words of comfort to Xu Xiulan and the others, then helped with Dian Hongbo’s burial. They interred him in the mountains outside Qingfeng Town and erected a tombstone.

By the time Xu Qing returned to his courtyard, it was already afternoon. He was slightly exhausted and lay on his bed, pondering what Dian Hongbo could have discovered.

Also, why was Dian Hongbo too afraid to tell him? He hadn’t even dared to mention a single word, as if uttering it would cause some terrible disaster.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

From outside the door.

Xu Qing heard a knock.

"Who is it?"

Xu Qing frowned.

"Xu Di, it’s me!"

Xu Xiulan’s voice came from outside.

"Sister-in-law."

Xu Qing was stunned for a moment. He quickly got up, went out, and opened the courtyard gate to see Xu Xiulan standing at the entrance with Dian Hongbo’s only son, Dian Anhua.

"Please, come in."

Xu Qing said.

"Xu Di."

Xu Xiulan wasn’t actually very old. Dian Hongbo had been in his forties or fifties, while Xu Xiulan was not yet thirty. Their son, Dian Anhua, had just turned ten.

This meant that.

Xu Xiulan had married Dian Hongbo when she was eighteen.

At that time.

Dian Hongbo had been in the midst of his rise to prominence.

THUD!

The next moment.

Just as Xu Qing closed the courtyard gate, Xu Xiulan knelt on the ground. At the same time, she pushed down on Dian Anhua’s head, making him kneel before Xu Qing with her.

"This..."

Xu Qing felt a little helpless. "What are you doing? Whatever you have to say, please get up and say it properly."

"Hongbo is gone. A few days ago, after he said those things, I knew something bad would happen. But in my heart, I just kept praying that it wouldn’t."

Xu Xiulan said slowly, "In the end, my prayers were useless. Something happened to Hongbo, and just like that, he’s gone."

"How are we, a widow and an orphan, supposed to survive in a world like this? On top of that, assassins came to murder us last night."

"It’s obvious."

"They want to silence us by killing us all!"

"..."

Xu Qing fell silent.

Clearly.

Dian Hongbo’s wife was very sharp. She might not have known many details, but she was very perceptive and had already guessed a lot.

"What do you want my help with?"

Xu Qing asked.

"I want you to take Anhua as your disciple."

Xu Xiulan looked up at Xu Qing. "Ever since Anhua was born, Hongbo has been using medicines to help him temper his bones and muscles, but he never taught him any Martial Arts."

"Because Hongbo said that while it’s better to start martial arts training earlier, it’s best not to come into contact with Martial Arts or practice them before the age of ten. Instead, one should use Tonics and Secret Medicine to temper the bones and muscles."

"By tempering the body this way until the age of ten, one can then officially begin to practice Martial Arts."

"But."

"Before Hongbo had the chance to teach Anhua, disaster struck."

’Take him as a disciple.’

Xu Qing frowned. His gaze fell on Dian Anhua, who was kneeling beside her with his head lowered, and he sank into thought. He had already taken one disciple.

He knew that if he accepted Dian Anhua, he’d undoubtedly be taking on a burden. That much was certain. Dian Hongbo was targeted by the Blood Demon Sect because he learned one of their secrets, and they would definitely try to wipe out his entire family to silence them.

However.

Xu Qing had also promised Dian Hongbo he would look after his wife and son.

Besides.

Xu Qing was not a heartless or disloyal person. Perhaps because of his many experiences in a past life his disposition was somewhat indifferent, but he had always been someone who valued relationships and loyalty.

Otherwise.

Xu Qing wouldn’t have taken in Yu Hu just to repay a small favor.

Just then.

Xu Xiulan suddenly took a White Jade Box from her robes. She opened it, revealing stack after stack of large-denomination silver notes.

Each of these large-denomination silver notes was for one hundred thousand taels.

And.

There were a full ten of them.

Therefore.

This was a million taels in silver notes.

Clearly.

This was Dian Hongbo’s life savings, and most of it was in Xu Xiulan’s hands.

"Sister-in-law, you..."

Xu Qing’s expression was one of shock.

"This is Anhua’s discipleship fee."

Xu Xiulan offered the million taels in silver notes to Xu Qing with both hands. "Xu Di, please, I’m begging you. Even if it’s just for Hongbo’s sake, for the friendship you two shared, please take Anhua."

As soon as she finished speaking.

Xu Xiulan began to kowtow.

And.

She did so forcefully.

"Mother..."

Dian Anhua cried out.

"Sigh..."

With a wave of his right hand, Xu Qing released a gentle stream of Gang Qi that lifted Xu Xiulan, preventing her from kowtowing any further. "Sister-in-law, if you keep kowtowing to me like this, Brother Dian would probably twist my head off and kick it like a ball if he were here."

"Alright."

Xu Qing nodded and said, "I’ll accept Anhua. And I’ll accept the discipleship fee. Sister-in-law, does that set your mind at ease?"

"Yes, yes, that’s wonderful."

Xu Xiulan was extremely emotional. She called out, "Anhua, what are you waiting for? Kowtow to your master!"

"Disciple Anhua pays his respects to Master."

Dian Anhua knelt before Xu Qing and kowtowed three times, his forehead hitting the ground with a thud each time.

「That evening.」

At the courtyard gate, Dian Anhua stood to Xu Qing’s left, tears in his eyes, waving to Xu Xiulan. She was also crying, her face full of reluctance to part.

In addition, Dian Hongbo’s other two concubines and his two daughters also left at the same time, personally escorted by Demon Exterminators to live at the headquarters of the Qingfeng Town Demon Extermination Agency.

This way.

Their safety could be better protected.

"Sister, why did you have Anhua become Xu Qing’s disciple?"

Miao Yu couldn’t help but ask.

"That’s right!"

Yang Xin nodded. "Xu Qing is powerful, but he’s only at the Outer Gang Realm. There are many experts in the Government Office’s Demon Extermination Agency. Wouldn’t it be safer there than by Xu Qing’s side?"

"Also,"

"Even if you wanted Anhua to learn martial arts, Sister, you could have found a more powerful master. There was really no need for him to become Xu Qing’s disciple."

"Anhua is quite fond of Xu Qing."

Xu Xiulan only said this and nothing more.

In reality, Xu Xiulan felt uneasy. She had felt a deep sense of dread ever since hearing they were to go to the Demon Extermination Agency headquarters. Although Dian Hongbo never told her exactly what was going on, he had told her one thing: the only person she could trust was Xu Qing.

Therefore, after a great deal of internal struggle, she made up her mind to have her son, Anhua, become Xu Qing’s disciple, even going so far as to give away more than half of their savings.

’I hope I’m just overthinking things.’

Xu Xiulan gazed at the darkening night sky.

「That night.」

Xu Qing had Dian Anhua go rest in a side room while he himself practiced the Dapeng Root Method in the courtyard. Every time he completed a set, he would gain one Experience Point.

In the side room, Dian Anhua couldn’t sleep at all. He watched through the window as Xu Qing practiced his martial arts in the courtyard. But Xu Qing moved so fast that he couldn’t see clearly, only a myriad of black shadows.

’So... so amazing...’

Dian Anhua’s eyes were full of worship. ’My father also practiced martial arts, but he never had this kind of power, and he was never this fast.’

’Could it be... that Master is even more powerful than my father?’

「Late that night.」

"Hoo..."

Xu Qing stopped practicing his martial arts. With a thought, he checked the Experience Points for his Dapeng Root Method, nodded in satisfaction, and went to rest.

In his bedroom, Xu Qing took out the White Jade Box that Xu Xiulan had given him earlier that day. Inside were ten silver notes, each with a denomination of one hundred thousand taels.

So.

This was a million taels in silver notes.

"Hooo..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath. ’I’ve taken so much money. I’ll have to put some real effort into teaching Dian Anhua. If he really has the Talent, there’s no reason I can’t train him to become a true expert.’ 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Xu Qing let out a soft sound of surprise. He had discovered a hidden compartment inside the White Jade Box. Something was hidden inside it.

So, Xu Qing opened the compartment and, sure enough, found a golden page inside. After fully unfolding the golden page, Xu Qing could see what it was: a complete Martial Dao inheritance.