"Hahaha..."
It was not loud, nor boisterous. It was a low, hoarse chuckle that carried centuries of frustration, bitterness, and long-suppressed hope.
"Protection?" the Peak Head repeated, amused. "Ju Fan… if you succeed in cultivating that art, protection will be the least of your concerns."
He turned fully now, facing Han Yu head-on, his gaze sharp and burning with something dangerously close to excitement.
"You would not be my direct disciple," the old man said. "You would be the Legacy Disciple of the Second Kidney Peak."
The words struck Han Yu like a thunderbolt.
Legacy Disciple.
His mind blanked for a moment.
That title was not merely higher than a direct disciple. It was an entirely different category of existence within the sect. A legacy disciple was not chosen to serve an elder. They were chosen to replace one.
To be groomed as a future Peak Head.
To be protected not just by one peak, but by the sect itself.
Han Yu's breath caught.
