"I believe he will do so the moment it becomes convenient," Han Yu replied. "Or the moment I become inconvenient."
Silence followed.
This was one of the perfect excuses Han Yu had come up with.
Then the Peak Head asked, almost casually, "If your goal is protection… why not ask to become my direct disciple?"
The question was sharp, probing.
Han Yu did not look surprised. He had expected it.
"This disciple knows his limits," Han Yu said immediately. "And he knows the price of that request."
The Peak Head's eyes flickered with interest.
"To be a direct disciple of the Kidney Peak," Han Yu continued, "one must cultivate the Eternal Frost Tomb Art. That art does not accept mediocrity, nor does it tolerate forced compatibility."
He shook his head slightly.
"My natural affinities do not align with ice. Even joining the Kidney Peak as an ordinary disciple requires an Ice Elemental affinity, which I lack. To ask for discipleship would not be ambition... it would be arrogance."
