Chapter 147 Poaching Talent

Since Eddie and Vivian had already returned to Sola City, they decided to stay for a few days to handle matters concerning the Hunter Group. The three of them returned directly to Bancroft.

Before their departure, Hoye and Shangguan Qing had spent the entire night discussing the exact kind of weapon Hoye needed, with Hoye even adding a few minor personal requests along the way.

The journey back was uneventful. When Hoye and Shangguan Yudie finally returned to the Polaris Club, the place erupted into chaos. The guys sought out Hoye, while the girls hounded Shangguan Yudie, both parties desperate to know what had transpired between them. However, the two of them shared a tacit understanding and remained tight-lipped about the whole affair.

As for Alice, Hoye and Shangguan Yudie played the classic routine of good cop and bad cop, completely baffling her with their shifting attitudes.

Eventually, Hoye grew thoroughly exasperated by the persistent teasing from his peers. He simply dropped a warning: "Have you guys been slacking off these past couple of days? Don't think that just because my old man isn't around, the Hollis family's hellish training can be paused. Who among you… wants to spar with me first?"

The moment Hoye uttered those words, aside from Little Six, who was a bit slow on the uptake, the other two members bolted instantly. Little Six was just about to blurt out a "Me...", but Jiang Feng quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him away.

Hoye returned to the president's office. Over the past couple of days, several more people had come to Polaris to apply for membership. Every beginning is difficult; Polaris was a newly established club consisting mostly of sophomores, and even a freshman like Luo Jiajia, meaning virtually none of them had any prior experience running an organization.

By now, the recruitment process for Polaris had become standardized. Applicants first downloaded the application template from the Polaris website, filled in their personal information accurately, and then submitted it for the first round of filtration, which was personally reviewed by the Polaris president—Hoye himself.

After that, the candidates went through a second round of filtration during a small Polaris executive meeting, requiring a simple majority vote to pass.

Once they cleared these two initial hurdles, applicants were essentially recognized by Polaris on paper as having potential. The final step was an in-person test, much like the one Luo Jiajia had undergone earlier.

As for Lu Dingyuan, he was an exception to the rule; his exceptional combat prowess was a known fact throughout the academy.

Hoye muttered to himself, "As I thought, apart from Jiajia, none of the newcomers show much real potential. Should I… poach someone from another club? That might get complicated; first of all, the person themselves has to agree. Secondly, their original club wouldn't let them leave easily. Or maybe… I should just challenge them to a fight and settle their allegiance in a single duel?"

Right at that moment, a lazy, casual male voice drifted in from the doorway of the president's office. "Yo, Brother Hoye, that's not very kind of you! Keeping such fine tea all to yourself and sneaking drinks in secret!" Hoye instantly recognized the owner of the voice—his fellow tea enthusiast, Feng Wuming.

Feng Wuming walked over to Hoye, pulled up a chair, and sat down. Casually, he picked up Hoye's tea set and poured himself a cup of the prized Keemun black tea Hoye had just acquired. With documents in hand, Hoye stared fixedly at Feng Wuming's hand, terrified that he might pour an extra drop and waste it.

When sharing a rare treasure with someone who shared the same passion, Hoye naturally felt the urge to show it off. "This is this year's Keemun, bought at a huge price by an elder and sent specifically to me. You've got incredible timing; I literally just got my hands on it, and you show up right on the first brew to sponge off my tea."

Upon hearing the word "Keemun," Feng Wuming's hand trembled noticeably, though he managed not to spill a single drop. He asked, "Brother Hoye, might I ask which elder this was? So generous! This treasure… selling this poor Taoist wouldn't even cover its cost."

Hoye wasn't one to shy away, so he casually replied, "It's just the Shangguan family's custom. There's a gift for meeting, a gift for a long-awaited reunion—they find any excuse to give gifts. When I went back to my hometown a couple of days ago to pay a visit, they gave it to me."

Feng Wuming mused, "The Shangguan family… Ah, that would be your vice-president's family, right? To prepare tea of this caliber specifically for Brother Hoye—setting aside its monetary value, just the thought and effort put into preparing it for you… Brother Hoye, is there something you haven't told me?"

Hoye chuckled. "You're quite sharp, aren't you? But I didn't plan on hiding it anyway. My trip back home this time was to get engaged."

Feng Wuming nearly choked to death on a mouthful of tea. Although he practiced the Tao, he was still a young man in his early twenties, and hearing such news was bound to come as quite a shock.

Recovering quickly, he offered his congratulations: "In that case, I must congratulate Brother Hoye. Miss Shangguan is truly a match made in heaven. I wonder if Brother Hoye has both of your birth dates and hours? This poor Taoist could calculate your charts and see what kind of marital destiny awaits the two of you."

Hoye laughed heartily, waving his hand dismissively. "No, no, let's skip that. I'd rather not know."

Feng Wuming's face darkened slightly. Was he going to have his fortune told or not? Everyone nowadays treated his fortune-telling skills so casually! Did nobody have any respect for the teachings of the ancestors?

At that moment, however, Hoye continued, "It's not that I don't believe in fortune-telling. On the contrary, I feel that if something has been passed down for millennia within the ancient Chinese civilization, it must contain some inherent logic. If it seems useless, it's simply because the person practicing it hasn't mastered the craft—the wisdom of our ancestors is always a treasure. It's just that… if you knew the destination from the very beginning, wouldn't life become terribly dull?"

As Hoye spoke, a profound and unfathomable expression crossed his face, accompanied by an enigmatic smile at the corner of his lips.

Feng Wuming paused, then offered a calm, understanding smile. "I see. Brother Hoye's perspective is remarkably broad-minded. Then I won't do anything redundant."

Shortly after, however, as if suddenly remembering something, Feng Wuming asked, "By the way, Brother Hoye, you mentioned earlier that you wanted to poach someone. Who did you have in mind?"

This time it was Hoye's turn to pause, and he couldn't help clicking his tongue in hesitation. After mulling it over for a moment, he said to Feng Wuming, "Brother Feng, do you remember what I told you before about what kind of club Polaris really is?"

Feng Wuming thought for a moment before answering, "It's… the reserve team for the Reaper Hunter Group."

Hoye nodded. "Exactly. Therefore, my vision cannot be limited solely to people outside the major clubs; I have to figure out a way to get people from the major clubs as well. Brother Feng, since we've already gotten this far, I'll speak frankly: I urgently need Dai Huanan from your Wind Chime Valley. You're the person closest to him, so I'm sure you understand just how much a team's combat effectiveness can soar with him around."

Feng Wuming understood what Hoye meant; of course he understood. Usually, he himself was a completely hands-off president. He had only taken the position in the first place because no other wind-attribute ability user in the academy could surpass him—it had been a case of a duck pushed onto a perch.

If Wind Chime Valley held its current status as the academy's second-ranked club, at least half of the credit belonged to Dai Huanan. Feng Wuming himself was, at best, nothing more than a brawler.

If a powerhouse was an unbreakable blade, then Dai Huanan was the wielder capable of pushing that blade's might to its absolute limit.

Feng Wuming let out a helpless sigh, set down his teacup, and said, "Brother Hoye, what do you expect me to say? Given our friendship, and the fact that Old Dai is indeed being underutilized under my wing, it wouldn't be the end of the world if he followed you. But there's one thing: I simply cannot let him leave just yet."

"Why?"

"I don't have the aptitude of a leader. Without him, Wind Chime Valley might fall apart in my hands. I promised the previous president, who has already graduated, that I would guard Wind Chime Valley well. Until I find a suitable successor, Wind Chime Valley cannot afford to lose Old Dai."

Feng Wuming, who usually acted as relaxed and carefree as a puddle of mud, suddenly turned dead serious, as if the parting words of the former president echoed in his ears just as clearly as the day he had taken over.

Seeing Feng Wuming like this, Hoye could only sigh helplessly. "Fine. Since you've put it this way, I won't force you. But as for Dai Huanan, I'm not giving up on him. The Reaper Hunter Group has set its sights on him!"

Feng Wuming looked somewhat bewildered, frowning as he asked, "Hey, what is that supposed to mean? You say you won't force me, but then you say you've set your sights on him—don't you know that trying to poach him *is* forcing me?"

Hoye, however, curled the corner of his lips, wagged his index finger from side to side, and clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk, you're getting stuck in a rut. I only said the Reaper Hunter Group wants him, not Polaris. As for Dai Huanan, I'll persuade him myself. I only need your nod to let him build some tactical synergy with our Polaris members. As long as he's in the academy, he'll remain a member of Wind Chime Valley by day; once he graduates, wherever he goes won't have anything to do with Wind Chime Valley anymore, right?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Wuming broke into a bright smile. "Brother Hoye, your brain is truly agile. All right, if you put it that way, I certainly have no objections. I won't interfere with whatever goes on between you and Old Dai. I'm off; there's a sparring session with Xiaolan tonight, so I need to go back and catch some sleep."

Before Feng Wuming could even reach the door, Hoye called out, "Leave the tea!"

Feeling as guilty as a thief caught in the act, and knowing he could neither beat nor outrun Hoye, Feng Wuming simply dropped the tin of Keemun back onto the table, spun around, and bolted toward the exit at a full sprint. "Catch you later!"

Hoye retrieved the tea and stored it away in his spatial dimension box, shaking his head as he muttered, "And he calls himself a man of the cloth acting like a petty thief just for a box of tea."