Chapter 18: Taking a Master

In an instant, the wind, snow, and ice vanished. Wen Xu could no longer support himself and collapsed. When his groggy consciousness finally returned, he realized that he had never actually stepped onto the final mountain stair.

“Aren’t you coming up?”

The cloth covering his eyes had long since vanished. Having pretended to be blind for days, Wen Xu found this a bit hard to get used to. Furthermore… he had blurted out his greatest secret without the slightest hesitation. How could he not be terrified?

He could not help but look up at the man who had just offered to take him as a disciple. Unfortunately, even with someone as powerful as this, he still could not make out the man’s face. It seemed that even cultivation could not cure his face blindness.

“Can you see your master’s face clearly? Oh, wait. You haven’t officially become my disciple yet. I should show some restraint.”

Wen Xu had always been absolutely determined to find a master. He was the type of person who, once he set his mind on something, would stop at nothing to achieve it. Yet right now, just a moment ago, he had hesitated for once.

As a former scholar, he understood the importance of a good teacher all too well. Before passing the provincial civil service exam to become a Juren, he had never formally taken a mentor. Among scholars, the bond between master and disciple was akin to that of father and son. If he wanted to rise above the crowd, he needed a teacher who was willing to truly guide him through the door.

To put it pragmatically, he wanted a master who could help him soar to the heights later on.

Unfortunately, he had never met such a teacher. Now, he had embarked on a completely different path. The man before him was undoubtedly powerful, perhaps far more powerful than Wen Xu could even conceive. Yet… no one liked being completely exposed before another. Although the man had not said it outright, Wen Xu knew that everything about him had been laid bare to this person.

If I were as open and straightforward as Bian Chunzhou, I wouldn’t hesitate at all, Wen Xu thought. Unfortunately, I’m not that kind of person.

“Didn’t you say… you don’t like liars?”

The man suddenly looked down, meeting Wen Xu’s unfocused eyes. “You don’t want to be my disciple?”

“No, disciple…”

“Then bow. Once you do, your master will tell you some of our sect’s closely guarded secrets.”

That sounded even less reliable. But now, the arrow was on the string and had to be shot. Wen Xu suspected that if he turned and left now, this man might grab him by the head and force him to bow. Yonglu Mountain had really set him up!

Initiating it himself was at least more dignified than being forced. Thus, Wen Xu stepped onto the final stair and, amidst the ice and snow of Guochun Peak, completed the most important apprenticeship ceremony of his life.

“Disciple Wen Xu pays respects to Master.”

The weather on Guochun Peak was bitterly cold. Wen Xu felt that with his current cultivation, he probably could not stay for long. However, he soon discovered that inside Guochun Hall, spring was in full bloom and a cozy warmth filled the air. It was truly a world of difference from the outside.

A Body Integration Stage powerhouse, truly terrifying!

“Well then, let me introduce myself.” The man shook the snow off his clothes, waved his hand to summon a cup of spiritual tea out of thin air, and handed it to his newly acquired young disciple. “Were you frightened just now?”

Having the spiritual tea thrust into his hands, Wen Xu did not try to hide it. “A little. I have never told this secret to another soul.”

“Not even your birth parents?” the man asked, unable to suppress his curiosity.

“I have never met them,” Wen Xu shook his head.

Ah, it seemed he had said the wrong thing. The man quickly steered the conversation back. “As for me, my Daoist title is Chengwei. My cultivation is roughly on par with Jun Zhaoying’s. If it weren’t, those old fogies wouldn’t have willingly handed you over to be my disciple.”

As expected, Wen Xu’s attention was instantly diverted.

“You said something incorrect just now.”

“This disciple is foolish.”

“You haven’t told this secret to another person. To be precise, I am not human. This isn’t much of a secret in the cultivation world.”

Wen Xu: !!!

Not human? Then what was he? A demon? A spirit?

“I heard you came from the Mortal Realm? I didn’t believe it at first, but now I do.” Venerable Chengwei possessed an exceptionally handsome face. Back when he was stirring up trouble in the cultivation world, the popular novels written about him could have been stacked as high as a tower. Even though everyone knew he could read minds and that no cultivator with a lower cultivation than his could escape his gaze, there were still those who were beguiled by his looks and believed he was a good person.

Unfortunately, Venerable Chengwei was not human at all. He was the offspring of a black dragon and a cultivator. Later, for the sake of his cultivation, he discarded his human bloodline and became a true dragon soaring through the heavens.

“Actually, I used to be quite famous in the cultivation world. Later on… sigh, they all refused to play with me. So, I could only stay here on Guochun Peak, living as a lonely old dragon.”

For a moment, Wen Xu did not even know what to think or say. In the end, the composed scholar could not help but speak up: “Master, is this the closely guarded secret of our sect you spoke of?”

He even began to seriously reflect: Wen Xu, did you really have to take this master? Actually, following Lu Bu’s example and serving multiple masters^[1] might not be so bad. At worst, I’d just be expelled from Yonglu Mountain.

Having a dragon as a master was certainly incredibly prestigious, but Wen Xu could read between the lines. His powerful dragon master had clearly only managed to survive this long because of his sheer strength!

This was just great. The supreme elders of the neighboring great sects indeed would not come to beat up his master, but the countless powerhouses his master had offended would probably send their own disciples to beat him up instead!

After thinking it over carefully, Wen Xu was absolutely, completely, and utterly certain that he had been set up by Yonglu Mountain.

“Ah, well, of course not.”

Venerable Chengwei wagged his index finger. “Since you possess a Mutated Spiritual Root, you must have a peculiar fate. Some fates hinder one’s cultivation, while others are harmless. For example… Meixi Jian of the Suitian Sword Sect has a Natural Sword Constitution. The sword is his fate, which is why his sword cultivation is a hundred times faster than that of ordinary people.”

Fate? This was yet another concept Wen Xu had never encountered before.

“Let me see what your fate is like. Do you need…?!” For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on Venerable Chengwei’s face. Unfortunately, Wen Xu could not see it. He only felt a powerful wave of spiritual energy sweep gently over him, and then nothing.

“You… little disciple, you have quite a background.”

Wen Xu did not understand what he meant. “This disciple is an orphan. Since childhood…”

“That’s impossible. You clearly have an Emperor Fate. Huh? Your fate is heavily suppressed. Are you really not from a mortal royal family? Could it be that you’re a rebel leader about to establish a new dynasty? No, that’s not right either. Since you’re already in the cultivation world, it’s only natural for your Emperor Fate to be suppressed. But for you to say you’re an orphan makes no sense at all.”

Venerable Chengwei sized up his new disciple with curiosity. Truth be told, he was a dragon over a thousand years old, yet this was his very first time taking a disciple, and he had ended up with the most peculiar one. But then again, if the boy weren’t peculiar enough, he wouldn’t have been sent to Guochun Peak in the first place.

“My disciple, strive to reach the Golden Core stage as quickly as possible, then head back to the Mortal Realm to clear up your master’s doubts.”

Venerable Chengwei clicked his tongue, then pulled out a storage ring and tossed it over. “Here, your welcoming gift and basic cultivation techniques. Since you have an Emperor Fate, you might not be able to become a mortal emperor, but you can certainly become a sovereign who commands the winds of the world!”

“Disciple, let’s set a small goal. How about surpassing Jun Zhaoying in a hundred years?”

Wen Xu finally spoke up in exasperation, “Master, you might as well tell me to die. It would be much faster!”

Aha, he had teased the boy a bit too much. Venerable Chengwei had never coddled a youngster before. Fortunately, he had plenty of wealth, so he stuffed another pouch of spirit stones into his disciple’s hands to apologize. He then announced he was going into seclusion and told him he could go down the mountain to play for a couple of days.

Wen Xu: …

“Oh, right. Since you’re pretending to be blind, you should at least make it look convincing. This ribbon has been infused with my spiritual energy. Unless someone has greater spiritual energy than me, no one will be able to probe the state of your eyes.”

By now, Wen Xu was absolutely certain that his newly minted master was someone who loved nothing more than watching the world burn for his own amusement. Oh, wait, not someone—a dragon.

But even with this realization, Wen Xu thought about it and still tied the ribbon over his eyes. Since he was already pretending, he might as well see it through. Besides, being blind didn’t affect a cultivator’s training anyway.

The sky had turned pitch black. No news was good news, Gu Wufang thought as he stood at the foot of the mountain.

“Whoa! When did you get here?” That was the only downside to Guochun Peak—even as the sect master, he had to restrain his spiritual energy, which was why this young disciple had managed to sneak up on him.

“Sect Master, I have been standing here the entire time,” Wen Xu said quietly.

“Did… did Little Grand-Uncle Master agree to take you in?” Seeing the storage ring on Wen Xu’s hand, Gu Wufang knew it was a done deal. However, “Is there really nothing even Little Grand-Uncle Master can do about your eyes?”

In a sense, that was true, so Wen Xu nodded and even put his master’s words to immediate use. “Master said it is related to my fate.”

His fate. No wonder. He had been wondering how a cultivator could still be blind after entering the path.

Gu Wufang did not doubt him in the slightest, but he quickly grew conflicted. He had courageously sent a promising talent up the mountain to find a master, and now the apprenticeship was successful, but… if they were to strictly calculate the seniority, did he just find himself a Little Martial Uncle?!

Or rather, he had found a Little Grand-Uncle Master for all the disciples of Yonglu Mountain!

Ah, putting it that way made him feel much better.

Gu Wufang happily accepted this new dynamic. “Good. Since Little Grand-Uncle Master is willing to take you in, you must cultivate diligently. If there is anything you do not understand, feel free to ask your master.”

Wen Xu: … And here I thought you were going to say I could ask you, Sect Master.

*

“So slow. Why isn’t Wen Xuxu here yet? My stomach is sticking to my back! I purposely didn’t take a Fasting Pill. If we wait any longer, the hotpot broth will dry up.” Bian Chunzhou rubbed his stomach, which let out a timely rumble.

Chen Zui ignored him. If he weren’t so curious about which elder Wen Xu had apprenticed under, he would have returned to his own peak to cultivate long ago. His master was a Soul Transformation Venerable of the Blade Peak, who already had two disciples. Since both senior brothers were currently away on sect missions, he naturally wanted to take this opportunity to learn as much as he could from his master.

“Are you sure he’s coming?”

“Of course, we made a promise! Wen Xuxu isn’t the type to break his word, you… Ah, Wen Xuxu, you’re finally here! How did it go? Which mighty expert’s lineage did you join?”

Wen Xu put on a timely, fragile smile.