Chapter Ten: Becoming an Apprentice

  An old man stood in the void, wearing a wide black robe. He looked at Zhi Jue Wang with a serious expression, "Indeed worthy of being Zhi Jue Wang, hiding so deeply that even I was blinded!"

  "How dare you, how dare you! Didn't you just say that the eight of them couldn't kill me?" Zhuge Yuan stood in mid-air as well, and everything that was happening now seemed to be still within his grasp.

  "I thought there was a wise and powerful person beside you, but it turns out that you are the wise one yourself!"

  The old man seemed to have a lot to say to Zhuge Yuan, and the two of them were talking face to face. Shangguan Yu couldn't understand it, how could two people keep saying things that didn't make sense? Had the King of Wisdom been injured? Or was this old man too afraid of Zhuge Yuan?

  "Assassins, assassins, never engage in a fair fight." Upper official Yu muttered to himself, he suddenly understood that this old man must have an ace up his sleeve, otherwise it would be impossible for him to chat with Zhuge Yuan so openly.

  Unconsciously, Zhuge Yuan pulled him into the thicket. The old man did not stop him and did not follow. Shangguan Yu was completely unable to intervene and could only quietly watch the development of the situation. What consideration did Zhuge Yuan have for pulling him into the thicket? He looked around at the thickets with a thoughtful expression, Zhuge Yuan would definitely not do anything meaningless. He suddenly felt a shock, could it be that there were other assassins lurking around?

  As expected...

  The first sword light shattered the shrubs. The second sword light illuminated the dark night, and the third sword light tore through the void. Three sword lights attacked Zhi Jue Wang from top, middle and bottom, and at this moment, Shangguan Yu felt his body being grazed by the sword energy, causing a stinging sensation.

  Shangguan Yu looked into the distance, and somehow, that old man had already disappeared into the darkness of night. He then looked at Zhuge Yuan again, but what made him helpless was that Zhuge Yuan still had that calm and carefree expression.

  Just as the three sword lights were about to approach, Zhi Jue Wang stretched out his right hand again. He seemed to be dusting off his right hand, and ripples spread out in all directions.

  Three dark shadows seemed to have encountered an obstacle and could no longer advance. Shangguan Yu saw that the three people were holding swords with both hands, their bodies suspended horizontally in mid-air. A scene that was originally shocking now looked so comical.

  "Quick retreat!"

  No one knew who shouted that sentence, and the three black shadows quickly disappeared into the darkness of night. Zhi Jue Wang looked at all this calmly, strangely he didn't stop them.

  "Heaven and earth, three swords, merged into my body, eight wastes and six unions, only I am supreme!"

  A hoarse voice rang out, so powerful and sonorous. "Zhī Jué Wáng, today you will witness my ultimate skill!"

  Only to see the three black shadows reappear, but this time they all transformed into a sword. Three sharp divine swords emitted dazzling light, surrounding the old man.

  Shangguan Yu felt as if he was suffocating, this aura was simply too overwhelming. He hadn't even reached the peak of the Human Realm yet, how could he possibly withstand such pressure?

  "A bit of meaning, human-like, recklessly pretending to be something one is not, even a grain of rice can shine with splendor!"

  The wise king still had a gentle face, even with a faint smile on his face. However, the words he spoke made the person in front of him so angry that he spat blood.

  "The Great Slaughter Technique, a shocking blow, killing people and destroying enemies, breaking through thousands of armies!" The King of Wisdom finally moved, the endless heavenly energy surged, this world seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

  But this was the last thing that Shangguan Yu heard, as he had already fainted. How much he wanted to continue watching, but unfortunately the aura was too strong and he couldn't hold on any longer. If it weren't for Zhuge Yuan protecting him, he would have definitely died in the aftermath of the battle.

  Shangguan Yu shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and a streak of bright light pierced into his eyes. He got up, looked around, and then buried his head in confusion again.

  Was everything that happened last night not real? Was he dreaming? But there can't be such a realistic dream, right? If it wasn't a dream, how could Zhuge Yuan be so formidable?

  He got dressed and washed up simply. He couldn't wait to find out if everything that happened last night was real, which would determine whether he could embark on the path of the strong in the future.

  He quickly ran into the yard and saw Zhuge Yuan reading a book. He was puzzled again, such a bookish Zhuge Yuan, could he really be that powerful? Could he defeat Wang Ji's extreme martial artist with just a casual wave of his hand?

  Zhuge Yuan put down the book in his hand, "Xiao Yu you're here, did you sleep well last night?"

  Shangguan Yu carefully looked at Zhuge Yuan, feeling that no matter how he looked, he couldn't see the same demeanor as last night. He could no longer hold back his curiosity, and if he suppressed it any further, he estimated that he would go crazy.

  "If you have any questions, just ask, but first eat some breakfast." Beside Zhuge Yuan was a stone table with a plate of delicious pastries that looked extremely tempting.

  Shangguan Yu nodded and didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down directly on the stool, grabbed a pastry and started eating voraciously, saying he had been feeling hungry for a while.

  "Uncle, was everything that happened last night true? About us being ambushed." Shangguan Yu couldn't wait to ask Zhuge Yuan as soon as he felt his stomach was full.

  "It's hard to believe, isn't it? But Uncle has to tell you that everything is true, and you're not dreaming. Zhuge Yuan stood up and continued: "Later, the aftermath of the battle exceeded my control, which made you stunned."

  Only he himself was clear that last night's battle was entirely within his grasp. He didn't want to let Shangguan Yu see such a high-level fight too early, lest he become arrogant.

  Shangguan Yu was both shocked and delighted. Shocked that everything that happened last night was actually true, delighted that Zhuge Yuan was indeed such an extraordinary person.

  "Isn't Uncle unable to practice martial arts? Is it that he has been hiding it all along?" Although he didn't expect this answer, he still had to ask.

  "Uncle indeed cannot practice martial arts, but the path of cultivation in this world is not just limited to martial arts. Uncle can see that you have already thought of this, it's just that you're afraid it's unrealistic."

  Shangguan Yu's thoughts were seen through by Zhuge Yuan, and he didn't feel much embarrassment. He just scratched his head and smiled wryly a few times.

  "The wonders of this world are not what you can imagine, you're still young and don't understand many things. Cultivators can all be called cultivists, but cultivists are also divided into different categories. The Eight Great Judges' King who started assassinating us last night is a spellcaster, spellcasters cultivate spiritual energy, they utilize the various elements between heaven and earth for their own use. The Eight Great Judges' King refers to eight systems: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, light, darkness, and thunder. When spellcasters cast spells, they need to recite incantations, they disappeared into the black night, on one hand to assassinate, on the other hand to conveniently recite incantations. They use the power of elements to attack, high-level spellcasters can even cast devastating spells that destroy heaven and earth."

  Zhuge Yuanting paused for a moment, smiled at Shangguan Yu, "If one can't become a warrior, then become a Taoist priest. This also adds another path of cultivation for the people in the world. However, there are still more warriors in the world. But Uncle checked and you're not suitable to be a Taoist priest."

  Shangguan Yu should have been heartbroken, but seeing Zhuge Yuan's smile, he understood. He didn't pretend to be stupid and directly asked: "Which way is Uncle cultivating?"

  "You've asked the right question," Zhuge Yuan coughed lightly, "Uncle has taken a different path - Wu. Whether it's the larger number of warriors or the smaller number of masters, both are far more numerous than Wu."

  Shangguan Yu seemed to understand something upon hearing this. Wu, in his past life, had also heard that during the Honghuang era, there were the Wu tribe and the Yao tribe. Moreover, the Wu tribe had twelve ancestral Wu, but later on, they all died out due to the great calamity of the Wu and Yao.

  Of course, Zhuge Yuan did not know what Shangguan Yu was thinking about. He seemed to be telling a story, yet it also seemed like he was talking to himself. "We witches don't cultivate our physical bodies, only our souls. My uncle couldn't cultivate martial arts since he was young, but later on, due to some coincidences, he stepped onto the path of witchcraft. The vastness and profundity of witchcraft, its mysteriousness, makes me yearn for it deeply. What we communicate with is the primordial energy of heaven and earth, not various elements. It's said that great gods can utilize the entire power of heaven and earth to attack, that kind of realm is truly too terrifying!"

  Shangguan Yu listened quietly, and he too seemed to be drawn into Wu's world by Zhuge Yuan.

  "Uncle, if you didn't have some ability, do you think you could become the Wise King of the Flying Feather Dynasty?"

  "How was that witch born?" Shangguan Yu was also deeply attracted to the witch, and he felt as if he had developed a strong interest in her.

  "In ancient times, all kinds of ferocious beasts roamed, spirits, demons, and even gods, monsters, ghosts, and demons ruled this world. In the ancient times, humans, our ancestors, were just born on the Tianyuan continent. They begged heaven in the flood, struggled to survive in the mountain fire, floated corpses for thousands of miles in disease, and bled rivers under the claws and teeth of ferocious beasts. Our ancestors were almost wiped out, in the midst of painful wailing, the angry air rushed straight up to the ninth heaven, and the heavens and earth were shaken."

  "Zhuge Yuan raised his voice, 'Tian Xin was the most benevolent back then, and that's when the Wu began to appear. They comprehended the Heavenly Way, grasped the Heavenly Principle, and possessed boundless power. However, learning Wu is extremely demanding, and very few people can inherit this lineage of Wu. As a result, there are fewer and fewer Wu nowadays. You don't need to say it, I already know - you want to learn, right?'"

  Although Shangguan Yu's heart yearned even more to become a warrior, since he couldn't cultivate martial arts, he would first learn sorcery. In any case, he was still very interested in sorcery. He had an intuition that not long from now, he would definitely be able to embark on the path of martial arts.

  He lost his memory of the past two years, but he vaguely remembered that someone had done something to him. It was precisely because of this that he couldn't practice martial arts now. However, he trusted his intuition and believed that he would be able to enter the path of martial arts in the future.

  But since it's possible to learn witchcraft now, that's the best. Having many skills won't burden you, and being able to learn one more is naturally something he can't ask for. Without any hesitation, he walked up to Zhuge Yuan and knelt down with a "thud".

  "Master is above, please accept the disciple's bow!"