Chapter 58:

After a while longer, Luo Ke finally slowed down as he landed down in an open grassy field.

Then, he turned and looked around him as he coldly asked:

“Who is it? You did not bother hiding your aura, yet you’ve been tailing me this entire time! Please show yourself!”

A silence pervaded through the forest as sunlight crept across the grassy ground.

Suddenly, a light chuckle rang out behind Luo Ke before a strange voice emerged:

“Hehe, it really seems like my trip to this Lower Region this time is much more bountiful than I thought. To think I would get to meet an interesting child like you~”

“!?” Luo Ke was startled as he immediately turned around and leaped backward. It was unknown when did the person arrived behind him, but Luo Ke had clearly felt a vague aura hiding somewhere in front of him yet it had suddenly shifted to appear behind him…

Moreover, he could not tell the person’s gender from the voice. It was extremely strange; one moment, it sounded like a little girl’s voice, but then halfway through that person’s sentence, it would change into a young man’s voice. It alternated between young and old, male and female, causing Luo Ke to feel a pulsating unease.

As Luo Ke leaped backward, he could now see the person standing before him. Or to be more precise, floating before him.

It was a single person, clad in an exquisite black cloak that seems to squirm around as if it was alive. The person was lightly shrouded by a few wisps of black mist, while they floated in place. Their facial feature was hidden beneath a pure black mask, devoid of any peek holes. It had a completely smooth surface, and the person was further hidden under an equally black hood.

What’s even stranger was that Luo Ke...could not feel any type of aura from this person now! In fact, just as his eyes landed on this mysterious being, he suddenly lost track of the aura he had been feeling a while back.

It was as if this person, who was floating before him, did not exist at all.

“Who...are you?!” Luo Ke asked as he eyed the person cautiously. To have the ability to easily sneak up behind him without him noticing, and for him to be unable to ascertain the other party’s strength...Luo Ke could tell that the person before him was someone he could not take on.

However, given that this person did not immediately attack him even after blatantly tailing him for half a night, Luo Ke decided to refrain from escaping and hold his ground.

The reason he had left right after taking care of the Winged Moon faction and the Fierce Dragon clan was because he had felt this strangely magnetic aura in the background. It gave him a sense of unease, such to the point that Luo Ke did not believe even if he combined the strength of the three allied clans that came with him, he would be able to fight against it.

Thus, he decided to escape first and see if that aura was actually after him, or if it was simply his imagination. But as it turns out, that aura had actually came after him yet it never displayed a hostile attitude towards him. It just quietly followed him along.

The mysterious cloaked behind kept quiet as it faced Luo Ke, as if observing him. Then, it said in its alternating male-female voice:

“I...was merely a passerby. Until I discovered the thick scent of blood and that intense murderous aura. I was attracted, so I went over for a visit...and then I found you. Your merciless attitude towards the enemies, is something that fits my taste. And your cultivation...reaching the 1st Tian stage at…”

At that moment, Luo Ke blinked once. It was only a split second movement on his part, but in that next instant, the black-cloaked person had unknowingly appeared right before him.

Unable to react in time, the black-cloaked being reached out its index finger and lightly placed it on Luo Ke’s forehead.

“....at the age of 16 years old? Hoh, this is what I’m feeling from the aura of your bones so it can’t be wrong. Your aptitude seems comparable to a few inner sect disciples in the Upper Region. That’s good, that’s good~” The strange voice continued, in a more merry tone now.

Luo Ke eyes widened as he practically blasted himself backward in a hurry. He only stopped after putting nearly feet foot of distance between the two of them; the person did not chase him. Luo Ke’s back was now suddenly drenched in sweat as he stared at the person before him in horror.

That instantaneous movement...was something he could not catch at all. This person’s strength, was undoubtedly beyond his own. If there had been any doubt or suspicion before, then it was all cleared up in that one move.

The only problem now was: is this person an enemy or friend?

Certainly, by the flow of the short conversation so far, it did not seem to the be the former…

The black-cloaked person continued to float in place as it looked at Luo Ke while tilting its head slightly to the left side.

“Say, child, since it was due to fate that we got to meet and that I somewhat have a decent impression of you - do you want to be my disciple?”

“....”

A moment of silence appeared in that moment.

“...Uh...huh?” That was Luo Ke’s initial response. His mind was slightly dazed at the unexpected question from the other party.

“Hmm...I don’t like repeating my words, but since this is kind of sudden and already out of character for me, I’ll repeat it once more: I want to be your master. Do you accept?~”

Luo Ke stared at the floating black-cloaked being with an incredulous expression.

Given the previous actions, Luo Ke was clear that this person was undoubtedly a strong expert. Although he did not know how strong, just the unfathomable feeling that the other party gave him caused him to feel that...this person could easily take out all the peak experts in the Long Dynasty.

It was baseless feeling, but it was a feeling that came from his instincts. It was just that unfathomable and unreasonable.

Can a being like this really exist?

“And someone like this wants to take me as a disciple?” Luo Ke thought. Was there a catch to this? But there was nothing he could give...except the mysterious bagua mirror.

However, if this mysterious person really wanted it, forcefully taking it from Luo Ke would be as easy as taking a candy from a baby. There was no need for these irregular actions and words.

“Why....may I ask, why senior has taken a fancy to this junior? With senior’s ability, I am certain you could find even more talented disciples than I…” Luo Ke took a deep breath as he respectfully asked. Now that he felt the other party was not an immediate enemy, he adopted a more respectful speech.

Luo Ke could not see the other person’s face, but he could hear a soft sound that could inferred to be a snort coming from behind the black mask.

“That is, of course. At my beck and call, there will easily be hundreds, if not millions, of top talents coming to beg me to be their master. I admit, your talent right now is barely able to satisfy me, and your cultivation is even more so weak as sh*t. If placed in the place where I come from, you might as well be considered an average cultivator. And don’t bother asking where I come from - you’re unqualified to know right now.

“However, even so, you are different from them. There is something about you that I can’t put my finger to; call it my instinct if you will, a premonition even, but I feel as if I would regret it if I don’t take you under my wings now. And my instincts have not been proved wrong yet.”

Fate? Is this really fate? Luo Ke did not quite understand the deep intricacies behind the meaning of fate. His cultivation level did not allow him to comprehend that yet, if one could truly even.

But, it was true that for Luo Ke to meet such a high expert there had to be a huge amount of luck involved. Or some sort of temperings behind scene.

Whatever it was, Luo Ke understood that this was perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity for him. Although he was arrogant and had great confidence in himself, he was not stupid. If he could take this person as master, his goal towards reaching the apex of this martial world...would be ever closer!

Moreover, the senior in front of him truly had no reason to harm him. With the other party’s strength, it would simply be a wave of their finger to extinguish him. There was no need to scheme against him.

After a few more thoughts, Luo Ke made up his mind.

*Whoosh!*

In a swift motion, Luo Ke went down on one knee and respectfully saluted towards the mysterious being.

“This junior knows that he is unworthy of you, great senior. However, I swear to Heaven that I will work hard to not let you down! I, Luo Ke, am willing to greet you, Master!” Luo Ke called out in a solemn and determined voice.

The black-cloaked person nodded in satisfaction. “Good! From now on, you may refer to me as ‘Master Zhu’.”

“Disciple greets Master Zhu!” Luo Ke saluted firmly.

“Mmn. But don’t get excited yet. Right now, I am only your half-master, not a full one yet. That’s because your strength is simply too weak at the moment and I’m afraid, you’ll just embarrass me in front of those old fogies if I brought you back with me.

So, let’s do this: I want you to continue training in this land until you reach the age of twenty. In four years, you must become a Dao Ascent!”

“Dao...Ascent?!” Luo Ke was stunned.

Typically speaking, the realm of Dao Ascent was equivalent to an absolute peak level in the Long Dynasty.

In the Feng Shui Continent, it was said that geniuses are accessed by a well-known standard: achieve Jie Hai before twenty-five years old, Tian by thirty-five, Profound He by fifty, and Dao Ascent before eighty!

This was the standard in the Lower Region, at least.

As for the realms higher than Dao Ascent, Luo Ke did not know much about them. It was still too far away for him.

Master Zhu’s heterogeneous voice floated over to Luo Ke: “Yes, Dao Ascent. This is the minimum standard you should achieve to become acknowledge as my disciple. From my region, the typical cultivator would reach the Jie Hai realm by twenty, Tian realm before twenty-eight, Profound He realm by forty, and Dao Ascent before sixty-five!

“Naturally, the top geniuses there are far ahead of these standards. So as a disciple of mine, you must surpass these requirements at the very least for me to truly your ‘full’ master!”

A tremor of shock ran through Luo Ke’s body. This type of standard was obviously far above the Long Dynasty, that it almost seemed impossible. It was a bit hard for Luo Ke to accept this fact.

“Then... Master Zhu, what realm have you reached?” Luo Ke asked, a spark of inspiration has been slowly lit inside of him. In a way, his end goal did not changed, but instead been elevated!

“You do not need to know. Once you become stronger, you will naturally come to understand your master’s greatness, hahaha!~” Master Zhu chuckled under its mask.

“Now, enough talk. I have urgent matters to attend to now, as I’ve been delaying it quite a bit...so I must return. Do not ask anymore questions - they’ll all be answered in time as long as you continue to get stronger diligently. But don’t worry, even though I am leaving, I will naturally not disregard a disciple of mine.”

As Master Zhu said that, he or she raised their index finger and reached out, gently placing it on Luo Ke’s forehead. Luo Ke was completely unable to react at all, despite being able to clearly see Master Zhu moving towards him; it was a terrifying type of feeling.

After Master Zhu touched Luo Ke’s forehead, a burst of information immediately began appearing inside of the latter’s mind.

“I have passed onto you my sect’s core cultivation method, [Qi Devour]. Typically, only our high-level sect elders are entitled to this manual, but since you are MY disciple, naturally, you will not be restricted to this. If you can cultivate using this manual without going insane until the day I return to pick you up; at that time, you will have officially become my full disciple. And I’m sure you do not need me to tell you about keeping everything confidential.” Master Zhu lightly spoke as he or she retracted their hand.

Luo Ke blinked several times before he could finally organize the information inside his head. And after he did so, he could not help but pant heavily under his breath.

“Th-this is a demonic cultivation method….and it’s so overbearing!”

In all honesty, Luo Ke did not mind what types of technique he would learn, be it from the devilish path or the righteous path. As long as it could sustain his own life and increase his prowess, he would learn it!

And this [Qi Devour] is one of such skills that could potentially push his own cultivation to new heights...and possibly in a shorter amount of time as well!

From what Luo Ke had understood from brief introduction on the [Qi Devour] inside his mind, this cultivation technique uses other cultivators as its foundation. Or to be more precise, the “Qi” energy from other cultivators!

In essence, the cultivation method allows the user to forcefully drain away another practitioner’s Qi and convert it into their own. This could be done through physical contact, but at a higher level, one could even absorb another person’s Qi even from a short distance!

Moreover, one could not take Qi from another person who has a cultivation base that is too great apart from oneself. For example, a Jie Hai cultivator would be unable to absorb Qi from a Tian realm expert due to the difference in strength. A Jie Hai practitioner relied on taking in Earth Qi, while a Tian practitioner relied on Heaven Qi. It would be extremely difficult to convert Heaven Qi into Earth Qi and vice versa, and even if done, the end results would only be a loss of time and energy. It wouldn’t be worth it.

Thus, a Jie Hai expert who could use [Qi Devour] would typically aim for those of a similar level or below as sources of “food”. However, for such a higher class cultivation art, it was not as if a normal Jie Hai practitioner would be able to obtain it. Luo Ke was an exception.

While there were quite some side-effects that may come along with practicing this technique, it was indeed the quickest way to increase one’s cultivation permanently. And at the very least, the user’s cultivation base would not become unstable or “tainted” practicing the [Qi Devour]. The skill rank itself was not specified.

Luo Ke stared at the space in front of him in a daze, before he snapped back to reality. He had been in such an unguarded state for quite a few times lately.

This time, he was able to keep his voice much calmer.

“Disciple Luo Ke greatly thanks Master Zhu for your guidance!” Luo Ke clasped his hands together and bowed.

“Mmn, that’s more like it.” Master Zhu nodded with satisfaction. “Oh, right, I have been meaning to ask, but kid, do you have some backing in this region? Or have anyone ever assigned you any personal...bodyguards, per say? Or enemies?”

“Huh? Uh, this disciple has always been an orphan since long ago. As for having anyone help me along my journey, I have a few people who in mind, but they are all far away from here now. I have been travelling alone for these past several days. As for enemies, I do have some but they should not be in this region as of now...” Luo Ke replied, a bit confused by the other’s question.

“Mmn, I understand now. Then, I guess I’ll have to clear out...a little rat.” Master Zhu’s tone took a dip in solemness as he or she suddenly flicked out their wrist, as if they were shooing away something. No pressure or energy was released, and Luo Ke did not feel anything out of the ordinary.

It was that casual of a movement.

***

The moment Sung Li saw the cloaked figure, he could feel an intense feeling of danger from the latter. Although no aura was released, that fact only made Sung Li even more apprehensive.

Because that formless sense of pressure...was the same as the one he felt back then when standing in the presence of the mysterious elder!

*The mysterious elder is referring to Huang Xue’s black-clothed clone.

He did not even feel the arrival of the person until the latter made itself known.

That kind of experience was deeply etched inside Sung Li’s mind and body, so once he felt that pressure once again, his first instinct was to flee. But chained down by his promise to the mysterious senior, Sung Li had to continue following Luo Ke; trying to suppress his aura down to the maximum.

If Luo Ke was to be killed while Sung Li ran away, the latter knew he would still end up dead at the hands of the mysterious elder. But if he followed Luo Ke and kept a low-profile, perhaps there was a chance to live. Moreover, it was not as if that cloaked person would actually move against a weaker cultivator like Luo Ke.

There was no need for a false alarm.

That is, until Sung Li heard the black cloaked person, the one who claimed itself as “Master Zhu”’s chilling words.

“...Then, I guess I’ll have to clear out...a little rat.”

Sung Li, who have been listening quietly amongst the forest, was quite happy when he realized that Luo Ke was not in danger. But at the same time, he felt conflicted that Luo Ke would actually accept another master besides the mysterious elder. Or perhaps the mysterious senior was never Luo Ke’s master, but a guardian protector?

Either way, Sung Li’s entire thoughts came to stop when he heard Master Zhu’s soft words. In that instant, he felt the hair on his entire stand up as a cold feeling swept over him.

The feeling of approaching death.

Sung Li’s body surged with a panicky Qi as he forcefully propelled himself backward as fast as he could. At the same time, he tried to summon out the three puppets he had refined before.

The air directly above began to tremble, before it completely gave away to a piercing scythe. Its entire being was lathered in complete blackness, with the scythe’s edge having a dark-purple hue to it. The ominous scythe appeared almost soundlessly as it came slicing down with an unstoppable momentum.

Sung Li’s heart jumped rapidly as his face paled. Finally, he managed to bring out the three puppets as he mentally urged onwards to stop the scythe.

He did not hope they could break it. He just needed to buy some time so he could escape from this area.

But even that hope was not granted to him on this day.

The gloomy scythe easily tore through the three puppets like tofu and continued onwards to Sung Li, who, by now, had a face filled with unwillingness and despair.

Is this how I am going to die? Without completing my revenge for my family? No. No, this cannot be! It must not be! This can’t be happening! No, no, NO!

Sung Li’s mind roared with a terrifying unwillingness as he struggled to escape the scythe.

“No, I must quickly explain!” Sung Li’s mind raced as he gathered up his energy. Although Sung Li had been previously warned not to expose his identity in front of Luo Ke, in a situation like this, there was no other way.

However, just as Sung Li was about to call out, the scythe blurred. In that instant, it disappeared from Sung Li’s view, and Sung Li...paused. The words he wanted to say seemed to be stuck in his throat unable to be released.

Behind Sung Li, there was a black scythe hovering gloomily in the air. There was a bit of dark red liquid on the scythe’s edge, but they immediately disappeared from surface, as if absorbed.

Sung Li stared at the empty space in front of him, his hand slightly outstretch. A look of rage, despair, shock, and deep reluctance swirled in his slightly glossy eyes.

Then, a black line began to appear from the tip of Sung Li’s forehead, all the way down his body; diving his body in half. Without a sound, dark-purple flames suddenly burst from that black line as they eagerly devoured their victim. Even the cosmic bags were completely burned away by the flames.

Soon, nothing was left. The black scythe hovered in the air for a few more seconds before it dissipated away, like pieces of flying sparks.

***

Master Zhu’s eyes flickered behind the mask as he or she lowered their hand.

“What’s wrong, master?” Luo Ke asked when he saw the pause in other party’s movement.

“Oh, it was nothing. Anyways, since you have taken me as your master, I am now responsible for your cultivation. Thus, you should come with me to further your training...uh, have you already joined a sect?”

“Yes, this disciple is apart of the Six Ocean Sect.”

“Ah, is that so. Well, no matter. If you stay with me for some time, in the future, you will not have to be afraid of your sect coming after you for joining another sect. However, I’ll make an exception and listen to your opinion this time around.” Master Zhu said as he/she glanced at Luo Ke. “Tell me, would you rather leave with me now, or continuing staying here for a few years?”

“I…” Luo Ke furrowed his eyebrows as he sank into contemplation. In truth, aside from Huang Xue, Luo Ke had truly not made any worthwhile friends or teachers during his time at the Six Ocean Sect. After all, he had only joined for a short period of time.

“Moreover, I would have never expected that I would receive such an amazing item at this place and time. Even though I didn’t ask about the skill’s rank, it should be no worse off than those skills given by Brother Huang Xue! After all, it’s a core method from a powerful person like Master Zhu. If I follow him/her for a few years....” Luo Ke’s eyes glowed in anticipation.

If Luo Ke could gain a teacher like Master Zhu, very soon, he would be able to take the next big leap down his personal martial path!

In one swift motion, Luo Ke deeply bowed. “Master, this disciple wishes to follow you and study under you!”

Although Luo Ke could not see his teacher’s expression, the tone in Master Zhu’s voice told him that the other person was pleased.

“Mmn! You have made a wise choice. Alright, since time is scarce, we will be leaving immediately.” With a flick of Master Zhu’s arms, before Luo Ke could react, the young man was sucked into his teacher’s sleeves.

“Keeping you in my dimensional pocket would make it easier for me to travel, so bear for it for now.” Master Zhu softly said as he or she rose into the air and shot off into the distance in a beam of black light.