Taking a Master
Thousand Mile Lake, within a radius of several hundred meters in front of Shuntian Island, is a small, frozen world. Several large ice floes have been connected by the lake's ice. The snow-white lake surface and the crystal-clear ice floes, illuminated by the sunlight, create a small, pristine white world that stands out completely from its surroundings.
Yue Qianchou stood on the frozen lake, in the middle of several huge ice floes. A hundred clusters of blue flames floated around him, and the crystal-clear ice floes around him reflected a charming blue light under the illumination of the blue flames.
"Damn it! Direct fire attack is too slow. The larger the size, the greater the resistance. It seems I have to compress the azure fire into the shape of a flying sword." Yue Qianchou frowned and muttered to himself, his fingers moving rapidly in hand seals, and the hundred burning azure flames were gradually lengthening.
After numerous trials, the azure fire was finally suppressed into the shape of a flying sword. He flicked his finger towards a floating ice floe, and a cyan flying sword shot forth swiftly, silently piercing through the ice. Recalling the flying sword, Yue Qianchou's brow furrowed again. Although the speed issue had been resolved, the ice floe hadn't been pierced by the flying sword itself; rather, it was because the flying sword, formed from the suppressed azure fire, possessed an inherent high temperature that melted a hole in the ice.
This wasn't the outcome he wanted. If he was going to disguise the Azure Flame as a flying sword, it had to look convincing enough to make others believe it was a real flying sword; otherwise, it wouldn't be convenient to launch a sneak attack when he was beating someone up. Imagine, if people discovered something strange about the sword, they would definitely be on guard at all times.
With a flick of his fingers, ninety-nine flying swords shot towards him with a "whoosh," instantly disappearing into his body. Only one flying sword remained, hovering in front of him. He needed to concentrate on studying it, constantly adjusting it in conjunction with the Fire Technique, his finger movements as swift as shadows...
After a long while, he suddenly pointed two fingers at a floating ice floe and whispered, "Go!" A flash of cold blue light appeared, and with a crisp "ding," half of the blue flying sword was inserted into the floating ice floe, the half with the hilt trembling and shaking.
"Done! "Yue Qianchou grinned smugly at the flying sword, then spun around on the ice like a top. "Whoosh..." In the blink of an eye, specks of cold, azure light shot out from his body. When he stopped, ninety-nine azure flying swords were circling him. Yue Qianchou raised two fingers and flicked them; the flying sword embedded in the ice floe was pulled out with a "whoosh," a flash of azure light, and the hundredth flying sword appeared around him.
"Go!" Yue Qianchou shouted, waving his arms and unleashing a burst of azure light. The massive ice floes on the ice surface immediately became the targets of his flying swords. In an instant, azure light flashed, and clanging sounds echoed everywhere. Soon, the ice surface was covered with clumps of broken ice.
"Burn!" Yue Qianchou closed his eyes, opened his arms, and muttered to himself.
"Boom..." The hundred scattered flying swords instantly exploded into towering flames, azure and eerie flames. In an instant, the cool world became capable of incinerating everything... Not even a shard of ice could be found nearby. The water that appeared instantly merged into the lake surface, creating considerable waves. Yue Qianchou stood calmly on the water, rising and falling with the waves. When he put his hands behind his back, the azure flames surged into his body all at once, and Thousand Mile Lake returned to its original appearance, without floating ice or raging flames, everything as before.
Bi Changchun, sitting cross-legged in the central room of the island, smiled, nodded slightly, and said telepathically, "Come here!"
This telepathic message was naturally sent to Yue Qianchou. Yue Qianchou, who was enjoying the tranquility of the water, opened his eyes in surprise. His longsword was drawn from its sheath, its cold light flashing into the water, lifting him and carrying him towards the center of the island... He sheathed his sword, landed, and strode into the main hall, bowing and saying, "Master, you were looking for me?"
Bi Changchun opened his eyes and said expressionlessly, "Yue Qianchou, are you willing to sincerely become my disciple?"
"What are you saying? Didn't I already become your disciple a long time ago?" Yue Qianchou asked, his face full of doubt. "Of course, this disciple is sincere."
"I'm giving you one more chance to choose. You'd better think it through. Once you truly become my disciple, you'll be burdened with heavy responsibilities that you'll find hard to escape for the rest of your life. Think it over now. Don't worry, if you're unwilling, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll release you from the Demon Ghost Domain, and from then on, there will be no more connection between us," Bi Changchun said calmly.
"Damn! So I wasn't your true disciple before!" Yue Qianchou asked with a strange expression, "Master, I have some questions for you."
"Speak," Bi Changchun replied.
"May I ask, Master, was He Li your true disciple before?" Yue Qianchou hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
This question was extremely important to him. If He Li had the same status as him now, that would be fine. But if He Li was Bi Changchun's true disciple, as a master, he would find it hard to accept the fact that his disciple had been killed without doing anything, even if the disciple had committed a grave mistake. He never considered himself a good person, but he always had his own bottom line and his own judgment of right and wrong. There were some things he could be hypocritical about emotionally, but he couldn't accept.
"He Li was originally a white crane that the previous Punishment Envoy kept on Shuntian Island when I took over the Demon Ghost Domain. After cultivating into a spirit, it became my mount. After transforming into human form, it became my disciple, but not in the true sense of a master-disciple relationship. He is like you now, only nominally related to me. I have never instructed him in anything. We are not master and disciple in the true sense. Do you have any further questions?" Bi Changchun's tone was very calm.
Upon hearing this, Yue Qianchou breathed a sigh of relief, but still asked in confusion, "I haven't known you for very long, while He Li has followed you for so many years. Why don't you take him as your disciple?"
"There's no reason why or why." Bi Changchun looked at him and said slowly, "The reason is simple: he's too distant and cares too much about the difference between humans and demons, which has led him to harbor ulterior motives. I've known this for a long time, not because you exposed me. But he has followed me for many years, and I have always given him opportunities. Otherwise, I would have killed him long ago, and it wouldn't have been your turn to do it."
"I see!" Yue Qianchou nodded and continued, "You just said that after becoming your true disciple, I will be burdened with a heavy responsibility that I will find difficult to escape for the rest of my life. Can I know what that responsibility is?"
"No, this is something my disciple should know. You don't have the right to know, nor do you need to know." Bi Changchun refused without hesitation, and asked in return, "Have you thought it through? I'll ask you one last time, are you willing to become my disciple?"
Damn it! You didn't tell me such a crucial question. What if you send me to my death? After thinking it Yue Qianchou still felt that the benefits of following him outweighed the drawbacks, so he bowed deeply and said, "This disciple is willing."
Bi Changchun nodded with satisfaction, pointed in front of him, and said, "Kneel down and perform the apprenticeship ceremony."
At this moment, Yue Qianchou felt a bit reckless. He took a few steps forward, knelt down, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Disciple greets Master!" After saying that, he kowtowed three times.
"Alright, sit down! Didn't you want to know what kind of important task you'll be shouldering? Sit down and I'll tell you slowly." Bi Changchun then pointed to the spot where Yue Qianchou was kneeling and said.
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