Ning Zhongze

"I understand."

Lu Dayou understood at a glance and said with a smile:

*Little Junior Sister must have suddenly taken an interest and casually set a condition to make things difficult for you. Yet you passed her test instead. She couldn't go back on her word, so she had no choice but to take you as her disciple.

Tsk, tsk. I never would've guessed you had some tricks up your sleeve. All these years, you're the first player Little Junior Sister has accepted as a disciple. Work hard from now on, and don't make her lose face.*

He gnawed on a chicken leg and continued talking to himself:

"Little Junior Sister is very well-liked on Mount Hua. Everyone likes her. As her disciple, if you don't learn martial arts well and make her lose face, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold her head up around us. Ji Shu, work hard. If there's anything you don't understand, you're welcome to come find me anytime."

Thank you, Sixth Martial Uncle.

Ji Shu was careful with his words and actions.

Before he had mastered martial arts, he would not behave discourteously in front of others.

So rigid. He doesn't look like much of a genius either.

Lu Dayou was greatly disappointed. After finishing his chicken leg, he strode away. After taking a few steps, he even turned back to remind him again:

"Ji Shu, remember! When Little Junior Sister doesn't have time to teach you, make sure you come find me~"

"Yes, Sixth Martial Uncle."

Hearing the words "Sixth Martial Uncle," Lu Dayou's head began to ache. He turned and quickly walked away.

Ji Shu, a fellow foodie, was actually this stiff!

Little Junior Sister was going to have a hard time from now on~~

Ji Shu kept eating.

He ate two huge buckets of meat in all.

He could feel the meat being rapidly digested after entering his stomach, its essence and blood quickly replenishing the expenditure from Self-Generating Inner Energy.

The cooks kept glancing at him. It was their first time seeing someone who could eat as much as Ji Shu.

Once Ji Shu was full, he did not continue eating.

Following the route in his memories, he returned to the entrance of the courtyard.

Along the way, he saw quite a few players. Many of them seemed to have already integrated into this jianghu world. They had grown out their hair and beards, dressed in ancient robes, and their bearing was becoming increasingly similar to that of ancient people. When they saw him, they were not particularly friendly. They merely looked Ji Shu up and down, then left with insincere smiles.

Ji Shu did not rashly approach them.

He did not know what the player community in this world was really like. Why had there been no news of the Tower of the Multiverse on the internet or in the real world for a full ten years? That was not normal. Clearly, major forces were systematically and deliberately managing player groups.

Thinking of the fully armed soldiers on the first floor of the Tower of the Multiverse, Ji Shu frowned and made up his mind even more firmly: he would absolutely not leave until he had cultivated enough to withstand guns and cannons. In any case, he was alone and had no relatives in the Blue Star world. Those major forces could not threaten him. With that thought, he felt considerably lighter.

Tap, tap, tap!

Footsteps sounded.

Ji Shu looked toward the sound and saw a beautiful woman hurrying in his direction.

One moment, she had been over ten meters away; the next, she was right before him. Her Lightness Skill was clearly exceptional.

Once she drew closer—

He looked carefully.

The beautiful woman carried a longsword on her back. Graceful and lovely, she looked only a little over thirty. She possessed an innate heroic air that made people instinctively respect her.

"A player?"

The beautiful woman froze when she saw Ji Shu standing at the courtyard entrance. "Are you a newly inducted disciple?"

"Yes."

"Why aren't you staying in the Outer Sect courtyard? What are you doing here in the Inner Sect?"

"I am an Inner Sect disciple."

"..."

The beautiful woman became even more puzzled. "The Inner Sect disciples are few in number. I know every one of them. How have I never seen you before?"

"I am Master Yue's newly accepted disciple."

"Master Yue?"

The beautiful woman was visibly moved. "My senior brother accepted you as his disciple?!"

"... Master Yue Lingshan accepted me."

"..."

The beautiful woman was speechless. "Outrageous! She only knows a few superficial moves herself, and she dares accept someone into the Inner Sect!"

But the mistake had already been made, and she could not possibly drive Ji Shu away. She could only quietly take note of it and decide to give Yue Lingshan a thorough scolding when she had the time.

"Where is your Master Yue?"

"She went out on business."

"When she returns, tell her I need to see her."

"Understood."

Ji Shu nodded. "Please take care, ma'am."

"Mm."

The beautiful woman nodded. Ji Shu's manners were beyond reproach. Many players behaved frivolously and acted flippantly, which she disliked, but Ji Shu did not seem to have that problem. She could not deliberately find fault with him, so she could only accept the matter. She examined him for a moment. He looked quite presentable and upright, but there was the issue of his clothes...

"Your Master Yue hasn't gotten you a change of clothes yet?"

"Not yet."

"Come find me tomorrow. I'll get you a set."

"Thank you, Martial Mother."

"I never told you, yet you knew I was your Master Yue's mother? You do have some wit about you."

The beautiful woman smiled and said:

My name is Ning Zhongze. From now on, just call me Martial Mother, like the other disciples do. There's no need to specifically call me Master's Mother.

This...

Ji Shu deliberately looked troubled.

Ning Zhongze said, "You are already an Inner Sect disciple. You are different from Outer Sect disciples. Since you have entered the Inner Sect, I will teach you a thing or two in the future as well. There is no problem with you calling me Martial Mother."

"Yes, Martial Mother."

"Mm."

Ning Zhongze nodded. "I have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. Remember to tell your Master Yue."

"Yes, Martial Mother."

Ning Zhongze was fairly satisfied to see that Ji Shu had been courteous and proper from beginning to end. Still, she remained deeply dissatisfied that Yue Lingshan had privately accepted a player as an Inner Sect disciple.

She had not even assessed the player's character before accepting him. If he later spread the Inner Sect's cultivation methods freely, would the Mount Hua Sect not lose all secrecy in the eyes of the other major sects?

Fortunately, Ji Shu seemed to have a decent temperament. He was rather steady and reliable. That was a blessing amid misfortune. If she had accepted some dissolute player, Ning Zhongze could only have endured it.

"Ji Shu looks rather old. At his age, even if he enters the Inner Sect, how much can he achieve? What a pity."

Yue Lingshan had built her foundation from childhood, yet after more than ten years, she was still only third-rate.

Becoming Yue Lingshan's disciple?

Wouldn't that make him third-rate among the third-rate?

After Ning Zhongze had gone far away, Ji Shu let out a slight breath of relief.

Ning Zhongze was valiant and heroic, carrying a vast aura about her. That was an outward manifestation of successful internal cultivation.

Yet she had placed no small amount of pressure on Ji Shu.

He silently mused, If Ning Zhongze alone is like this, then what must Dongfang Bubai and Feng Qingyang be like?

This martial arts jianghu world—

Was even more exciting than he had imagined!

A single copy of Mount Hua Swordplay far surpassed Baji Quan.

Purple Mist Divine Skill, Five Peaks Swordplay, Sunflower Manual, Nine Swords of Dugu...

Just thinking about them made Ji Shu's blood surge. He forcibly suppressed his turbulent thoughts and looked toward Cliff of Reflection, thinking:

I'll find an opportunity to take a look at the rear mountain.

For now—

He should first build his foundation under Yue Lingshan.