King Zhou's Apprenticeship

"Grand Tutor, please speak freely!"

After hearing Wen Zhong say this, Di Xin immediately became excited.

Grand Tutor Wen gave a faint, rueful smile. "Great King, I'll tell you this path, but you should pretend I never mentioned it. It involves taking an immortal pill. Immortal pills don't have the drawbacks of Spirit Pills, and they're extremely effective—far beyond what Spirit Pills can compare to. But they're so rare that it's astonishing. Even I have never had the chance to see one."

"Where can I find one? I can offer a fortune—not... I'll trade ten cities for it." Di Xin acted as if he were drunk and carried away.

"Heh, Great King, immortal pills are rare treasures that one can only encounter by chance. No amount of money or ten cities could buy one, let alone a hundred. As I said, you should pretend I never brought it up." Wen Zhong smiled as he explained.

"Very well!"

Di Xin didn't press him further. He wasn't that eager to get an immortal pill. His main priority now was to gain Magic Power in a way that made sense, not to pursue pills of a higher grade.

After all, the system regularly gave him Spirit Pills, and he clearly remembered that one of the reward options in his first system quest had been a superior-grade immortal pill called the Nine Revolutions Universe Pill.

He simply hadn't chosen it at the time.

That was proof enough that immortal pills were among the system's rewards. He had plenty of time, so Di Xin wasn't in a hurry.

"If the Great King has no further questions, I'll take my leave." Seeing that Di Xin had nothing else to ask, Wen Zhong prepared to depart.

Di Xin raised a hand to stop him. "Grand Tutor, don't go. I've just obtained a cultivation method, and there's a great deal I don't understand. Please explain it to me thoroughly, from beginning to end."

"About that..."

Grand Tutor Wen hesitated.

"Is there something troubling you, Grand Tutor?" Di Xin asked, looking puzzled.

Explaining a cultivation method to Di Xin hadn't been part of Wen Zhong's plan. He had intended to hand over some random method to get the matter over with. The Great King wasn't going to achieve anything by cultivating, so it made no difference which method he used.

But explaining it to him would be another matter entirely. The methods Wen Zhong knew were far more profound and subtle than the one recorded on the silk. He couldn't bear to teach the method exactly as it was written there.

Yet if he taught Di Xin what he himself had learned, then, in name, Di Xin would become his disciple.

This was a matter of great importance, and he had to consider it carefully.

After a moment, he said, "The Great King can make progress by cultivating on his own according to the method. If I explain it to you, people may assume you're my disciple, which could damage your image."

Wen Zhong thought that this would surely make the Great King drop the idea.

But to his utter surprise, Di Xin immediately dropped to his knees before him. "Grand Tutor, I don't care if people misunderstand. Today, I'll take you as my master. Then you won't have any reservations."

The move startled Wen Zhong so much that he, too, hurriedly dropped to his knees before Di Xin.

"Great King, you're making too much of me! Please get up, quickly! If word gets out, I'll be guilty of deceiving the sovereign!"

"If you don't agree, I won't get up!"

At that moment, Di Xin was being stubborn.

In the future War of the Investiture of the Gods, the Chan Sect would be an enemy he couldn't reconcile with. There would be no room for compromise. The Interception Sect didn't want to get involved in the War of the Investiture of the Gods, but for various reasons, it would be dragged into it all the same.

The Interception Sect could be considered a potential ally. Gaining its support would be ideal, and this was Di Xin's chance to draw closer to it.

"Great King, you mustn't! Absolutely not!"

Wen Zhong hurriedly tried to pull Di Xin up.

But Di Xin was committed. Disregarding all royal dignity, he kowtowed to Wen Zhong three times in succession. "Master, please accept your disciple's three bows!"

Wen Zhong had wanted to stop him, but Di Xin had already finished kowtowing.

Only then did Di Xin get up, as though the apprenticeship ceremony had been completed.

He was truly going all out to achieve his goal.

Wen Zhong wore a rueful expression, caught between a rock and a hard place. The Great King had already completed the apprenticeship ceremony. How could he refuse now?

But the matter was far too serious.

"Great King, to be honest, I belong to the Daoist Sect. I can't decide on my own whether to take a disciple; I have to report it to my sect. So I can't agree just yet. If my sect approves, I'll gladly teach you in person. If it doesn't, I'll kowtow to you as many times as you did to me."

With no other choice, Wen Zhong's tone softened a little.

"Very well. Since you're in a difficult position, we'll do as you say."

Di Xin knew Wen Zhong's circumstances and didn't press him too hard. At least there was still hope, so he would wait and see.

Then he changed the subject. "In any case, Grand Tutor, you must explain the method to me tonight. I can't wait any longer."

"Very well. I'll obey the Great King's command."

Wen Zhong could no longer refuse, so he agreed. However, he stressed that he would only explain the method, not teach it himself.

Di Xin had no objections. His goal was to tie himself to Wen Zhong; it would make no difference if Wen Zhong told him stories instead.

Di Xin immediately put his words into action and led Wen Zhong straight to the Ancestral Temple.

He had told Daji that he would repent in the Ancestral Temple for eighty-one days. He couldn't pretend the very next day that it had never happened.

Fortunately, the Ancestral Temple had spare rooms. They didn't have to discuss the method in front of all the ancestral tablets.

This time, Wen Zhong reluctantly explained the method to Di Xin as it was written on the silk. He ignored its flaws; in any case, it wouldn't harm the Great King, so he simply recited it verbatim.

Di Xin listened attentively all night, asking one basic question after another.

Wen Zhong didn't leave until the sky had grown bright.

There was no way Di Xin could go to court. He went straight back to Shouxian Palace to "sleep."

After all, on the surface, he had spent the entire night studying the Dao. It was only natural that he would be tired.

He could lie on the bed in his own room and think about all sorts of things. He could look over the many treasures in his system space, revisit the Immortal Yuan Records, or study the Puppet Dao Arts.

He might not have the means to use them yet, but he needed to be prepared.

Amid the vast Eastern Sea stood an immortal island called Penglai Island.

Lord Tongtian's cultivation grounds were there.

At that moment, Wen Zhong rode the Ink Qilin across the Eastern Sea and arrived at Penglai Island. Gazing at Biyou Palace, which shimmered with Dao Charm, he was filled with emotion.

He had never expected to revisit this familiar place and return to where he had once studied the Dao.

After looking for a while, he dismounted from the Ink Qilin and headed for Golden Spirit Hall.

Along the way, he ran into several familiar faces, greeted them, and went straight to the hall.

"This disciple, Wen Zhong, pays his respects to Master!"

The hall doors suddenly swung open on their own, and wisps of incense drifted out. Wen Zhong immediately knelt at the foot of the steps and bowed respectfully.

"Wen Zhong, why have you come here instead of remaining in Chaoge?"

As the voice sounded, a Young Daoist Woman slowly emerged from the hall.