Crippled on the Spot!

As a direct disciple of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, known as the "future Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion," Zhuge Qingchen had never heard of the art of divination and deduction.

Therefore, in his heart, he was already extremely expectant.

"Mystic Master Zhuge."

"Master Su, please don't be so formal. We're about the same age, why don't we address each other as brothers? If Master Su doesn't mind, you can call me 'Xiao Qing'."

Zhuge Qingchen took the initiative to show goodwill.

Just as Su Li was about to respond, he suddenly heard Zhuge Qingchen's thoughts in his mind: *If I say this, Master Su will definitely be humble and then call me 'Brother Qing'. With Master Su's attainments, he will sooner or later become famous throughout the world, and at that time, I will also be very proud.

Moreover, after building a good relationship with Master Su, what difficulty would there be in conquering Fairy Li and Imperial Lord Hua in the future?

If I can learn some skills from Master Su, my master will definitely look upon me with even greater favor.

And Master Su himself has a very poor background, no notable origins, and no powerful forces to rely on. If he calls me 'Brother', I will definitely acknowledge him as a good younger brother, and then I will use my power to get him a nominal position in the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, like an Honorary Elder or something. Then, no one will dare to bully him...*

Hearing these thoughts, Su Li immediately said very readily, "Well, I don't mind having a little brother like you. However, if I teach you some methods of fortune-telling, then you will also be considered my half-registered disciple.

It's just that although you have talent, your mind is focused on Imperial Lord Hua and his daughter. With this attitude, you will have no future prospects at all. Don't expect me to be greatly disappointed; your master will probably be extremely disappointed too.

If you end up being unable to achieve anything, embarrassing yourself, I might not even acknowledge you as my registered disciple..."

Su Li brutally shattered all of Zhuge Qingchen's dreams.

Thus, Su Li happily reaped a wave of benefits.

[Reasoning to Convince, exposing Zhuge Qingchen's hypocritical facade, gained 998 Heavenly Secrets Value.]

"Master Su..."

Zhuge Qingchen was so spoken to that he almost vomited blood. He felt that his sincerity had been ruthlessly trampled by Master Su's words.

Su Li, however, felt greatly satisfied. He then smilingly patted the ashen-faced Zhuge Qingchen on the shoulder and said, "Alright, seeing your sincerity, I'll acknowledge you as my little brother. Xiao Qing, is it? This name..."

Su Li was not very satisfied with this name.

Thinking of Xiao Qing made him think of Bai Suzhen; thinking of Bai Suzhen made him think of Fahai, and then he thought of the Great Might Heavenly Dragon, and of "Fahai, you don't understand love"...

Su Li shivered and immediately said, "Let's not call you 'Xiao Qing' anymore. I'll call you 'Lian'... Brother Qing, and you, don't call me Master Su anymore, it's too distant. Call me 'Brother Li'.

As for fortune-telling, physiognomy, dragon-spotting, and acupoint-finding, just follow along and watch. Whether you can learn it or not depends on your own fortune."

As Su Li spoke, he glanced at the system panel again. As expected, another light and shadow message popped up.

[Reasoning to Convince, exposing Zhuge Qingchen's hypocritical facade, gained 438 Heavenly Secrets Value.]

Zhuge Qingchen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He never expected all his careful planning to come to naught.

However, at least he had managed to befriend Master Su. Being a little brother was fine; they were brothers, after all.

"Brother Li."

"En, Brother Qing."

"Brother Li, are you interested in taking up an Honorary Elder position at the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion?"

"No."

"If you were interested, I could use my young master's authority to help you— Huh? Brother Li, why aren't you interested?"

"Do I have to spell it out? I don't want to get too close to you. People who get too close to you die miserably. Haven't you noticed that the people you interacted with early on have trees growing so big on their graves that they block out the sun? Haven't you noticed that your master doesn't even want to be around you?"

"Brother Li, the way you speak is truly... unique."

"Right? I think so too. However, you'd better not learn to speak like me, or you'll get beaten up once you leave this mountain gate."

"Heh, why would I learn this way of speaking?"

"You say no with your mouth, but why is your heart so honest?"

"Brother Qing, do you think Brother Li is exceptionally handsome and charming?"

"Heh, Brother Li, purely in terms of looks, you're still quite a bit behind little brother here."

"Brother Qing, then why does your tone sound so sour?"

"Brother Li, let's talk about deduction. I can't take it anymore..."

Su Li spoke nonsense, guiding Zhuge Qingchen to have one attitude in front of him and another behind his back, and then 'Reasoning to Convince'.

The effect was truly remarkable.

After nearly half an hour of conversation, Su Li found that Zhuge Qingchen had visibly lost weight, his complexion had become sallow, and dark circles had appeared around his eyes.

Su Li pulled up Zhuge Qingchen's Life Archive and took a look. He found that the fixed information in his Destiny, such as 'Heaven-Sent Opportunity,' hadn't changed. However, the fluctuating aspects had changed from 'Deep Love, Shallow Fate' to 'Qi and Blood Deficiency, Mental Exhaustion, Excessive Indulgence, Kidney Water Collapse...'

Su Li was also dumbfounded.

At this moment, another message appeared on his system light and shadow panel.

[Reasoning to Convince, exposing Zhuge Qingchen's hypocritical facade, gained 3 Heavenly Secrets Value.]

Following the appearance of this message, Zhuge Qingchen's steps became unsteady, his complexion turned even more sallow and pale, clearly showing signs of excessive indulgence.

"No, no, Brother Li, talking to you is just too tiring. I feel more exhausted than helping Imperial Lord Hua with deductions for three days and three nights. It's also possible that I'm just overexerted from helping you deduce the solution earlier. I... I can't take it anymore. I need to recuperate for a bit. Brother Li, call me when you're ready for the divination."

Zhuge Qingchen's dark circles had deepened even further, looking like a panda's eyes.

Su Li silently calculated. In just half an hour, he had extracted a total of 19,438 Heavenly Secrets Value from Zhuge Qingchen!

This... this could have such a major drawback?

Was Zhuge Qingchen's body completely drained?

Why were Hua Yunxiao, Hua Ziyan, and Mu Yuxi fine, despite him extracting a lot of Heavenly Secrets Value from them?

Su Li rubbed his nose, suddenly finding the situation quite interesting.

He thought about it, then turned around, only to find that Zhuge Qingchen was gone.

Huh?

Where did he go?

Su Li subconsciously looked down. Zhuge Qingchen had collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth, his body twitching.

He said he needed to recuperate, but before he could even sit in the lotus position, he couldn't hold on. He didn't even have time to take any medicine.

"This is quite something. Is he ruined?"

"It seems I can't just keep squeezing one person dry... Am I... being a bit too much?"

Su Li's conscience ached a tiny bit, so he lightly chastised himself: "Alright, once he recovers, next time I'll stop around 10 points and leave him with some breath."

Su Li gave himself a smart thumbs-up for his kindness and compassion.

"Whoosh--"

Just then, a stream of auspicious clouds rapidly flew in from the distance.

The stream of auspicious clouds landed and transformed into Yun Wanchu's appearance.

However, as soon as Yun Wanchu landed and was about to speak, he was startled by Zhuge Qingchen's state.

"Master Su, this, this... what happened to Mystic Master Zhuge?"

"It's nothing. He's just overexerted from deductions. He'll be fine after some rest."

"Hiss... this is overexertion of potential, his kidney essence is depleted... So deduction is this terrifying..."

Yun Wanchu murmured inwardly, then immediately bowed deeply, respectfully and gratefully saying, "Master Su, I will never forget your great kindness!"

"It's nothing. Did you bring what I asked for?"

"Master Su, it's all here."

"Good, let me see."

Su Li carefully examined the stems and was very satisfied.

Yun Wanchu, as expected of someone who feared death, had chosen truly top-notch stems, without any flaws.

Su Li first categorized the stems, then took fifty portions from each category, and finally took one portion from each category.

This represented the meaning of 'The Great Dao has fifty, and Heaven's variations are forty-nine.'

Although, Su Li had no idea if this method would even work in this world.

After he finished, Zhuge Qingchen's complexion had already recovered quite a bit.

Yun Wanchu certainly wouldn't let Zhuge Qingchen lie there sprawled out, foaming at the mouth. While Su Li was cutting the stems, he had already taken out spiritual medicine for Zhuge Qingchen to consume.

At this moment, Zhuge Qingchen finally caught his breath and regained consciousness.

"Sigh, I'll never push myself to deduce forcefully again. Luckily, I'm by Brother Li's side, and luckily, I'm in Wanli Holy Land. If I were outside, I might have ended up as carrion in the wilderness or even had my bones ground to dust."

Zhuge Qingchen looked relieved.

This time, he had learned his lesson.

Su Li inwardly scoffed—Heh, you're lucky you didn't meet me sooner. If you had, you'd have been ruined long ago.

"Yes, it's good that you're alright. I'm ready now and can divine for Old Yun anytime."

Su Li no longer called him 'Holy Lord Yun.' Just calling him 'Old Yun' made Yun Wanchu startled... no, it made him flattered and overjoyed.

"Brother Li, you're truly kind, really. Honestly, at first, I found you quite disagreeable, especially after learning you negated my deductions about my father-in-law... no, about Imperial Lord Hua.

Although you helped Imperial Lord Hua avoid the 'Heavenly Monument' calamity, which changed my perception of you and made me somewhat acknowledge your abilities, I still felt... somewhat unconvinced.

Now I realize that compared to my petty... narrow-mindedness, you are truly magnanimous... generous and open-minded."

Zhuge Qingchen was extremely moved, gasping for breath as he spoke, unable to finish a single sentence.

At this moment, his heart was truly sincere.

"Yes, recognizing your own problems is a good sign. Also, you shouldn't do any more deductions for a while. Rest well, take plenty of top-tier pills, and recuperate! Once you're recovered, we can properly discuss the art of deduction."

Su Li said with a smile.

"Understood, Brother Li."

Hearing this, Zhuge Qingchen was so touched he almost cried.

Thank you, reader "Ling Ye Han", for the 10,000 Qidian coins reward. Thank you, reader "Zhi Zui", for the 3,500 Qidian coins reward. Thank you, reader "Qiang Zhuang De Mu Mu", for the 100 Qidian coins reward. Thank you all very, very much.