Zhua Yun's Promise

At the appointed time of midnight, the moon was hidden, the stars were sparse, and all was silent.

Almost the instant Long Zhanye's feet touched the soft earth at the bottom of the cave,

another nimble figure landed soundlessly beside him—it was Zhua Yun.

The two exchanged a glance in the darkness. Neither spoke; everything was understood without words.

Zhua Yun nodded and took the lead in pushing open the heavy wooden door.

The familiar smell of old wood mingled with a faint trace of blood rushed over them once more.

Long Zhanye closed his eyes briefly, then followed Zhua Yun into that dim, eerie pool of light.

Inside the secret chamber, the scene remained unchanged.

Countless containers stood silently arranged upon the shelves, while Old Man Gu

was curled up in a battered wooden chair padded with dry grass and tattered scraps of cloth.

His head lolled to one side. His breathing was long and steady, accompanied by faint snores. He was deeply asleep.

Zhua Yun softened his footsteps as he approached, bent down beside his ear, and called softly, "Master? Master??"

Old Man Gu was not sleeping deeply. Disturbed by the sound, he let out an indistinct grumble, his eyelids laboriously cracking open.

"Mmm... what is it, Zhua Yun? In the middle of the night..."

His voice was heavy with sleepiness and irritation at being disturbed.

"Master." Zhua Yun stepped half a pace back, revealing Long Zhanye behind him.

His tone was respectful, yet carried a hint of tension. "Long Zhanye has come. He... he wants to take you as his master."

"What?!"

Those simple words made the old man's previously clouded, sleepy eyes fly wide open. All traces of drowsiness vanished.

In their place was a sharp gleam of shock, disgust, and annoyance.

He abruptly straightened in his chair, his voice shrill and icy. "Take a master?! What kind of joke is this!"

"I'm a half-buried old madman, and I'm supposed to take in a disciple? A... a short-lived brat who's about to die, no less?"

"Get out! Get out of here right now! The sight of you brings bad luck!"

As he spoke, he waved his arms impatiently, as though shooing away flies. His face was filled with undisguised disdain.

This reaction did not surprise Long Zhanye.

Before coming here, Zhua Yun had privately explained Old Man Gu's temperament to him in detail.

"Though my master's mind is sometimes clear and sometimes muddled, and though he is strange and reclusive, he is extremely stubborn about anything he has set his mind on. In particular, he takes accepting disciples and passing on his teachings very seriously."

"When he took me in back then, he observed and tested me for a long time. More importantly, he truly taught his disciples everything he knew, holding back almost nothing."

"If you can successfully enter his tutelage and gain his recognition, then making a request for the Grafting Technique afterward will have a much greater chance of success."

Zhua Yun had warned him, "So the first step is to find a way to make him accept you as his disciple, no matter what."

Now, faced with the elder's merciless dismissal, Long Zhanye steeled himself, clenched his teeth, and took a sudden step forward.

With a thud, both knees struck the ground solidly.

He raised his head, staring directly at the skeletal elder seated in the chair. His voice was utterly sincere.

"Elder Gu! The other day, this junior was ignorant and rash, and my words offended you greatly. I beg you to forgive this junior and not lower yourself to my level!"

He bent deeply, his forehead nearly touching the floor, and performed an exceptionally solemn disciple's bow.

"Only afterward did this junior learn that Elder Gu possesses towering talent and knowledge beyond mortal reach!"

"You are a true elder and grandmaster of our Body Sect, and no one before you has matched your research into the essence of Martial Souls!"

"Though this junior is crippled and doomed to an early death, my heart's pursuit of the path has not faded. I refuse to sink into despair like this. Today, I have come boldly to beg Elder Gu for mercy and ask you to accept me as your disciple!"

"This junior is willing to follow Elder Gu's side, heed your teachings, and never show the slightest negligence!"

He remained bowed in worship, awaiting fate's judgment.

Yet the response he received

was still Old Man Gu's cold, utterly detached voice, now carrying even more mockery than before.

"Towering talent? Knowledge beyond mortal reach? Heh... brat, I got sick of hearing and believing that flattery decades ago."

"Put that act away. I'm a man on the verge of death, with dirt piled up to my neck. Why would I take another disciple?"

"One Zhua Yun to inherit my 'crooked path' is already enough."

"You? Go back where you came from. Stop wasting time here, and... stop wasting what little time you have left."

He rejected him outright, leaving no room for negotiation.

Long Zhanye's heart sank, but he did not rise. Still kneeling, he lifted his head, all color drained from his face.

"If Elder Gu refuses, this junior... will remain here and not leave."

"Oh?" Old Man Gu seemed so angered by that statement that he laughed.

Yet his gaze grew even colder. "Trying to play the rogue with me? You think that just because you don't want to leave, you can stay here?"

"Don't forget the state your body is in! If you keep kneeling, you'll probably pass out before I even have to throw you out!"

"Get up now. Don't force this old man to 'escort' you outside personally. That won't be pretty."

Long Zhanye pressed his lips together without uttering a word. He merely straightened his back further, declaring with silence that he would not yield.

Seeing this, Zhua Yun knew the moment was ripe.

He too suddenly stepped forward and dropped to one knee beside Long Zhanye. Facing his master, he spoke with earnest urgency. "Master!"

"This disciple has already told you every detail of Long Zhanye's background and misfortunes. His family was destroyed, his Martial Soul crippled, and his life hangs by a thread..."

"He truly has nowhere else to turn! Please, seeing how pitiful and difficult his fate has been, make an exception and accept him!"

"Just... just consider it an act of virtue. Give him some hope, all right?"

"Pitiful?" Old Man Gu snorted coldly, his gaze shifting back and forth between Zhua Yun and Long Zhanye.

"Does Gu accept disciples based on the word 'pitiful'?"

"There are as many pitiful people in this world as carp crossing a river, and plenty have fates worse than his. Am I supposed to take every one of them as a disciple?"

"Should I just turn this secret chamber into a charity hall, then?"

He paused, his cloudy eyes locking tightly onto Long Zhanye as his voice suddenly dropped.

It carried a questioning edge that seemed to see through all worldly matters. "Brat, I can understand some of your miserable fate."

"But you did not come earlier or later. Instead, after learning of this secret chamber and hearing this 'madman' reputation of mine, you suddenly came to take me as your master..."

"Isn't that far too convenient? Tell me. What exactly... are you really after?"

The moment those words were spoken, Zhua Yun and Long Zhanye, both kneeling on the ground, shuddered inwardly. A cold sweat instantly covered their backs.

This old fellow truly had become cunning with age. Even though his mind was often unclear, his sharp instincts and insight remained terrifying!

But things had already reached this point. They could not give up now! Zhua Yun knew that further concealment would only make his master more suspicious and disgusted.

He abruptly raised his head, a look of desperate resolve appearing on his face. "Master!"

"Since things have come to this, this disciple dares not hide it from you any longer! To tell the truth, Long Zhanye... was invited here by this disciple!"

Old Man Gu's eyebrows shot upward.

Zhua Yun threw caution to the wind, speaking rapidly. "Master! Are you truly willing to accept this?"

"Willing to let the theories into which you poured your entire life—enough to change the fate of the Body Sect forever—remain buried beneath this lightless earth?"

"To turn to dust along with you? Are you willing to bear the stigma of 'madman' and 'heretic' forever, unable to rest in peace even after death?"

He pointed at Long Zhanye beside him, his voice impassioned. "Long Zhanye already knows about the Body Grafting Technique! And he has agreed!"

"He is willing to use this ruined body of his to gamble on that faint sliver of life—and also gamble on a chance... to clear your name!"

"Master, leave this place! Give it a try!!"

"Whether it succeeds or fails, it is better than waiting here endlessly, wasting away, and letting hope be extinguished completely! This disciple begs you!"

"You unfilial disciple—!!!"

An enraged roar exploded through the secret chamber!