Ebony and Ivory

Simu's question struck a chord with Lu Yan, who proceeded to explain the details to Simu with a hint of pride.

These two pistols were Lu Yan's proudest creations, combining the precision and accuracy of modern industry with the various supernatural knowledge of the Wizard World.

In his past life, as an alchemy apprentice, it was the royalty income from these pistols that allowed him to become a formal wizard within ten years.

Do not think this was slow; over half of the wizard apprentices in the Wizard World never become formal wizards in their entire lives.

In the Wizard World, the Wizard Council, composed of seven Level 9 Great Wizards, governs everything and places a high value on knowledge; the intellectual property rights of every wizard, and even every wizard apprentice, are protected by the Wizard Council.

However, the Council is not sentimental; everything is based on equivalent exchange, and a wizard apprentice without sufficient resources and knowledge has no chance of becoming a formal wizard.

After creating the magically modified pistols, Lu Yan exhausted his energy and resources to craft two for self-defense, naming them Ebony and Ivory as a tribute to his past life.

The Ebony resembles an M500 Magnum revolver and is built for heavy offense; Lu Yan carved various magic arrays into it, prioritizing raw power above all else.

The Ivory resembles a Desert Eagle and is built for control; Lu Yan focused primarily on fire rate and ammunition, ensuring the bullets fired are extremely fast and possess various attributes, with ice bullets being just one common type.

After transmigrating to the Naruto world, Lu Yan stole Danzo's private treasury and spent a great deal of effort to recreate these two guns.

After their conversation, the atmosphere between Simu and Lu Yan became much more harmonious, and they no longer guarded against each other.

Having walked for most of the night, Lu Yan and Simu finally arrived at Simu's residence; they had run four toads to death along the way.

"You can clock out now."

Simu caught the toad running in front, took out a talisman, patted the toad on the head, and released it.

"Jiale, open the door!"

Taoist Priest Simu walked up to the door and knocked, but there was no response at all.

"Jiale? Jiale!"

Seeing no reaction, Simu knocked even harder, eventually poking his hand through the paper of the door to slide the wooden bolt from the inside.

Peering inside, Simu was furious; he had told the boy to watch the house, yet he was still sleeping in the middle of the day.

He wanted to discipline his apprentice, but realizing he had a guest, he decided against it.

"Consider yourself lucky, kid."

Simu muttered, pushed the door open, and kicked a stool aside.

"Ouch!"

Jiale, who had been sleeping on it, tumbled down with a pained cry.

"Who is it?"

Jiale shouted irritably, opening his eyes groggily, but he suddenly jolted awake and scrambled to his feet from the floor.

"Master!"

Jiale called out ingratiatingly, though he was secretly lamenting his bad luck; he had been caught sleeping on the job, and he dreaded how his master might punish him this time.

"Jiale, I've been gone so long, your master has missed you to death!"

Simu smiled brightly, but his hands immediately grabbed Jiale's face and pulled hard in both directions.

"Master, I was w-wrong!"

Jiale's words were muffled by the stretching, but he dared not struggle, instead leaning slightly to make it easier for his master to work on him.

At this moment, Lu Yan walked in from outside, and seeing this scene, he couldn't help but find it amusing, so he spoke up:

"Taoist Priest Simu, who is this?"

Only then did Simu remember he had a guest; he let go, glared fiercely at Jiale, and introduced him:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, this is my good-for-nothing apprentice, Jiale."

"Jiale, this is Fellow Daoist Lu Yan, whom I met on the road. Call him Uncle-Master Lu."

Jiale looked at Lu Yan's stylish clothes and his excessively youthful face, then looked down at the rags on his own body, feeling a sense of inferiority. He murmured, "Uncle-Master Lu."

Seeing the rags Jiale was wearing—which were likely his best clothes—Lu Yan twitched his lips in sympathy and said with a smile, "Since you've called me Uncle-Master, I'll give you a gift."

With that, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and retrieved a black casual outfit he had never worn from his Kamui dimension.

"I see you and I are about the same size; I've never worn this, so it's yours."

As soon as Lu Yan finished speaking, Jiale snatched it up impatiently, shouted "I'm going to change into my new clothes," and vanished in a flash.

Simu felt a bit awkward watching from the side, but he didn't stop him. Throughout the journey, he had enjoyed his conversations with Lu Yan, and the more they talked, the more astonished he became; this young man's insight, eloquence, and cultivation were all extraordinary, and he was surely destined for greatness.

In this world, most practitioners of the Dao live difficult lives; if Jiale could establish a connection with this Uncle-Master, perhaps he could be helped in the future.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, why not stay here for a few days? I've enjoyed our conversation immensely, and it would be wonderful to continue our discussion."

Simu was no longer worried that Lu Yan might harm him; based on his behavior along the way, Lu Yan did not seem like a treacherous person, and if he had wanted to strike, he would have done so on the road rather than being foolish enough to do it at his home.

"Then I shall accept your hospitality."

Lu Yan nodded with a smile and agreed.

Lu Yan had also gained much from their conversations; while they didn't discuss specific techniques, the exchange regarding the similarities and differences between their cultivation systems and the underlying logic of various arts was immensely beneficial.

The mainstream cultivation methods of the Wizard World are not complex.

Wizard apprentices are not even considered to have entered the fold; they merely use various meditation techniques to strengthen their souls and accumulate magic power.

Once their soul strength meets the standard, apprentices use their accumulated knowledge to select a suitable array pattern. This step is crucial, as it concerns not only whether they can become official wizards but also their future path of cultivation.

Array patterns are categorized by element, and apprentices generally choose one that aligns with their soul's affinity. After an apprentice inscribes an array pattern and becomes an official wizard, their affinity for and control over the corresponding element increase significantly.

Only by becoming an official wizard can one truly step through the gates of the wizarding world.

Level 1 to Level 3 wizards are collectively known as low-level wizards. They are the most numerous and serve as the backbone of the wizarding world, continuing to strengthen their souls and accumulate knowledge of their elements to perfect their array patterns step by step.

Level 4 to Level 6 wizards are collectively known as mid-level wizards and serve as the main force of the wizarding world. They move beyond superficial understanding of elements and begin to perceive the laws of the universe.

Level 7 to Level 9 wizards are the fewest in number and are known as high-level wizards; they are the true masters of the wizarding world. They seek out demi-planes attached to the wizard world to gain true control over them, then develop these demi-planes according to the laws they have comprehended, becoming the true lords of a realm.

The Daoist cultivation methods that Simu spoke of are quite interesting; they share many similarities in the early stages but diverge drastically in the later stages.

Daoism divides cultivation into four realms: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Void, and Refining Void into Dao, known respectively as Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul.

The cultivation methods of the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages are much the same as those of wizard apprentices, and their strength is not particularly great, as they remain mere mortals of flesh and blood.

However, upon reaching the Golden Core stage, their strength increases dramatically, making them truly extraordinary beings who begin to perceive the laws of the universe.

Even more wondrous is that the subsequent cultivation methods are diverse, categorized into Heaven, Earth, Human, Spirit, and Ghost.

The method of the Heaven Immortal is the most orthodox, involving the comprehension of universal laws and the shattering of the core to form a Nascent Soul. Once achieved, one enjoys endless longevity and can wield the laws of heaven and earth with ease.

The method of the Earth Immortal was common in ancient times; one selects a grotto-heaven as a blessed land and merges their soul with it. As long as the blessed land remains, the Earth Immortal is immortal.

The method of the Human Immortal is quite extreme. It was created by the ancient human race during their arduous struggle for survival by imitating the innate talents of demonic beasts, making it the earliest form of cultivation. Practitioners focus solely on refining blood and Qi, transforming their human bodies into demonic bodies to gain the power to protect their kin. The method is extremely dangerous, with nine out of ten practitioners dying or suffering grievous injury.

Later, after generations of improvement by gifted individuals, the mortality rate decreased, and there was no longer a need to transform the human body into a demonic one, shifting instead to the cultivation of an external dharma image.

However, although the path of the Human Immortal offers immense combat power, it does not grant longevity.

The methods of the Spirit Immortal and the Ghost Immortal are quite similar, both requiring the abandonment of the physical body. Spirit Immortals consume incense to achieve longevity, while Ghost Immortals hold positions in the underworld; though they cannot return to the mortal realm, they too can attain longevity.