Three Masters, the Primordial Art!

Ye Wudao lay on the bed, secretly delighted.

At least for now, the three men in the cell all believed his physique was special and hadn't suspected anything else.

His image as a martial arts prodigy was firmly established.

Zhang Hankuang looked at Ye Wudao, shaking his head as he said, "Tsk, tsk! What a pity!"

"Such a fine young talent, and Old Ghost Hu got to take him in."

Hu Lianfeng rolled his eyes and snorted. "Zhang Hankuang, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Scarface Hu may not be much, but I still come from a prestigious sect. I'm better than some self-taught nobody like you!"

Zhang Hankuang pursed his lips. "The Carefree Sect is certainly a major martial arts sect, but you don't seem to be an official disciple, do you?"

"If I remember right, your master only accepted you as an outer disciple."

"Don't go putting yourself on a pedestal!"

At that, Hu Lianfeng rolled up his sleeves, ready to give Zhang Hankuang a thorough talking-to.

Qin Tianlong looked at the two of them and snorted. "Can't you two keep quiet for once?"

"If you both want to teach him, go ahead."

"With martial arts talent like his, the only question is whether you two have enough to teach him."

Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang exchanged glances.

Qin Tianlong had a point. Ye Wudao had mastered the Northern Dark Divine Art to the minor achievement level in a single day.

At Ye Wudao's rate of progress, he'd learn everything the two of them had to teach in less than a month.

Zhang Hankuang looked at Ye Wudao and said softly, "Kid, would you mind taking another master?"

Ye Wudao froze and looked at Hu Lianfeng.

Hu Lianfeng shrugged. "Don't look at me. Whether you take him as your master is up to you."

"The Martial Dao World these days doesn't restrict people to just one master."

"As for me, I've actually had four or five masters."

"Students at the Martial Arts Academy learn all sorts of things from all kinds of teachers, who teach large groups at once."

"Of course, the bigger sects still care about this sort of thing."

"But it seems they can't stop it anymore. The Grandmaster Realm experts want to usher in an age of martial arts for all, and many sects have already made their signature techniques freely available at the Martial Arts Academy."

"Tell me, if someone learns the techniques of several sects, which sect do they belong to?"

"So these days, there's no clear answer to that sort of question!"

Ye Wudao pursed his lips and propped himself up, about to cup his hands in a salute, but Zhang Hankuang stopped him.

Zhang Hankuang waved a hand. "Don't bother with unnecessary formalities. I'm not Old Ghost Hu; I don't care about that stuff."

"Just call me Master, and I'll teach you everything I know."

"To be honest, I really want to see how far you can go!"

"In a bit, I'll teach you the Infinite Art. It's every bit as good as the Northern Dark Divine Art Old Ghost Hu taught you!"

Hearing that, Ye Wudao nodded quickly and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Master!"

But Hu Lianfeng objected at once. He shook his head. "No, you can't call him Master. You have to call him Second Master."

"Otherwise, we're both in Cell No. 1, and when you call out 'Master,' we won't know which of us you mean."

Zhang Hankuang snorted. "Why shouldn't you call yourself Second Master? I'm stronger than you. Shouldn't I be First Master?"

Hu Lianfeng rolled his eyes and retorted, "I took him in first. He became my disciple before yours, so of course he should call me First Master!"

Zhang Hankuang shot back, unwilling to yield. "Then if Elder Qin takes him as a disciple too, does that make Elder Qin Third Master?"

As soon as he said it, Cell No. 1 fell silent.

Zhang Hankuang realized he'd misspoken and looked at Qin Tianlong awkwardly. "Elder Qin, I didn't mean it like that!"

Qin Tianlong smiled and shook his head. "Now that you mention it, I really am thinking of taking him as my disciple."

"But I don't care what he calls me."

"I just want to see how far someone with such extraordinary martial arts talent can go."

He paused, then looked at Ye Wudao and said solemnly, "Perhaps even surpassing the Grandmaster Realm isn't out of reach!"

Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng both turned to look at Ye Wudao.

Hu Lianfeng nodded slightly. "I'd like to see what kind of monster we can teach him to become, too!"

Then he turned to Elder Qin and bowed slightly. "Elder Qin, you can be his First Master, then!"

Elder Qin gave a slight nod, looked at Ye Wudao, and said gently, "Kid, are you willing to become my disciple?"

Ye Wudao froze. He hadn't expected things to turn around so quickly.

That morning, he'd wanted Elder Qin to take him as a disciple, only to get a single word in response: "Get lost."

Now Elder Qin was the one offering to take him in.

Coming back to himself, he quickly cupped his hands. "Your disciple pays his respects to First Master!"

Qin Tianlong smiled and nodded. "Good!"

Then he looked at Hu Lianfeng and Zhang Hankuang. "The two of you can stop arguing. Let's make the Second and Third Masters' places depend on age!"

"After all, Old Hu was the first to take him as a disciple, and it was Old Ghost Hu who discovered his talent."

Hearing Qin Tianlong say that, Zhang Hankuang didn't argue further.

Truthfully, he didn't care much about the order of the masters. He'd only been teasing Hu Lianfeng.

He looked at Ye Wudao and said softly, "You're free right now, so I'll teach you the Infinite Art."

"The Infinite Art is the signature technique of the Infinite Sect. It can take you all the way to the Grandmaster Realm."

Before he could finish, Hu Lianfeng cut in. "No! The Northern Dark Divine Art can't be cultivated at the same time as other techniques. Otherwise, you'll suffer cultivation deviation."

Zhang Hankuang glanced at Hu Lianfeng and complained, "Your Northern Dark Divine Art only takes you to the entry level of the Grandmaster Realm. You don't even have the follow-up Free and Unfettered Art. He'd be better off learning my Infinite Art."

"My Infinite Art can at least take him to the advanced stage of the Grandmaster Realm."

Then he looked at Qin Tianlong and said softly, "If Elder Qin has an even stronger technique, he could learn that instead."

Qin Tianlong shook his head. "The Infinite Art can take you to the advanced stage of the Grandmaster Realm. That already makes it a top-tier technique."

"The technique I cultivate can only take me to the advanced stage of the Grandmaster Realm, too."

"The few techniques that can reach the peak of the Grandmaster Realm are in the hands of the Demon Slayer Guard and several great reclusive sects. You have to reach the Grandmaster Realm before you can obtain them."

"And Old Hu is right about one thing: the Northern Dark Divine Art can't be cultivated alongside other techniques."

"In fact, most techniques are incompatible with one another."

He paused, then looked at Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng.

"I do have a technique here that I'm sure you've both heard of!"

"I think it would suit him perfectly!"

At that, Zhang Hankuang was the first to react. He asked softly, "Are you talking about the Primordial Art?"

Hu Lianfeng understood as well. He furrowed his brows and said, "As far as I know, this technique was derived from Taishang Laojun's Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness. Its fundamental principle is to unite all things as one and bring them into accord with the Great Dao."

"When it first appeared, it drew a great deal of attention."

"But many people tested it, and it turned out to be a theoretical technique that couldn't actually be cultivated."

"Besides, its main purpose is to fuse other techniques. It has no cultivation effect of its own."

"Are you saying he should cultivate the Primordial Art and use it to fuse other techniques?"

Qin Tianlong nodded. "Just because other people can't cultivate it doesn't mean he can't."

"If he succeeds in cultivating the Primordial Art, I have plenty of techniques for him to fuse with it."

"Then perhaps even surpassing the Grandmaster Realm won't be out of reach!"

At that, Zhang Hankuang and Hu Lianfeng fell into thought.

Ye Wudao only half understood what they were saying, but one word came through loud and clear: fusion!

There was no way around it—techniques conflicted with one another.

After all, their creators had different philosophies, and the techniques they created were different, too.

Some pursued overwhelming force, some steady cultivation, and others focused on nourishing the body.

Different techniques produced different effects.

If there were a technique that could fuse other techniques together, it would mean a great deal to him.

Every additional technique he cultivated meant his progress would be that much faster.

He looked at Qin Tianlong and said softly, "First Master, I think it's worth a try!"