Taking Pitero as a Disciple

The night soon passed, and the caravan continued onward. From time to time, caravan members came to thank Arnold, but Arnold bluntly told them not to bother him. The frightened caravan leader, Dolong, hurriedly spoke with the caravan's manager, and in the end, no one dared disturb Arnold anymore.

Dolong had originally wanted Arnold to switch to a carriage with a cabin, but Arnold declined. Sitting on the flatbed wagon, Arnold continued drinking the wine Pitero had respectfully offered him, feeling quite comfortable.

Over the next few days, Pitero occasionally sought Arnold's advice on first-rank wind-element spells. Arnold did not hold back, explaining the key points of magic to Pitero. He even directly taught Pitero several first-rank earth-element spells and told him to study them carefully.

It was clear that Pitero desperately wanted to please Arnold, but Arnold still did not relent.

The middle-aged fat man, Teren, who rode in the same wagon, also stopped scolding Pitero these past few days. Sharp-eyed Teren could tell that Arnold treated Pitero well, so how could he dare berate him at every turn like before?

After several days of travel, the caravan had moved quite quickly. They had already crossed the border of the O'Brien Empire and entered the Magnolia Empire. They were very close to a border town of the Magnolia Empire. At their current pace, they would probably reach it in three days at most.

Pitero was therefore extremely anxious. The opportunity was right before him, yet he could not seize it.

While the caravan was resting that day, Pitero went to relieve himself in the distant grass. Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. Someone had placed a hand there, startling Pitero so badly that he sprayed everywhere.

He hurriedly fastened his belt and looked to the side. It was the middle-aged fat man, Teren.

"Uncle Teren, don't scare me like that. I nearly shriveled up from fright just now," Pitero said gloomily.

Teren, beside him, unhurriedly loosened his own trousers and began relieving himself as well. "You've been so attentive these past few days. You want Lord Arnold to take you as his disciple, don't you?"

"Yes, but Lord Arnold doesn't want to accept me," Pitero said dejectedly.

"I never expected you to have such a lucky day. Lord Arnold saw through your earth-element affinity and directly pointed it out. You should be satisfied. Leave the caravan and quickly find a good magic academy to study magic."

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle Teren, but I think I'm quite suited to be Lord Arnold's disciple. Lord Arnold must be an incredibly powerful earth-element mage, and I happen to have a high earth-element affinity as well," Pitero replied.

"If you truly want to become Lord Arnold's disciple, then you should show Lord Arnold what makes you special."

"What makes me special?"

"Your understanding of magic, your views on it, that sort of thing. Otherwise, with only a high earth-element affinity, why should Lord Arnold necessarily accept you as his disciple?"

Hearing Teren's words, Pitero recalled what Lord Arnold had said a few days ago: "When learning magic, you must seize every opportunity." Could that have been Lord Arnold's hint to him?

"Perhaps Lord Arnold wants to accept me too, but if I don't even dare show my own understanding of magic, how could Lord Arnold possibly be satisfied?" Thinking this, Pitero ignored Teren and immediately returned to the caravan.

Watching Pitero hurry away, Teren could not help shaking his head.

After returning to the caravan, Pitero did not immediately seek out Arnold to demonstrate his views on magic.

He had trained in magic for five years, but during most of that time, Pitero had merely refined his magic power and increased his spiritual force through meditation. Even the few first-rank spells he knew had only been practiced until he could cast them, after which he left them alone. As for his views and understanding of magic, he had none at all.

How could he show anything in that state before Lord Arnold? Thus, whenever the caravan rested afterward, Pitero diligently practiced two first-rank earth-element spells: Shattering Stone and Earthshaking Art.

Shattering Stone used spiritual force to control the earth-element magic power within the body, guiding the earth elements between heaven and earth to form five stones for attack.

Earthshaking Art used spiritual force to stir the ground, causing the earth within a certain range to tremble slightly.

After learning and becoming proficient in these two spells, Pitero began considering their similarities and differences.

After studying Shattering Stone and Earthshaking Art painstakingly for two consecutive days, Pitero finally gained something.

Thus, when the caravan rested on the third night, Pitero walked straight up to Arnold and explained his understanding of the two spells.

"Shattering Stone merely combines magic power with earth elements to form relatively sturdy stones for attack. You could say that this spell has no real technical depth. In fact, most spells are similar to Shattering Stone. They all combine magic power and earth elements to form matter with particular structures, then use it for attack or defense."

"Not bad. Earth Guardian Sacred Armor, Earth Golem, Earth Howling Wolf, and even the forbidden spell Earth Guard are all just as you described. Fundamentally, there is no real difference," Arnold said approvingly.

Encouraged, Pitero continued, "Earthshaking Art, however, is different from Shattering Stone. There is a fundamental distinction. Casting Earthshaking Art consumes very little magic power. It mainly relies on spiritual force to draw upon a unique power within the ground and make it tremble. I think this force of vibration must be unique to earth elements. I have never heard of any other element capable of forming magic with a vibration effect."

"To have such a deep understanding of two first-rank spells shows that you possess great insight," Arnold praised. "Talent certainly plays a major role on the path of magical cultivation. But insight is also very important. Studying the magic you learn, reflecting upon it, and comparing your views with those of your predecessors are all essential."

"Mm." Pitero was delighted. His own ideas had received Lord Arnold's approval, and he was thrilled.

"There is no reason I cannot accept you as my disciple. But you must continue thinking deeply in the future. You cannot study magic thoroughly these next few days, only to stop thinking about the essence of magic after learning many more spells," Arnold said seriously.

"Thank you, Master." Pitero immediately kowtowed nine times to Arnold with the utmost respect.

"Do not call me Master from now on. Call me Revered Master," Arnold said solemnly.

"Yes, Revered Master." Pitero obediently changed his form of address at once.

After that, Arnold did not instruct Pitero further. They were still with the caravan, so it was inconvenient to demonstrate too much.

Meanwhile, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon merely watched Arnold show off in silence before continuing to lie there and sleep.

The reason Arnold accepted Pitero as his disciple was simply that he found Pitero pleasing to the eye. Arnold did not seek anything from Pitero. If Pitero could bring Arnold some insight into the laws in the future, that would naturally be even better. If not, it did not really matter.