Apprenticeship
"Master's disciple, Jiang Xi,..."
"Xiao Ze, a disciple of Elder Xing Lu..."
Originally, the master had only one disciple, Su Qingjun, but now he made an exception and recruited Jiang Li, which made others look at Jiang Li with admiration.
What an extremely powerful protagonist halo.
Xiao Ze was assigned to the tutelage of Elder Xing Lu, who was in charge of the Discipline Hall. Elder Xing was fair, kind to his disciples, and never held back when teaching. He was very satisfied to be assigned to Elder Xing's tutelage.
Because of Xiao Ze's outstanding performance in the secret realm, he is somewhat different from other disciples assigned to Elder Xing: he is a direct disciple.
After learning the result, Xiao Ze was enthusiastically pulled away by Elder Xing's other direct disciples. In addition to him, Elder Xing had two other direct disciples, a man and a woman. The man was named Kong Xing, who was at the early stage of the Golden Core stage, and the woman was named Ding Xia, who was at the middle stage of the Golden Core stage.
The two men excitedly took him on a tour of Elder Xing's mountaintop, Qiufeng Mountain, which was lush with trees and elegant buildings. His room was also meticulously tidied, with all the necessary clothing, bedding, and other daily necessities, a testament to the importance they placed on him.
"Junior brother, the apprenticeship ceremony will begin the day after tomorrow. Are you ready?"
"Apprenticeship gift?" Xiao Ze really didn't know.
Seeing Xiao Ze's bewildered look, Ding Xia knew that he had asked the right question and told Xiao Ze in detail all the matters concerning the apprenticeship ceremony.
"If you think today is too rushed, you can move in tomorrow." Kong Xing knew that Xiao Ze was now living alone in a distant place because of being ostracized by his disciples, so he said considerately.
Ding Xia naturally knew all this: "Junior brother, Kong Xing and I will definitely treat you like our own brother."
"Thank you." Xiao Ze replied with a smile, with a hint of sincerity.
After leaving Qiufeng Mountain, Xiao Ze went down the mountain to buy a gift for Elder Xing before returning to the cabin. Sure enough, Su Qingjun was already waiting there.
"Senior Brother."
Hearing the voice, Su Qingjun woke up from his thoughts. Looking at Xiao Ze in front of him, a bitter feeling surged in his heart.
"Senior Brother? What's wrong? You look so unhappy." Su Qingjun was so abnormal that it was hard not to notice.
"Are you going to Qiufeng Mountain?"
"Yes, but it would be a bit rushed to go there today. Senior Brother Kong said we can go there tomorrow."
"Yeah." Looking at the furnishings of the hut, Su Qingjun was extremely reluctant to leave: "Once you arrive at Qiufeng Mountain, I won't be able to visit you every day like this. Will you still come here?"
There are many people in Qiufeng Mountain and the leader is very strict with him. If the leader finds out that he has such a close relationship with Xiao Ze, it will not be a good thing for Xiao Ze.
"Will this place be taken back?" Xiao Ze asked thoughtfully.
"I don't think so. This place has been abandoned for a long time. No one except you would come here."
"How about we treat this place as our secret base?" Xiao Ze knew that the leader of Tianxuan Sect had very high expectations for Su Qingjun and had very strict requirements. He even didn't allow him to have close contact with any of the disciples.
"Secret base?" Su Qingjun's eyes gradually became bright.
"Well, starting from tomorrow, how about we meet here every third afternoon?" Xiao Ze suggested.
"Okay!" Su Qingjun's sadness had mostly faded. If he followed his idea, they would definitely meet every day.
After saying this, Xiao Ze felt something was wrong. Why did it feel like he was having a secret meeting with someone?
Xiao Ze packed up everything he needed to take away from the cabin and went up the mountain with his things the next day.
"Junior brother, why do you have so few things?" Ding Xia asked in surprise, looking at the small cloth bag in Xiao Ze's hand.
"I live alone and don't need anything." In fact, he left all his things in the small room. Judging from Su Qingjun's expression, he might go there before the agreed time.
After putting the things away, Xiao Ze had nothing to do, so he walked around the mountain by himself.
On the second day, the apprenticeship ceremony arrived as scheduled.
When Xiao Ze first met Xing Lu, he was an old man who looked very approachable and smiling. But according to Kong Xing, this was just his appearance. In fact, Xing Lu had a very bad temper.
Fortunately, Xiao Ze remembered the process of the apprenticeship ceremony clearly and did not make any mistakes. After serving tea, he saw Xing Lu's satisfied expression and breathed a sigh of relief.
The more Xing Lu looked at this disciple, the happier he felt. He heard that he had saved Su Qingjun in the secret realm and scolded a group of people speechless!
Good, he likes this temperament very much!
"Don't be nervous, Xiao Ze." Xing Lu smiled and said, noticing that Xiao Ze was a little embarrassed, "Now that you have joined my Qiufeng Mountain, we are one family. If anyone bullies you in the future, tell your Senior Sister Ding and Senior Brother Kong. If they can't defeat you, come to me. Master will support you!"
Xiao Ze bowed and said, "Thank you, Master."
"Hahaha, okay." Xing Lu stood up and patted Xiao Ze on the shoulder. He then asked Ding Xia and Kong Xing to take good care of him, and then went to get busy.
"Master is very protective of his subordinates. Junior Brother, if you are wronged in the future, you must tell us." Kong Xing clenched his fists. He had been furious when he heard that Xiao Ze was being ostracized by a group of people because of the vague title of "The Unlucky Star", but he had no relationship with Xiao Ze at the time, and as an elder's direct disciple, he didn't often interact with new disciples, so he let it go.
"Yeah!" Xiao Ze nodded heavily.
Returning to the room, looking at all the items, Xiao Ze's heart was filled with joy. When he thought back to his past life, his memory was already very vague, and even his resentment towards those people was gone.
He didn't hate the people he met in this world that much, so it seemed like staying here was a good choice.
The state of mind that had been stuck for a long time began to loosen, and Xiao Ze had a premonition that in just three or four days, he would be able to advance to the Golden Core stage.
After meditating for a night, this premonition became clearer, and Xiao Ze told Ding Xia and Kong Xing about it.
The two were very shocked. Xiao Ze's speed was almost catching up with Su Qingjun!
You know, the higher your cultivation level, the harder it is to advance. There are countless people stuck at the Foundation Establishment stage, unable to move forward. Su Qingjun's rapid advancement to the Golden Core stage just one year after entering the Foundation Establishment stage shocked the entire cultivation world. Xiao Ze, having now advanced to the Golden Core stage two years after the Foundation Establishment stage, must also be quite talented.
Ding Xia and Kong Xing began to bustle around preparing the things Xiao Ze needed to advance to the Golden Elixir stage. Xiao Ze was arranged to relax. It was heard that many people failed to advance because they were too nervous and fearful during the advancement.
Xiao Ze actually didn't feel anything. He felt touched and amused when he saw Ding Xia and Kong Xing looking nervous.
The two people now don't let him go down the mountain casually, otherwise he really wants to tell Su Qingjun the good news. He can advance to the Golden Core stage so quickly without Su Qingjun's help.
The thunderstorm came as expected.
Xiao Ze stood in the place with abundant spiritual energy that the two seniors had carefully selected for him, and looked at the full stacks of pills and defensive magic weapons in his hands, and became more confident that he would be able to advance to the Golden Elixir realm smoothly.
Starting from the Golden Core stage, each time one enters a new realm, a thunder tribulation will occur. This tribulation consists of ten heavenly thunderbolts. The higher the realm, the more powerful the thunderbolts. Correspondingly, the more significant the body-hardening effect will be.
Dark clouds rolled in the sky, with occasional flashes of light, which was a sign that thunder was brewing.
Sitting cross-legged, circulating his spiritual power, Xiao Ze concentrated on dealing with the thunder tribulation.
The first bolt of thunder struck, and Xiao Ze used his body to resist it.
Xiao Ze gasped, "It hurts!" Although he had prepared himself mentally, the pain from the thunder still hit him, and his eyes went dark. Xiao Ze quickly took out the Soul-Restoring Pill and the Healing Pill and swallowed them, while he used his defensive magic tools to block the second and third thunderbolts.
He carried one bolt of lightning with his body, and then two bolts with his magical weapon. When the last bolt of lightning struck, Xiao Ze had already turned into a "black man." All his clothes had been blown away by the lightning, but fortunately, he was now completely black, so no one could tell what he was doing.
A light rain containing abundant spiritual power began to fall from the sky. Xiao Ze quickly sat down cross-legged and concentrated on absorbing the spiritual power.
After the rain stopped, Xiao Ze circulated his spiritual energy and felt that the spiritual energy pool in his body had become wider and richer. After being tempered by the heavenly thunder, his physical fitness was much better than before.
After using the cleansing technique and changing into clean clothes, Xiao Ze returned to Qiufeng Mountain. Ding Xia and Kong Xing waited anxiously at the door, along with Xing Lu, who had been busy all day and was elusive.
Seeing Xiao Ze appear safely, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
"You little brat, you haven't come back for so long after the thunder ended. Do you know that you are about to scare the three of us to death?" Ding Xia said angrily.
Knowing that the three of them were genuinely worried about him, Ding Xia wasn't really angry. He no longer treated them coldly like others and rubbed against Ding Xia's side: "Senior Sister, don't be angry. This isn't my first time advancing to the Golden Core stage, so I'm not very experienced."
Ding Xia pushed him away and said with a smile, "First time? How many times do you want to come in?"
Xing Lu was naturally happy because the relationship between the disciples was harmonious. Moreover, his disciples were so promising that he couldn't contain his joy.
He walked over and patted Xiao Ze on the shoulder: "Not bad, brat! I'm in a good mood today, so Master will take out the wine that he has collected for over fifty years! Let's drink together!"
"You guys will be responsible for preparing some food!" After saying that, he walked away with a big laugh.
"Master is like this again!" Ding Xia stomped his feet: "He thinks it's troublesome and he's picky, so he forces us to do hard labor." Even if he complains, he still has to work. After all, Xing Lu is the boss of Qiufeng Mountain.
Xiao Ze had just survived a thunder tribulation, so Kong Xing and Ding Xia considerately arranged for him to go back and have a good rest, and left it to them to buy food.
But Xiao Ze couldn't go back to rest yet. He still remembered the three-day appointment with Su Qingjun, but when he was going through the thunder tribulation, he didn't have the energy to pay attention to whether three days had passed. He just asked Ding Xia and found out that seven days had passed.
Su Qingjun must be getting impatient.
After Kong Xing and Ding Xia left, Xiao Ze rushed to the cabin without stopping.
The door was closed and the room was quiet: Could it be that Su Qingjun was not here?
He gently pushed open the door. The table was clean and there was no one on the couch. Walking around the screen inside the room, Xiao Ze saw a figure sleeping peacefully on his bed.
But this person did not sleep well, with a frown on his face, as if he had seen some bad people or things in his dream.
Seeing that the man was still asleep, Xiao Ze didn't plan to wake him up directly.
The seasonings and cooking utensils in the cabin were still complete, and Xiao Ze took what he needed and left the cabin.
The sun gradually set in the west, and the light gradually became dim. Su Qingjun's eyelids moved: What a fragrant smell.
Gradually waking up from his sleep, Su Qingjun discovered that the fragrance came from outside the house.
Xiao Ze is here!
Su Qingjun quickly got up and ran outside. Sure enough, he saw the familiar figure: "Junior Brother Xiao?"
"Senior Brother, are you awake?" Hearing the sound behind him, Xiao Ze turned around with a smile on his face.
When Su Qingjun saw this familiar, gentle face, she felt as if she was in another world, even though the two of them had only not seen each other for a few days.
"Brother, has anything happened to you recently? Why do you look so sleepy?" Xiao Ze asked in confusion.
Su Qingjun's ears blushed quietly. What should he say? He said that he couldn't sleep because he missed Xiao Ze so much. As long as he thought that Xiao Ze had closer brothers and sisters, and that he no longer needed him after he had someone to guide him in his cultivation, it was like a huge rock was pressing on his heart, and he couldn't sleep at all.
Of course, I can’t say these things. It would be bad if I scared Xiao Ze away.
"Master has assigned me too many tasks recently, so I didn't get enough rest." The blame was placed on the head of the sect leader who was completely unaware of the situation.
"But you," Su Qingjun already knew that Xiao Ze was going to advance to the Golden Core stage, "Why didn't you tell me about your Golden Core advancement? I have a lot of things prepared for you that I haven't given you yet."
He finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Ze standing here safely.
"I'm sorry, senior brother. This advancement came a little suddenly." It turned out that Su Qingjun had prepared everything he needed for advancement early on. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't touched.
Su Qingjun understood it in his heart, but he was not by Xiao Ze's side when he advanced to the Golden Core stage. How could the regret in his heart be expressed in words?
As the aroma wafted in, Xiao Ze suddenly came back to his senses and put the cooked food in the pot onto a plate.
"Today's meal is my apology to my senior brother." After handing the newly prepared meal to Su Qingjun, Xiao Ze picked up the other two plates and went into the hut with Su Qingjun.
The two of them sat at the table and ate together, and Su Qingjun's heart was filled with happiness.
Looking at the sky outside the window, Xiao Ze estimated that Kong Xing and Ding Xia would be back soon. He had no choice but to say goodbye to Su Qingjun: "Brother, Master has prepared some wine and food to celebrate my advancement to the Golden Core stage. I should go back now. I'll come back to see you in three days."
The sweetness in my heart turned into bitterness because of these words: "Well, go ahead. You just became a disciple, so you can't neglect your master."
"Well, I'll go then." Xiao Ze seemed to feel that Su Qingjun's mood became depressed for a moment, but when he looked at it carefully, this person was no different from usual. He felt a little amused at his own excessive sensitivity.
Putting these thoughts behind him, Xiao Ze rushed to Qiufeng Mountain.
Not long after returning to the house, Kong Xing and Ding Xia came back.
The four of them sat together at the table, clinking glasses, laughter filled the air, and the master and apprentice were in harmony.
Xiao Ze suddenly remembered the figure of Su Qingjun sitting alone at the table when he left the cabin. Thinking about it now, she revealed a loneliness and sadness that was difficult to detect, and Xiao Ze suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
