CHAPTER 290: BECOMING A DISCIPLE

Cai Hu continued to analyze the rest of my battle, identifying what had gone wrong and right. In general, he had no real criticisms. A few things were mentioned, but they were mostly situational.

“Also, even if you crippled your cultivation by choosing the wrong element or a poor technique to build toward your Core Technique... if you become a Level 5 Array Conjurer, even Core Formation Cultivators will have to be wary of you. With how fast you cast arrays, quantity becomes a quality of its own,” he said.

“I didn’t cripple my cultivation. I have a clear image of the road I’m walking,” I said.

Maybe if I were someone born in this world, my approach would seem wrong, especially without a clear mental image for forming a Foundation Technique. But I knew exactly what I wanted. I had all my future techniques planned out.

“Though the only downside to my element is that it doesn’t have any techniques that could be considered direct combat types,” I explained.

“With how fast you cast arrays, that alone can cover for any weakness. Just practice some Earth Grade Techniques, master them, and you’ll be set,” he said.

He wasn’t exactly wrong. A Foundation Technique was about as strong as an Earth Grade Technique. However, that didn’t take into account elemental compatibility or synergy between Foundation Techniques.

“Well, I don’t have plans to be a frontline fighter anyway,” I shrugged.

“Anyway, I can see you're the kind of person who always puts themselves down. But I’m not going to waste my time trying to fix that,” he said. “Instead, I’m going to retract my previous statement of maybe being surpassed. No. You will definitely surpass me.”

“Okay?” I replied, unsure how to take the compliment.

“The minimum you’ll reach is Level 7. And unlike me, you might actually be able to fully use that level if you become a Nascent Soul Cultivator,” he said.

A scroll appeared in his hand with a flick of his wrist as he took it out of his storage ring. Without a word, he tossed it toward me, and I caught it mid-air with practiced ease.

“Open it. This is a Level 7 Array and your reward for thwarting me. Study it. You’ll learn a lot about defensive arrays. I noticed you lacked them when I attacked with the flame chains. Instead of defending, you counterattacked.”

“Actually, I’m better at defensive arrays. My first teacher specialized in them,” I said, recalling Xin Ma’s inheritance. There were numerous Level 4 defensive arrays in there. I had learned most of them, except for those that required specific environmental conditions.

“So you just have a suicidal way of fighting?” he sighed.

“It’s not suicidal,” I said. “I was confident I could stop you before the flaming chains landed. It was a calculated risk.”

My fighting style might look reckless, but I had fought Song Song countless times. I knew what was dangerous. Allowing an enemy to continue fighting was more dangerous than taking a bold move to end it quickly.

But I didn’t care about that now. I opened the scroll.

I activated my Foundation Technique and began reading the complex, high-level array.

Its name was Beast Soul Sacrifice Array. To put it simply, it grew stronger the more monstrous beasts died near it. It absorbed their Qi, flesh, blood… even their souls.

How strong could it grow?

There was no real limit. Some records claimed that once strengthened, even Nascent Soul Cultivators struggled to break it.

This was the best defensive array I had ever seen.

I started rereading it but deactivated my technique as Cai Hu began speaking.

“You can study that in your own time. For now, focus on learning Level 5 Arrays. That’s your next step,” he said.

“Okay,” I nodded, wrapping the scroll and storing it in my ring.

“There’s never been a Level 5 Array Conjurer under thirty. So you’d set a record,” he said. “Well, to be fair, there’s never been a Level 4 Array Conjurer under twenty either. You’re already a monster. Just don’t let a big head ruin your momentum.”

I nodded.

But before he could continue the lesson, I pulled out an empty scroll from my ring. I unfurled it over a hastily formed jade table.

Then, my hands blurred. I dipped the brush into ink and wrote out an array at blinding speed.

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Once done, I rolled up the scroll and threw it to him.

He raised a brow, then unfurled it and read it.

“That’s the Level 7 Array I promised you back then,” I said.

“I refused this once before…” he frowned, then smirked. “But if you expect me to refuse a second time, with the temptation in my hands, then you clearly don’t understand the greedy nature of humans.”

“Just read the scroll and burn it. And don’t teach it to anyone else,” I said.

“Yes, because Level 7 Array Conjurers grow like weeds; so many people to teach,” he replied sarcastically.

“And don’t write it down. Don’t archive it in the Sect.”

He nodded, then stopped talking and turned his attention to the scroll.

He didn’t have a technique to hotwire his brain like I did, but he was still a Core Formation Cultivator. His mind and reflexes were fast enough to process high-speed movement in combat and fast enough to read something this complex in minutes.

After about twenty minutes of silent reading and deciphering the array formula, Cai Hu finally looked up from the scroll. His gaze locked onto mine with a sharp, measuring intensity. Like he was no longer looking at just a student.

“The Beast Soul Sacrifice Array I gave you wasn’t bad for its level,” he said slowly, “but it’s nothing too impressive for a Level 7 Array. But this…” His gaze sharpened further. “If fully developed, it would grant the array's caster the power of four Nascent Soul Cultivators. They could be developed to the peak of Nascent Soul, as it seems that the beast souls circulate cultivation among each other. This array is undefeatable if fully developed, except perhaps by an Immortal.”

“Yes, but its casting requirements are a nightmare,” I said.

“Of course. But this isn’t pure defense; it’s more than that. It could be considered peak Level 7. Sure, you need the corpses of four Nascent Soul-grade monstrous beasts. And you’d probably need a Sky Grade mental technique just to survive the backlash of controlling those souls. But if someone could cast it, their Sect or Clan would become unbeatable within their territory. The array’s range alone is absurd. It could cover almost the entire Blazing Sun Sect.”

He kept going on a long tangent about how the beasts were souls and could bypass physical limitations, allowing near-instant mobility anywhere in the array’s range. It really was a terrifying formation. Overpowered… but also highly impractical without very specific, hard-to-acquire resources.

Even the types of beasts mattered. They needed to resemble the Four Guardian Spirits: a bird for the phoenix, a feline for the white tiger, a snake or dragon, and a turtle.

“Whoever created this array wasn’t just a Level 7 Conjurer… they were at the peak of that level,” Cai Hu said with awe. “Unlike me, who can barely be considered Level 7. I’ve only cast five and a half Level 7 arrays in my entire life.”

“Half?” I raised an eyebrow. “How do you cast half an array?”

“Because it was half-successful,” he said, his tone dry. “It was the second time I attempted a Level 7 array. I nearly failed.”

There was a strange look in his eyes, somewhere between pride and bitterness. His expression didn’t shift much, but the emotion lingered like the echo of a memory that refused to fade.

His gaze was distant for a moment like he was staring through me and into the past, seeing something I couldn’t. But I wasn’t about to poke a sleeping lion, not when that look carried the weight of history, the kind you didn’t ask about unless you were ready for a story with more aches than answers.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, “How old do I look?”

I blinked. Uh-oh.

I shrugged. He looked like a well-groomed, serious old man to me. But I wasn’t touching that landmine.

“I’m two hundred and thirty-one,” he said. “I’ve still got almost a third of my life left. But I already look like I’ve got one foot in the grave.”

Honestly, I thought he looked good for his age, but this again wasn’t an argument I wanted to get into. And his tone didn’t sound like it was just about his appearance.

...Wait, what if it was?

Was this guy over two hundred years old and insecure about looking old?

I fought down a chuckle before it could escape. Just imagine a centuries-old monster having the same mindset as a teenage girl.

“That time I tried to use the Level 7 array... it was in a battle against her. That bitch, the Azure Frost Sect Leader,” he growled. “She was in the same generation as me and Zun Gon. We were the so-called golden generation. But she’s always been ruthless.”

He sighed, lost in memory, then smirked coldly.

“No wonder no man’s ever courted her, even after two hundred years. I bet she thinks about it all the time.”

Honestly, she probably didn’t. She was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, Sect Leader of one of the Four Great Sects, and likely had another millennium of lifespan. She probably looked younger than ever and had more pressing things to care about than dating.

But watching Cai Hu spiral into this mix of reminiscence and weird bitterness made me feel... awkward. Was I supposed to say something?

Truth be told, the Azure Frost Sect Leader was starting to sound kind of badass.

She’d faced off against both Zun Gon and Cai Hu back in her youth, and now she was leading a top-tier Sect. She likely crushed dozens of other talented rivals in her path to Nascent Soul.

“Anyway,” Cai Hu said, snapping out of his thoughts. His gaze returned to its usual indifference. “Let’s not let that woman ruin the moment.”

I nodded. No need to dwell on the emotional ramblings of an over-two-century-old man.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he added. “We need to do a disciple ceremony.”

“Do we?” I asked.

The disciple ceremony included bowing three times, sharing wine, and swearing mutual oaths like loyalty, protection, and all that good stuff.

It wasn’t a huge deal, but I’d rather not do it. If I bowed and played the humble student, I wouldn’t really mean it.

And him promising to protect me with his life? I already had Song Song for that.

“Yes,” he said firmly. “You’re going to inherit everything I have. You’ll be like the son I never had. In many ways, a disciple is closer than a son. Sons might not be able to cultivate. But a disciple... inherits everything.”

Everything…

Even all his Level 7 Arrays?

Suddenly, I felt a lot more enthusiastic about this whole disciple ceremony.