The Proposal of Discipleship

Swoosh!

Zhou Yuan flashed in the air and teleported back into his small village hut. Just as he stepped onto the dirt floor, a weathered, familiar voice echoed from behind him.

"Wang Su! How are you doing, child?"

Zhou Yuan turned around. Rifling through the residual memories of this mortal body, he immediately recognized the old man. He bowed respectfully and said, "Uncle Wang."

According to the body’s memories, the original owner of this vessel was named Wang Su. Although Uncle Wang and Wang Su shared no blood relation, they shared the same surname. Because of this, Uncle Wang had always showered the lonely youth with the love of a real father.

"Uncle Wang, are you alright?" Zhou Yuan asked, keeping up appearances. "I heard that when you went out with the merchant caravan last time, you were ambushed."

Uncle Wang let out a soft, hearty laugh. He patted Zhou Yuan heavily on the shoulder and said, "There's nothing to worry about, boy! We had an immortal cultivator traveling with our caravan. Nothing happened to us. The immortal master slewed the wild beast with a single strike!"

Zhou Yuan smiled politely, but internally, he mused: 'A traveling caravan escort... at most, it must have been a low-tier cultivator at the 1st or 2nd level of the Qi Refining realm.'

"I heard from the other villagers that while I was away, you didn't step foot outside your house once," Uncle Wang’s voice broke his train of thought. "Did something happen?"

"No, Uncle Wang. It was nothing," Zhou Yuan replied smoothly. "I was just feeling a bit under the weather, but I am completely fine now."

The two began walking through the bustling village pathways. The air was filled with the raw, chaotic noise of mortal life—a woman screaming at a vendor to bargain for vegetables, children laughing, and angry fathers scolding their sons.

Uncle Wang dragged Zhou Yuan toward a small open-air wine tavern. He ordered two jars of cheap wine and sat down at a wooden table. Around them, other villagers were drinking and gossiping loudly.

Taking a deep swig, Uncle Wang looked at him seriously. "Wang Su, you are already twenty. It's time you look for a wife and settle down. I heard that a young man in the neighboring village just died suddenly without ever getting married. Don't leave things till it's too late."

As the alcohol kicked in, the old man kept ramming on about village life, marriages, and harvest cycles. Eventually, the heavy wine took its toll, and Uncle Wang slumped over the table, fast asleep.

Zhou Yuan waved the tavern waiter over. Reaching into Uncle Wang’s pocket, he pulled out two copper coins and handed them to the man. Then, hoisting the old man onto his back, he walked through the village and tucked him safely into his bed.

Returning to his own quiet hut, Zhou Yuan sat in the dark, contemplating his next move.

'The Heavenly Fate Body...' he thought. 'If I can bind my destiny with that woman, the threat of this universe's laws tracking me will plummet. But how do I achieve this? The cleanest way is to make her my disciple. The karmic bond of a Master-Disciple relationship will force her immense fate to blanket this mortal vessel, masking me perfectly.'

A massive problem blocked his path.

'How can I, a seemingly weak mortal with blocked meridians, convince a powerful Sect Master to become my disciple? If I use my raw soul power to force her, the massive energy spike will allow the Universe Law to track my exact coordinates. But there is no other choice. To gain anything in the cosmos, one must take a risk.'

Decided, Zhou Yuan vanished. He teleported instantly, appearing right at the mouth of the mountain cave 50 kilometers away. Stepping inside, he moved silently through the shadows.

Deeper in the cavern, the breathtakingly beautiful Wu Yao sat cross-legged, surrounded by swirling spiritual energy. Zhou Yuan inspected her and was thoroughly surprised.

'It has only been three days since I left,' he noted. 'The innate recovery speed of a Heavenly Fate Body is monstrous. Her severe injuries have already healed significantly. At this rate, she will be at full strength in two days.'

Unaware of the silent observer, Wu Yao was completely immersed in her subconscious.

Inside her vast Spiritual Sea, an ethereal spirit stood hovering directly in front of her consciousness. It looked identical to her in every way. Wu Yao’s cultivation was currently at the Peak of the Void Awareness Level.

'If I can successfully merge this spirit back into my physical body, I can forcefully break through to the Body Unity Level!' Wu Yao thought with fierce determination.

Gritting her teeth, she began pulling the ethereal spirit closer, forcing the two entities to fuse.

However, the moment their energies touched, her Spiritual Sea violently destabilized. A barrage of agonizing, blood-curdling screams suddenly erupted from the depths of her soul!

"Sect Master! Help us!"

"Save us, Sect Master!"

"The Blue Profound Sect is falling! Ahhh!"

The desperate, dying cries of her slaughtered elders and innocent disciples echoed like a curse inside her mind. The sheer psychological trauma and karmic weight shattered her focus, causing her rampaging spiritual energy to backfire.

Pfft!

In the physical world, Wu Yao convulsed violently. Her eyes snapped open, and a stream of dark, crimson blood sprayed from her lips as her cultivation collapsed into chaos.

The moment Wu Yao’s eyes snap open, a cold and calm voice echoes from the darkness of the cave:

"Now is not the right time to attempt a breakthrough."

Wu Yao jolts in shock, momentarily forgetting the agonizing pain of her severe injuries as she looks ahead. Standing there was a young man around twenty years old.

Wu Yao’s heart trembles with fear—she had not even sensed when or how this young man had gotten so close to her! She scans him carefully with her spiritual sense, but the truth that unveils is completely mind-blowing.

'A mortal?! But that's impossible! No matter how deep I am in meditation or pain, if an ordinary mortal steps within a 10-kilometer radius of me, I should detect them instantly! Yet he is standing right in front of me and I didn't hear a single footstep!'

Wu Yao stands up with a mixture of fear and respect. She realizes that the person standing before her is no ordinary human, but a hidden grand expert. She bows and asks, "Senior... what do you mean by that?"

Zhou Yuan replies with a faint smile, "Breaking through from the Peak of the Void Awareness Level to the Body Unity Level is not that simple. If everyone could achieve it so easily, the world would fall into imbalance. Unifying the body and soul means pushing this mortal vessel toward Immortality."

As he speaks, Zhou Yuan casually moves a single finger through the air.

Swoosh!

Without the use of any mantras or spells, all the surrounding Nature’s Life Energy and Spiritual Energy gather rapidly, surging toward Wu Yao. Before she can even move, the powerful energy completely submerges into her body, instantly healing her shattered spirit and injured frame!

Wu Yao is completely struck with amazement. 'Manipulating nature's energy like this without using any spells or techniques? Forget seeing through this senior's cultivation level, I can't even sense a trace of it!'

Without wasting a single second, she immediately bows in respect and says, "Thank you, Senior, for saving my life and helping me. My name is Wu Yao."

However, while looking grateful on the outside, Wu Yao was deeply terrified within. The rules of the cultivation world were utterly ruthless—here, a son could murder his own father for a mere pill. So why would this unknown senior show such immense kindness without asking for anything in return? This selfless aid filled Wu Yao with deep apprehension.

Zhou Yuan reads her silence and underlying fear. Resting his hand against the cave wall, he says, "Do not fear. I was merely passing through when I sensed a rare talent, which is why I came here."

Zhou Yuan does not intend to miss this opportunity. Getting straight to the point, he locks his deep gaze onto her and asks:

"Will you become my disciple?"

Wu Yao begins to hesitate, the words catching in her throat. Caught between her terrifying background and enemies on one side, and this mysterious expert on the other, she softly stammers, "Senior... I..."

But before she can answer, Zhou Yuan suddenly detects a strange disturbance in the sky. He chuckles inwardly: 'Good! It seems luck is smiling upon this Half Limit Emperor today.'

Zhou Yuan raises a hand to stop Wu Yao, warning her, "Wait... an enemy tied to your Fate is heading this way."

RUMBLE!

Directly above the cave, a terrifying black portal tears open in the middle of the sky. The destructive energy radiating from the rift causes the entire mountain to shake violently.

Out of the portal steps the same ruthless old man, his hands still stained with the blood of the Blue Profound Sect's elders. He scans the surroundings and lets out a massive, arrogant laugh:

"Hahahahaha! Sect Master Wu Yao! So you are hiding inside this rotten cave! Hahahahaha!"

It was none other than Old Man Bai Chen, who had tracked Wu Yao all the way here to finish off his remaining prey!

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