The Price of a Disciple

The purple-robed maiden stared at Ji Ning, grinding her teeth. “If we die, Little Rain dies too. When the master perishes, the servant cannot live either!”

Ji Ning immediately felt a wave of disgust toward this purple-robed maiden, Qi Ruhui. Yet he also understood that since the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan had long known that ‘Qi Xiaoyu’ was blessed with karmic merit, they would certainly have bound her tightly to the clan. If the royal clan was destroyed, Qi Xiaoyu would likely die along with them.

Ji Ning closed his eyes.

The ship fell completely silent. Everyone watched Ji Ning, waiting for his answer.

The prince, Qi Rufeng, was anxious and hopeful. “This Senior Northward is so powerful; a hundred years should be nothing to him.” He had no idea that Ji Ning himself had lived only a few decades.

Silence!

The princes and princesses were all tense, and Qi Xiaoyu’s heart was also pounding with uncertainty.

Ji Ning suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Prince Qi Rufeng. “I agree… to protect you for one year, or to slay the Firewing Fiend King. As soon as I accomplish either, I will take Qi Xiaoyu and leave.”

“This is my answer. If you agree, then you will cede Qi Xiaoyu to me as a disciple. If you disagree, I will kill you all here and now, and take your royal clan’s treasures.”

“Agree, or disagree?” Ji Ning stared at Qi Rufeng.

“Senior, just a hundred years…” Prince Qi Rufeng couldn’t help but say.

“You need only tell me: agree, or disagree?” Ji Ning said coldly.

The three princes and princesses exchanged glances.

There was no path left to choose!

At the very least, this Daolord Darknorth could protect them for a year. Within that year, they might find a turning point.

“Fine.” Qi Rufeng nodded.

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

This was within his expectations. If he had given them nothing sweet at all, the other party would have truly preferred to die rather than submit. By offering a small sweetener, their desire to live would overwhelm them! Moreover, he had no intention of actually wasting a full year here. What he truly wanted was to go and slay the Firewing Fiend King himself!

Killing the Firewing Fiend King would also fulfill his promise.

“Will you release Qi Xiaoyu from her bonds?” Ji Ning looked at the prince.

Prince Qi Rufeng couldn’t help but say in a low voice, “Senior has given his promise, please issue a Heavenly Dao oath, so that we may be at ease.”

Ji Ning’s face darkened, and a burst of killing intent erupted. “It seems you wish to die!”

The constraints of a Heavenly Dao oath were too great. Thus, Immortal cultivators absolutely did not lightly issue such oaths.

The three princes and princesses could all see that Ji Ning had run out of patience. The prince was so frightened that he hurriedly said, “We believe in Senior’s promise.”

“Qi Xiaoyu, from this moment forward, you will obey Senior Northward’s orders. You have no further relation with the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan.” Qi Rufeng spoke.

Instantly, the ripples of the Heavenly Dao descended from the void.

It seemed that the Heavenly Dao oath Qi Xiaoyu had sworn all those years ago was now complete.

Qi Xiaoyu knelt down and said, “Your Highness’s great kindness, Xiaoyu will never forget for the rest of her life.”

Ji Ning sighed inwardly. This Qi Xiaoyu was truly loyal. However, from the past experiences Qi Xiaoyu had recounted, Ji Ning had already noticed some points of doubt. The tribe where Qi Xiaoyu had lived as a child was one of tens of thousands of people. It was rare for such a large tribe to be attacked by a great demon!

A Xiantian great demon would not be confident, and a great demon that had reached the Immortal cultivator level would not wish to attract great karmic sin.

And yet, the large tribe where Qi Xiaoyu had lived as a child had still been attacked, breaking apart in a rout. Even her loved ones had all died. Finally, she had happened to encounter a powerful expert of the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan.

Was that such a coincidence? The Qi Kingdom’s royal clan had been fleeing at the time. How could such a coincidence occur?

“Perhaps the destruction of the tribe where Qi Xiaoyu lived as a child was related to the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan,” Ji Ning mused to himself.

…

Qi Xiaoyu also knelt before Ji Ning. “Your Highness has given his orders. From today forward, Xiaoyu will naturally follow Senior’s instructions and do as Senior commands.”

“Remember, from today forward, you have regained your freedom. You are no longer a servant. Don’t always carry yourself like a slave.” Ji Ning looked at Qi Xiaoyu. “I have never taken a disciple before. If you enter my tutelage, you will naturally be my eldest disciple. This matter is important to you. It is also important to me. I have no desire to force you. If you are willing, then kowtow and become my disciple. If you are unwilling, I will send you to one of the Immortal cultivation sects. I believe they will be fighting over the chance to take you as a disciple.”

Ji Ning also had his pride.

He disdained to force the first disciple he took. The Tristar Crescent Great World was vast; he could simply go find another great karmic merit bearer.

Qi Xiaoyu was actually very intelligent. She could feel that His Highness the Prince had been rather indifferent to her. The Second Princess had been slightly better, but the Little Princess had actually despised her. In all the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan, the only one who had truly treated her well had been her master. Unfortunately, that master had died under the pursuit of the Firewing Guard.

As for the Ji Ning before her, Qi Xiaoyu could also sense that this ‘Senior Northward’ placed great importance on her. He had taken out a hundred Heaven-ranked flying swords right from the start, and was now even willing to protect the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan. One had to understand that protecting the royal clan was equivalent to becoming an enemy of the Firewing Guard.

All of this was for the sake of taking her as a disciple.

If she refused to become his disciple, Ji Ning would still have to fulfill his promise to protect the royal clan for a year.

From this, one could see that Ji Ning greatly respected her own wishes.

“Disciple greets Master.” The young maidservant immediately knelt down.

Ji Ning’s heart was filled with joy. He couldn’t help but smile and nod. “Good. From today forward, you are the eldest disciple under my tutelage, Ji Ning of Daolord Darknorth. I have only one requirement for my disciples: you must never be disobedient.”

“Disciple understands,” Qi Xiaoyu said respectfully.

“Follow me inside.” Ji Ning immediately headed toward the second level of the ship’s cabin, while instructing, “Qi Rufeng, the three of you can go to the cabin and rest. On my ship, I will naturally protect your safety. You need not worry.”

Qi Xiaoyu obediently followed Ji Ning into the second-level cabin.

While Ji Ning was accepting his eldest disciple, in a city hundreds of thousands of li away.

Within a vast palace.

The palace was so large that sunlight could scarcely reach its interior. In a dark hall, a tall, thin man with skin that seemed tinged red, clad in a black robe, was frowning in thought.

“Third Brother.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Another tall, thin man walked in. He wore a suit of green armor, and his eyes were as fierce as an eagle’s, filled with a brutal killing intent.

“Seventh Brother.” The black-robed, tall, thin man nodded slightly. “You’ve arrived.”

“You, the Firewing Fiend King, are living a life of leisure and pleasure. What caused you to suddenly summon so many brothers?” The green-armored, eagle-eyed man asked.

“Naturally, it’s for a great benefit.” The Firewing Fiend King said. “Seventh Brother, you are the first to arrive, so I will tell you first. Do you know why I expended so much effort back then to destroy the Qi Kingdom?”

The green-armored, eagle-eyed man asked doubtfully, “You said you destroyed the Qi Kingdom because you felt your territory was too small and wanted to take a bigger piece of land. Was that not it? Could it be different? Could it really be like the legends say, that the Qi Kingdom’s emperor had a treasure trove? Haha… I don’t believe in any treasure trove. To the likes of us, even treasures left behind by a Celestial Immortal are nothing to get excited over.”

“There truly is a treasure trove.” The Firewing Fiend King said solemnly.

“Oh?” The green-armored, eagle-eyed man was startled.

“It was precisely because I learned that the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan possessed a great treasure trove that I made my move,” the Firewing Fiend King said. “Whether through soul-scouring or torture, I did everything I could, and finally learned from the old fellows of the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan that their founding emperor had indeed once discovered a treasure trove. He was just too weak; he only obtained a tiny fraction of the treasure trove’s contents. There were cultivation techniques, divine abilities, secret arts, and so on. Relying on just these techniques and arts, the Qi clan rose up rapidly, established a kingdom, and even expanded, occupying millions of li of territory in just tens of thousands of years.”

The green-armored, eagle-eyed man was shocked.

“Over the course of tens of thousands of years, the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan made several trips to that treasure trove site, but they could never penetrate deep inside the treasure trove.” The Firewing Fiend King said. “After I investigated and learned of this treasure trove, I also went twice. The first time, I returned empty-handed. The second time, I was fully prepared and tried to force my way in, but I was trapped inside for over twenty years, nearly losing my life. I only managed to escape with great difficulty recently!”

“What!” The green-armored, eagle-eyed man was astounded.

He knew very well how powerful the Firewing Fiend King was.

There were many great powers in the Star Continent. The ‘Twelve Fiend Kings of the Eastern Stream’ were among the most famous. Each possessed heaven-shaking might and occupied vast territories. The Firewing Fiend King was one of these ‘Twelve Fiend Kings of the Eastern Stream’. He was extremely powerful, which was why he had been able to destroy the Qi Kingdom.

“The treasure trove location is incredibly dangerous,” the Firewing Fiend King said, shaking his head. “The outermost treasures were taken by the Qi Kingdom’s founding emperor, but those aren’t enough to move me. Deeper inside, there are even more powerful treasures. The very ripples of those treasures… make even my heart tremble.”

“They make your heart tremble?” The green-armored, eagle-eyed man also became interested.

“This treasure trove is mysterious beyond compare. I’ve always wanted to know what’s inside, but by myself, I simply can’t do it. That’s why I’ve invited all my brothers to join forces. With the twelve of us Fiend Kings working together, I believe we have a chance to enter the depths of that treasure trove,” the Firewing Fiend King said.

The green-armored, eagle-eyed man nodded slightly.

As the two Fiend Kings were conversing, a figure appeared outside the hall: “Great King, your subordinate has an urgent report from the Firewing Guard.”

“Oh?” The Firewing Fiend King glanced outside and nodded. “Enter.”

A tall, thin old man with a long neck and downy fuzz on his face walked in. He glanced at the green-armored, eagle-eyed man beside them.

“Speak. There is nothing that needs to be hidden from the Seventh Brother,” the Firewing Fiend King said.

“Yes.” The long-necked old man said respectfully, “The Great King ordered the pursuit of the Qi Kingdom’s remnants. Now, only three princes and princesses remain, the strongest only a Wanxiang Adept. However, just now, one of the ten or so squads sent by the Firewing Guard on the hunt was completely annihilated. Their jade slips all shattered. The location of their deaths is roughly six hundred thousand li from here…”

“Oh?” The Firewing Fiend King frowned.

This was not right.

This territory was ruled by him, the Firewing Fiend King. The demonic beasts all obeyed his orders, and the human Immortal cultivators had long been driven away by him. In his own territory, logically speaking, no one should have dared to touch the Firewing Guard.

“Your subordinate speculates that the Qi Kingdom’s remnants…” the long-necked old man began.

The Firewing Fiend King interrupted directly, frowning as he barked, “Make the arrangements. Dispatch three Firewing squads to investigate this matter. Could it be that the Qi Kingdom’s remnants still have some secret I do not know about?”

“Yes.” The long-necked old man immediately acknowledged the order and withdrew.

…

Soon, led by three demonic Loose Immortals, three squads of the Firewing Guard directly teleported away from the Qi Kingdom’s capital city, heading off to investigate this matter.