Lian began climbing the stairs upward. As usual, people pointed and whispered as he passed.
Had it been any other time, he would have felt proud, finally receiving recognition. But now, that recognition felt more like a burden than a gift.
Making his way past the Sword Garden, he moved beyond the normal disciple quarters, walking through a narrow, unbricked road; it was just soil and patches of grass here and there compared to the rest of the Sect. It was just unbecoming of a great sect. Soon, it finally came into view.
"It's really hard to believe he lives here…"
Before him stood an old, shabby hut. In front of the door was a small garden filled with simple flowers, and sitting lazily on the porch was Bo. He was drinking, relaxed as ever. When his eyes met Lian's, he smiled faintly.
Before Lian could even speak, something inside his Spirit Book began to rattle violently.
His expression changed. He quickly searched for the source.
"It's coming from this ring…" he thought, inspecting it closely.
The ring suddenly leapt from his hand, spinning wildly in the air.
"Shit— it's about to explode!"
He tried to throw it away, but before he could, his body lifted off the ground.
Bo had raised a single finger lazily.
The ring slipped free, and Bo flicked it upward, emptying it midair. Only one thing fell to the ground: a magic beast egg.
Bo stared at it, then glanced at Lian.
"Who in their right mind leaves a magic beast inside a storage ring?" he scoffed.
"You might as well carry a live bomb around."
Lian stiffened.
"Shit… with everything that happened, I completely forgot about the egg."
It had changed colour. The shell was now pure white, no different from an ordinary chicken egg save for the size.
"Whoa… that's no regular beast," Bo thought. "Even unhatched, I get a sense of fear when I try to inspect it."
His gaze sharpened.
"I knew it. This kid really is something else. I even had that old hag Bai Luo divine his fate—and she came up with nothing."
Bo turned serious.
"If you let it absorb heavenly Qi on its own without lacing it with your own, then the moment it hatches, you'll be the first to die."
He gently lowered Lian back to the ground and handed him the egg. Lian caught it, staring at Bo in shock.
"What are you waiting for?" Bo snapped.
"Send it your Qi so it stops rattling."
Lian closed his eyes and slowly sent his Qi into the egg.
Immediately, he felt a terrifying suction, like a bottomless pit dragging his energy away.
"What the hell is this…?" he thought, gritting his teeth as he struggled to hold on.
In mere moments, more than a quarter of his Qi was gone.
Then, moments later, another chunk vanished.
"It really has quite the appetite, huh…" Bo muttered, taking another drink.
Finally, after more than half of Lian's Qi had been drained, the egg stopped rattling and slowly calmed down.
"Finally…" Lian thought, hastily returning it to his Spirit Book.
"Thank you for the advice," Lian said, bowing deeply.
But Bo was already beside him.
He raised his hands, gripping Lian's arms and shoulders, and inspected him from head to toe with narrowed eyes.
"Hehehe… just like I thought," Bo chuckled.
"You have tremendous Qi, perhaps the greatest below Martial Sovereign. You've opened your Mind's Eye, and you possess a false martial intent from splitting your will so many ways…"
He circled Lian, eyes sharp and assessing.
"But your body?" He snorted.
"It's a total mess. It can't keep up with everything happening inside you."
Bo stopped behind him.
"And you failed to call your blade back, huh…"
Lian stood there, completely overwhelmed, unable to speak.
"I thought you could at least retrieve it," Bo continued.
"It's already developed its own ego, and you're in the Sword Unity Realm—but you can't get fat with one mouthful."
He sighed, shaking his head.
"You have talent, but your foundation is rotten. Even your martial arts are holding you back."
Bo paused.
The drunken slur vanished from his voice.
His eyes sharpened as he looked directly at Lian.
"I heard you earned three hundred contribution points," Bo said slowly as he sat down.
"That's more than most disciples earn in three years. That means you now have three years more time than your peers."
He leaned forward.
"I want you to make a choice. Right now. And once you choose, there's no going back."
The usual friendliness was gone; his voice was stern, absolute.
"For the next three years, you either train with me, listen to everything I say, do exactly as I tell you, and never question it…"
"…or you go back and train with everyone else. With those credits, you might have a chance to leave this place someday if you want to."
His gaze locked onto Lian's.
"What the hell is he asking me?" Lian thought.
"Is this some kind of trap…?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Of course I'll train with you," Lian said firmly.
"Hehehe… are you sure?" Bo's words stretched unnaturally.
"This version of him gives me the shivers."
"I'm sure," he replied, brows furrowing.
"Hahaha! That's a great choice," Bo laughed.
"Had you chosen anything else, I would've killed you. Now drink this."
He shoved his gourd into Lian's hands.
"…Kill me?" Lian turned slowly, staring at Bo, who was far too casual about it.
"Yeah, about that," Bo said, scratching his head.
"Most people here don't realize it, but you'll be a serious problem in the future. If you'd chosen anyone other than me, I'd have killed you on the spot to save my self the trouble."
He waved a hand impatiently.
"No hurry—drink. Stop asking useless questions."
"Useless questions?" Lian thought.
"He just talked about killing me like it was nothing. What the hell is wrong with this man…"
"Well… thanks for your honesty, at least," Lian muttered.
He took a gulp from the gourd.
The moment the liquid touched his lips, a cold sensation washed through his body. His vision blurred almost instantly.
"Good," Bo said calmly.
"Three years isn't enough to get your body where it needs to be, so we'll be taking shortcuts."
A smile crept across his face.
"You'll have to bear the pain though, some have gone mad from it."
Lian collapsed to the ground.
Bo stepped forward, retrieved his gourd, and took another drink.
"Tch… it's all gone, huh," he muttered.
Grabbing Lian by the leg, Bo began dragging him away.