Senior Wudi
"Is there anything you can give me that can balance out this extreme disparity of risk to reward?" Matthew asked as he tried to surprise the vein that was bulging on his forehead.
Not only had he gained three enemies for nothing, but they were also the three strongest individuals in the entire goddamn universe! Could his luck be any worse?
"Of course, brat! You get the teachings of the true Lord of the Universe! And the myriad of cultivation techniques I also owned." The old man spoke proudly.
"But I only have a time limit of 5000 years! So how the hell do I get strong enough to contest with the three Universe Lords in that short of a time?" Matthew asked angrily.
The more Matthew thought about the situation he was in, the angrier he got. At this point, he was wondering if this rebirth was worth it.
"You, with your meager Divine Level talent, were able to reach the Divine Lord Realm in only 5000 years. And with your knowledge of the future timeline, even reaching the World King Realm wouldn't be a problem in that same amount of time. But with my help! 5000 years is just about enough time to become a Universe Lord." The old man bragged.
After the old man said that, most of the remaining hostility in Matthew dissipated. Now that he and the old man were stuck together, they might as well help each other.
"Alright, I agree! So when are you going to give me the top-class cultivation technique?" Matthew asked.
"I don't give out anything to anyone who isn't my disciple." The old man spoke plainly.
Matthew knew what he meant, went over, and kowtowed at the foot of the throne before shouting, "Disciple Matthew greets Master!"
"Good! Now, bring your siblings in here, too." The old man spoke out.
Matthew was confused by the sudden order, but he found himself back in the backyard before he could question it. Whether it was on purpose or coincidentally, John and Joanne came through the sliding doors and to Matthew's side.
"Matthew, how the heck did you get clean?" John asked as he noticed his brother cleansed of all the impurities.
Apparently, sometime during the encounter with the old man, Matthew was cleaned of all the impurities. And not knowing how to explain it himself, Matthew just motioned for the two to come close.
Though the twins were confused, they obeyed, as it didn't do anything to them. As they got close, Matthew put a hand on each of their shoulders before willing himself to enter the Nine-Ringed Divine Throne.
And instantly, Matthew was back in the throne room, but he had his siblings in tow this time. Inside, Matthew was going to call out for the old man to appear, but even without saying anything, the old man manifested in front of him.
"These kids are even more talented than you, brat! They can become my disciples, too. Hurry, brat, get them to kowtow to me." The old man spoke casually as he scanned John and Joanne.
Feeling the same emotions that Matthew felt when he first teleported in, John hid behind Matthew, seeking protection from the oddly dressed old man.
However, unlike the scared John, Joanne's eyes were wide open, and she looked around amazed.
"Mat, you have one of those spatial treasures! And there is even a pocket grandpa! You're like a real protagonist." Joanne asked with shock as she looked back at the old man.
"Brat, this girl is weird, ain't she? Why does she know so much, even in this Primeval World?" The old man asked suspiciously as he raised an eyebrow.
Grabbing the ball of curiosity and pulling her behind him, Matthew replied, "The Ancient Cultivators on my planet seemed to have left novels on our planet from before they left. That's my guess, at least. I'll show you one later. I haven't seen them myself yet, either."
Nodding, The old man looked over at John hiding behind Matthew and spoke, "Brat, that boy behind you needs to grow a pair. His sister is even braver than him."
"If you were in my situation, you'd also be a little cautious!" John yelled out as he defended himself.
Not bothering to argue with a child, The old man looked over at Matthew and said, "Brat, do you want to explain to them who I am, or do you want to let me do it?"
Though Matthew wanted to do it himself, the old man seemed to have the ability to lead a room, so Matthew let him explain himself.
At the end of his long, climactic story, John and Joanne were more than willing to accept him as their master, and after they kowtowed, Matthew finally spoke up.
"Old man, what do I call you? I don't think I should call you the Universe Lord anymore, and calling you old man all the time seems a little disrespectful." Matthew asked.
"Call me Master, as the two kids did. You did kowtow to me after all." The old man spoke rudely.
But Matthew shook his head and said, "No, they are genuinely going to stay by your side and learn from you as a disciple, but I am going to be outside doing the grunt work. So though you are technically my master, if anything, our relationship is more of a partnership."
"Tch! Fair point. Call me Senior Wudi!" Senior Wudi spoke after a moment of thought.
Ignoring the name filled with arrogance, Matthew asked, "Senior Wudi, so know that we are your disciples. What's next?"
"Brat, show me your Qi cultivation technique." Even in the previous timeline, it was something special. I want to see if I can refine it to be suitable for becoming a Universe Lord." Senior Wudi ordered.
"Senior Wudi, how do I show it to you? I don't have anything to write on top of. Moreover, I don't have spiritual sense yet, so I can't project it." Matthew replied, confused.
"Just think about it. I can read your mind very well." Senior Wudi answered.
Though hearing that Senior Wudi could read his mind did creep Matthew out, he had already expected that the old man had such an ability. So, focusing his mind, Matthew recalled his original cultivation technique.
Since, in his previous timeline, Matthew was never able to get an advanced cultivation technique, he decided to make one himself. He called it the 'Universal Creation Scripture' and based it on the Earth's astrology.
However, at the cost of making something belong to him, it also slowed down Matthew's cultivation speed by a level, as since he was the creator, he had to continue building on it.
Whenever he reached the cultivation technique's limit, he would have to add another level for the next realm, completely halting his cultivation journey until he did so.
Reading the mind of Matthew, Senior Wudi was impressed by the cultivation technique. Though it had obvious flaws during the beginner cultivation realms, it wasn't because of Matthew's purposeful mistakes but because of ignorance.
The knowledge Matthew had about those realms was flawed to begin with. So, if anything, if Matthew's cultivation technique were perfect, that would be odd.
"I will perfect this, but it will take me a little. In the meantime, take this and open your dantian." Senior Wudi spoke as he passed a tube filled with gray gas over to Matthew.
Though Matthew was confused, he still took the small, thin tube and looked at it. But even after looking at it for long enough, he couldn't tell what it was. But one thing was odd about it, as though it were only a small test tube-sized tube. It weighed almost as much as the couch he picked up.
If he didn't have good reflexes, Matthew would've dropped it.
"Senior Wudi, what is this thing?" Matthew asked after he eventually gave up on guessing what it was.
John and Joanne were also curious and looked at the tube.
"Weren't you planning on suppressing your breakthrough until you get a suitable strand of Spiritual Qi? So I gave you one." Senior Wudi answered simply.
"I don't know any type of Spiritual Qi that is this odd gray color, though. Which one is it?" Matthew asked curiously.
There were an infinite number of types of Spiritual Qi in the universe, but even with so many different types in his mind, Matthew couldn't correlate one to the bottle in his hand.
"Chaos Qi! I only had three at the beginning. And after I took one and gave one of my bastard disciples another, I am left with this one. So take it and open your dantian with it." Senior Wudi explained.
Stunned at the priceless gift, Matthew almost dropped the tube.
"You… What are you plotting by giving me this?" Matthew asked.
"Of the three of you, John has the highest affinity with the Creation Dao, Joanne with the World Dao, and you with Chaos Qi. My goal is simple, as you can assume. I want you three to kill and take over the positions of my disciples." Senior Wudi explained.
"Then what about you? Do you not want the position of Universe Lord back?" Matthew asked confusedly.
He had assumed that the old man was raising him as a hired gun, and after Matthew completed the job, they would go their separate ways. But now it seemed like they were really being treated as his heirs.
"Matthew, I gained many things when I was the Universe Lord, but I also had to lose things to keep control of my position. And I don't wish to sit back on that cold, heartless throne. It takes morality away from a man." Senior Wudi spoke seriously.
"Then why the hell do you want to force the burden onto my siblings and me?" Matthew retorted.
"I never expected you to actually take over the position. It's merely a hope of mine. I know how much it hurts someone's consciousness to sit on it more than anyone else. So I would never force it on you three." Senior Wudi explained.
"So you plan to give the World Qi and Creation Qi strands to them as well?" Matthew asked.
Not having anything to hide, Senior Wudi nodded.
"But I don't wish to bring them into this. I want them to live peaceful, long-lasting lives. Not be burdened with this grudge of yours. Can't I do as you did and comprehend all three Origin Daos?" Matthew spoke seriously.
"Impossible. You don't have the same amount of time or the same level of talent as mine. I had Origin Level Talent in all three cultivation types and was born with an Innate Dao physique. However, your physique only helps you comprehend the Spacetime Dao. In contrast, mine helps with every dao in existence. So, our situations aren't comparable. And even with my talent, it took me nearly three times as long as we have to reach the Universe Lord Realm." Senior Wudi immediately refused.
Though Joanne didn't know exactly what they were arguing about, she had a faint clue and spoke up after she gathered her thoughts.
"Um, Master, can't you give Mat a clone or avatar technique so he can comprehend all three 'Origin Daos' simultaneously?" Joanne asked on the side.
However, already thinking of that, Senior Wudi shook his head.
"I already thought of that girlie. Even if I give him an avatar technique, he still needs to create the physical bodies for them. And the physical bodies he creates would most likely have poor Dao affinity. The reason why I am having you two join this plan is because of your affinities with the three Origin Daos. Giving that advantage up for some clones would be counterintuitive.
"However, I must say, for a Primeval World, you three are extremely bizarre. Three siblings with talents at the peak of the universe Your parents must've had excellent genes." Senior Wudi clicked his tongue in wonder.
"They're dead, Old Fart. Don't bring them up." Matthew spoke rudely as his face became emotionless.
John and Joanne, too, lost their cheer and looked downcast as they remembered.
"Bah! Death is just another state of being at my level. Reach the World King Realm, and you can resurrect them. Don't look so sad, you two." Senior Wudi yelled out as he saw them all look saddened.
""Wait, Really!"" Both John and Joanne looked extremely excited when they heard they could resurrect their parents.
"I wouldn't lie to a bunch of children. But Matthew can't help with it. Your Creation Dao and World Dao are needed to do so. Only you two can do it." Senior Wudi explained patiently.
Apparently, the old man liked the children much more than Matthew. He even spoke nicely to them.
Ignoring Matthew, Senior Wudi then started to explain the extremely long and detailed process of how to resurrect a person with their memories intact.
Sensing he wasn't needed anymore, Matthew walked away and decided to open up his dantian.
So, sitting down on the mat, Matthew opened the tube, absorbed the strand of Chaotic Qi, and started cultivating.
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