"Gandalf? Who is Gandalf? If it's someone's name then it's really strange. A foreign name maybe? Who knows how big the universe actually is?" The old man ran his thin fingers down his long beard as a mysterious grin formed on his mouth.
'What kind of intuition is that? This old timer is dangerous. He looks weak and thin as if he can easily be swept by a simple blow of the wind but the hidden power within him… feels me with the thought of running far away from him while at the same time, I want to clash with him.' Zhao Wei evaluated the strange old man, his eyes never leaving his figure even though he wasn't making any unnecessary movements.
"Oh, you must be curious about my identity, boy?" The mysterious old man chuckled.
"Many call me the Grandmaster as you might have heard from little Dao. I am… him!"
Zhao Wei masked his expression since he already had some guesses about the old man's identity.
"Boy, aren't you a special one? Your eyes and body don't reflect your true self. What is your true age?" The mysterious old man casually asked a question that immediately caught Zhao Wei off guard, freezing his thought process for a second.
"What makes you think so?" Zhao Wei recovered from the shock with a serene smile forming on his lips.
"Hoho, answering a question with a question. It doesn't matter if you tell me or not. I was just playing with ya."
"The eyes are the windows to the soul and someone like me who has trained his eyes to the limit and has considerable experience when it comes to the ways of the universe, I can spot something out of place with just a glance." The mysterious old man spoke nonchalantly as he unhurriedly walked towards the fallen Mu Dao.
Zhao Wei who was two meters away didn't budge from his position, his eyes monitoring every action of this stranger.
"Pitiful kid, it's your bad luck that you met a monster that devours helpless and weak prey like you effortlessly." The mysterious old man then closed Mu Dao's eyes which were still opened up - carrying with them the same indignation and hopelessness they had before he suicided.
"For a proud, hard-headed man like him to kill himself, comes to really show how his opponent was a terrifying genius who overpowered in every angle. The despair though…" The old man then smiled at Zhao Wei. There wasn't warmth or familiarity. It was just a smile. A meaningless smile.
"The cycle of suffering and death is something that all beings in the cultivation world must all face one day. That man just faced his early on." Zhao Wei commented lightly.
"Haha, that's a brilliant way of seeing through the truth of the universe." The old man ran his hand up and down the normal-looking spear's shaft as a deep laughter emanated off his chest.
"Kid, you can call me Daoist Inverted Spear or Old Man Chu." The old man introduced himself to Zhao Wei.
'Daoist Inverted Spear? Old man Chu? Never heard of those names.' Zhao Wei arched his eyebrow in surprise and stifled his frown.
'The old man may be fabricating names and lying straight to my face but surprisingly, I see no signs of deceit in his micro-expressions and his heartbeat remains calm and steady ' Zhao Wei instantly analyzed, measuring up the old man's motives.
"I am Feng Jiu Ge, or you can call me Reckless Savage." Zhao Wei introduced himself with forthrightness and the confidence of someone who could face anything. He didn't feel guilty for even borrowing the name of that Sound Path guy. At least he knew how to fabricate names, unlike Han Jue's poor naming sense.
"Reckless Savage? Reckless Savage? What a name. I suppose it portrays your inner nature, kid. It's really good to be young. Ah, youth…" Old Man Chu began to pound the spear's end against the ground as he showed a face full of reminiscence.
The two hadn't shown any hostility toward each other… yet.
They were slowly taking their time chatting and getting to know each other on a basic level.
"If you are the Grandmaster, then I suppose you are the final boss of the bandits, eh Old Man Chu? You are here for revenge, right?" Zhao Wei casually asked while his senses were pushed to the limits, covering every little sound within the radius they were in.
"Revenge? How useless. Do you think I would even bother? If It was just for an act of petty revenge, I wouldn't have come here, kid." Old man Chu's expression turned sour for the first time.
"That stone in your hand led me here." Old Man Chu pointed his bony finger toward Zhao Wei's right hand.
Zhao Wei had that 'face', urging him to explain everything and be done with it.
"That's an array opening stone I specifically made for little Dao to use when he wanted to look for me."
Zhao Wei's silver eyes twinkled before his expression morphed into a serious one.
'Array? Never expected that. But wait… something's not right? The bad premonition that I had been feeling…!'
"We are currently inside a camouflaging array, making us invisible and cut off completely from the surroundings." Old man Chu nonchalantly explained.
'I was trapped inside an array without even knowing it. Was the array set up beforehand or did the old man predict the possibility of someone passing through this path? I am really in trouble. I have met the first anomaly and variable that I wouldn't have anticipated.' Zhao Wei released a sigh.
"I presume you don't want me to run away, Old Man Chu." He then stated the obvious.
"Haha, you have good discerning eyes. You see, the reason I have always liked to set up this sealing array whenever I fight with worthy opponents is because at the end of it all… they always try to escape. And, I-I don't want that. It always steals away the fun!" Old man Chu spoke loudly with a crazy light radiating off his old eyes.
"My boy, don't you think a fight should always have a clear end?" Old Man Chu directed a question toward Zhao Wei as he traced the edges of the inverted tip of the spearhead.
The aura of the Peak Ninth Rank Realm slowly began to flow out of his emaciated form. An aura even stronger than that of Ye Lingyun and the Third Guard!
Zhao Wei remained silent for a moment as he faced his very first crisis.
He had never fought an Eighth Rank Martial Master, much less a Ninth Ranked in his entire life.
And the old bones in front of him seemed to be an elite among elites.
There was even something otherworldly about him that Zhao Wei couldn't put a finger on.
"I have never slayed a Peak Ninth Ranker, you old fossil."
"It wouldn't be bad if you served as my first. I promise to be gentle!" Zhao Wei erupted with a burst of crazy laughter - laughter filled with the resolution for the inevitable.
His silver eyes were brimming with bloodlust, an utter urge for destruction and annihilation.
"Were you never thought to respect your elders, eh boy?" Old man Chu also laughed crazily, boundless killing intent radiating off him.
A clash between two monsters was about to begin!
Will Zhao Wei succumb to Old Man Chu's Inverted Spear or will he find a way to escape the sealing array?!
***
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