Jian Ning's emotions suddenly fluctuated, though he did his best to hide them.
Even though Jian Ning wanted to check the status of the middle-aged man who had just appeared before him, he knew very well that it would be futile.
Instead, he opened his mouth and then knelt three times before him.
"The disciple greets the master," he said without any hesitation, as he had clearly heard Ling's words. If this person's acceptance of him as a disciple was the result of the awakening of his innate luck, it was best to accept it immediately.
And more importantly, Jian Ning could vaguely sense that this middle-aged man was infinitely more powerful than the two elders of the Lingyun sect.
"Oh! You accepted me as your master without any hesitation?" The middle-aged man's eyes showed a hint of surprise. He had done his best to conceal his presence, and in fact, if he had not spoken, no one would have noticed him.
But this child in front of him immediately took him as his master, and there was only one explanation for it.
'Did his instinct guide him to respond so quickly and with so little hesitation? This shows that our destinies are closely linked. Otherwise, how would I have ended up on this mission in the weakest continent of the Xuanwu landmass, which is extremely weak and backward?' the middle-aged man thought, affectionately stroking his beard.
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he was right. Of course, this middle-aged man had several reasons to think so, such as Jian Ning's monstrous talent which clearly shouldn't have been born in such a small landmass, the weakest of the five that constitute it.
Moreover, the fact that he was the only person with a sufficient cultivation base in the Blood Sword Pavilion to take on this mandatory mission was also a reason.
While the middle-aged man was lost in his thoughts for a few seconds, Jian Ning and the two elders were also deep in thought.
Jian Ning was just waiting for his new master's next words, thinking about his identity and trying to deduce his cultivation base.
On their side, the two elders were thinking about how to please this mysterious elder who had been in their sect for already five years.
Their reflections were quickly interrupted by the middle-aged man.
"My full name is Wen Tong. You can call me master, or Master Wen. From now on, you will have the cultivation resources equivalent to those of the sect's base disciples, and I will personally teach you cultivation," Wen Tong announced.
"Come, follow me. From now on, you will live with me in a courtyard near the sect's library. You can also choose from five basic profound rank martial techniques and one mid profound rank technique, the most powerful one available in the sect, while I will personally teach you the cultivation technique," Wen Tong said as he started walking towards the library, in a cheerful and joyful tone, caressing his beard.
Jian Ning didn't waste any time and quickly followed, listening to everything his master was saying and recounting, with a hint of excitement in his heart.
An excitement he had long forgotten in his previous life.
[Ding, Jian Mei is extremely jealous of you to the point of feeling a bit of hatred towards you, +10 luck points]
[Ding, Fu Hui is extremely jealous of you, +50 luck points, +500 W.E]
[Ding, Jian Shi is extremely jealous of you, +100 luck points, +10,000 W.E]
[Ding, you have taken too many luck points from Jian Shi, causing his luck level to downgrade, star rank luck → king rank luck, cutting off his cultivation path, +100 luck points, +1,000 W.E]
[Ding, due to the fall in Jian Shi's luck level, several ties with others fortunate sons have been cut off, as well as several future fortunate encounters, +200 luck points, +100,000 W.E]
Jian Ning was astonished by the sudden symphony Ling proposed, but he didn't lose his concentration and continued to listen attentively to his master.
'I'll look into that later, let's focus on the present moment,' Jian Ning told himself, continuing to follow his master's steps while he explained the sect's rules.
"The sect's rules are very simple, you can easily memorize them. Although those grumpy old sect elders say it is forbidden to break them, as a disciple of this rank, you can break them if you find it necessary," Wen Tong said as he continued walking.
A drop of sweat ran down Jian Ning's forehead.
Shouldn't teachers encourage their students to respect the rules and forbid them from breaking them?
"In the sect, disciples are classified as outer disciples, inner disciples, core disciples, and the disciples of elders. The resources obtained by the disciples of elders depend on their talent, so they can receive the same resources as outer disciples or more generous resources than core disciples," Wen Tong explained nonchalantly, as if everything he was talking about did not interest or concern him.
"Then you should also know that there is ..."
"And also ..."
Jian Ning's master didn't stop talking, describing the sect and the surrounding forces, giving Jian Ning a brief course in geography and geopolitics of the area.
'Fortunately, I researched the conflicts between the main powers on this continent, otherwise, I would have appeared ignorant before my disciple,' Wen Tong thought, thanking his professionalism towards his work.
If he didn't have his mission, Wen Tong would surely never have bothered to learn more about the continent's geopolitics.
And he would never have come to such a desolate place.
-----------
Soon, Jian Ning and his master arrived at a beautiful and spacious courtyard behind the sect's library.
"Alright! As master and disciple, we must perform the disciple acceptance tradition. However, we can only do it between ourselves, not in front of many guests, as no one on this continent has the honor to be invited by me. So, you must wait a little while," Wen Tong said seriously, prompting Jian Ning to quickly grasp some implications.
The first is that his master is certainly not from this continent, evidenced by his use of 'this continent,' showing that he is not a native and even looks down on the continent's 'strong.'
Secondly, Jian Ning concluded that his master belongs to another power outside this continent because he said they would 'wait a little while' before performing the disciple acceptance tradition. The tradition requires it to be done within the force to which the master belongs, or in the presence of several friends and close associates of the master.
Since Wen Tong humorously said 'a little while,' it is clear that he intends to perform the disciple acceptance tradition within the powerful force he belongs to.
'It seems like I've really hit the jackpot with this master,' Jian Ning thought, a small smile appearing on his face.
"But for now, we will simply make the Heaven's Oath," Wen Tong said simply.
At the mention of 'Heaven's Oath,' Jian Ning's eyes lit up. He had also wanted to make the oath but couldn't ask his master as it would be disrespectful.
The Heaven's Oath between a master and a disciple involves swearing in the name of heaven never to betray each other, among other stipulations decided by those taking the oath.
The beauty of this oath is that it is entirely objective and does not depend on the users' power, as it is governed by the Heavenly Dao. Even the world's greatest powers avoid making a Heaven's Oath lightly.
"Then I'll start," Wen Tong chuckled before beginning.
"In the name of Heaven and Earth! I, Wen Tong, swear as Jian Ning's master, child of the Jian family, that I will never harm him and will do my utmost to protect him and let him grow in the best conditions to enhance his future. I will ensure to teach him everything within my knowledge to make him stronger and let his talent shine," Wen Tong announced in a deep, serious voice, contrary to his usual tone.
Hearing his master's oath, Jian Ning's heart couldn't help but stir.
Masters rarely make such grand oaths. In fact, it's rare for a master to make a Heaven's Oath at all, and they usually don't swear any oath, or at most, a Devil's Heart Oath.
'Perhaps this is also part of my luck,' Jian Ning thought, realizing how crucial luck was.
Jian Ning didn't delay and quickly started his oath.
"In the name of Heaven and Earth! I, Jian Ning, child of the Jian family, swear as a disciple of Wen Tong to never betray him, to take all his knowledge and make it shine across the world. I will do everything to maintain filial piety and never disappoint him!" Jian Ning swore in a deep and loud voice, to his master's great satisfaction.
"Good, now that this is done, we can move on to serious matters. I will teach you a cultivation technique to help accelerate your body's awakening, and then I will explain more about cultivation, the world itself, artistic concepts, and the Dao heart," Wen Tong pronounced slowly, with a serious face showing hints of satisfaction.