The Portal of Wonderland

“Did you find a new potential disciple with magic skills in our Sect?” ‘Master Xie’ shot a glance at Shi Mu who stood behind the grey-robed man. Then, he asked lightly.

The grey-robed man shared the details of Shi Mu’s element induction-force. He also told Master Xie that Shi Mu had attained five degrees in spatial-sensing, two degrees in fire-sensing and one degree in water-sensing.

“Oh… he hit five degrees in spatial-sensing?” The Confucian scholar’s eyes flashed and a surprised look appeared on his face. He sized Shi Mu up a few times.

Shi Mu felt a chill in his heart; he lowered his head and didn’t dare to look up.

The long-bearded man’s gaze looked cold. However, it possessed an unusual force that could see through one’s body.

“What’s your name?” the long-bearded man asked after a while.

“Master Xie, this disciple’s name is Shi Mu,” Shi Mu replied respectfully.

“Induction-force at five degrees is quite rare. It’s a pity that you’ve induced five degrees in spatial-sensing. You must know that there has never been a spatial magician in our Sect… since its inception. So, it may be a little difficult to teach you. In fact, I’m feeling a little embarrassed…” the long-bearded man nodded as he said; there was a hesitant look on his face.

Shi Mu started to feel anxious as he heard this.

“Well… I give you two choices. The first one is based on your status as an ordinary magician practitioner. You may receive one magic resource as per our Sect’s regulation. But, no preferential treatment will be given to you,” the long-bearded man said after he had pondered for a while.

Shi Mu’s complexion changed as he heard the first option. However, he remained silent and waited for the long-bearded man to tell him the second option.

“The second option is that you will have to sign a magic contract… pledging to never leave the Black Demon Sect. Only then, I – the Star Grade Magician – will personally guide you in learning magic. Moreover, our Sect will provide you more resources than any ordinary magician practitioner. If your perception is good enough… then I can even consider making you my successor in the future,” the long-bearded man continued.

The grey-robed man was astonished as he heard this. He turned and looked at Shi Mu.

“If choosing the second option confines me to this Sect… then I would rather choose the first one.” Shi Mu pondered for a while. Then, he spoke without any hesitation.

The long-bearded man’s second offer seemed quite tempting. However, Shi Mu was unwilling to consider it because of its natural flaw – to sacrifice his freedom and get confined to the Black Demon Sect for the rest of his life.

What was the use of attaining formidable power if he couldn’t even enjoy his freedom?

The long-bearded man’s eyes moved; they were expressionless. He nodded and raised his hand in the direction of the stone wall. A cloud of white smoke emerged from the wall and condensed into a palm-sized circular jade ornament. Then, it flew and stopped in front of Shi Mu.

“Put a drop of your blood on it,” the long-bearded man said.

Shi Mu hesitated for a moment. But then, he cut his finger and dripped a drop of his blood on the jade ornament.

The long-bearded man pointed his finger; a beam of light shot out of it. The light-beam integrated into the jade ornament.

Suddenly, the jade ornament radiated a white light; a faint trace of red light was flowing within it. Then, some obscure characters emerged and started to swirl within the light.

A beam of red light projected from the center of the jade ornament; the red light then fused with the green stone wall.

Then, a new light-dot appeared among the hundred light-dots twinkling on the bottom of the wall.

The white light in the jade ornament faded as a luminous dot appeared on its surface. This dot started to tinkle correspondingly with the new light-dot that had emerged on the wall. Then, two small red words emerged on the surface of the jade ornament; it was Shi Mu’s name.

There was a red pattern on the other side of the jade ornament. This pattern comprised of several magic characters; it looked like a lotus flower in full bloom.

“This is your identity card as a magician in our Sect. Don’t lose it at any cost. You’ll be recognized as a magician practitioner of this Sect from now on.” The long-bearded man retracted his finger. Then, he looked at Shi Mu and spoke.

“Yes… this disciple will always keep this in mind,” Shi Mu held the jade ornament with both hands and replied respectfully.

The long-bearded man nodded. Then, he turned his gaze towards the grey-robed man.

“Well… I’ll leave the rest to you,” his eyes flickered as he said; he seemed to be tired. Then, his body started to glitter with a red light. After that, he transformed into a red light and submerged in the star-shaped mark on the green stone wall before disappearing.

The grey-robed man hurriedly replied to him. He straightened his body once the middle-aged man had disappeared.

“Follow me,” the grey-robed old man looked at Shi Mu and said. Then, he walked towards the corner of the hall.

Shi Mu ceased to examine the round jade ornament as he heard this. Then, he hurriedly followed the old man.

The old man stood beside a black wall in the hall. He whipped the wall twice with his hand. Then, he gestured to unleash a beam of white light. Subsequently, a beam of light fell on the wall.

A faint black light emerged from the wall. After that, a stone door – as tall as a person – appeared in the black wall with a clicking sound.

A faint green light also appeared in the doorway; it condensed and formed a green light shield and blocked their way.

“Use your jade ornament; it’s a key to this door. Come inside with me. But, let me warn you… you won’t be able touch anything without my permission once you enter the door. If you dare to do anything recklessly… hehe… the consequences would be severe,” the old man sneered. Then, his body flashed and disappeared into the green light.

Shi Mu’s complexion changed. He glanced at the jade ornament and placed it against the green light shield.

Suddenly, the green light shield flickered and split-up.

Shi Mu hurriedly walked through the door. He saw a dark path as he crossed the entrance.

The grey-robed old man was already there. He beckoned Shi Mu to walk further.

They walked for half-a-quarter of an hour. After that, an ordinary-sized stone chamber appeared in front of them.

The chamber looked ordinary; it was empty except for seven or eight wooden shelves which were placed in the center. Each shelf was divided into several shelves. The top rows of these shelves contained jade slips of different colors and sizes.

Each jade slip was shrouded in a small light shield which radiated multicolored rays of light.

“We store all the Magic arts of our Sect in this place. Now, you’ve become an official magician practitioner. So, you can choose one art for free as per the rules of our Sect,” the grey-robed man said.

Shi Mu was pleasantly surprised as he heard this. He nodded a few times. Then, he shifted his gaze towards the shelves.

However, he didn’t dare to rush as he remembered the old man’s warning.

“Master, may this disciple ask your honorable name?” Shi Mu asked the old man as a thought came to his mind.

“This old man is called Sun An… you can call me Master Sun,” the grey-robed old man answered in a soft voice.

Surprisingly, the old man’s tone sounded friendlier than before. Perhaps it was because Shi Mu had become an official magician practitioner of the Sect.