Warrior’s Promise

Su Mo followed behind Wang Hui and headed towards Elder Wei’s abode.

Although Su Mo had no idea why Elder Wei wanted to see him, Su Mo had no reason to reject him since he invited him in such a polite manner.

“Why… why is Elder Wei requesting to see me?” Su Mo asked Wang Hui on their way there.

“You’ll know in due time!”

Wang Hui replied and immediately added, “Su Mo, there are many opportunities in life. Grab yours today.”

“Opportunity? What opportunity?” Su Mo asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

Wang Hui just smiled and said nothing, which made Su Mo even more curious.

Elder Wei’s abode was near the Outer Elders’ Palace. It was a magnificent small palace.

“Come in!”

Elder Wei called out as soon as both of them arrived at the gate.

“Yes, Master!”

Wang Hui bowed with great respect and quickly ushered Su Mo into the palace.

“Master?”

Su Mo was shocked upon hearing that Elder Wei was Wang Hui’s master.

Elder Wei must be very powerful. Even his disciple was an Elder!

As they walked into the palace, Su Mo saw Elder Wei.

Elder Wei sat on a futon, and he was dressed in simple attire, like any other elderly person.

Upon seeing Su Mo, Elder Wei smiled warmly.

“Su Mo, do you want to be my unofficial disciple?” Elder Wei smiled and asked.

“What?”

Su Mo was taken aback upon hearing this. He had come up with thousands of reasons as to why Elder Wei wanted to see him but never had this thought come to his mind.

“Elder Wei, may I know the reason why you accept me as your disciple? Is it because I emerge as the top in the Qingyuan Trial Test?”

Su Mo chose to ask this question instead of replying immediately.

In fact, the thought of learning under a master had never entered Su Mo’s mind.

“Every year, there will be someone who will emerge as the top in the Qingyuan Trial Test, and yet I have never accepted anyone as my disciple.”

Elder Wei shook his head.

“Then…?” Su Mo was baffled.

“It’s because of your talent. You’re way below the requirement to be my disciple, for your Martial Soul is a Rank 6 Human Class. But you’re rich in Blood Qi and have an extraordinary physique. Among those in the Spiritual Martial Realm, none is richer than yours!

“Moreover, you managed to kill the one who is in the Spiritual Martial Realm. Even though you’re a half step to this realm, these shows you’re highly talented.

“That’s why I would like to accept you as my unofficial disciple,” Elder Wei said.

“Su Mo, are you willing to be my disciple?” Elder Wei asked once again.

Thinking quickly, analyzing the pros and cons, Su Mo could not think of any reason to reject this offer.

It would only do Su Mo good having Elder Wei as his master.

Elder Wei was not only a very powerful person in the True Spirit Realm but also an influential Outer Elder. To have Elder Wei as his master to back him up would be beneficial to Su Mo.

Most importantly, Elder Wei had years of experience. Being under his guidance was much better than scrambling through by himself.

Then Su Mo came to a decision.

“I’ll only be your unofficial disciple?”

Su Mo asked, with a sparkle in his eyes. “Why not directly accept me as a pro-disciple since an unofficial disciple doesn’t match my strength.”

“Well, even though you have the talent, your Martial Soul is still off the mark to be my pro-disciple. You need to prove yourself to me,” Elder Wei smiled and said.

“How do you want me to prove myself?”

“You have to enter into the top 10 among the Outer Disciples within three years,” Elder Wei replied.

Su Mo raised his eyebrows. If it were six months, that would be too stressful. But in three years? It was very easy for him to enter the top 10 in less than three years.

If he needed three years to enter the top 10, it would be impossible for him to challenge Shangguan Hao in the Central Continent in five years.

Su Mo immediately nodded his head and said, “All right, I agree to be your disciple.”

“Hahaha, that’s great!”

Elder Wei smiled, feeling very pleased.

Su Mo went through the formality of accepting Elder Wei as his master.

“Junior Brother Su Mo, congratulations!”

Wang Hui cupped his hands together and congratulated Su Mo.

“S… Senior Brother Wang, thank you!”

Su Mo replied with the same courtesy.

“Hui’er, I want to have a word with Su Mo. You can go first.”

Elder Wei waved his hands at Wang Hui.

“Yes, Master!”

Wang Hui bowed and made his way out, leaving Elder Wei and Su Mo in the room.

“Su Mo, if there is anything doubtful about the cultivation of martial arts, you can ask me now,” Elder Wei smiled and said.

Su Mo nodded his head and immediately shared with Elder Wei the hurdles that he had encountered.

After Elder Wei’s detailed explanation, Su Mo cleared his doubts and was enlightened.

“Master, is it true that the ranking of a martial artist determines his future achievements?”

Gradually, Su Mo changed the topic pertaining to Martial Souls.

“The different Martial Soul ranks do determine the achievements of the martial artists. Take someone with a Martial Soul of the Rank 6 Human Class for example—if he puts in hard work, and at the same time with given opportunities, then it’s possible for him to move on to the True Spirit Realm.

“But, for one with a Martial Soul of the Rank 5 Human Class, no matter how much efforts he puts in, it’s impossible for him to reach this Realm,” Elder Wei said.

Su Mo was surprised and thought, “It seems that there is a big gap between Rank 5 and Rank 6.”  If he were of the latter, Su Mo was certain that Elder Wei would not have accepted him as his disciple!

Elder Wei continued, “Of course, this isn’t necessarily true in all cases. I’ve heard there is a rare group of people in this world who have this unique physique. These people are very lucky. Regardless of their Martial Soul rankings, they can still have achievements beyond imagination! But, there aren’t many of such people around. Even in the entire Hong Domain, you can’t even find one, let alone in Skymoon Country.”

“Unique physique?”

Su Mo was silent.

“Hahaha, Su Mo, although it’s not possible for you to have this unique physique, your physique is way far beyond many others’. This will help you greatly in your journey in martial arts,” said Elder Wei.

Sumo’s mouth twitched. It was not true that he had a better physique than others. That was all due to the results of the Elephant’s Strength Skill.

“Other than the ranking in Martial Soul, the ability of a person’s comprehension plays a very vital role.”

Elder Wei continued, “For a martial artist, if he has very good comprehension ability, whatever skill he cultivates will improve tremendously. Even if he has a lower-ranked Martial Soul and takes a long time to cultivate, he’ll have the ability to kill one at a higher rank than him.”

“Comprehension?”

Upon hearing this, Su Mo thought to himself. He had all along considered himself to have good comprehension ability, since he had been able to cultivate two Lv 3 skills to the Minor Completion within a short period of time.

“Master, for a martial artist with a very good comprehension, how long would he need to take to cultivate a Lv 3 skill to the Minor Completion Realm?”

Su Mo’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Hahaha!”

Elder Wei smiled, shook his head and said, “Even with a very good comprehension, to cultivate a Lv 3 skill to the Minor Completion requires three to five years at least.”

“Um!”

Su Mo was stupefied. “Three to five years? I did it in less than three to five months!”

Su Mo chatted with Elder Wei for two hours before leaving. Su Mo benefited a lot from Elder Wei.

Su Mo was very grateful to Elder Wei. Even though he was only an unofficial disciple, Elder Wei did not show any sign of impatience, but took the time to explain to him.

On his way back, he was feeling very grateful to have such a good master to guide him!

Just as he was feeling so, a group of disciples walked towards him and blocked his way.