"Hehe, brat, your name is Chu Feng, right?" After finishing his tale about Huangfu Haoyue, the black-robed elder suddenly asked with a grin.
"Senior, you actually know my name?" Chu Feng was a little surprised at first, but then he let it go. After all, the black-robed elder already knew about the Emperor's Burial, so he must have been secretly listening in on conversations between Chu Feng and the others. Knowing Chu Feng's name was only natural.
"Hehe, not only do I know your name is Chu Feng, I also know you have a fiancée named Zi Ling."
"Now this fiancée of yours is no ordinary girl. Not only is she breathtakingly beautiful, surpassing even celestial maidens, but she's also a Heaven-Given Divine Body. Truth be told, for a brat like you to have such a fiancée, that's real fortune earned from a past life."
"But unfortunately, your fiancée drew a group of useless elders as relatives. For the sake of their own interests, her parents and family sold her off — sold her to the Immortal Execution Archipelago."
"In four years, your fiancée is going to marry that so-called Young Island Master of the Immortal Execution Archipelago. What a joke." The black-robed elder chuckled.
At those words, Chu Feng's brow furrowed slightly before he let out a bitter laugh. "I didn't expect Senior to know about that too. That's right — in four years, if I don't have the power to rescue her, she'll be married off to someone else."
"Hey, don't panic, brat. I can help you." The black-robed elder suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
"You, Senior? You'd help me?" At these words, Chu Feng's eyes flashed as he carefully sized up the elder. He realized that things might not be so simple.
"That's right. I am the head of the Four Protectors of the Canye Demon Sect. I still carry some weight within the sect. If I were to act, even the Immortal Execution Archipelago would think twice."
"But there's no such thing as a free lunch. You and I just happened to cross paths, so naturally I won't help you for nothing. I have a condition." The black-robed elder grinned.
"What condition, Senior?" Chu Feng asked. The mysterious man was already beyond his control. On his own, standing against the entire Immortal Execution Archipelago in four years would be nearly impossible.
The black-robed elder did seem to possess considerable strength. If he were truly willing to help, that wouldn't be a bad option at all. But the one thing Chu Feng couldn't determine was whether this elder could be trusted. So he remained cautious.
"The condition is actually quite simple. I've cultivated for many years but have never taken a single disciple. I see that you have decent talent and some potential — why not become my disciple? Once you're under my tutelage, I can naturally rally the members of the Demon Sect to help you," the black-robed elder said.
Hearing this, Chu Feng was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the black-robed elder to propose taking him as a disciple. But Chu Feng hesitated, because he already had Zhuge Liuyun as his Master. Although Zhuge Liuyun's cultivation was still far behind his own, he was still his Master.
So Chu Feng said, "Senior, I truly appreciate your recognition. But to be honest, Chu Feng already has a Master, and my Master has treated me well. I don't think I can take another person as my master."
"Oh, and here I thought you were a clever kid. How can you be so dense? Who says that if you've already taken someone as your master, you can't take another?"
"Who told you that a person can only take one master in their lifetime? That if you want to take another, you have to betray your sect?" The black-robed elder grinned widely, looking rather displeased.
"That—" Chu Feng was momentarily speechless. On the Nine Provinces Continent, taking another sect's master wasn't exactly something to be proud of. But in the black-robed elder's view, he clearly didn't care about such things, and he had no intention of asking Chu Feng to betray his current master.
So Chu Feng asked, "Senior, are you saying I can take you as my master even while already having one? You're willing to share a disciple with someone else?"
"Of course! Any talented junior — who wouldn't rush to take him as a disciple?"
"He teaches you his skills, I teach you mine. It doesn't interfere at all."
"Besides, brat, if you take me as your master, the benefits I can give you go beyond just helping you get your wife back."
"I've taken quite a few treasures from this Emperor's Burial. Cultivation resources? Countless. I even snagged a secret technique — that Zhuque Resurrection Art." The black-robed elder pointed toward the Four Symbols Restraint Formation, where the pattern of the Zhuque Resurrection Art was depicted.
At this, Chu Feng's expression shifted. That Zhuque Resurrection Art really had been taken by him. That evil spirit's trap must have been set by him as well.
"I know you've already gained some benefits inside this Emperor's Burial and have two secret techniques to your name. So I only collected that technique without using it — I was saving it as a gift for when I took you as my disciple."
"But blame me for being too greedy. I underestimated the dangers of this Emperor's Burial and didn't quit while I was ahead. That's how I ended up trapped here. Now I'm sealed inside this Four Symbols Restraint Formation, and even giving you these things is difficult."
"But once I get out of here, I'll give you everything, brat. I can tell your cultivation method is unique — as long as you have cultivation resources, your strength can grow rapidly."
"And to be honest, the cultivation resources I obtained from this Emperor's Burial are enough to shock you. They'd push your cultivation to an incredible level."
"As for me, at my current level, I can no longer rely on cultivation resources — doing so would only cause my progress to stagnate. So if you're willing to become my disciple, all the cultivation resources I have here can be yours." The black-robed elder spoke with absolute conviction, and as he did, his face was full of sincerity, as though he had truly intended to take Chu Feng as his disciple all along.
Chu Feng's heart stirred at the elder's words, but doubts still lingered. So he asked, "Senior, do you really want to take me as your disciple? You're truly willing to help me?!"
"But why? I'm just a poor kid with unremarkable cultivation. Why would you go to such lengths to help me?"
"Haha, why? No particular reason! I just want to find an exceptional successor, and you happen to fit the bill."
"If you really need a reason, I can give you one."
"I'm well past a hundred years old. Even if I live on, it'll only be a few more centuries. My talent isn't that great — reaching the Martial King realm was already luck. Continuing to break through and extend my lifespan? That's incredibly difficult."
"Ordinary cultivation resources can't help me anymore, and it's nearly impossible to achieve enlightenment on my own. Unless a Martial Emperor-level expert is willing to use his unique Emperor-level power to assist me, I won't be able to advance any further."