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Chapter 57: Two Choices.
April 4, 2023 - Author: Fu Hejun
Although she had successfully completed the apprenticeship, Zhu Zhuqing understood that if she hadn't been his disciple in the Future Video before, she wouldn't have been able to become his disciple today.
After all, her aptitude, frankly speaking, wasn't exceptionally good. She was merely an ordinary genius, not a genius among geniuses.
Her Innate Soul Power was only level 7. For Zhu Zhuqing to cultivate to her current stage, she had put in several times the effort of ordinary people. She had to risk her life just to barely catch up with other geniuses. But this ability to catch up was only temporary; in the later stages, the higher the level, the more pronounced the difference in aptitude would become. It was despairing enough to lock her upper limit!
The Netherworld Civet Martial Soul itself wasn't particularly powerful. Throughout their Clan's history, those who could reach the Soul Douluo level were few and far between, and there hadn't been a single Titled Douluo.
Zhu Zhuqing could almost conclude that, barring any accidents, becoming a Soul Douluo was impossible for her in this life; at most, she would reach Soul Saint.
In the Star Luo Empire, although the Zhu Family was second only to one person and above ten thousand, this wasn't because their Clan's Martial Soul was particularly powerful. It was mainly because the Netherworld Civet Martial Soul could fuse with the Royal Family's White Tiger Martial Soul to form a Soul Fusion Skill—the Netherworld White Tiger!
Precisely because of this, the Zhu Family could hold such a transcendent position in Star Luo. It was entirely reliant on the Royal Family and had nothing to do with their own strength.
"Offer the tea, and become my disciple."
Ye Cheng sat upright, beginning to assume the air of a Master.
"Teacher, please have some tea."
Zhu Zhuqing took the cup handed to her by Ning Rongrong and respectfully bowed as she presented the tea.
On the Douluo Continent, kneeling was not required for apprenticeship. That was a courtesy reserved for parents or monarchs; for a normal apprenticeship, only a bow was required.
Currently, on the Douluo Continent, the relationship between teachers and students had not yet reached the level of parents and children. This was also why a certain Secret Chamber Douluo could assault his Disciple without any psychological burden.
This was because, in the perception of the world, teacher-student unions did not involve ethical or moral concerns.
Teachers and students merely shared a relationship of imparting and learning skills; there was no notion that a Teacher was like a student's parent, educating them as if they were their own children.
It was only later, when Tang San, that ancient assassin, set a precedent, that kneeling became customary for apprenticeships on the Douluo Continent. The saying "Once a Teacher, forever a father" gained prominence, making Teachers akin to a student's parents.
Ye Cheng didn't care about kneeling or not. He took Zhu Zhuqing as his Disciple simply because she was a female character he liked very much in his previous life. Now that he saw her, he would lend a hand, nothing more.
After taking the tea Zhu Zhuqing offered and taking a sip, this Disciple was formally accepted.
"Since you are now my Disciple." Ye Cheng gently put down the teacup, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing and said, "Then I'll give you two choices regarding your future cultivation path. One is normal cultivation. I will answer all your questions and resolve any doubts you have in your cultivation. I will also provide you with abundant resources for cultivation, doing my best to help you reach the limit of what your Talent can achieve."
"However, you yourself know your Martial Soul and Talent. If you cultivate normally, even with my help, your ultimate achievement will at most reach Soul Douluo. You will absolutely have no hope of becoming a Titled Douluo in this life!"
"The other choice is to take an unconventional path. I will cultivate you in a different way, helping you break through the limits of your Talent. However, this process will involve enormous life-threatening dangers. Even with my assistance, there's a high probability of death."
"Which of these two choices will you pick?" Ye Cheng finally asked, leaving the choice to her.
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent.
She began to silently ponder what the two choices Ye Cheng offered represented.
First was the normal cultivation path.
Undoubtedly, this choice was the safest. It involved no risks. With a Limit Douluo fully imparting their knowledge, her guaranteed achievement would be Soul Douluo. This was a level she wouldn't have dared to dream of before. But the drawback was that she would stop there for this life. Titled Douluo was completely out of the question.
Because her Talent had long determined that if she cultivated step by step, she would absolutely not be able to reach Titled Douluo. This was a limit set even before her birth.
The other choice was unknown. But it was clearly fraught with danger!
However, greater risk meant greater reward.
From Ye Cheng's words, Zhu Zhuqing could tell that if she chose this path and succeeded, her future achievement would likely be at least Titled Douluo!
Titled Douluo... the highest level for a Soul Master. A level she had never dared to imagine before.
If Zhu Zhuqing were a Titled Douluo now, then even without an apprenticeship, the Marriage Contract would become a useless piece of paper to her. After all, even in the Star Luo Empire, powerful experts at the Titled Douluo level could be described as few and far between. Their status was extremely lofty, akin to national treasures.
Once she became a Titled Douluo, Zhu Zhuqing would gain complete freedom from then on. She could do whatever she wanted, with no one restricting her. She wouldn't even be forced into mutual destruction with her elder sister.
What a dreamlike scenario...
Facing these two choices, Zhu Zhuqing uncharacteristically hesitated.
The first choice was safe, while the second promised high returns!
So, which one should she choose?
"..." She didn't speak, completely lost in thought. She recalled the powerlessness she felt when she was weak...
Ye Cheng and Ning Rongrong did not interrupt her when they saw this, because they knew it was a choice concerning a major life event for her future. It was normal to hesitate.
After a long time.
She looked up, finally making her decision.
"Teacher!"
Zhu Zhuqing met his gaze, took a deep breath, and firmly replied, "I choose the second one!"
"The second one, are you sure?"
Ye Cheng seemed surprised by her choice and confirmed again, "Are you truly sure you're choosing the second one? You need to think it through. Once you've chosen, there's no going back."
"I am very sure!"
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was firm, and her entire mental outlook at this moment could be described as being reborn and completely revitalized.
"Good, very good!"
Ye Cheng nodded with satisfaction and said, "I think I somewhat understand why my future self would take you as a Disciple."
"Zhuqing, can you tell me why you chose the second one?" Ning Rongrong, who was standing beside them, asked curiously, "Even if you chose the first one, the Clan's Marriage Contract wouldn't be able to restrict you. Why take such a big risk to choose the second one?"
"Because I want to obtain true freedom!"
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have achieved great enlightenment. Her voice was calm as she said, "I've thought it through clearly: relying on others will ultimately only make me an appendage to others. I want to truly possess the ability to control my own destiny!"
"Well said!"
Ye Cheng smiled and clapped his hands, saying, "Since you have such determination, I, as your Teacher, will fulfill your wish!"
(end of chapter)
April 4, 2023 - Author: Fu Hejun
Although she had successfully completed the apprenticeship, Zhu Zhuqing understood that if she hadn't been his disciple in the Future Video before, she wouldn't have been able to become his disciple today.
After all, her aptitude, frankly speaking, wasn't exceptionally good. She was merely an ordinary genius, not a genius among geniuses.
Her Innate Soul Power was only level 7. For Zhu Zhuqing to cultivate to her current stage, she had put in several times the effort of ordinary people. She had to risk her life just to barely catch up with other geniuses. But this ability to catch up was only temporary; in the later stages, the higher the level, the more pronounced the difference in aptitude would become. It was despairing enough to lock her upper limit!
The Netherworld Civet Martial Soul itself wasn't particularly powerful. Throughout their Clan's history, those who could reach the Soul Douluo level were few and far between, and there hadn't been a single Titled Douluo.
Zhu Zhuqing could almost conclude that, barring any accidents, becoming a Soul Douluo was impossible for her in this life; at most, she would reach Soul Saint.
In the Star Luo Empire, although the Zhu Family was second only to one person and above ten thousand, this wasn't because their Clan's Martial Soul was particularly powerful. It was mainly because the Netherworld Civet Martial Soul could fuse with the Royal Family's White Tiger Martial Soul to form a Soul Fusion Skill—the Netherworld White Tiger!
Precisely because of this, the Zhu Family could hold such a transcendent position in Star Luo. It was entirely reliant on the Royal Family and had nothing to do with their own strength.
"Offer the tea, and become my disciple."
Ye Cheng sat upright, beginning to assume the air of a Master.
"Teacher, please have some tea."
Zhu Zhuqing took the cup handed to her by Ning Rongrong and respectfully bowed as she presented the tea.
On the Douluo Continent, kneeling was not required for apprenticeship. That was a courtesy reserved for parents or monarchs; for a normal apprenticeship, only a bow was required.
Currently, on the Douluo Continent, the relationship between teachers and students had not yet reached the level of parents and children. This was also why a certain Secret Chamber Douluo could assault his Disciple without any psychological burden.
This was because, in the perception of the world, teacher-student unions did not involve ethical or moral concerns.
Teachers and students merely shared a relationship of imparting and learning skills; there was no notion that a Teacher was like a student's parent, educating them as if they were their own children.
It was only later, when Tang San, that ancient assassin, set a precedent, that kneeling became customary for apprenticeships on the Douluo Continent. The saying "Once a Teacher, forever a father" gained prominence, making Teachers akin to a student's parents.
Ye Cheng didn't care about kneeling or not. He took Zhu Zhuqing as his Disciple simply because she was a female character he liked very much in his previous life. Now that he saw her, he would lend a hand, nothing more.
After taking the tea Zhu Zhuqing offered and taking a sip, this Disciple was formally accepted.
"Since you are now my Disciple." Ye Cheng gently put down the teacup, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing and said, "Then I'll give you two choices regarding your future cultivation path. One is normal cultivation. I will answer all your questions and resolve any doubts you have in your cultivation. I will also provide you with abundant resources for cultivation, doing my best to help you reach the limit of what your Talent can achieve."
"However, you yourself know your Martial Soul and Talent. If you cultivate normally, even with my help, your ultimate achievement will at most reach Soul Douluo. You will absolutely have no hope of becoming a Titled Douluo in this life!"
"The other choice is to take an unconventional path. I will cultivate you in a different way, helping you break through the limits of your Talent. However, this process will involve enormous life-threatening dangers. Even with my assistance, there's a high probability of death."
"Which of these two choices will you pick?" Ye Cheng finally asked, leaving the choice to her.
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent.
She began to silently ponder what the two choices Ye Cheng offered represented.
First was the normal cultivation path.
Undoubtedly, this choice was the safest. It involved no risks. With a Limit Douluo fully imparting their knowledge, her guaranteed achievement would be Soul Douluo. This was a level she wouldn't have dared to dream of before. But the drawback was that she would stop there for this life. Titled Douluo was completely out of the question.
Because her Talent had long determined that if she cultivated step by step, she would absolutely not be able to reach Titled Douluo. This was a limit set even before her birth.
The other choice was unknown. But it was clearly fraught with danger!
However, greater risk meant greater reward.
From Ye Cheng's words, Zhu Zhuqing could tell that if she chose this path and succeeded, her future achievement would likely be at least Titled Douluo!
Titled Douluo... the highest level for a Soul Master. A level she had never dared to imagine before.
If Zhu Zhuqing were a Titled Douluo now, then even without an apprenticeship, the Marriage Contract would become a useless piece of paper to her. After all, even in the Star Luo Empire, powerful experts at the Titled Douluo level could be described as few and far between. Their status was extremely lofty, akin to national treasures.
Once she became a Titled Douluo, Zhu Zhuqing would gain complete freedom from then on. She could do whatever she wanted, with no one restricting her. She wouldn't even be forced into mutual destruction with her elder sister.
What a dreamlike scenario...
Facing these two choices, Zhu Zhuqing uncharacteristically hesitated.
The first choice was safe, while the second promised high returns!
So, which one should she choose?
"..." She didn't speak, completely lost in thought. She recalled the powerlessness she felt when she was weak...
Ye Cheng and Ning Rongrong did not interrupt her when they saw this, because they knew it was a choice concerning a major life event for her future. It was normal to hesitate.
After a long time.
She looked up, finally making her decision.
"Teacher!"
Zhu Zhuqing met his gaze, took a deep breath, and firmly replied, "I choose the second one!"
"The second one, are you sure?"
Ye Cheng seemed surprised by her choice and confirmed again, "Are you truly sure you're choosing the second one? You need to think it through. Once you've chosen, there's no going back."
"I am very sure!"
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was firm, and her entire mental outlook at this moment could be described as being reborn and completely revitalized.
"Good, very good!"
Ye Cheng nodded with satisfaction and said, "I think I somewhat understand why my future self would take you as a Disciple."
"Zhuqing, can you tell me why you chose the second one?" Ning Rongrong, who was standing beside them, asked curiously, "Even if you chose the first one, the Clan's Marriage Contract wouldn't be able to restrict you. Why take such a big risk to choose the second one?"
"Because I want to obtain true freedom!"
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have achieved great enlightenment. Her voice was calm as she said, "I've thought it through clearly: relying on others will ultimately only make me an appendage to others. I want to truly possess the ability to control my own destiny!"
"Well said!"
Ye Cheng smiled and clapped his hands, saying, "Since you have such determination, I, as your Teacher, will fulfill your wish!"
(end of chapter)
