Chapter 8: There Really Are Fools Who Believe It

“Why are you back so soon?”

The elderly man’s eyes flickered with surprise the moment he saw Yuan Jingui.

The one Yuan Jingui respectfully called Old Wang was naturally the all-around expert he mentioned earlier—Wang Yaozu, the Ghost Hand King.

“Hehe, didn’t we just happen to come across a treasure on the way?”

Yuan Jingui chuckled softly, lowering his voice as he pointed to Zhao Zhen not far off.

“Old Wang, that kid is the precious disciple of Master Jingguang.”

“Old Duan’s disciple?” Wang Yaozu frowned.

“So the master’s surname is Duan?” Yuan Jingui muttered quietly.

“Xiao Yuan, what are you trying to do? That old fellow warned us more than once not to let our group come into contact with his prized disciple. And you still dared to bring that kid here? Are you courting death?”

Wang Yaozu had never fully understood Duan Chuan’s thinking before, but ever since he himself took in Li Muxuan as a disciple, he could only admit that his old friend had remarkable foresight!

Even though Li Muxuan was only learning skills and not formally apprenticed, Wang Yaozu preferred not to let him mix too much with those people.

It was precisely because they were all all-around experts themselves that they understood the consequences of prolonged dealings with such characters.

“Old Wang, you’re wronging me. It wasn’t me who lured him here; he came on his own.”

Saying this, Yuan Jingui recounted the events following their encounter with Zhao Zhen over the past few days.

After hearing Yuan Jingui’s account, disdain flashed in Wang Yaozu’s eyes.

“You mean you two tried to catch a kid together, but not only did you fail, you even got shot?”

“Old Wang, don’t underestimate this kid. He’s impressive! Besides mastering the master’s Golden Escape and Flowing Light technique, his footwork is unbelievable. Even Old Wen and I tied together couldn’t catch up to him.”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Wang Yaozu glanced at Zhao Zhen with a spark of curiosity.

Beside him, the young Li Muxuan also fixed his gaze on the approaching Zhao Zhen.

“Zhao Zhen, greetings to Old Wang.”

Zhao Zhen clasped his fists and bowed respectfully to Wang Yaozu.

“You really are Old Duan’s disciple? You don’t look like it…”

Wang Yaozu narrowed his eyes. The boy named Zhao Zhen didn’t behave like an orphan who had lost his parents from a young age.

His politeness and manners suggested he’d been raised in a well-educated, noble family.

“Oh? How so?” Zhao Zhen smiled faintly.

“Your demeanor—Old Duan roams all over the world. Could he really have taught you such refinement? I’m skeptical.”

“Whether you believe it or not, all my skills were indeed passed down by the old man.”

As he spoke, Zhao Zhen took out a Golden Ground Light talisman from his pocket.

“This talisman… it seems you really are that old man’s disciple. I never expected that the treasure disciple whom he had hidden away for nearly ten years was you. But didn’t the old man tell you what to do when you encounter people like us?”

No sooner had Wang Yaozu finished speaking than his aura shifted abruptly.

In the next moment, Zhao Zhen suddenly leapt into the air without warning, his body light as a leaf. After a few backward flips, he had already put several meters between himself and Wang Yaozu.

“Hm?”

Wang Yaozu frowned. He hadn’t expected Zhao Zhen to evade the force field formed by the Reverse Eight Directions technique.

Had the old Duan already warned him about Wang Yaozu’s abilities, or was it purely instinct and reflex?

“He did tell me: whenever I meet someone claiming to be an all-around expert, I should avoid dealing with them as much as possible.”

Though he appeared calm on the surface, cold sweat was already beading on Zhao Zhen’s back.

That was a close call. Had he not been beforehand familiar with Wang Yaozu’s Reverse Eight Directions, he probably would have fallen victim without even realizing it.

The methods of these supernatural beings were bizarre and unpredictable. Without ample experience in the martial world, one careless moment could mean death by invisible, intangible techniques like Reverse Eight Directions!

Not to mention the Tang Sect’s assassinations, or the soul-switching nails of Wild Maoshan—if one thought mastering just the Golden Escape and Flowing Light would guarantee invincibility, they’d sooner or later die without even knowing how.

This was why the old man never ceased instilling in Zhao Zhen the most fundamental training of essence and life alongside the Golden Escape and Flowing Light.

No matter how strange and varied the supernatural techniques, the core always lay in one’s essence and life force. These two were the source of all magic.

“He actually dodged it!” Li Muxuan’s pupils contracted sharply.

Having also cultivated the Reverse Eight Directions technique himself, he was naturally more sensitive than anyone present to changes in the force field.

Through his perception, he clearly saw Wang Yaozu shaping the force field into a massive hand reaching for Zhao Zhen’s ankle.

But just as the force field was about to touch Zhao Zhen’s ankle, Zhao Zhen seemed to sense it and swiftly retreated, distancing himself from Wang Yaozu’s force field.

“Since your old man told you this, why didn’t you avoid us? Why dare to approach us instead?”

After a brief test, Wang Yaozu withdrew his technique.

It seemed Yuan Jingui was right—the kid was indeed extraordinary.

Whether or not he had prior knowledge of Reverse Eight Directions, to be able to perceive it so keenly and evade it on the first encounter at such a young age was enough to earn him the title of genius.

“Since all my skills were taught by the old man, whether or not I belong to the all-around sect, in the eyes of the righteous sects, I’m no different from an all-around expert.

If I were to avoid all of you as well, then where in this supernatural world could I possibly find a place to belong?”

Hearing this, Wang Yaozu couldn’t help but look at him with newfound respect.

He hadn’t expected the boy, though young, to see things more clearly than many adults.

Sigh, I wonder when my own foolish boy will come to understand this…

“You’re quite impressive, young one.”

“You flatter me, Old Wang.”

“Xiao Yuan said you came to apprentice under San Yi?”

“Just talk. If anyone actually believed that, I never expected the Great Ying Immortal to truly accept me…”

Zhao Zhen shrugged indifferently, which made Yuan Jingui, standing nearby, want to punch something.

But considering their own skills and Wang Yaozu’s presence, Yuan Jingui forced himself to swallow his anger.

“So, what brings you here this time?”