"Master Sir Guo, what are you doing here?" Apollo asked.
"Let's train, kid," Sir Guo smiled. "You want to master your Lightning Attribute, right? I'm free, and it looks like you are too, so let's go now!"
"Actually, I'm not free yet," Apollo said, raising his basket. "I still need to eat my breakfast."
"You can eat it on the way," Sir Guo said, glancing at the basket. He couldn't help but sniff as the delicious aroma wafted out. "Let's go!"
He turned and began walking toward the carriage in the distance.
Apollo stood there, looking at his back for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "I guess I'll eat my breakfast in the carriage then," he decided, immediately regretting it.
The carriage started moving toward the training ground the moment he entered, the sound of the wheels rolling across the ground echoing around him.
Apollo and Sir Guo arrived at the training ground, with the beggar staring angrily at the man in the bamboo hat.
"Why did you eat my breakfast?!" Apollo asked, his nose threatening to let out smoke.
"It smelled delicious. I didn't know food like that existed. You know, in all my years, that's the first time I've tasted something that good," Sir Guo said, letting out a burp. Seeing his disciple glaring at him, he scoffed. "I'm your master—you shouldn't be stingy with me!"
"Don't power trip me, you f*cker!" Apollo began cracking his knuckles.
"What, you want to fight?" Sir Guo raised an eyebrow.
"Ye—" Apollo didn't get the chance to finish as a bolt of lightning struck him. He couldn't react in time, and before he knew it, he was on the ground, shaking from the electricity coursing through his veins.
A few seconds later, he stood up. "You! Don't you dare do that again!"
"Or what?" Sir Guo raised a finger, lightning zapping on top of it.
"Nothing," Apollo said hurriedly. He knew he couldn't beat this guy with his current strength, so he could only grit his teeth and swallow the humiliation. He became even more eager to reach the Beginner Stage of the Great Serpent Ascendant Transformation, just so he could teach this annoying fellow a lesson!
"Good," Sir Guo said, his smile turning mischievous. "Today's training is for you to handle as much lightning as you can."
Hearing this, Apollo's face went blank. He had just been electrocuted, and now Sir Guo was saying the training for today was to get hit by even more lightning?!
Without wasting any more time, his body turned invisible as he began running away from this lightning hell!
A zapping sound echoed, followed by the beggar's body collapsing to the ground. His body shook for a few seconds before he managed to fight it off—only for another lightning bolt to hit him, this time stronger than before.
"Take as much as you can! Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it!" Sir Guo said, laughing merrily.
While shaking, Apollo Leone regretted everything. He shouldn't have trashed the training ground, he shouldn't have accepted the offer to become this madman's disciple. The beggar began missing his other master. Although Headmaster Axton had threatened him into becoming his Personal Disciple, at least he didn't force him to train and gave him some freedom instead.
Such disparity made Apollo prefer the latter more.
The training ground had been personally closed by Sir Guo, so it was just him and the trembling beggar.
Apollo didn't know how long or how many times he had been hit by lightning, but as time passed, the shaking lessened until he only felt a tingling sensation every time the lightning struck.
"I told you it would be fast," Sir Guo said, walking toward him.
Apollo slowly got to his feet, shaking his head to clear the dizziness. The moment Sir Guo was a few feet away, Apollo turned and attacked with a punch!
The sound of zapping echoed, but this time, the lightning didn't come from the man in the bamboo hat—instead, it surrounded Apollo's fist!
Sir Guo raised his hand, easily blocking the attack. "You really are talented. You can already use it just moments after your body got used to the electricity."
Apollo was surprised at first that Sir Guo blocked his attack, but his eyes widened when he noticed the lightning around his hand.
"Wow!" Apollo exclaimed, bringing his fist in front of him. "I can do this?"
"Yes," Sir Guo nodded. "Though it can only hurt normal people for now, it's still excellent progress."
Apollo stared at his hand in amazement for a moment before turning to his lightning master. "I'm curious—why did you decide to teach me only now?"
He hadn't forgotten his previous suffering, but the question had just come to mind.
"We're here to train, but if you're really curious…" Sir Guo trailed off. "I've been investigating something. I'll tell you when the time comes. In the meantime, we should train your Lightning Attribute as much as we can."
Apollo narrowed his eyes at the man in the bamboo hat. Investigating what? His gut told him that by accepting Sir Guo's offer, he'd landed himself in yet another problem. He shouldn't have associated with these powerful individuals unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Let me tell you this—I only became your disciple to pay off my debt, not to become your slave. Once I'm done learning all I need to know about the Lightning Attribute, we'll call off the deal. Got it?" Apollo said, silently promising himself that he would beat up this annoying man before cutting ties.
"Sure, sure," Sir Guo nodded. "I'm only doing this because I want to pass on my legacy."
It was half a lie and half the truth. Sir Guo did want to find a worthy disciple to pass on his knowledge, but he also wanted to show his former sect what his student was capable of.
Apollo stared at Sir Guo for a moment before nodding. Now that the training had begun, he got serious. Strength was what mattered most in the end. If he became the strongest, if he stood at the top of the world, he wouldn't have to worry about dying. "What's next?"
"I'm going to teach you the true essence of the Lightning Attribute," Sir Guo smiled.
"True essence?" Apollo repeated.
"Now that you can conjure lightning, this is going to be easy," Sir Guo said. "Cultivators with attributes can use them to boost their cultivation and strength without relying on Qi…"