Riyald waved his hand as William plucked the crossbow bolt, "See, you're fine! You have plenty of natural healing, and your poison resistance is incredible, which would honestly make you a perfect test subject for my experiments..."
The last few words sent a shiver down William's spine. He took a step back with suspicion in his eyes. He questioned his choice to become Riyald's disciple, terrified of being forced into hard labor where his Regeneration Talent would have to work overdrive.
Riyald laughed, "I'm kidding, come back."
His expression turned serious as William approached, "Let's get straight to the point, you're my Disciple now and there are a few things you need to know.
First, I have many enemies. Since you are my Disciple, these enemies are now our enemies. Do not think that just because you have a low Cultivation that my adversaries are going to ignore you. No, they will use every underhanded method they can to gain an edge over me." he pulled a small black pipe from his Space Ring and took a puff of smoke.
"Aren't all of your enemies dead by now?" William asked. After all, Riyald was quite old and even Sect Master Gu Dianlong had mentioned that he was near the top of the world. Was it possible that there were more old men like Riyald hidden in the World?
"Ha, dead? Impossible." Riyald took another puff, "I wish they were dead, but alas many of them have achieved similar methods to you and I."
"I'm talking about your vitality, of course. We've both found ways to surpass our natural lifespans, which is better than many like us. Even I, who has lived tens of thousands of years, should have died long ago."
William thought of the Life Element and the various Life Veins he had absorbed.
So there are others who have done the same? Or maybe they have found different ways to increase their lifespan?
"How strong are they?" William asked.
"Much stronger than me, probably. I've been hiding in this Ruin for many years now and haven't improved much since. It would take me almost a thousand years to progress to the next Realm at my current pace, and I only have around four hundred years left. It's not enough."
Only a hundred years...I've barely lived twenty! Not to mention, my lifespan didn't even increase when I reached the Qi Refinement Realm, what a scam!
William became a bit annoyed at Riyald's mention of his remaining lifespan, but he could understand that his Master didn't mean it that way. After all, four hundred years really wasn't much time for someone who had lived so long already.
He remained silent while Riyald described his enemies' abilities in detail.
"My most dangerous enemy to date is not a human, but a Greater Demon. A thousand years ago, I left the Gravitas Ruins to enter the outside world and was almost killed by this being whose abilities didn't match what I know about Demons.
Other than his ugly appearance and even more disgusting attitude, everything about the Greater Demon was perfect, from his regenerative ability to his speed and even his combat experience. I only survived my encounter with him because he let me go.
I still remember the smile on his face when he told me I was the reason for his existence."
William could imagine how terrifying his Master's experience was. When he fought against the Lesser Demon in the trial tower, William repeatedly felt that it was a being that shouldn't exist. Even while restricted by hundreds of Arrays, a Golden Core Demon's offensive ability exceeded his own.
To think that his Master had fought with a Greater Demon by himself, and even survived, was not only proof of his strength, but also his luck. William's respect for the man grew, and he almost forgave him for the crossbow bolt from earlier...almost.
"You're the reason for his existence?"
Riyald shook his head, "I don't know either. Demons are an extremely rare being in the Cultivation World. No know truly knows how they are born, or whether they are created.
I have reason to believe the Greater Demon was only trying to unnerve me, but I can't be sure. I've studied it for a while but could never come up with an explanation."
System, do you know how Demons exist?
-Request requires 5000 Potential Points. Yes/No?
I can afford it, but that's too expensive. Another time maybe...
"We are getting off track. Since you are now my Disciple, it's time I teach you a few things. Come, take a seat."
Riyald called Mana of the Plant Element to create a table and two wooden chairs despite the row of sofas on an opposite wall. A quick sweep with the Navigation Radar explained to William why: they were all booby-trapped.
What the hell is this man's obsession with traps?!?
William did his best not to let his thoughts show on his face. He used a bit of his own Plant Element Mana to create a soft cushion out of plant fibers, then took a seat in the chair without another word.
Riyald gave William a knowing look, but also chose not to speak. Instead, he brought a small piece of parchment from his Space Ring and drew a few Runes on it.
William instantly recognized the Runes, since they were the same ones he had seen on the Wind Dial's band.
"I'm sure you understand what the functions of these Runes are, given your ability with Arrays. You're a Perfect Array Master, aren't you?"
"Good, then this makes things easier. I had Sir Reynolds give me an update on your progress, and I have to say that I am quite impressed with your speed.
It seems you are quickly approaching the limit of what one can achieve with Arrays. You just need a bit more practical experience."
Riyald drew a Filtering Array on the parchment, also from the Wind Dial, "What do you think of this?"
William looked closely at the Array, which contained four improved Perfect Filtering Runes, four improved Perfect Separation Runes, and four Perfect Splitting Runes.
"It's a Filtering Array with Separation and Splitting Runes. What of it?"
"My young Disciple, you have all this knowledge but you're not paying attention. What about the Separation and Splitting Runes? I hear you spent a few hours trying to solve a problem of yours. While this is nothing to someone like me, I can't imagine you've ever been so challenged before."
Riyald didn't care that William's speed was much faster than the rest of his peers. He noticed a flaw in William's understanding and aimed to fix it before the boy developed any bad habits.
William looked more closely at the Runes, deep in thought as he tried to understand the meaning of Riyald's words. After a few minutes, he still didn't have an answer.
"Master, I don't get it. What are they splitting?"
"As expected, you have the Space Element but don't know about the layers of space." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel[f]ire.net
Riyald sighed as he pulled out two more pieces of parchment from his Space Ring.