Providence Zone, Yu Royal Family's throne room.
"As you can see, Your Highness, the boy is completely incapacitated. Even if he wanted to cause you trouble, he wouldn't be capable of doing so." Gu Dianlong was kneeling in front of a blonde young man seated on a large throne.
William was next to Gu Dianlong, unrestricted in the slightest but devoid of emotion, like an empty puppet without a soul.
"And how am I supposed to believe that, when you're in control of him?" the young man calmly raised a finger to his face with no real purpose other than a mere habit. He was suspicious of this Guild Master, who claimed his full support for the Royal Family. Perhaps this was a trap, a ruse to trick him into letting the boy live.
Gu Dianlong knew exactly what Supreme Left was thinking, but he was prepared for this.
"I'd like to add that although the boy is incredibly talented in Magic, he has absolutely no talent for Cultivation. Even if he had S-Rank Magic Affinity, he wouldn't be able to create a single rip in your clothing."
Supreme Left was surprised. A Manamatus with no Cultivation talent? How unlucky; the boy is doomed to live a measly 40 years or so before dying of old age...
To him, 40 years was but a blink of an eye. As a ten-thousand-year-old Cultivator, Supreme Left can easily spend 40 years on just a single Cultivation session.
"Is that so?" he dialed a number on a special communicator, instantly answered by an unknown party.
"Retrieve the Qi Orb and bring it to me." Supreme Left hung up immediately.
A knock was heard from a grand pair of double doors behind William and Gu Dianlong.
The doors swung open as a bulky man entered the room carrying what appeared to be a compact ball of neutral Mana. The man placed the Qi Orb on a small table from his Space Ring, then bowed to Supreme Left and exited the room.
Supreme Left looked at William, "Put your hand on it."
"Do as he says." Gu Dianlong ordered.
William emotionlessly approached the Qi Orb. His expression was blank, but his mind was anything but.
Damn it, I hate this!
William had silently communicated with the System over the last three days, hoping to find a solution, but with not much luck. Either the answer was something out of his control, he didn't have high enough Cultivation, or he didn't have enough Potential Points for a Talent that the System didn't name.
It was a hopeless situation, his only consolation that Gu Dianlong might choose to free him at some point.
He measured his Cultivation Talent on the Qi Orb, which confirmed that Gu Dianlong was not lying.
Supreme Left nodded his head. "So it seems your words are true. That aside, he still defeated my youngest granddaughter in a duel. How do you intend to handle this situation?"
"They're both young, only Outer Core Disciples. The people will soon forget all about the duel if they haven't already. This is just a minor detail."
"And I suppose you already know that the Pillars of Justice want him, don't you, Gu Dianlong? Why protect a kid with no future?"
"His Magic ability is quite impressive, Your Highness. I've made plans to use him occasionally to explore some ruins. Perhaps his low Cultivation will help us clear some trials that have so far been impossible."
"And which ruins do you propose to clear first?"
"The Gravitas Ruins."
"Oho, very ambitious I see. Well good luck with that. I will keep the boy alive given your request, but you must keep him under control. Any more ridiculous feats and someone else may want to kill him, I won't protect your Sect if that happens."
"I understand, Your Highness. He will not cause you any further trouble."
"Go now, I have other things to attend to."
Gu Dianlong nodded and opened a portal out of the throne room, leading himself and William back to the Sect. The portal was connected directly to William's bedroom, where Sect Master Gu looked at him seriously.
"Boy, I've protected you once again, but don't think I'm doing this for your sake, I will be claiming my compensation quite soon.
For starters, I will not be removing that Enslavement Array. You will accept that as punishment and will wear it until you've proven your worth. Do you understand?" he removed the restrictions on William's voice and certain movements.
William nodded. "Yes, Sect Master. I won't let you down."
To hell with you! I'm going to beat you up the first chance I get!
"Good. I want you to go to the Gravitas Ruins, but first you will need to place first on the Ranking Board. Once you've done this, go to your residence and wait for my next order." Gu Dianlong ordered.
He could have just used his authority to give William a ticket to the Gravitas Ruins, but the other Sects might find it suspicious for William to be there when he was only in the top 500.
The Gravitas Ruins were controlled by over a hundred Sects. Each Sect agreed to only send one Outer Core Disciple and Ten Inner Core Disciples per month. If William achieved Rank 1 by himself, Sect Master Gu could give him the end of month rewards that included the ticket while still abiding by the rules created by the collective Sects.
William nodded once again. This was actually good for him, since he would still have a chance at earning the Potential Points Reward and finally be able to Cultivate.
"I'll be off then. Act normal, but don't draw any attention to yourself. If I sense you causing a ruckus, you will regret it." Gu Dianlong gave his last order before exiting the room through another portal.
William looked around the room and released a big sigh. I never thought I would be turned into a slave...I guess I deserved it though.
He brought out Atticus, who had been in his room hiding with Illusion Magic since three days ago during William's challenge to Yu Ren. His eyes seemed somewhat sad as he noticed the peculiar condition William was in, but his mood improved when William made them both omelettes.
William hadn't eaten in three whole days, of which he didn't even know what happened. It was like a blank spot in his life, as if the time hadn't even passed.
The moment he was enslaved, Gu Dianlong had given him an order to forget everything they spoke about. Thankfully, the System confirmed that the Sect Master was unable to pry any information about his Talents or the System itself.
He decided to use his time wisely, immediately challenging the person ranked 201st on the Ranking Board. He made sure to check their information to make sure there was no one extraordinarily strong this time, lest the Sect Master punish him again for having to go all out. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NovelHub(.)net
The previous two challengers that were supposed to fight him the same day didn't have a chance to do so. Their ranks were 440 and 490 respectively, so when William jumped to Rank 301, they were no longer qualified to challenge him.
The first day quickly went by. William's challenge was declined, the person ranked 201st forfeiting the match. He proceeded to challenge the disciple ranked 101st, who also forfeited. William challenged Hanzu next, who was Rank 1, but he seemed to be away from the Sect right now and probably wouldn't respond for a few days.
Either way, William was thankful that his other challenges ended so quickly. Even if Hanzu took two weeks to come back, William would still have enough time to complete the System Quest that was issued around a week ago.
What do I do now? I still can't leave the Sect, and Sect Master probably wouldn't let me even if I was allowed to. I also don't have any lectures until next week; I missed the last one yesterday.
With nothing else in mind, William decided to visit Wild Clover to eat and drink away his frustration. At first, joining the Sect seemed like a great idea. He expected the Elders and Sect Master to fully protect his interests against all odds, but the reality of the situation is that if you anger the wrong person, it doesn't matter who your backer is.
William was surprised to see Gunther, Filipe, and Tia at Wild Clover today. They each welcomed him with bright smiles, congratulating William on his victory against the heir of the Yu Royal Family. No one mentioned anything about William's sudden disappearance from the Arena, so he assumed the Sect Master had something to do with it.
He does have Affinity for the Time and Space Elements after all. William wondered how a Cultivator as strong as the Sect Master could want anything else. What in the Gravitas Ruins was so desirable that one of the strongest individuals on the Continent was willing to lend William a hand just for a chance at retrieving it?