A Gorgeous Start
Translator: Lordbluefire
"Something feels wrong. Why isn’t he mad yet?"
Ji Han really wanted to enter the cell and observe things closer. But once he thought of the miserable plight of those great teachers who had turned crazy, he didn’t dare to do so anymore.
(Let’s wait for a little while longer. I don’t believe this fellow is truly a genius!)
Ji Han widened his eyes. He was deeply afraid of missing out on any detail. In fact, he even took out an image-recording stone, wanting to record the scenes of Sun Mo turning mad.
...
In the gigantic lecture theater.
Sun Mo was worried he might say something wrong, hence, he remained silent to drag for time.
He activated Divine Sight to observe this old man. In the end, the info was blocked by the system again. He had no way to use it.
Bang!
The saint named Bai Dong smashed his fist onto the table and glared at Sun Mo. "Brat, you are too impudent. I’m a saint. Where’s your respect?"
"Are you a saint because you said you are one?"
Sun Mo rebutted.
"Hmph. When I was alive, I was one of the three saints of darkness called the East Saint. I’m skilled in weaponsmithing, art of spiritual control, and medical arts. My mastery level has reached the great ancestor level in all three subjects."
The old man coldly snorted with an arrogant expression.
"I’ve been disrespectful!"
Sun Mo clasped his hands.
"You are not shocked?" The old man was taken aback. "Great ancestor-level mastery in three subjects, how awe-inspiring is that? Leaving this aside, just my identity as a dark saint is already equal to headmasters of the Nine Greats."
"Currently, I’m not fully 25 yet, but I’m a great ancestor spirit runist and a grandmaster in the art of spiritual control, puppetry, herbology, botany, and archeology. In a bit, I can also become grand ancestors in three subjects."
Sun Mo laughed. "As for the identity of a dark saint, I’ve killed one before. So, I don’t feel anything strange."
Bang!
Bai Dong smashed the lecture desk into pieces with a punch as he stared at Sun Mo with anger.
"It can’t be, right? I’m so outstanding, yet you actually don’t want to accept me as a disciple?"
Sun Mo was a little nervous. It seemed that his act didn’t work.
At this moment, facing Bai Dong’s mental might, Sun Mo really felt a sense of pressure like he would suffer sudden death. He subconsciously activated Battlegod Protection.
A few minutes later, Bai Dong’s expression cleared like the skies after a heavy storm, and he began to laugh uproariously.
"Haha, that’s right. I like iron-headed brats like you the most. For those fellows who worship saints and act like simps, I will kill everyone I see!"
Bai Dong laughed loudly. He then teleported right before Sun Mo.
"You’ve passed the first stage!"
The old man patted Sun Mo on his shoulders and felt very gratified. "Although I’m a dark great teacher, I’ve never committed any bloody atrocities before. I just dislike those old and rusty rules binding the great teacher circle in the Nine Provinces, and that’s why I chose to join the Dark Dawn."
"I actually don’t like them either."
Sun Mo smiled and silently heaved a sigh of relief.
"When I was a bit younger, I once went to explore the Darkness Continent and discovered a fragmented cultivation art. I didn’t try to complete it. Instead, I took the essence of it and created the Empowerment Divine Art."
The old man introduced himself.
"Impressive!"
Sun Mo praised.
This wasn’t him trying to fawn. He was truly impressed.
Sun Mo had trained in many cultivation arts before. This was why he knew how difficult it was to create a cultivation art.
"I don’t know the level of the cultivation art, but I feel that it should be a peerless-grade saint-tier one. Because, after I cultivate it, I can forcibly ‘plunder’ the strength of my opponents and use them to empower myself."
The old man felt proud. "Back then, ever since I stepped in the Longevity Realm, I’ve never cultivated anymore. I solely depended on this art to plunder the strength of my opponents and raise my cultivation base. It was because of this that I gained the glory of becoming a dark saint."
"Damn, isn’t this the Beiming Divine Art from the show, demi-gods and demi-devils?"
Sun Mo was shocked. This was good stuff.
"Naturally, because it’s a plundering-type art, I became like a street-crossing rat. Everyone wants to kill me."
The old man’s lips twitched.
Sun Mo mentally mused that he would do the same too because this cultivation art could boost your strength freely. Even those top-level experts would also panic.
Everyone would be afraid of the day when their several hundred years of cultivation was plundered by someone.
"Qi, actually, I know that all of them want my cultivation art."
The old man mocked as he sank into another stretch of recollection. "At the start, I was completely lawless and arrogant, frenziedly plundering the
"Who is your esteemed teacher?"
Sun Mo was curious.
"The Dawn Sovereign!"
When the old man spoke of this name, his expression turned to one of extreme respect. After that, he looked at Sun Mo. "So, do you want to learn it? Given your aptitude, you should be able to inherit the Empowerment Divine Art perfectly."
"I want to learn!"
Sun Mo felt that honesty was his best virtue and he should be honest.
"Fine, but you have to make a vow that you cannot pass this cultivation art to anyone else, not even to your students."
The old man requested. "Naturally, if they wish to learn it, they can come to this prison."
Sun Mo frowned.
"Why? You are not willing now?"
The old man questioned.
"Although the cultivation art is good, there are too many restrictions!"
Sun Mo stared straight at the old man. "I’m not afraid of restrictions, but I dislike illogical restrictions."
"Alright, I’ll make a compromise. You can teach your personal students!"
The old man seemed to be reluctant to miss out on a good seedling like Sun Mo.
Sun Mo shook his head.
"Why?"
The old man was astonished.
"I’ll be the one to decide what to do with my knowledge. I can teach whoever I want to!"
Sun Mo bluntly spoke.
"Is there any meaning to such persistence? You can’t possibly teach them to the students of other teachers, right?"
The old man sneered.
"Who said that?"
Sun Mo rolled his eyes. "I’ve always felt that the greatest flaw of you great teachers from the Nine Provinces is that all of you cherish your knowledge too much and view them as something incomparably precious, causing you guys to not want to impart them easily.
"From my understanding, knowledge is power, and power means that one can obtain and subdue everything. But we are great teachers, so we shouldn’t discriminate. I always felt that as long as we meet suitable students, even if they are not ours, as long as their character is not problematic, we should just impart the relevant knowledge."
Sun Mo stared at the ceiling. His gaze seemingly shot past it, and he was staring at the deep space above. "For people of our generation, I think we won’t have a chance to see this in reality. But I wish that there will come a day where a student I taught can explore a further and larger piece of starry sea."
"There are boundaries in territory, but knowledge is boundless!"
Bzz!
Although this was an illusion, a resplendent light suddenly gushed forth from Sun Mo. Priceless Advice had been activated.
The old man was stunned.
Sun Mo’s words brought too great of a rush of impact to him.
"I already know what’s going on with this riddle. Teacher Bai, could you please send me back?"
Sun Mo clasped his hands. However, Bai Dong didn’t speak. He kept looking at Sun Mo and he stared so long that Sun Mo felt a little chilled.
All of a sudden, Bai Dong laughed uproariously.
"Haha, it has been hundreds of years. I’ve finally met a successor that I’m satisfied with!"
Bai Dong laughed happily and grabbed Sun Mo forcefully. "Congratulations on passing the second test!"
"Damn, was this fellow probing me earlier?"
Sun Mo felt a lingering fear.
"Humans have to have a goal so they wouldn’t waste their lives. Hence, I wish to teach some students that could achieve something but sadly, my individual learning is too shallow and I’m unable to do a good job. Hence, I wished to exchange cultivation arts, knowledge, secret manuals with those top-level great teachers, but all of them rejected me."
Bai Dong sighed. "I feel that those people were too selfish. Hence, I modified the Empowerment Divine Art and allowed it to be capable of absorbing the memories of others so I could plunder their knowledge."
"..."
Sun Mo was shocked. (You are truly a freaking genius. No wonder you could become one of the three dark saints of the Dark Dawn.)
"And later on, I discovered that the efficiency of teaching a disciple is too slow. Hence, through the two halos, Enlightenment Provision and Blue Born From Green, I managed to comprehend a brand new halo that allowed me to pass the knowledge I have directly into the minds of my students!"
The old man laughed in pride. "I named it the Empowerment Halo."
"Awesome!" Sun Mo flashed a thumbs-up. "Those who went mad probably didn’t pass the test, right?"
"That’s correct!"
Bai Dong explained. "The first test is that they shouldn’t kneel to any saint they meet. I don’t want them to be blindly led by authority and worship saints blindly. Aren’t saints merely people who have read a few more books than them?"
"..."
Sun Mo felt his tooth aching. (Is there something wrong with this fellow’s mind?)
"The second test is to test your magnanimity. Those great teachers who cherish their knowledge too much, treating them like hereditary treasures, will never be able to pass."
Bai Dong stared at Sun Mo and heaved a sigh of relief. "Alright, my mission has concluded. During these last moments, could you tell me your name?"
"Sun Mo, some call me Black Doggy Sun!"
Sun Mo bowed to Bai Dong. This fellow’s impartial thinking was worthy of a bow of respect from him.
"Sun Mo? Black Doggy Sun?"
Bai Dong laughed. "This name isn’t bad. Sadly, you told me about the sea of stars, but I’m not fated to be able to see it. How regretful, how regretful!"
As the old man spoke, he transformed into a beam of light and shot into Sun Mo’s glabella.
RUMBLE!
A vast amount of information directly erupted in Sun Mo’s mind.
This old man was actually a ‘spiritual beast’. Bai Dong had used a part of his soul and the soul of others to create it. Because he had died long ago, there was no ‘excess strength’ to be passed down, only his knowledge remained.
However, this knowledge was enough to benefit Sun Mo for a lifetime.
This was especially so for the subjects of weaponsmithing, the art of spiritual control, and medical studies. The old man possessed great ancestor-level mastery and experience over these three subjects. As long as Sun Mo understood his insights, he could save 300 years of effort. Moreover, he also possessed the Empowerment Divine Art and halo now. These two were priceless treasures.
"Teacher Bai, thank you for your gift of kindness!"
Sun Mo prayed. "I wish you are able to find happiness in the other world!"
...
Outside the cell, everyone had waited for half an hour.
"Why hasn’t that fellow died yet?"
Ji Han was truly shocked. Sun Mo had broken the previous time record. Even the prison warden himself could only stay for 15 minutes in the cell, and he had to come out then as he could feel danger.
"Teacher Ji, what’s the situation? Has Sun Mo comprehended it?"
Lian Hongying asked.
"I’m not sure."
Ji Han shook his head. When he looked at the meditating Sun Mo and was pondering whether to wake him up forcibly or not, the three rows of words suddenly released resplendent beams of light that shot into Sun Mo’s glabella.
"Damn!"
Ji Han cursed out loud and rushed into the cell, stretching his hands out to catch those beams of light.
Pu! Pu! Pu!
The beams of light penetrated Ji Han’s palms.
"F***!"
Ji Han’s expression drastically changed and he glared ruthlessly at Sun Mo.
(What should I do? This fellow has obtained the inheritance of Saint Bai!)
The others were also incomparably shocked.
"One of the three great riddles of the Great Prison of Desolation?"
Pang Tong’s lips curled as he cast a side glance at Ji Han. "It just amounts to this?"
(It was resolved by Sun Mo in half an hour. Are you guys people who have never seen the wide world before, causing you guys to treat a worm like a dragon? Or is Sun Mo’s strength just too domineering?)