Chapter 71: Potential Guardian...Terrifying Comprehension
Darius shook his head and gathered his thoughts. He had zoned out for a moment and nearly forgotten the current situation.
’Troublesome. Will he even accept?’
Inexperienced as usual, Darius nevertheless smiled and took a seat on one of the chairs before speaking.
"You have nowhere to go. The Assassin Guild will stop at nothing to get rid of you after the failed assassination, and even if they don’t, the master of that girl will hunt you down to vent his anger." Darius paused slightly as he tried to gauge John’s thoughts.
The entire conversation between him and the System had only taken a few seconds, so the young man was still on high alert despite hearing that he would not be killed. His mind was a complete mess, and after a long pause, he merely replied with an "Oh."
Darius waved his hand, and the young man was instantly pulled over. However, instead of kneeling, he found himself standing upright.
"Do not ’oh’ me..." Slap! "Focus." Slap! "Your life has been spared." Slap! "Get out of your fear zone!" Slap!
Each word was accompanied by a sharp whooshing sound as John was slapped across the face.
It took six or seven slaps before the young man finally regained his senses, and his breathing gradually became steadier.
"Thank you... for sparing my life," he said with difficulty.
Cultivators were rarely upright individuals. One moment they could save your life, and the next they could stab you in the back as casually as drinking tea.
"Good. Listen carefully now." Darius walked over to the receptionist’s desk, followed the System’s instructions, took out a contract along with a pen, and placed both on the table. "I spared your life, yet you still attempted to kill me just now despite me having done nothing to provoke you. My demands aren’t excessive. Simply become a Guardian of the Immortal Pavilion until the day you die, and the debt between us will be erased."
John blinked.
For a moment, he felt as though he had misheard.
’Until I die? You might as well tell me to become your slave. Why bother sugarcoating it?’
His anger immediately surged, but after recalling everything that had happened moments earlier, he instinctively shrank his neck and suppressed it.
"I may not be ready to die yet, but I won’t spend the rest of my life serving someone else. If that’s the price of keeping my life, then you might as well kill me now. I would rather die free than live in humiliation." As he spoke, a resolute expression appeared in his eyes. There wasn’t the slightest trace of hesitation on his face.
Even Darius was somewhat surprised.
’Main character indeed. How could someone like him agree so easily to become another person’s subordinate? This mission won’t be easy.’ Darius had no experience recruiting people, much less recruiting someone with such an obvious protagonist template. However, a moment later, his eyes lit up as an idea suddenly appeared in his mind.
All cultivators, regardless of their background, experiences, or goals, shared one common desire.
To become stronger.
If he could show John that the Immortal Pavilion could nurture him better than any guild, then convincing him to become a Guardian wouldn’t be impossible. With that thought in mind, Darius raised his hand, stopping John from saying anything further.
"Don’t rush your decision. Even families with thousand-year inheritances would kill for the chance to become a Guardian of my Pavilion. However, I understand that words are meaningless without proof, so I might as well show you."
Darius wasn’t bluffing.
Leaving aside the numerous benefits attached to the Guardian position and the System’s support, he still had enough confidence to demonstrate at least a fraction of what the Pavilion could offer.
He immediately pointed toward the Advanced Cultivation Room.
"Try that cultivation room for one hour. Afterward, make your decision. However, keep one thing in mind. That room is merely the lowest of the low among the countless services offered by the Immortal Pavilion. While it is already extraordinary by itself, the others are even more..." He suddenly stopped himself midway. "Actually, never mind. Experience it for yourself and then decide."
Darius had been about to brag about the cultivation room before abruptly cutting himself off.
For a brief moment, he genuinely felt as though he was becoming more and more like the System whenever the Pavilion was involved. ’Did that damn System somehow affect me mentally?’ Nevertheless, a smile spread across his face.
He was completely confident that even with John’s peak Acupoint Qi Realm cultivation, he would never be willing to let such an opportunity slip away.
John, on the other hand, had no idea where this confidence came from.
Strength wasn’t everything.
In his eyes, the young man standing before him was simply an arrogant young master who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth...a frog at the bottom of a well. If he had witnessed the things John had seen within the Assassin Guild, he would never make such ridiculous claims.
Try a cultivation room for an hour and understand?
Laughable.
Even if he cultivated there for a hundred years, his answer would remain unchanged.
What could a mere cultivation room hidden in this forgotten corner of the city possibly compare to the resources possessed by the Assassin Guild?
Still unwilling to provoke Darius, he followed the instructions and quickly located the Advanced Cultivation Room. Looking at the ordinary-looking room before him, John snorted and stepped inside.
No matter what anyone said, he was still considered talented despite his dormant physique and hidden potential that even he didn’t know about. The boundlessness of his future was not something ordinary people could comprehend. Thus, his disdain toward this establishment was not entirely without reason.
Darius more or less knew what the young man was thinking, but he didn’t care.
Words were meaningless.
Only strength spoke.
And cultivation resources were the foundation of strength.
Without them?
Heh.
Even a prodigy would eventually become nothing more than a pig that could fly a little higher than the rest.
Inside the cultivation room, John sat cross-legged on the smooth floor and slowly regulated his breathing. He first calmed his mind and pushed aside the chaos of today’s events before beginning his cultivation.
Suddenly, his thoughts drifted toward the failed assassination.
The entire battle replayed itself before his eyes with startling clarity, as though he had returned to that exact moment.
Then the scene shifted.
The familiar image of the Assassin Guild’s branch leader appeared before him, showcasing various beasts engaged in battle just as he had done years ago.
John could not help but become completely absorbed in the sight.
