Sensing his intense changes in emotions, Mi Li said, âThereâs no need for you to be too worried. There werenât any suspicious individuals around when you were with Yun Jianyue and when you played around with the empress.â
Zu An finally released a sigh of relief when he heard what she had said. Even though he had also been using the jade badge to examine his surroundings, this was the worldâs most mysterious assassin organization, after all. He really found it hard to believe that the other party didnât have other ways to spy on him.
But now that Mi Li had said that, he sighed in relief. Mi Liâs cultivation was far beyond that of an ordinary person. No matter how formidable the Shadow Groupâs master was, he wouldnât have surpassed Mi Li at her peak.
He recalled that for better or for worse, Yun Jianyue was also a grandmaster. She hadnât noticed anything strange either, so those things they had done probably didnât reach the ears of the Shadow Groupâs master.
However, he didnât dare to act carelessly. He had only been a nobody back then, so the Shadow Groupâs master might not have cared. However, he had already climbed his way up in that time, already drawing the attention of several large powers, so the Shadow Group was definitely paying attention to him. He had to be more careful in the future.
Zu An then asked a bit about the Shadow Groupâs intelligence, but Ma An didnât know too much. As he had already asked about almost everything he could, he began to wrap things up. âDoes anyone else know about what happened here between us?â He had to confirm that, or else if he didnât take care of it, wouldnât everything about him be exposed?
Ma An replied listlessly, âI donât have many friends, nor have I trusted anyone. Furthermore, I only came to confirm my suspicions, so I didnât tell anyone. However, just in case, I left a note in my notebook that I would pay Zu An a visit today. If something happens to me, everyone in the palace will know that the one who killed me was Zu An.â
Zu An was speechless. This guy really is extremely treacherous! Thank goodness I asked about this, or else I wouldâve been finished! He quickly asked about where the note was, and then finished Ma An off. Even though Zu An didnât like to kill, he wouldnât show any mercy toward someone who tried to take his life.
Ma An fell limply to the ground. Two porcelain bottles, one black and one white, rolled out from inside his clothes. The black bottle had the words âFrozen Soulâ inscribed on it, while the white bottle had the word âAntidoteâ.
Zu An picked up the black bottle. It was extremely cold to the touch. Mi Li floated over and said, âThis is probably the basis for Ma Anâs confidence, since he can even poison a master rank cultivator. It was just that he had no idea that you had just made a breakthrough in the Primordial Origin Sutra, so you were already immune to most poisons.â
Zu An looked at that candle that was still burning. He thought to himself, This Ma An really is quite unlucky. Mi Li was a spirit-like existence, while he was mysterious. Otherwise, if the two really had been poisoned, Ma An might have at least had the power to negotiate a bit.
Mi Li stretched out her body, revealing her seductive curves. She yawned and said, âAll of this has made me tired. Iâm going to sleep.â
After being around her for so long, Zu An knew that the reason Mi Li needed to sleep so much was partly because she needed to stabilize the Red Tears of Lady Xiang, while the other reason was because she didnât have a body. Her spiritual state was actually quite taxing with prolonged use, so she needed to sleep to replendish her energy.
Zu An had even bought a bed for her and placed it in the Taiâe Swordâs storage. He didnât know if her spirit body could sleep on a bed or not.
Just as Mi Li was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and said, âRight, judging from what Iâve seen regarding the Phoenix Nirvana Sutraâs birds, youâre mainly using their distinctive traits.â
âIs there something wrong with that?â Zu An was confused.
âNot at all; itâs actually quite a ridiculous asset,â Mi Li said. She continued in a dignified manner, âIâve been wondering why you couldnât awaken any element despite reaching the sixth rank. I originally thought that it was because of the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, that you could only awaken one when you reach a higher level. But youâve already reached the ninth rank now, yet you still havenât obtained any elemental ability. Furthermore, thereâs a strange bird that appears whenever you make a breakthrough. I finally realized why that was.â
âWhy?â Zu An quickly asked. Other cultivators all had different elements to play with; only he alone hadnât awakened any element and had to rely on only his body. That really was quite embarrassing.
Mi Li sighed. âItâs because youâve already awakened elemental abilities; itâs just that youâve never realized it. Otherwise, donât you think you cultivated the Snowflake Sword a bit too quickly?â
Zu An replied, âIsnât it normal for a talented genius like me to cultivate quickly?â
Mi Li was speechless. She ignored what he said and continued, âThe Snowflake Sword is an ice element battle skill. According to normal reason, you could only get so far without awakening the ice element no matter how great your aptitude. However, you can still perform the Snowflake Sword pretty well, to the extent where you can even release some of the sword skillâs innate ice power.â
Zu An also began to think to himself. âItâs probably because I used the Snow Phoenixâs power, rightâ¦â
Mi Li cut him off. âItâs not the Snow Phoenixâs power, but rather the Snow Phoenixâs ice attribute that granted you the foundation to use ice element skills. For example, when you cultivated the Flame Blade, you needed Dajiâs foxfire. However, now that you have the Fire Phoenix, I believe you can use it even without Dajiâs ability.â
Zu An felt an urge to try it out. He used the Flame Bladeâs skill, but he deliberately chose not to borrow Dajiâs power. A flame blade appeared in his palm, and it was a dazzling gold, no different from the color of the Fire Phoenix.
âDo you understand now?â Mi Li continued, âEvery single bird is of a different attribute. For example, Grandgale is wind, Hundredwarble is spirit, Blue Mallard is water, Snow Phoenix is ice, Blue Luan is wood, Golden Phoenix is metal, Fire Phoenix is fireâ¦
âThis means that it makes sense that you didnât awaken a specific element, because youâve awakened every single element. Itâs just that youâre different from others in the sense that you can use them as soon as you awaken the respective ability, but you still have to practice skills related to the different methods in order to develop them.â
Zu An immediately became overjoyed. âSo that was what happened! Hahaha, what did I say? Itâs way too embarrassing if the protagonist doesnât have all the elements, hahaha!â
âDid you go insane?â Mi Li was speechless when she saw how crazily he was laughing.
âI just got a bit excited.â Zu An chuckled.
Mi Li nodded in understanding. âCultivators have almost always only had one element, ever since ancient times. Occasionally, if there were any who were proficient in two elements, that was already considered ridiculous. Someone like you who can use all the elements is completely unheard of, so itâs extremely normal for you to be a bit excited.
âBut I advise you to keep this a secret, or else youâll draw the jealousy of all cultivators. Those who are nicer might capture you for research; those who are more evil will want to get rid of you as soon as possible and kill you before you can grow stronger.â
Zu An was unhappy. âBut I already found my dao, that a real man should face everything head on and become the strongest!â
Mi Li rolled her eyes. âWhatâs wrong with biding your time for now? There were countless strong individuals throughout history, but those who only knew how to charge forward all ended up dying miserably. I donât care if you die, but donât drag me down with you.â
Zu An felt this girl really was a tsundere. She clearly cares about me, yet she just has to make it sound like sheâs only doing it for herself. He became a bit upset and said, âThen do I have to endure everything, and just swallow the humiliation if someone bullies me?â
âThatâs different. If anyone tries to take advantage of you, then just find a way to beat them up. As long as youâve thought about the consequences, of course. Donât let the entire world find out that youâve awakened all of the elements,â Mi Li replied.
Zu An nodded. âI understand. I shouldnât show everything, or if I do, then I have to make sure that person doesnât live to see tomorrow. That way, nothing will be exposed.â
Mi Li was speechless. She eventually remarked, âYou really are an evil little bastard.â
âBig sis empress, who are you learning from? You shouldnât say dirty things like that,â Zu An replied.
âFrom you,â Mi Li retorted. It was now Zu Anâs turn to become speechless.
âThatâs why, if you have the chance to cultivate skills of other elements, it will be beneficial to your strength. Alright, Iâm not gonna chat with you anymore. Iâm going to get dark circles if I donât sleep nowâ¦â Mi Li yawned, and then disappeared into the Taiâe Sword.
Zu An began to think. He had the Snowflake Sword for the ice element, and he had the Flame Blade for the fire element. What about the other elements?
Iâll ask Zheng Dan about the water element, Snow for the wood element, and as for the spirit element⦠Oh, Yun Yuqing just happens to be the spirit element, haha! Iâm a genius! A male lion is going to be surrounded by lionesses after all.
But what about wind and metal? Do I have any beauties around me who have awakened these two elements? Sigh, I was getting all cocky, but it looks like this is going to be quite the struggle.
All of this is for the sake of cultivation! Yup, thatâs definitely it!