Chapter Seventy-Eight: Willing to Serve as a Maid

Han Ming seemed to think of something. She looked at Ning Zhuo, her eyes gleaming with a keen, probing light.

She swallowed and asked cautiously, “May I ask, my lord, did you erase that old ape?”

Beneath the mask, Ning Zhuo narrowed his eyes slightly. “Yes. And if I did?”

Han Ming immediately drew in a sharp breath. She changed posture at once, dropped to both knees, and bowed deeply before him.

“My lord, this humble woman wishes to be your maidservant. I am willing to enter a soul pact and serve you for the rest of my life!”

Ning Zhuo could not help frowning, finding her behavior rather strange.

When he had first captured Han Ming and used her to replenish his soul essence, she had hated and loathed him greatly.

Later, her attitude softened because she feared death and had no choice but to submit.

But now, Ning Zhuo could sense genuine sincerity and wholehearted devotion from her.

Of course, his perception might be mistaken. Yet her attitude truly felt transformed.

“Why?” Ning Zhuo looked down at her and asked lightly.

Han Ming took a deep breath, raised her upper body while keeping her lower half kneeling, and looked up at him.

“My lord, are you familiar with fortune?”

Ning Zhuo frowned, considered it for a moment, and replied, “I know a little.”

“In fortune, the word for 'qi' refers to breath.”

“From the moment we are born, we begin to breathe. When our lifespan is exhausted, breathing comes to an end. The number of breaths we take is our fortune.”

“That is why many cultivators do not advocate conflict, and why they insist on keeping their state of mind calm and even.”

“Because the injuries caused by struggle greatly diminish fortune. Rage, fear, despair, ecstatic joy, and other intense emotions likewise tend to quicken the breath and reduce fortune.”

“So many cultivators value not contending with others, remaining calm and composed; in this way, they often live longer.”

Han Ming nodded. “That explanation of fortune is indeed the most widely circulated one in the cultivation world. It does reveal part of the truth, but not enough.”

“This servant once had the honor of reading a classic text in the sect called The Theory of Fortune, Volume One. It was a secret treatise of calculation from the Celestial Track Manor.”

Ning Zhuo’s brow rose slightly.

He had heard of Celestial Track Manor.

It was an immensely mysterious super-sect with very few inheritors. Yet whenever one of those inheritors emerged into the world and walked among mortals, they often brought sweeping changes to the entire realm of cultivation. This was because each generation’s inheritor would select a chosen child of destiny, guide the tide of events, and bring about the destruction of the old cultivation nations and the establishment of entirely new ones.

Ning Zhuo thought to himself, with quiet admiration, that the Soul-Devouring Sect where Han Ming belonged was indeed a great demonic faction to possess books of such quality.

As for himself, over these past dozen years, at most he had read in the Ning family’s library. And that was only the public library, not the repository of secret manuals.

“Go on,” Ning Zhuo said.

Han Ming swallowed again, still kneeling on the ground.

“The Theory of Fortune says that everyone’s fortune differs. Some have more, some less; some are strong, some weak.”

“The higher one’s spiritual root and innate talent, the greater and stronger one’s fortune tends to be.”

“Among them, the highest level of innate talent is called immortal aptitude. Such people possess the most fortune, and the greatest resilience.”

“Those with immortal aptitude are often surrounded by the noble and blessed, with opportunities coming unbidden to them.”

“They will never easily fall into an absolute dead end. There is usually always a thread of hope. As long as they seize it, they can cling to life, escape from certain doom, and even see fortune reverse after adversity. When great disaster fails to kill them, blessings often follow.”

“By contrast, if ordinary people try to deal with them, they will always encounter all sorts of accidents: either their own mistakes, or outside interference, and in the end they fail at the last moment.”

As he listened, Ning Zhuo’s heart stirred, and he began to understand why Han Ming’s attitude had changed.

“Interesting. Don’t stop.”

“Yes.” Han Ming continued, “This servant remembers that The Theory of Fortune gave many examples, all of them drawn from real events.”

“Many people with immortal aptitude suffered all manner of suppression. So long as they could endure it and adapt, they would almost always undergo a rapid breakthrough in some respect because of it.”

“And those who tried to deal with the bearers of immortal aptitude generally met a poor end.”

“In the course of opposing them, they would suffer losses of fortune, which affected their minds, muddled their spirits, and stirred up their emotions, causing them to make all manner of wrong judgments and actions.”

“In the end, they only brought hardship upon themselves and walked straight toward death.”

“Those with immortal aptitude are not people ordinary folk can kill!”

By then, Han Ming was looking at Ning Zhuo, the little recluse, with unmistakable fervor.

“I understand what you mean,” Ning Zhuo said with habitual modesty. “However, while I did erase Yuan Dasheng this time, I also relied on outside force. Perhaps my own fortune and that of others merely added together, and their total overwhelmed Yuan Dasheng’s.”

Han Ming immediately shook her head.

“My lord, according to what The Theory of Fortune says, when two sides cooperate, their fortunes do not simply add together. At times, they may even wear each other down and subtract instead.”

“The Theory of Fortune gives the examples of Nie Xiongfeng and Chu Liuyun. My lord should know of them; both were bearers of immortal aptitude and became enemies. At first, Nie Xiongfeng did not take Chu Liuyun seriously and sent subordinates to hunt him down again and again.”

“In those repeated pursuits, Chu Liuyun tempered himself, growing stronger with every battle, until he finally struck back and annihilated Nie Xiongfeng.”

The struggle between wind and cloud was widely known throughout the cultivation world. The conflict between those two men brought about the fall of one super-sect and the birth of another.

Han Ming sighed. “Bearers of immortal aptitude are one in a million among cultivators. And that count is based on cultivators, not a million ordinary mortals.”

“Every bearer of immortal aptitude has exceptionally strong fortune and natural opportunities.”

“Even if two people of high aptitude cooperate with complete sincerity and their fortunes are fully combined, they still fall far short of one person with supreme aptitude.”

“So that is how it is,” Ning Zhuo said with a cold snort. “You saw through me. I am indeed of supreme aptitude!”

Han Ming froze, then was overcome with delight. She bowed again.

“My lord, this humble woman is willing to be your servant and devote herself entirely to serving you.”

She had already submitted before.

This time, after inferring that Ning Zhuo possessed immortal aptitude, even the pride of a demonic sect disciple vanished without a trace.

One had to know that even within a great demonic sect, there would not be more than ten people with immortal aptitude.

To take refuge with such a person was to have a future worth looking toward.

Of course, Han Ming also acted this way out of fear.

During this period, she had devoured far too many monkey souls. She did not want to become some kind of ape-woman at all.

Ning Zhuo gave a slight nod.

He himself was not certain what hidden aptitude he possessed. But at this moment, regardless of the truth, agreeing was the best choice.

“This old man will reluctantly accept you, then,” said Ning Zhuo of the little recluse, his voice still hoarse.

“Many thanks for your mercy, my lord!” Han Ming exclaimed excitedly, at once touching her forehead to the ground.

When she lifted her head, she added, “And congratulations to my lord for having eliminated a bearer of immortal aptitude. Your own fortune will greatly increase!”

“Oh? And what is the reasoning behind that?” Ning Zhuo asked curiously.