The Magus Era

Outside the headquarters, Ji Tian, Ji Di, Ji Xuan, Ji Huang and a group of disciples from Ji Hao’s Palace of Dao had long streamers holding in their hands. The streamers glowed with starlight, which had been transforming into sharp sword light beams, dazzling across the sky, covering the entire headquarters.

Yi Di’s warriors nervously stood outside the headquarters, with their eyes fixed on the extra large tent of the headquarters. If Yi Di didn’t bring twelve trusted Divine Magi warrior commanders into the tent with him, these warriors of Yi Di might have already risen up and marched into the tent.

Ji Hao ordered his guards to seal the headquarters with a magic formation. Inside the tent, were Ji Hao, Yi Di and a few others. From any angle, this looked like a trap, and Yi Di’s warriors were surely nervous about it.

Inside the tent, a jade incense burner table was placed in the middle. A nine meters long, three meters wide jade board floated above the table. On the thin jade board, Yu Yu’s full-length portrait was carved with smooth lines.

Ji Hao made this portrait of Yu Yu himself, for his disciples to worship.

On the jade board, Yu Yu was wearing a red robe and treading on a cloud, with the blueprint of his sword formation drifting above his head, and the four swords hovering around him. He carried a vividly red wine calabash with his left hand, and his right hand raised. The forefinger and middle finger were straightened, pointing at the sky. A faint smile was showing on his handsome face, looking extremely otherworldly.

On the right side of the jade board was a line of thumb-sized ancient characters — Master Shifu Yu Yu. Those characters were inlaid with powdered gold mixed with cinnabar, and were glowing rather brightly.

A small jade incense burner was placed in the middle of the table. Ji Hao lit three handmade ambergris incense sticks, held them in his hands, and silently stood in front of the jade board. He prayed for a while, and next, put the incense sticks into the burner.

Yi Di did exactly what Ji Hao did. Unaccustomedly, he lit three incense sticks and put them into the burner. Then, following Ji Hao, he kowtowed for three times towards Yu Yu’s portrait, then remained kneeling, without making any other move.

Ji Hao stood up and picked up a long jade ruler, heavily whipping on Yi Di’s shoulder.

”Yi Di, our sect follows clear and strict rules, yet, every rule is reasonable. You shall slowly get used to the other rules, but I am now asking you one question… Respect our Shifu and never betray, can you do that?”

Yi Di kneeled on the ground, hands rested on his lap as he responded with a bright voice, ”I can.”

Ji Hao whipped again on his shoulder with that ruler and continued asking, ”Be friendly to your brothers and sisters, care and protect younger generations of the sect member, can you do that?”

Yi Di seriously nodded. Led by Ji Hao, he had already sunken in an indescribable solemn and sacred atmosphere.

Except for all kinds of scared offering ceremonies, the alliance of human clans didn’t have much of rules or complicated etiquettes to follow. Even in the entrance ceremony for apprentices of the Magi Palace, a few kowtows would be the whole process.

Ji Hao lit the incense so solemnly; he kneeled, kowtowed, and seriously performed a whole series of rituals. By doing this, he instantly pulled Yi Di into a strange, totally novel state. Yi Di didn’t know who Yu Yu was, but all these formalities Ji Hao did clearly told him that Priest Yu Yu was a big deal. His sect was a big deal, and all his disciples were amazing!

Added with Ji Hao’s individual strength and all those shocking spell symbol arrows he provided, Yi Di had already started to admire Yu Yu and his sect, even before he formally became a disciple of Yu Yu.

”I can!” Yi Di responded to Ji Hao’s question decisively.

Ji Hao continued asking questions, while Yi Di continued answering. After around ten questions, Ji Hao knocked Yi Di’s head with the ruler and told him to kowtow to Yu Yu’s portrait a few more times. Afterward, Ji Hao silently turned around and kneeled in front of the jade board, praying silently. In his head, he told Yu Yu everything about how he met Yi Di and why he brought Yi Di into the sect. In addition to that, he sincerely requested Yu Yu to understand him and accept Yi Di as a new disciple.

”Shifu, if you don’t mind, Yi Di, this little brother of mine, will formally become one of us!” Ji Hao grinningly looked at Yu Yu’s portrait while he lazily murmured,

On the jade board, Yu Yu’s portrait shone brightly. A faint silhouette emerged from the jade board and glanced down at Ji Hao and Yi Di.

”Good, this boy is fairly good.”

The faint silhouette raised his hand and released a flowing stream of light. The light quickly transformed into a hazy silhouette of an eight feet and one-inch long bow. Gradually, the bow silhouette turned clearer and clearer, and soon, an ancient styled, mottled bow descended into Yi Di’s hands. The bow was coiled in sizzling electric bolts, as if it were condensed from thunderbolts.

”Yi Di, my disciple, you shall assist your brother, Ji Hao. Follow his guidance, listen to his command, and you will benefit from it. This ‘thunder running bow’ I found in the Chaos is extraordinary. Take it as a gift.”

The silhouette pointed his finger down and sent out another stream of light, flowing into Yi Di’s forehead. Yi Di trembled, as he sensed countless magical archery arts surge into his head like tidewater. All those unimaginable archery arts were much more advanced than those he learned back in Eastern Wasteland.

The archery art in Eastern Wasteland were only skills, but what Yu Yu gave him was the Dao!

”I teach my disciples in accordance with their aptitudes; the contents of courses cover all kinds of weapons and martial arts. This ‘Twenty-four Solar Terms Archery’ I created has just been waiting for its owner, and now, it’s your duty to carry it forward…Back then, I once met the ancestor of your Ten Sun Country, the ancient god Great Yi. His archery art was universe-shaking, yet, I, your Shifu, am no worse than him. Probably, one day, you will be mentioned in the same breath as Great Yi because of your achievements!” said the silhouette with a low voice. Then, the silhouette merged back into the jade board.

Yi Di tremblingly held the thunder running bow and loudly kowtowed to the jade board for over a hundred times.

Behind him, the twelve warrior commanders were completely stunned already. A handy-looking young man shouted directly out in surprise, ”Thunder running bow…Twenty-four Solar Terms Archery? Back then, a strange man once forced ancestor Great Yi to drop his bow and admit defeat with only three arrow shots. Great Yi had also lost ten-thousand vats of best wine to that man!”

Hearing this, Ji Hao quivered in shock and nearly fell straight to the ground.

Did Yu Yu do something like that? Forcing Great Yi to drop his bow and admit defeat with three arrow shots? But Great Yi was a powerful divine God, and was famous for his great archery. Yu Yu did that for nothing else but ten-thousand vats of wine?! However…That sounded truly like something that Yu Yu would do!

Yi Di raised his head, and couldn’t even believe his own ears. ”Is my Shifu that strange man? The one who defeated Great Yi? Is this truly the thunder running bow? One of the famous ten ancient divine bows?” asked Yi Di to the warrior commander. ”My ancestors’ souls, Marquis Ear…No, Brother Ji Hao, who is our Shifu? Is he a divine God?” Yi Di turned to Ji Hao and asked.

Ji Hao could only give a bitter smile. He pulled Yi Di up from the ground and responded with a deep voice, ”That is a long story, very long…Hmm, let’s go out first and finish what should be finished!”

In the boundless Chaos, Dachi, Qing Wei, and Yu Yu quivered simultaneously.

”The fortune of our sect is rising all of a sudden…Ji Hao, well done!” laughed all three of them.