Bruno looked serious, and couldn't help but swallow hard.
He had really reached the 12th stage, and with the Thunderclap Breathing Method's triple power, that meant he could hit with 162,000 kg of force.
That punch would probably even break Captain America's shield.
If he was this strong, and the 12th stage was still considered human, then becoming an Arcane Power Master would be how strong?
What was the level beyond non-human?
Unimaginable.
Nell said, "I'm going to teach you the cultivation method of the Gaston school, called The Divine Sun Sutra."
"That sounds really powerful," Bruno said, eyes full of excitement.
"Of course," Nell said proudly. "The Divine Sun Sutra can take you all the way to the realm of real gods."
"Real gods?" Bruno's eyes widened. "Can this scripture make you a god?"
"Exactly," Nell nodded.
Bruno's mouth dropped open. "So you can change the world whenever you want?"
Nell was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know. This level is really high, hard to reach. But I heard that people at this level can cross a river in four steps."
"What?" Bruno looked confused. That didn't sound so special.
Nell laughed. "The river is the Milky Way."
"Shit!" Bruno sucked in a breath.
Four steps across a river? That's a great image. No wonder it's called the True God Realm.
Nell looked at him and said, "The rules in the sect aren't many, but you have to remember: don't share the cultivation method with anyone. And this story is just a joke. Don't go around telling it."
"I understand," Bruno said.
Nell nodded. He had a good impression of Bruno, so he asked, "Alright, now that you know the basics of the sect, tell me why you came here in such a hurry."
Bruno thought for a moment and said, "I killed someone."
"Really?" Nell's eyes moved. "Who?"
"Kaiden," Bruno said honestly, without hiding anything.
He didn't want to give his master a bad impression.
Nell didn't seem to have heard of the name Kaiden. He frowned and asked, "Who?"
"The son of the head of the Heavenly Gang's Mountain Division," Bruno said quietly. "He came to collect fees from my house. I paid, but he didn't want the money. He wanted me to do something for him. I didn't want to, so I killed him. After the murder, I felt it was unsafe, so I wanted to find a protector."
"So what do you plan to do now?" Nell wasn't surprised. He probably saw too much violence before.
Bruno sneered. "If they don't come after me, I'll just ignore the Heavenly Gang. But if they come for me, then they'll die."
After practicing The Ten Thousand Hells, his heart had grown colder, and his killing intent was stronger.
Nell clapped his hands and said, "Using violence to stop a conflict is one path, but not the best one."
"Please teach me, Master," Bruno said, eager to learn.
Nell spoke calmly, guiding him gently. "As your teacher, I don't just teach you martial arts. I also teach you how to deal with people."
"You and Kaiden had a conflict. That's already done. But things can be big or small."
Bruno smiled bitterly. "It doesn't look like it can be made small."
"No, it can," Nell laughed softly. "Why do you think the Heavenly Gang was built?"
"Profit," Bruno answered quickly.
There are no permanent friends in this world, only permanent interests.
Heavenly Gang was clearly just a group of people around the gang boss, chasing profit. In a gang, emotions were just a child's game, right?
Nell nodded and said, "If you give Heavenly Gang enough benefits, then this whole thing can be made small."
"That's hard," Bruno shook his head.
Nell said, "Right. So there's a second path."
"Please teach me, Master," Bruno blinked, now it looked like he had no choice but to take the second path.
Nell's face was cold, and he said calmly, "Kill all the people in Heavenly Gang, from the top to the bottom, no one left alive-old people, children, women, even relatives and friends. Take their fate, and build your own great achievement. That's the second path."
"..." Bruno was shocked, and couldn't say a word.
That's why when his master heard he killed someone, he stayed calm.
He thought the master was thinking about killing the whole family.
He swallowed hard, looked at Nell's face, and only saw kindness. Even a kind of holy look, like a priest. It felt like he was cleansing evil, doing something great.
Bruno suddenly understood.
Wasn't this the secret of The Ten Thousand Hells?
If you've been training that, what kind of good thing could it be?
If people don't die, where would the ghosts and bones come from?
"This..." Bruno was stuck. "The second path is also hard, isn't it?"
Nell said, "Should I choose one for you?"
Bruno's eyes lit up. "Teach me, Master."
"First, use benefits to make friends, use their power to rise up, then kill them, take their fate, and build your great achievement," Nell said, his face even more kind, like a god descending.
Bruno's mouth opened a little, about to say something, but couldn't get the words out.
He was already being investigated. How could he offer them benefits?
Nell comforted him, "Don't worry. Our Gaston school has more than just one martial arts gym."
"Ah?" Bruno's mouth opened wide, surprised.
Nell said, "If you become my disciple, I will give you resources to train, but it's not free. At this gym, there are more than 200 schools. Each term's tuition is over 200 gold coins.
You and your older brothers and sisters will help teach, each getting 10% of the profits. That's what you'll get after you join too.
So every three months, you can get 200 gold coins."
Bruno's mouth opened wide, and he was stunned.
So being a disciple also had benefits?
Nell continued, "That's not all."
"You have more businesses?" Bruno was surprised.
Nell nodded, "Right. Some of the work is managed by each of my three older disciples. They get 70% of the income, and I get 30%. The amount isn't too big, but when the business is good, it's about 3,000 to 5,000 gold coins a month. For example, your older brother and Elena, they just barely have enough to pay for their training."
Bruno was numb.
Three to five thousand gold coins a month? Are you kidding me?
Just barely enough?
Training costs that much?
Are you serious?
"What level requires so much money?" Bruno asked curiously.
Nell said softly, "Your older brother Tursos Dylan is at the 12th stage, and once he reaches High Rank in the Meditation Technique, he can enter the [Arcane Power Master] level. While you, Elena, is just starting the 12th stage."
"Even a 12th stage Arcane Power user costs this much?" Bruno said.
"Of course, you'll find out soon enough," Nell said.
Bruno couldn't even imagine it. The 12th stage was too far away from him.
Nell suddenly seemed to think of something. "Since Heavenly Gang hasn't been taken down yet, you can't get the resources. Alright. You do tasks for your older brothers and sisters, and take 10% of the resources you give me, okay?"
Bruno nodded like a bobbing duck.
There's such a good deal?
Even just 10%, with 400 to 500 coins a month, then Celestial Beast meat is free, contracts can be used anytime, and your strength would just keep rising, right?
Nell thought for a moment and said, "You can start by helping Elena."
"What's Elena's business?" Bruno's eyes lit up. Who doesn't like making money?
"Loan shark," Elena said as she walked in. "You're just in time. I've been busy lately and don't have time to collect loans. You can help me, and I'll feel much lighter."
Loan shark?
Bruno's face turned dark.
Is this the kind of business they do?
"Why don't you want to?" Elena smiled.
Bruno laughed awkwardly. "How could I not?"
Nell stood up and gave a slight nod. "I'll go rest now. I'll give you the cultivation method tomorrow. You go practice. As for making money, you'll work with Elena for now. Once you get used to it, then you can worry about Heavenly Gang."
"Are you planning to take action against Heavenly Gang?" Elena narrowed her eyes, a bit of danger in her tone.
Bruno thought to himself: "This Elena doesn't seem so simple either."
Nell shook his head. "Not yet. I need to think about how to get all the benefits from Heavenly Gang first."
"Okay," Elena seemed a bit disappointed.
After Nell left, Elena looked at Bruno and asked, "Do you have an Alchemical Communicator?"
Bruno shook his head. "Too expensive, I didn't buy one."
The Alchemical Communicator was like a phone in this world. It could make calls, send files, and video chat, but it couldn't stream videos or play games.
"How can you not?" Elena pulled out a communicator from her pocket and tossed it to Bruno. "Here, take this. My number is in there."
So generous.
A thing that cost just a few silver coins, she just gave it to him.
That's rich.