Beggar Cultivation System

"You seem to be in a good mood," Sir Guo said, eyeing Apollo from head to toe.

"I'm always in a good mood," Apollo replied with a wide smile. "So, why are you here? You know, I don't think I need any more training from you."

"I'm here beca—wait, what? Why?" Sir Guo frowned, clearly caught off guard. He never expected the beggar to say such a thing. After all, most people would fight tooth and nail for the opportunity to learn the Way of Lightning from him.

"The only issue is the lack of Lightning Qi in the surroundings, right? Without Lightning Attribute energy nearby, my training will stagnate. But I've already mastered control over my attribute—I'd say it's perfect. Plus, I've figured out a way to increase the volume of my Lightning!" Apollo declared smugly, puffing out his chest with pride.

Hearing this, Sir Guo looked puzzled. "How do you plan to do that? From what I know, only certain places have Lightning Qi, and this city doesn't have any. You can't just turn any location into sacred land. That would require you to be an Absolute One."

Apollo smirked. In truth, he could accomplish what Sir Guo described if he used enough Alm Points; he'd already seen items in the System Store that could boost his Lightning Attribute. However, he had an even better idea—one that wouldn't cost him a single point. It was risky, but worth it.

"Don't underestimate me—I'm actually a genius," Apollo said, grinning as he pointed toward the sky. "Up there. That place has a ton of Lightning Qi."

"The sky?" Sir Guo muttered, glancing upward.

"The clouds, to be exact. If we send lightning into the clouds, we can trigger thunderstorms! And where there's thunder, there's lightning!" Apollo explained.

He recalled the time he flew into the clouds to create a lightning storm that barreled toward the ground, helping him eliminate the red cloud. It had been incredibly dangerous, but during that moment, he'd sensed a massive amount of Lightning Qi. All he had to do was absorb it.

However, his current body wasn't accustomed to it yet. To absorb the Lightning Qi, he needed to endure being struck directly by lightning. Just like the training he'd done with Sir Guo, he had to take as much as possible to temper his body. This would make it easier to harness the Lightning Qi in the sky.

Of course, there was a risk of provoking a Lightning Tribulation. The Headmasters had said his previous storm was borderline Tribulation. But as long as he left after taking a few strikes, he'd be fine.

When Sir Guo heard the plan, he was silent for a moment before erupting in anger.

"Where did you get that d*mb idea?!" Sir Guo bellowed, raising his hand to slap the beggar's head.

But Apollo took a quick step back, dodging the strike with ease.

"Hey! It's not d*mb—it's actually a brilliant idea!" Apollo shot back, glaring at the training ground guardian.

"You're going to anger the Heavens if you do that!" Sir Guo barked.

"Anger the Heavens? They threw a little tantrum last time, but they weren't actually mad!" Apollo retorted.

"And how do you know that… oh," Sir Guo paused as realization dawned. "You already did that?"

"Yep," Apollo smirked. "And look, I'm still alive, and the Heavens aren't angry."

Sir Guo went silent for a moment before shaking his head. "If you do that again, you're basically presenting yourself for judgment by a Tribulation. A Lightning Tribulation is a sacred ceremony, and only certain Cultivators breaking through Core Creation and above dare face it."

"I said we're going to leave before the real Tribulation happens," Apollo replied confidently. "As long as no one gets too close to the clouds, the Tribulation will stop."

"They'll know," Sir Guo said, his tone turning serious as he stared at Apollo. "You're not the first person to come up with such a foolish idea. Heaven isn't something a mere mortal can trick. I've heard stories of people who tried to manipulate the Heavens. They were cursed with constant Lightning Tribulations and perished almost immediately."

"The Heavens are so petty," Apollo pouted.

"Shh!" Sir Guo raised a finger to his lips. "Don't badmouth the Heavens. They are the Dao, the light that creates everything. People pray to them, but Cultivators like us—we go against them. They're highly sensitive to us, so you'd better watch your words."

"Yeah, yeah," Apollo muttered, though he understood what Sir Guo meant. He recalled reading about the Heavens—or the Heavenly Dao—on the first floor of the Great Serpent Library.

From what he'd gathered, it was a force capable of influencing anything and anyone, both literally and not metaphorically. This applied especially to Cultivators, who were said to go against the Heaven's Will—a concept Apollo didn't fully understand yet, likely because he hadn't read enough about it.

If he had to put it in his own words, the Heaven's Will was like the Ten Commandments: a set of rules people were expected to follow and not break.

"I think I should teach you more about the Heavens," Sir Guo said, smiling. "Yes, I'll add that to your training. Only those from Cultivation Sects have a deeper understanding of this, and as your Master, I can't let my disciple remain ignorant."

"Didn't you hear me earlier? I'm resigning as your disciple!" Apollo frowned.

"We had a deal," Sir Guo said coldly, fixing him with a hard stare. "Or would you rather pay for the damages you caused at the training ground?"

"No," Apollo said firmly, standing his ground.

"You—!" Sir Guo's face turned red with anger, but when he saw the determination on the beggar's face, he knew Apollo wouldn't back down. "Fine. How about this: complete a mission for me, and I'll let you go."

"Oh? What mission?" Apollo asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

Sir Guo waved his hand, and a transparent dome appeared around them, preventing anyone from eavesdropping. "Kill the Mayor for me."

"Kill the Mayor?" Apollo repeated, tilting his head. Don't tell me… this guy still doesn't know?

"Yes," Sir Guo said, a cunning smile spreading across his face. "It's simple. Don't worry, I've spent a year crafting the perfect assassination plan. Don't bother asking why—I just really hate that guy. So, what do you say?"

Apollo raised a hand to his chin, pretending to ponder Sir Guo's words. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Alright, I'll do it!"

"Good," Sir Guo nodded, pleased. "Don't worry, no one else will know about this. Oh, by the way, do you happen to know why there's a Stone Monkey corpse outside the city?"

D*mbss, Apollo thought to himself.