Beggar Cultivation System-Chapter 280: Teaching Don

"You want to learn to cultivate?" Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Don wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand. He nodded, then dropped to his knees again, this time hitting his head against the cold ground.

His forehead immediately turned red, and the pain made him grit his teeth. But he didn’t make a sound—not even a grunt. Then, in a loud voice, he said, "Please take me as your disciple!"

The shout drew the attention of passersby, but when they saw it was just two kids, they went on their way. It wasn’t unusual to see children playing in the city.

"Disciple…" Apollo muttered, resting a hand under his chin. What were the benefits of accepting one? He wasn’t like the Headmasters or Sir Guo, who drooled over talented individuals. In fact, he couldn’t understand why they were so eager to teach him. Even Elmo and Master Popo had fought over him before, though the cunningness of the Great Serpent Headmaster ultimately won.

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He stared at Don and spread his senses. A quick assessment of the kid’s body revealed he had the talent for cultivation. It was like looking at an unpolished jade stone.

Apollo could only see a rough piece of rock, but he knew that once the stone cracked, its true beauty would emerge. And he was the only one who could see this potential.

A weight he hadn’t realized existed settled on his shoulders. Should he let the stone disappear into the ocean of time, or should he pick it up and polish it himself?

As silence hung between them, Bubba jumped out from behind Apollo and landed beside Don. The monkey reached out, touched the kid’s head, and turned to Apollo with pleading eyes.

"All right, all right, you can stand up," Apollo said with a sigh.

Hearing this, Don’s eyes lit up. "You mean…?"

"Yes, I will accept you as my disciple," Apollo nodded. He hadn’t accepted Don out of pity for the kid’s situation or a desire to help him save the people he’d left behind. His reasons were more self-serving.

He was tired of others constantly interrupting his cultivation and the endless problems that always found him. Apollo wanted nothing more than to cultivate in peace, grow stronger, and reach the top of the world. Furthermore, the higher his cultivation stage, the longer his lifespan would be. From what he’d learned in the first floor of the Great Serpent Library, only those who reached the Core Creation Stage and above experienced increased lifespans.

Apollo had no intention of dying from old age and would do whatever it took to stay alive.

With a disciple under him, he could task Don with handling all the distractions and annoyances. The thought made him excited.

But his excitement was only the beginning. The moment he accepted Don as his disciple, an interface materialized in front of him.

**"You have accepted your first disciple.

The host has established a Master-Disciple relationship. You now have access to your disciple’s Status Screen.

The host is now eligible to build their own Sect."**

Reading the contents, Apollo’s eyes widened.

Building my own Sect? And Disciple’s Status Screen? Is this a new feature? Questions filled his mind as he addressed the System.

"System, is this a new feature you added after removing the missions?"

"No. This is one of the Hidden Features of the System. The host will learn more about it in time or through discovery." The System’s emotionless voice echoed in Apollo’s mind.

"Why are you only telling me this now?" Apollo asked, ignoring Don, who stood in front of him with a straight back.

Don was confused as his master seemed to stare blankly into the air. Is he looking at something I can’t see?

"Because the Host has only just come across one of the Hidden Features," the System replied.

"Oh? Is that so?" Apollo muttered. If that was the case, it made sense that the System had only revealed it now.

"M-Master?" Don finally couldn’t help but ask.

Apollo snapped back to reality and turned his attention to Don. "I forgot about you for a moment. You’re now my disciple. I don’t know if there’s a ceremony for this kind of thing, but I don’t care even if there is. As my disciple, you’ll follow my commands, my wishes, and always do your best to learn from me. Got it?"

"I will follow you even to the ends of the world, Master!" Don exclaimed, dropping to his knees and kowtowing vigorously for the third time.

"Don’t be so dramatic," Apollo said with a sigh. "From now on, just answer without all that, okay?"

Don stood up awkwardly. "Got it, Master."

"Good." Apollo smiled. "Now, head inside."

"Alright." Don entered the beggar’s spot, with Apollo glancing at the surroundings before following him in.

He found Don awkwardly examining the place. It resembled a small alley, just large enough to fit a carriage. Given their smaller frames, it was plenty spacious.

"Just sit anywhere," Apollo said with a dismissive wave as he sat beneath his makeshift roof.

At the same time, he brought up the Disciple Status Screen.

A translucent screen appeared before him, designed similarly to his own status screen. At the top was a picture of Don, followed by his information below:

Name: Don Blanc

Race: Human

Spirit Cultivation: None

Physique Cultivation: None

Attributes: None

Talent: High (Talents are ranked Low, Mid, High, and Top Tier.)

After reading the screen, Apollo couldn’t help but stare at his disciple in amazement. High-Tier Talent? That’s a good thing, right?

Although his knowledge about cultivation talent rankings was limited, the fact that Don was rated High was enough for Apollo to conclude that his first disciple was promising.

"But System, is this the only thing I get from this? Just a Status Screen? Are there other benefits?" Apollo voiced his doubts. If this was all, it felt somewhat underwhelming.

"As a Disciple of the True Beggar, he/she will also become a Beggar. The Disciple can receive Alms that will be converted into Alm Points for the Host. However, they must comply with the rules of the True Beggar Ways. There are no shortcuts—only real begging," the System explained.

Hearing this, Apollo clenched his fists in excitement. Passive income!

"Master, what’s our first lesson?" Don asked eagerly as he sat in front of Apollo, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. He still believed Mr. Yoma was a hidden expert, likely an ancient individual pretending to be a beggar.

Apollo stared at his disciple, and in his eyes, Don seemed to glow with a golden light.

"I will impart to you a Breathing Technique—a technique that, in the entire world, I am the only one who knows," Apollo said with a mysterious smile.

"Really?!" Don was shocked. A unique technique that only his master knew?! Heavens!

"It’s called the Simple Breathing Technique," Apollo said seriously, his eyes locking onto his disciple. "But once you receive it, you must never tell another soul. If you do, I will personally kill you."

Don’s body visibly shivered with fear, and he hurriedly nodded. "I will keep this a secret for the rest of my life!"

Apollo nodded. He was about to explain the process for cultivating the Simple Breathing Technique when he stopped.

Am I really just going to teach him my precious technique through words? What if he forgets and asks me to repeat it? That would be annoying and not cool. These thoughts caused a frown to appear on the beggar’s face.

Apollo wanted to appear strong and mysterious. Teaching someone in such a mediocre way didn’t sit well with him.

He began to consider what to do, and it didn’t take long before an idea struck him.

The beggar recalled the time he defeated the humanoid Great Serpent in the Great Serpent Library. After killing the creature, he had received the technique instantly, imprinted in his mind without even reading it.

I should do it like that—it’s more flashy and cool. With this in mind, Apollo raised his hand and pointed a finger at his disciple.

When Don saw this, he tensed his body, ready for whatever might come.

The beggar closed his eyes, summoning the Simple Breathing Technique into his thoughts. This wasn’t the third revision of the technique but the original version.

Now, all I have to do is turn this into another kind of information energy… Apollo’s mind raced to create a method that would allow him to transfer his own techniques to another person. The surroundings dimmed into pitch blackness, leaving only him and the surrounding Qi.

A few moments later, he opened his glinting eyes.

"Here you go," Apollo smirked as unrefined Qi gathered at his fingertip, forming into a glowing scroll. "Just touch this, and you wil—"

Before he could finish, he noticed his disciple had already fallen asleep.

Seeing this, Apollo could only smile bitterly. He lowered his hand, the glowing scroll still floating before him.

I must have worked on this Technique Transfer Method for at least an hour or so, he thought. Every time he focused too deeply on cultivation or learning, he lost track of time and forgot about the outside world.