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Chapter 483: Zhou Botong
It’s possible that these players or ascenders have already gained significant benefits from Zhou Botong.
As for how they acquired the Jade Bee?
There are many of these Jade Bees beside the Ancient Tomb on Zhongnan Mountain.
The Little Dragon Girl couldn’t take them all, only a small portion.
With a bit of effort, it’s not hard to catch some of the remaining ones, yet it truly is amazing that these people figured out how to keep Jade Bees.
One could say that there is no shortage of smart people in this world.
Just like the Dugu Sword Tomb, the treasured swords inside have long been dug up by players, with the Profound Iron Heavy Sword and others naturally falling into their hands.
The only thing that comforted him was that the Pusique Snakes, these monstrous snakes, are extremely powerful, leaving the players helpless, thus benefiting Ding Ling.
As for the Divine Eagle?
Somehow, the players managed to persuade it away.
Anyway, Ding Ling hadn’t seen it.
We can only say that players who’ve experienced the information flood of the information age can come up with all sorts of strange methods. So, the Divine Eagle being persuaded away was surprising to Ding Ling, but not entirely unexpected.
This was why Ding Ling felt relieved after seeing the mountain full of Jade Bees.
"Zhou Botong, Zhou Botong..."
Lu Wushuang ran into the valley shouting.
Judging by her familiarity, it seemed their knowledge of Zhou Botong was more than just sightings.
Sure enough.
Before long.
An old man, with a youthful glow and lively eyes, ran out from the flower bushes on the side, clutching his hair and yelling:
’Alright, alright, no need to shout, I’m not deaf, I can hear you!’
"Zhou Botong, come over here, the Prince wants to see you."
Seeing the old man, Lu Wushuang was overjoyed and waved at him enthusiastically—it wouldn’t be surprising if they were friends.
The old man, none other than Zhou Botong, was curious but ran like the wind to stand before Lu Wushuang:
"I say, you mischievous girl, why do you keep bothering me? I still have bees to tend and honey to eat!"
"After meeting with the Prince, I’ll help you with that!"
"Really~"
Zhou Botong’s eyes brightened, grinning as he spoke:
"You said it, no backing out on your word!"
"No backing out."
Lu Wushuang dragged Zhou Botong along, leading him in front of Ding Ling, and said with a touch of pride:
"Prince, this is Zhou Botong."
Saying this, she gave Zhou Botong a slight push forward.
Zhou Botong raised his eyebrows, sizing Ding Ling up and down:
"You’re the Prince? The newly established Prince of the Great Ming?"
"That’s right."
Ding Ling respectfully greeted him, neither humble nor overbearing, and said:
"Junior Ding Ling, greets the elder."
"So you’re Ding Ling?!"
Zhou Botong was startled, leaping aside like a frightened rabbit:
"The Ten Thousand Butcher Ding Ling, the one who single-handedly defeated millions of soldiers?!"
"I am indeed Ding Ling."
Ding Ling’s face involuntarily twitched twice, wondering who had filled Zhou Botong’s head with such fear-inducing rumors about him.
This was the carefree, fearless Zhou Botong!
"You’re too terrifying. I don’t want to play with you."
Zhou Botong shook his head and turned to leave.
"Hey. Zhou Botong. Don’t go."
Lu Wushuang was anxious:
"The Prince is very agreeable."
"I don’t see it that way."
Zhou Botong glared at Lu Wushuang:
"You troublesome girl, why bring a Murderous Demon King to me? Almost scared me to death! If this happens again, I won’t entertain you anymore!"
"..."
Lu Wushuang was momentarily speechless but clearly she was used to dealing with Zhou Botong, knowing he was innocently charming, like a child, unable to keep secrets. Without taking offense, she simply said:
"Those are mere slanders—throwing mud at my Prince. You’ve seen yourself. My Prince, majestic and extraordinary, clearly an unmatched figure! How could he ever be a Murderous Demon King? That’s just the world’s misunderstanding of him!"
Zhou Botong, you’re a smart man, how can you misjudge my Prince like the others?!"
She even said "my Prince" outright.
It was apparent Lu Wushuang frequently fantasized about things with Ding Ling in her mind.
Now finally meeting Ding Ling, after some conversation, even if the Little Dragon Girl was present, it seemed she could not suppress her emotions.
"Oh?"
Zhou Botong blinked his eyes in response, unable to resist yet another glance at Ding Ling.
Lu Wushuang seized the opportunity to say:
"If he’s truly a ruthless killer, upon seeing you, my Prince would surely have attacked without saying a word. But look at his politeness. How could he possibly be that kind of brutal person."
"That makes sense."
Zhou Botong suddenly realized, scratching his head as he approached Ding Ling and said with a grin:
"Your Highness, my apologies. I’ve heard too much about your Ten Thousand Butcher reputation. I even saw the aftermath of your battle against millions—it was a dreadful sight. It haunts my dreams at times!"
He glanced sideways at Ding Ling:
"Those millions, you truly defeated them, right?"
"That’s right."
"Then why does Lu Wushuang say you’re not the Ten Thousand Butcher!"
Zhou Botong widened his eyes.
Apparently, once he realized the truth, he wasn’t as afraid of Ding Ling but still seemed slightly apprehensive.
Ding Ling replied:
"It was a battle between two nations. Mongolia slaughtered many of our Central Plain’s fine sons. I was just returning the favor."
"Precisely, precisely."
Lu Wushuang quickly chimed in:
"This is a national war! We martial arts people can’t define such a war by Jianghu standards and rules! Just think of the countless years of battles between the Northern Song, Southern Song, and the countries of the Northern Lands, how many of us have died? Zhou Botong, you’re not a pedantic man, surely you’re not nitpicking like some out-of-touch scholars about this matter?"
Hong Lingbo occasionally echoed supportive comments from the side.
Zhou Botong was overwhelmed by the two women, and he could only nod repeatedly like a chicken pecking at grains:
"Alright, alright. I get it, your Prince is a hero."
He looked at Ding Ling:
"This Prince, you’ve come from far and wide to find me, what exactly is this about?"
"I want to spar with you a bit."
Ding Ling smiled and said:
"I have some very interesting martial arts. If you find them intriguing, I can teach you one later."
Ding Ling had so many martial arts that they were countless.
Taking out one or two was no big deal for him.
"Really?"
Throughout his entire life, Zhou Botong loved learning martial arts. When he heard these words, he couldn’t contain his joy, immediately forgetting the information others had fed him about ’Ding Ling being extremely terrifying’ and so forth. He also forgot about the bloody battle scenes he had witnessed earlier, only looking at Ding Ling with anticipation and said:
"Then let’s hurry to the side and spar."
Ding Ling had no objections.
A moment later.
Ding Ling assumed a stance and began sparring formally with the eager Zhou Botong.
Ding Ling fought barehanded against Zhou Botong.
Sometimes he used his hands as a spear, performing Ghost Prison Spear Technique, Breaking Army Spear Skill, Human Emperor Spear Technique, Hundred Birds Phoenix Spear Technique, and others one by one. In the void, spear qi crisscrossed, and Zhou Botong shouted excitedly, repeatedly exclaiming ’Amazing, amazing, truly great spear technique!’
Sometimes he used his fingers as a sword, employing Calm Wind Swordsmanship, Moon Shadow Swordsmanship, Howling Moon Sword Technique, and others. Sword qi surged, and sword shadows filled the void, making Zhou Botong excited and joyful ’Great sword technique, truly wonderful!’
Sometimes he used his palms as a saber, casually performing Slaughter Void Saber Technique and Burning Wood Saber Technique, catching Zhou Botong off guard, yet he occasionally shouted with delight.
It was apparent that Ding Ling was restraining himself.
After a short while.
Zhou Botong couldn’t resist conceding defeat, rubbing his ears and massaging his cheeks:
"Prince, what kind of kung fu is this? Many I’ve never seen before, really fun. Can you teach me?"
"We can teach each other."
Ding Ling could see that Zhou Botong understood many techniques.
Evidently, while wandering the Jianghu, he learned every interesting martial art he saw.
So Ding Ling taught him Ghostly Spear Technique and Flying Bear Breathing Technique.
Beyond that.
He wouldn’t be able to digest it all at once.
Zhou Botong, on the other hand, had a vast, diverse, and complex set of skills, but Ding Ling mastered each one to full level immediately. Regardless of how Zhou Botong racked his brain to bring out more advanced and difficult martial arts for Ding Ling to learn, Ding Ling reached full level instantly.
Zhou Botong was astonished and shocked:
"You, you, you, you this..."
"You are truly the Prince."
Lu Wushuang and Hong Lingbo watched from the side, deeply moved.
When Zhou Botong taught Ding Ling martial skills, he did so openly, allowing them to watch. However, they simply couldn’t grasp one skill before forgetting another, not knowing which one to learn.
And Ding Ling?
Without comparison, there was no harm!
Instantly, Ding Ling’s image in their hearts and eyes became increasingly mysterious, towering, majestic, and vast.
"Are there any more martial arts?"
Ding Ling smiled and said:
"We can exchange them all."
Zhou Botong was innately intelligent and simple-minded, without too many complicated thoughts. Therefore, although he learned many styles, each was relatively pure.
Altogether, there were three or four dozen styles.
There were more than a dozen first-class ones.
Second and third-class ones were the majority.
Once all were mastered to full level, the lid of the Martial Arts Melting Furnace seemed to move towards substantialization!
"No more, no more!"
Zhou Botong sat down in a heap, looking at Ding Ling like a deity:
"You, you... No wonder you’re so strong at such a young age. I now understand. Truly unimaginable that there could be a genius like you in the world. If my senior brother were here, he would be so surprised he wouldn’t know what to say."
He said this with some embarrassment, scratching his head:
"About the breathing technique you mentioned earlier, I still don’t understand many parts. Can you teach me again?"
Ding Ling nodded, without avoiding Lu Wushuang and Hong Lingbo, and started teaching right on the spot.
To Ding Ling.
This Flying Bear Breathing Technique was known by many; there was no need to hide it.
Moreover, Lu Wushuang and Hong Lingbo were Great Ming Female Officials, essentially part of his circle now. If they became stronger, Ding Ling would feel gratified.
However, these principles.
They were unaware, intending to avoid suspicion, but Ding Ling indicated there was no need, leaving them deeply moved, making up their minds to find ways to repay the Prince.
Seeing Ding Ling begin his explanation.
They also calmed their complex and exciting feelings, listening attentively, unwilling to miss such a chance.
...
Ding Ling stayed in the valley for two days.
In that period, he confirmed Task 2 completed.
After discovering how easy it was to get along with Ding Ling, Zhou Botong excitedly shared everything with him.
Of course, some secrets deeply buried he would never reveal.
After Ding Ling understood the situation, he prepared to leave.
It was as he had suspected.
Zhou Botong’s Beekeeping Skill was indeed taught to him by a collaboration between players and an Ascender, in exchange for Zhou Botong’s Void Clarity Fist and other techniques.
Except for the Nine Yin Scripture, which couldn’t be exchanged.
Common techniques, he willingly exchanged.
This showed his innocent nature.
Ding Ling wouldn’t want to disturb him any longer.
After completing the task.
He bid farewell with cupped hands.
Lu Wushuang had to fulfill her promise to Zhou Botong, staying to help him raise Jade Bees for a while. Naturally, Hong Lingbo followed Lu Wushuang, so the two of them couldn’t accompany Ding Ling on his journey, only bidding farewell to Ding Ling and then returning to the valley.
Da-da!
Just after Ding Ling and his wife left Valley of Heartless, a fierce horse charged forth, with a person sitting upright on its back.
This person wore a precious blue satin robe, with a handsome face and some short beard under his chin. He seemed surprised to find people at the entrance of the Valley of Heartless, and as he attempted to rein in the horse, he prepared to run straight into them.