Hundreds of purple butterflies flew around Han Shun before forming into one. The man with a black-golden robe was summoned again.

The man smirked at Han Shun and commented, "It seems that you're stuck in this cave with that white snake for a long time, huh?"

…

Han Shun stared at the black-golden robe man. He had a smirk on his face as if he knew everything. As if Han Shun's whole life was just a big book for this mysterious man to enjoy. 

"You've gotten out of that military barrack, only to get stuck again in this place, hahaha! So pitiful!" The man in a black-golden robe mocked, much to Han Shun's contempt. 

"Shut up! Bai Gege did this for me, so I am well protected!" Han Shun yelled back.

"Well protected from the demonic cultivators, right?" The man scoffed. "Do you think those demonic cultivators can actually touch Bai Shijue? Bai Shijue may not be as strong as me, but he is still the second strongest person in this world. Those demonic sect bastards wouldn't even scratch him at his weakest."

"But I saw Bai Gege returning to me with a bloodied robe. He might not get hurt, but the fight must've been tough!" Han Shun insisted, trying to justify Bai Gege's action of trapping him inside this cave. 

"That's because he is fighting a demonic cultivator with blood art technique. He is 100% unharmed," the man said. "Anyway, I see that he is locking you here because he finds you very annoying. If I were him, I would definitely abandon you here while I'm going to find a new disciple, maybe find a younger one to take care of just like what he did to you before."

"S—Stop! I will not be affected by your words! So you don't need to play mind games with me!" Han Shun insisted, but he knew damn well that he was slowly eating the words spouted from the man in black-golden robe's mouth, whether it was true or false. 

This black-golden robe man seemed to know how to strike the anxiety in Han Shun's heart about Bai Gege. As if he knew Han Shun's feeling in the back of his head.

"Do you know how long will you be stuck in this place?" The man asked.

"Not too long, maybe six months at least, right?" Han Shun said, but he got doubtful of his own claim. "B—Baishe told me that I have made amazing progress. I will definitely break through the bottleneck and have my jindan (golden core) by the end of the year!"

The man laughed at Han Shun's foolishness, "Ahahahah! You're so confident, yet so dumb! Do you know how long people would take to get their golden core? Many cultivators would never be able to get that golden core, and the talented cultivators who got it would need at least 50 years to master it."

"50 YEARS?!" Han Shun's eyes widened in shock. "T—Then, how about me? How long do I need to wait until I get my own golden core?"

"About 20 years, you have the best talent a mortal realm could offer. 20 years of cultivating to obtain your golden core is a very short time. You should be grateful," the black-golden robe man said. 

Han Shun felt weak from head to toe once he heard the number coming from the golden-black robe man's mouth. 

"So that means, I... I will not be able to see Bai Gege until I'm 34?" Han Shun asked weakly.

"Indeed, you will spend your 20 years here, and don't you think that's enough time to raise another boy to be his disciple?" The man said. His smirk grew wider as he approached Han Shun and whispered in Han Shun's ear, "You don't know what is he doing right now, right? That's why he forced you to stay here because he grew bored of you. He wants to take a new disciple, someone better looking and would probably cultivate way faster than you."

Han Shun pushed the man away, glaring at the black-golden robe man with hostility, "Don't you dare to influence me! I know that you never meant well to me!"

"Whether I mean well to you or not, that's not your problem. All I did is give you a shortcut if you want, you can just swallow the marbles that I offered, and your cultivation will go leaps and bounds. You could even beat Bai Shijue's growth when he first started cultivating thousands of years ago," the man in black-golden robe said.

"Did I ever force you to take the marbles?"

…

Han Shun said nothing because he couldn't defend himself here. He was the one who swallowed the marble because he needed the boost, so Bai Gege wouldn't leave him.

True, Bai Gege never pressured him and told him he could have all the times he needed until he was strong enough. He just needed to progress even at the smallest thing. 

But Han Shun was impatient, and he was worried that Bai Gege couldn't keep his promise. That was why he took the offer of this black-golden robe man to swallow the marbles.

"Enough talking. I grow tired of debating with a kid like you. You still know nothing about Bai Shijue and this world," the man said. He scoffed mockingly at Han Shun, "You're definitely not the brightest bulb to think that Bai Shijue will never replace you."

The man in a black-golden robe snapped his fingers and summoned two marbles in front of Han Shun. Which was rare since he usually summoned only one marble for every offer.

Han Shun read the name inscribed on the marbles, "Javier Di Arlingdon, and uh… Sakuma Hoshino."

"Yes, those are the sphere of a powerful sun king called Javier and a genius called Sakuma. Those two are strong in their own field, and their traits would definitely help you cultivate faster to reach your golden core," The man said. "You should swallow them both if you want to progress quicker."