Beggar Cultivation System

"Now, now, where are you guys…" Apollo muttered, but the strong wind muffled his voice. His clothes fluttered as his small body flew in a certain direction. He didn't dare fly too high, as from what he had read and what others said…

Although a Cultivator could fly, they had to be wary of the rulers of the sky.

As he thought of this, Apollo couldn't help but look up, but all he could see were clouds with the moon hiding behind them.

When he had flown through this area with his Water-Attributed Falcon and his disciple Don, he had made sure they flew at a certain altitude. Otherwise, they would have encountered flying beasts, which could be pretty annoying since Bluetooth was not yet capable of fighting.

The beggar spread his senses to ensure that no winged monsters were above him before setting his eyes in the suspected direction where the beasts might have run off to.

Along the way, he also scouted the area for potential dangers or any clues that might help him.

He had already seen at least five giant crevices shaped like monsters, their size almost resembling small mountains. This alone told him that even the deep sleepers had been woken up.

"What is happening…" Apollo muttered, a frown on his face. It was too sudden, and even if his disciple was the reason they had awakened and become agitated, wasn't this too exaggerated?

However, everything was still just a theory, and Apollo needed to see it for himself to truly understand what was happening.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to see something in the distance—at the same altitude as him. When he narrowed his eyes, he saw a blue dot.

"There you are," Apollo whispered, his face emotionless, but his mind was already deciding how he was going to punish this cowardly disciple of his.

Deciding to change how he flew, his body dropped a few meters before a burst of strong wind erupted from behind him, blasting him toward the blue dot at high speed!

Everything became a blur for a second, and when he stopped in midair, he saw his mount and his disciple spiraling out of control at his sudden appearance. They dodged him, but this caused them to spin in the air before crashing to the ground, raising a dust cloud behind them as they skidded through the sand.

"Can't even dodge me properly," Apollo sighed. "Should I give that bird more chili?"

It was a lingering thought that refused to leave, so Bluetooth's fate was already sealed.

…

"Argh… what the hell?" Don Blanc pushed the bird away from him as he struggled to breathe properly. Everything had happened so fast, and before he knew what was going on, he was already flying toward the ground. He shook his head and stood up, dusting the sand off his body.

"What's wrong with you?" Don frowned at the Water-Attributed Falcon, which stood up and began shaking itself to remove the sand from its feathers. This caused the sand to land on Don, making him sneeze.

"... Hey!"

Bluetooth didn't care about the small human and hurriedly turned toward the sky.

"Why did we crash? Did something happen?" Don asked, his face full of confusion. But the bird didn't answer him, too preoccupied with looking at the sky. Curious, Don followed its gaze, and what he saw made his eyes widen with excitement.

"Master!"

Apollo floated slowly in front of them, like a god descending to earth. Combined with the lighting from the moon, he landed as if everything had been planned.

Bluetooth, who was at his regular size, was covered in bright light, and his body became small. Then he flew onto his master's shoulder, nudging Apollo's cheek with his head.

But the beggar was not in the mood for a cozy reunion.

"Go away." Apollo flicked the bird, causing it to crash into the sand for the second time.

Seeing this and his master's serious expression, Don Blanc couldn't help but gulp. "M-Master… what's wrong?"

"Tell me what's happening," Apollo said, his voice cold and low.

Don's body visibly stiffened as he realized that his master already knew something was wrong. But how? It didn't matter—I have to be truthful, he thought as he took a deep breath.

"I… think I may have stirred up something," Don said, lowering his head while clenching his fists. He felt truly guilty and ashamed. To think he had been so proud of defeating five Ivory Scorpions on his own, only to end up rallying all those monsters because he had been a coward who ran away instead of facing his fears…

Thinking about this made him grit his teeth.

"That's what I thought," Apollo's emotionless voice echoed. "But you did manage to defeat the five scorpions, right?"

Don looked up before slowly nodding. "I did… It took some time, but I killed all of them."

"You stayed in that area where I left you… right?" Apollo asked, his eyes narrowing at his disciple. He already knew the answer, but he wanted Don to admit everything.

"I did, Master, but…" Don Blanc trailed off. With a gulp, he continued, "I think I left that area after five minutes. All I did was run away from those hideous monsters… until I hit a dead end. Then I fought them, and eventually, I managed to kill them."

"I see," Apollo muttered, his expression not changing one bit. "So you led those monsters away from the safe area I told you to stay in, and because of your actions, it angered them and woke up the other beasts. A chain reaction that spread across this entire desert."

"I… Is that what happened?" Don looked away, feeling guilty.

No, you're only a small part of the equation, Apollo thought, but he wanted his disciple to feel guilty and regretful. That way, Don wouldn't go running around out of fear in the future. He needed to learn that every action had consequences, even when one thought it was safe.

Thinking about this, Apollo couldn't help but reflect on all the drama that had transpired because of him. All I wanted was to cultivate quietly, earn Alm Points, and eat good food. But these people with their Young Master Syndromes were always the ones picking fights with him, forcing him to come out of his cave even though he didn't want to. He didn't even want to think about the demons anymore—his instincts told him they weren't done yet.

Returning to the matter at hand, he made Don explain everything that had happened so he could gain a better understanding. In the end, he would have to see it for himself.

"Bring me there," Apollo said.