Qualities of a King

In a flash, a week had passed. Xie Xie,Tang Wulin, Gu Yue and I continued to train under Wu Zhangkong at night. I had improved immensely and could beat the three of them with ease even when they worked together.

My relationship with Gu Yue had improved quite a bit. We conversed quite often during breaks and I found her quite likeable. On the other hand, I didn't click with Tang Wulin and Xie Xie.

Xie Xie was really annoying. He kept trying to spar with me throughout the entire week. It had gotten bad enough to the point that I would actively avoid him.

About Tang Wulin, I was relatively neutral towards him. We couldn't be considered friends, but we would exchange pleasantries when we met.

At this moment, I was cultivating with my third eye in the clearing at Eastsea Park. I was diligent with my cultivation, doing it whenever I was free.

I always felt extremely comfortable when I cultivated. The feeling of my body getting stronger felt like pure bliss for me.

I finished my cultivation after a few hours. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a world of darkness.

WHERE THE HELL AM I?

I instantly sprung to my feet, looking around the area. All I saw was endless darkness in all directions. I began to panic as I didn't know what was going on.

NO! I couldn't panic now.

Calm down. I had to keep my rationale.

I took a few deep breaths before calming my heartbeat. Ok, just stay calm for now.

As I managed to calm myself down, a path of light suddenly appeared in this dark world. It was calm and inviting, as if it wanted me to traverse it.

Huh? Wasn't this just like in games where there was some treasure at the end of the path?

I slowly walked towards the path. I planned to walk on it. It was much better to take proactive action than to just dumbly wait in this situation.

I trekked across the path of light. It was really long. Even after walking for a long time, there was no end in sight. I was undaunted however, and continued to slog through the path.

After what felt like days of walking, I finally arrived at the end of the path of light.

At the end, there was a platform around 20 square metres large. I got off the path of light and stepped on the platform.

My actions caused an immediate reaction as the platform immediately began rumbling and the path of light disappeared behind me.

I instantly jumped into an alert state, preparing myself for anything that might happen. However, the rumblings stopped as abruptly as it came.

Strands of golden light started to appear as they coalesced in front of me. Was there an enemy forming now?

I tried to summon my martial spirit only to be surprised when I found out I was unable to. This was really strange. I don't remember anything being able to stop the summoning of martial spirits.

When the strands of golden light finally merged together, instead of an enemy like I expected, it formed a… question?

[What is the most important quality in a good king?]

The most important quality of a good king? How am I supposed to answer a question like this? It's so general that it could be anything.

If I had to guess, maybe it would be charisma? A good king needs charisma to inspire his men to follow him.

I shouted my answer out loudly. I didn't get a response. It was probably wrong.

In that case, maybe courage? Without courage, a king will only be bullied by his retainers and enemies alike.

Again, I shouted out my answer. I didn't receive a response yet again.

This was extremely vexing. I didn't even know if I was answering the right way. And if I was, I don't know how many chances I have to answer.

I should think about it harder before I answer this time.

I sat down on the platform before I began brainstorming. With my upgraded mind thanks to the third eye on my forehead, I screened through the memories of this life and my last, trying to find a suitable answer.

Unfortunately, despite thinking it through for an indeterminable amount of time, I didn't manage to find a good answer.

Looking at the words formed from the golden light, I could only sigh. I laid down on the platform as I continued to think about the answer.

"Oh God, why is this question so hard? I couldn't help but whisper.

Wait, God?

My eyes instantly sprung open as I came to a realisation. In the Bible, didn't God give a certain king a gift? It allowed him to become the greatest ruler in history.

That man's name was Solomon. If I remember correctly, the full story was that Solomon gave God an offering so God wanted to give him a gift. Solomon rejected all the gifts, only asking for…

"WISDOM!" My face was filled in excitement as I was sure I had gotten the answer right this time.

At once, a bright flash filled the area. I was forced to avert my gaze while covering my eyes with my hands.

As I opened my eyes, what I saw in front of me shocked me.

There were four large gates in front of me. Each of them seemed to emit their own type of pressure that left me gaping in awe.

The strands of golden light appeared once again forming another set of letters. This time it read,

[Choose your path of wisdom]

I smiled in understanding as I saw those words. I had an idea of what was going on.

If my knowledge from Xianxia novels rings true, then this would probably bring benefits to me. From the golden words, I inferred that I would receive some sort of 'wisdom'.

With that, I made a choice on which gate I would open.