Outside the lobby was a welcoming plaza which was covered with shiny white marble. In the middle of the plaza, there was a huge decorative wall with a height of ten meters and a length of five meters.
Beside the wall, Ji Xueyan was scanning Ye Chen up and down and, after a long time, she finally said to him: "I am here for..."
"I know." Ye Chen interrupted her.
"You know?" Ji Xueyan was a bit surprised. In her memory, although he was not stupid, he definitely was not smart, but seeing him now, she noticed that there had been some changes.
Ye Chen laughed: "Well, you are certainly not here to see me!"
Ji Xueyan shook her head, "Of course not, it does not matter if you knew or not, I have to say it myself. It is impossible for you and I to be together."
"So you are here to discuss the cancellation of our engagement, because if I refuse and you still go through with cancelling it, it would be quite messy. Since there will be many elders that will voice their disapproval, especially my mother, who has been very good to you because of her relationship with your mother. However, if we both agree to cancel it, then there is nothing that they can do about it."
Ji Xueyan opened her mouth, but then she realized she could not find a single word to say to him. It was completely different from what she had expected. She had thought that he would become extremely angry from the humiliation of being rejected by a girl. In preparation, she was resolved to show him the gap between their abilities and prove that she was out of his league, and if he decided to carry on pursuing, she would be resolved to further humiliate Ye Chen until he gave in. However, to her surprise, all her preparation became useless, as just sat there in surprise. Ji Xueyan cried a little inside as she felt wronged in not being allowed to speak everything she had prepared beforehand.
Taking a deep breath, Ji Xueyan realized that she had underestimated Ye Chen. Feeling a bit frustrated, she said, "That's right, but you have to remember one thing. Even if you refuse, I will still cancel the engagement. Dragons cannot live with snakes. We are completely different people. I still have a bright future to attain, and the gap between us will only get larger."
"Dragons cannot live with snakes..." Ye Chen mumbled to himself and laughed: "Interesting metaphor, making yourself the great dragon and me the little snake...However, it is still too early for that metaphor; who's the great dragon is still uncertain, and even that little snake might become a dragon, you never know."
Ji Xueyan could not help but start to sneer. How dare he think so highly of himself? Right now, it is so obvious who is the dragon and who is the little snake, and he said that it still is uncertain? What? He thinks he could become a dragon one day and fly in the sky? Is he joking?
"Okay, I am not interested in arguing the truth, I just want to know if you agree to cancel the engagement?"
Without hesitation, Ye Chen replied: "Why not? I agree to cancelling the engagement." Ye Chen knew his ability. In time he would reach Condensing Reality Realm, then the Clasping Yuan Realm, perhaps even the Astral Reaching Realm. No need to entangle himself with a girl.
Besides, even if I don't agree, it won't change anything. She even brought the senior master of Emerald Martial Palace, it will only be asking for trouble. Now that I have agreed, I can take back some control of this matter and save myself some dignity. But, concerning how I was treated today...I will return it two-fold! Then she will know that the title of a dragon has to be earned, and not determined by the fanciful words of some little girl.
The silence lasted a while.
Then, Ji Xueyan lightly scratched her crystal ring on the left hand, which suddenly lit up, and a manual appeared in her hand.
Ye Chen's pupils dilated a bit.
Storage Ring!
A Storage Ring was a legendary treasure for normal people, but it was a basic necessity for high ranking disciples. There was a large amount of space in the ring and could store anything from gold, pellets, plants, clothes to even weapons. The user would not feel any weight other than that of the ring itself.
Ye Chen did not expect her to have one, because, within the Sky Cloud Martial School, only two or three core disciples had it.
"This is a Top Rank Mortal Realm Art - Iron Bone Great Palm. If you can master even half of it, you will beat any disciple of your level. And do not worry, this is not a manual from the Emerald Martial Palace, I got this from killing a wanted thief so you will not face any repercussions from practicing it. It is kind of my 'thank you' gift for you." Ji Xueyan slightly raised her chin, acted like it was nothing but a common gift.
"If I wanted it, I would go out and get it myself." Ye Chen rejected without hesitation. What a joke, there's no need to lose my dignity just for a Top Rank Mortal Realm Art. Plus, she will definitely look down on me if I accepted it like a street urchin accepting leftover food.
Ji Xueyan frowned and said: "Do you not understand? With your potential, it will take God knows how long for you to become an inner court disciple."
Ye Chen said without any emotion: "You don't have to worry about the engagement cancellation, I will keep my promise. If there's nothing else, please excuse me."
Finished talking, Ye Chen notified Luo Xinglie of his leaving, before he turned to walk towards the lobby.
Ji Xueyan was shocked at his reaction but then laughed. She thought he was just doing it for her, otherwise, he would never give up a high-rank Mortal Realm Art. After all, it was a manual for a martial art, you could not just have it if you wanted to. Too bad, that was just a waste of resource, I will never fall for him.
On the way back, Ye Xuan stopped Ye Chen.
"Why are you so stubborn? Just take that manual, no need to hold a grudge." Ye Xuan was well respected in the family of Ye, and the previous Ye Chen used to be afraid of confronting her.
"There are tons of manuals in Sky Cloud Martial School, I don't need it."
Ye Xuan shook her head: "You have already changed, you have become so unreasonable. I know you feel humiliated, but, to be honest, sister Xueyan is way out of your league, her future husband will be someone like the Top Four Young Master, not someone like you. But of course, I am not trying to talk down to you, different people have different lives. As long as you are happy and know your place[A]."
I am unreasonable?! ...never mind. Ye Chen did not want to keep talking to these two arrogant women, because, sometimes, the more one said, the worse things got. The best way to deal with this kind of situation was just to ignore them. In this case, less was more.
"I will see you at the annual family meeting." Then, he walked back into the lobby.
Inside the lobby.
Mu Fengyuan glanced at Ye Chen, "At least you know your place. Ji Xueyan is one of the most gifted disciples in our Emerald Martial Palace, she is too good for you."
Ye Chen could not help but curl his lips. Stupid old man, whether she is good for me or not is none of your damn business. All of you people from Emerald Martial Palace are all the same, arrogant and sickening. You all think you are higher than everyone else, even Ye Xuan had changed.
One day, I will beat all of the disciples in the Emerald Martial Palace, one by one. I will let you know you are all just humans and nothing more.
With all these thoughts scrambling through his head, Ye Chen kept his mouth shut. It would be stupid to confront a senior master who was at the Late Clasping Yuan Stage.
"Leader, I would like to leave now, excuse me." Ye Chen bowed in front for Luo Xinglie.
Luo Xinglie waved his hand, "Since the problem has been resolved, you can go now."
"Yes."
Turning around, Ye Chen, left without looking back.
Standing right next to Ji Xueyan, Ye Xuan made a face. She felt a bit embarrassed about the huge gap between her and her brother.
Ji Xueyan whispered: "I hope he won't make things up in front of Aunty Hui."
"He wouldn't dare to." Ye Xuan replied with confidence.
It had been ten days since his engagement had been canceled.
During these ten days, Ye Chen took the first of his Windy Dew Pellets. It cleared his mind, just like they said it would, and he felt fresh and focused. It cleared the meridians leading to his heart, allowing him to train his Qi without any restraint, and reach the fourth coil of the Pure Yuan Art.
At the same time, Ye Chen began practicing his Golden Swallow Art. It required pure Qi, which was very hard to cultivate. Without it, the user would never be able to truly master the art and travel long distances in the air.
The good thing was that the Qi from the Pure Yuan Art was unbelievably pure. All of the impurities in his Qi had been filtered out upon reaching the second Coil. With his Pure Yuan Art at the Fourth Coil, in addition to his powerful soul, the training process of the Golden Swallow Art was extremely quick.
During these past few days, my Qi has been growing like crazy, which should be a sign that I have reached Mortal Realm Stage 7. The cultivation speed of the fourth Coil of the Pure Yuan Art is, indeed, incredible, but trying to reach the Condensing Reality Stage truly is difficult. What should I do? In reflection, I've only been in this world for six months, but compared to other people who have been practicing the same art for 4-5 years or maybe even 7 years, there's no difference.
Ever since he found out that Ye Xuan had already reached the Early Condensing Reality Stage, Ye Chen knew that he needed to work even harder. Otherwise, he would not be able to fight against Ye Xuan at the Ye family meeting at the end of the year. Other than Ye Xuan, the second son of the eldest Uncle Ye Tang was also quite powerful, since he and Ye Xuan were regarded as the top two geniuses of the Ye family.
He took a jade bottle from his pocket and unplugged the wooden stopper. A blue pellet fell out into his palm.
Qi boosting pellet was a useful pellet for disciples, used to break through to the next stage, and was valued at more than three thousand silvers.
Right now, Ye Chen was only one step away from reaching the Mortal Realm Stage 7, which normally would take him a week or so. However, he didn't want to wait anymore and wanted to use the Qi boosting pellet to break into Stage 7, which would save him seven days of hard work.
Seven days might be nothing to other people, but for Ye Chen, it meant everything. With his comprehension ability, seven days could allow him to master a High-Rank Mortal Realm Skill, even that Top-Rank Mortal Realm Skill Lone Peak of Thirteen Swords only took him two or three months, and that too because it was incomplete, otherwise it would only have taken him a month.
So, he had to save time when he had a chance. He could not afford to waste the time.
Sitting on his bed, Ye Chen flicked the blue Qi boosting pellet into his mouth which slid down his throat.
The Qi boosting pellet melted the second it entered his body, and turned into extremely pure Yuan Qi.
All of a sudden, the Qi from the Pure Yuan Art rushed out from his Dantian like a wolf on the prowl, and in a second, wrapped around the pure Yuan Qi from the Qi boosting pellet, and started refining it.
What a powerful refining ability! If it was Qi from that Cloud Qi Spell, it would be at least two times slower. The higher the quality was, the faster the refining would be. This was a well-known fact that everyone in this land knew. But it was clear that if the total quantity of the Qi increased, it would be a great help for training Yuan Qi. Because, in most situations, it was common for the quantity to be greater than the quality.
One hour had passed.
There was a quiet sound of popping bubbles coming from Ye Chen's body.
The dilated Dantian, once again, expanded like a balloon, and, in the middle of the Dantian, the crystal clear Qi tornado started spinning faster, constantly shifting, and began absorbing the incoming Qi.
After a long time, Ye Chen finally opened his eyes and exhaled out a black fog. Ye Chen could not help but stupidly smile as he knew he had just reached the Mortal Realm Stage 7.
Normally, there was not much difference between the peak of Mortal Realm Stage 6 and Mortal Realm Stage 7. But, for Ye Chen, even the smallest change could mean a huge improvement in power, allowing him to perform more powerful martial skills.
I should stop cultivating my Pure Yuan Art and begin to stabilize my foundation. Ye Chen knew the importance of pacing himself. He had to stabilize the foundations of all his newly mastered skills in order to learn more and get stronger. Just like a skyscraper, if you built it high without creating a strong base, it would fall down and be ruined.
On the second day, Ye Chen managed to completely stabilize his skills, with a little bit of improvement. That Qi boosting pellet could save up to a month's worth of hard work and he had only used seven days, so there were still technically twenty-one days of effective use left.
In the following days, Ye Chen took another Windy Dew Pellet and brought himself to the edge of the fifth Coil of the Pure Yuan Art - the Union of Six Senses.
But, of course, his life was not only about martial arts.
After meeting with the number one outer disciple, Wu Zongming, they had become friends and would chat and spar with each other during their spare time.
In the beginning, Wu Zongming was full of pride, thinking that, although Ye Chen was quite formidable, there was still a gap between the two of them. However, when he limited his power to the Mortal Realm Stage 7 and sparred, he was surprised to find himself a bit behind! His High-Rank Mortal Realm 'Burning Fist' seemed to be weaker than Ye Chen's 'King Kong Fist'! Wu Zongming was astounded.
However, he had no idea that Ye Chen had already mastered his King Kong fist to its highest stage - the Unity Stage. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to beat Ye Chen while suppressing his cultivation.
At the deep end of the mountain, neither the sun nor the moon could be seen. Without noticing, another six months had passed.
One night, Ye Chen rubbed the body boosting ointment all over his body, preparing to try and enter the fifth Coil of the Pure Yuan Art, and combine his six senses.
As for the body boosting ointment, the unity stage required a strong body that was full of energy, and the ointment would increase his chances of success.
Pushing the Qi of the Pure Yuan Art to its extreme, Ye Chen pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and concentrated on his heart, reaching a higher mental state.
Although it seemed to be silent outside, inside Ye Chen's body, there seemed to a climate change, with his Qi rolling unceasingly like a little river.
For most disciples, three of their senses were usually combined, such as their spirit and Qi. The first step of training was purifying their spirit and mixing it with Qi. This step allowed the two to become a union which could change their form when required with just a single thought. If you combined spirit and consciousness, your mind's sharpness would increase under pressure. The hardest part of the union was to combine Qi and the consciousness.
After few days of exploring and experimenting, Ye Chen finally had a basic idea of it.
His eyebrow unnoticeably straightened, as his Qi followed the veins and arrived between his eyebrows. This was the place where the human soul was located and also where the consciousness resided.
After pushing his Qi through his whole body thirty-six times, his Qi was infused with the power of soul and reached back in the Dantian. Ye Chen knew that he had succeeded and had reached the internal unity.
Then, there was the outer unity.
In comparison, the outer unity seemed easy. For example, you should only have to unite your eyes and hands. Coordinating your whole body should not be hard, any human being could manage that after training. However, the outer unity of the Pure Yuan Art was about the infusion of three different Yuan Qi into the limbs, the eyes, and the spinal cord.
First of all, the disciple had to extract the hidden Yuan Qi from the spinal cord. Knowing that the spinal cord was one of the most important parts of the human body, even a tiny little mistake would result in an injury that would be very hard to treat. So Ye Chen did not want to rush it at all.
He let his Qi slowly permeate into his spinal cord, then slowly pulled out a stream of Yuan Qi hidden deep within the bones and nerves, and mixed it with his Qi.
He waited until they had become one,then put that finished Yuan Qi back into his spinal cord.
Repeating the same procedure over and over again, Ye Chen finally managed to combine the outer unity together. His forehead was covered with sweat and his shirt was completely soaked.
But, all of that was definitely worth it, considering that the Yuan Qi in his limbs, eyes, and spinal cord were infused with spirit and consciousness, causing his reflexes to be tremendously improved.
Other than that, after reaching the fifth Coil of the Pure Yuan Art, the rate at which his Yuan Qi restored itself was quite satisfying.
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