Chapter 518: Chapter 507: The Sword Cultivator Father
Because Ye Sheng was only at the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer and had forcefully improved through a contract with the merfolk, Ye Qiu did not dare to let him fully contract the Dark Blue Ice Flame. Fortunately, the Dark Blue Ice Flame had not yet developed Divine Sense, so partitioning a small wisp of it posed no great issue.
The growth of a Heaven and Earth Strange Fire was slow, but different once contracted with a cultivator. A Strange Fire contracted by a cultivator would more easily develop sentience. Once Ye Sheng became stronger in the future, he could look for nutrients to help the Youlan Strange Fire grow. Perhaps it could even one day regain the might of the Dark Blue Ice Flame.
This time, the contract with the Dark Blue Ice Flame took longer than the contract with the two little merfolk, but because Ye Qiu suppressed it, Ye Sheng’s cultivation did not continue to rise.
"Your current cultivation is insufficient to wield the Dark Blue Ice Flame. Remember, never summon it unless it’s absolutely necessary," Ye Qiu earnestly instructed his son.
When he first contracted the Dark Blue Ice Flame, Ye Sheng also experienced excruciating pain, but that was alleviated thanks to the watchful presence of Uncle Xiao Jin. Even now, he had a lingering fear of the extreme cold and obediently nodded his head vigorously.
"Now that the contract is completed, go into seclusion to consolidate your cultivation. I will speak with your Master about it."
"Understood, Father."
"Right, place this under you when you cultivate." Ye Qiu took out the mat he obtained in the Endless Desert. The mat appeared plain and unremarkable, emitting no Spiritual Power fluctuations, indistinguishable from those woven by ordinary folks.
But Ye Sheng did not harbor a shred of doubt; he trusted his father unconditionally.
However, it was only when he went into seclusion and sat on the mat to cultivate that he realized how amazing the mat his father gave him truly was!
At this moment, Ye Sheng even suspected that his father might have found all the best things in the Xuanyuan Realm.
Time flew by during cultivation, and in the blink of an eye, eight years had passed. Ye Sheng had also successfully established his Foundation.
What shocked the entire Tianyan Sect was that shortly after Ye Sheng’s Foundation Establishment, Lin Shen also managed to establish his Foundation.
Ye Sheng was a genius with a single Metal Spirit Root, beginning cultivation at the age of eight and taking twelve years to establish his Foundation, almost the same as his father back in the day.
But Lin Shen, known by everyone as trash with Five Spirit Roots, only started cultivating at the age of ten. Despite all disapprobation, he astonishingly succeeded in Foundation Establishment within only ten years.
What did this imply? It meant Lin Shen had replaced Ye Sheng as the number one genius of the Tianyan Sect.
Five years ago, during the sect’s grand competition, Ye Sheng had narrowly defeated Lin Shen with a slight advantage. It was then that people realized Lin Shen’s prowess and also acknowledged that Ye Sheng was indeed the Tianyan Sect’s top genius.
But now? The previous victory in the sect’s grand competition was because Ye Sheng had a higher cultivation level than Lin Shen. But now that both their cultivations are at the Early-stage Foundation Establishment, would Lin Shen still lose?
Despite such questions being raised, everyone felt in their hearts that Ye Sheng would no longer win.
Over the years, Lin Shen’s notoriety had not only spread throughout the Tianyan Sect but also across the entire Xuanyuan Realm. He fought with reckless abandon, impossible to kill; every time you thought he was in danger, not only would he turn the tables, but he would also gain a trove of treasures.
Therefore, Lin Shen has undoubtedly established his reputation as the Child of Destiny. How else can one explain the rapid progress in his cultivation despite his Five Spirit Roots aptitude? Cultivators are no fools; it’s clear that Lin Shen has secrets.
Yet, nobody dares to act against him, because if Lin Shen truly is the Child of Destiny, he would remain unharmed, while those who trouble him would find themselves in big trouble. Since the Heavenly Dao is protective of the Child of Destiny, it wouldn’t easily allow others to interfere.
Should they be consumed by greed, their journey ahead could become much more arduous. They might even face Heart Demons during their Tribulation, a loss far outweighing any gains.
However, these are the thoughts of high-level cultivators with aspirations. But those with impure hearts or those without hope in their cultivation path naturally seek shortcuts to achieve their goals.
As a result, over the years, Lin Shen has faced countless assassination attempts. He responds to each one with a kill, never showing mercy.
Some cultivators feel his methods are too extreme, but one cannot say he is wrong. If those people did not have malicious intentions, would Lin Shen have killed them? Thus, they brought it upon themselves.
Since then, inside the Tianyan Sect, very few dare to approach Lin Shen anymore, and even the rumors previously spread about him and Ye Sheng have gradually dissipated.
Those who dare to spread rumors only say that Ye Sheng is inferior to Lin Shen, never that Lin Shen is inferior to Ye Sheng. This is a typical case of the weak fearing the wicked.
Over the years, Ye Qiu has been in secluded cultivation, while Ye Sheng has been occupying himself with both Hidden Sword Peak and Artifact Refining Peak, paying no heed to those people. They dare not offend Lin Shen, so they take it out on Ye Sheng instead, knowing Ye Sheng wouldn’t bother with low-level disciples.
Throughout these years, Lin Shen has indeed been competing with Ye Sheng, fully convinced that Ye Sheng would be no match for him in the sect’s grand competition, but his pride and overconfidence allowed Ye Sheng to find an opportunity.
Yes, that’s what Lin Shen believes. He won’t blame others for his loss in the sect’s grand competition; it was his own arrogance that gave Ye Sheng the chance. If he had another opportunity, he would certainly not be so careless.
Hmph, what does having a Sword Master as a father matter? Or having two contracted little merfolk? Isn’t their cultivation speed still unable to keep up with his own?
Lin Shen had thought about challenging Ye Sheng to a contest again to restore his own dignity, but Ye Sheng was either busy with Artifact Refining or in secluded cultivation, leaving Lin Shen with no opportunity.
But now, they are both at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. If he challenges Ye Sheng now, he surely can’t refuse, right? This time, he must defeat Ye Sheng in the shortest time possible.
Yet he never considered that Ye Sheng was originally a Sword Cultivator and had later switched to Artifact Refining midway, which already required a lot more effort. Besides, a contest isn’t fair to them as Artifact Refiners, Pill Refiners, and Array Repairers.
They spend most of their time on Artifact Refining, Alchemy, and studying Arrays. Where would they find the time to learn offensive techniques?
If we are talking about fairness, Artifact Refiners and Pill Refiners should be allowed to use their personally refined weapons and elixirs indefinitely during a contest, and Array Repairers should be allowed to set up Arrays.
When roaming the Cultivation World, others certainly won’t offer you a fair contest. For someone like Ye Sheng, an Artifact Refiner, facing danger in the outside world, wouldn’t they use their strength as Artifact Refiners to fight?
What’s the advantage of an Artifact Refiner? It’s nothing other than an inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Artifacts and vast connections, all of which are prohibited during contests. Therefore, the kind of fair contest Lin Shen imagines simply doesn’t exist.
Besides, Ye Sheng has contracted with two little merfolk. In times of danger, the little merfolk can also aid him in battle. Why should an Artifact Refiner be forced to compete with you in personal offensive techniques?