12 Friendship of Fellow Apprentices (2/2)

Only Shu Yidan was the one to hold grudges and resentment.

No, that wasn't right either. Shu Yidan didn't hold any grudges, he only maneuvered circumstances so that he could fulfill the missions given by the SYSTEM. And while on it, get some additional resources as well.

The atmosphere had strangely lost its tension. Shu Yidan couldn't find it in himself to make false accusations of assassination anymore either.

”Ah, Senior Apprentice Brother, is the Sect any good? I heard that you were a weakling who cultivated by eating pills upon pills, so I decided to teach you, but I ended up getting taught instead! Haha, if everyone else in the Sect is so strong, it would be worth it to cultivate here!” Xiaoyi's candid question to Shu Yidan jolted him out of his thoughts.

”…I actually am a weakling who cultivated by eating pills upon pills. Only by taking advantage of this array did I gain the capability to suppress you. Not even at peak Golden Core would I be able to suppress you in battle.” Without even an attempt to save face, Shu Yidan candidly answered.

”…Master did say that I would only be able to suppress all at Golden Core Realm. But beyond that… When will I be able to suppress Nascent Soul Realms?” Xiaoyi seemed to ask a question to herself.

”You cannot hope to defeat Nascent Soul cultivator before entering Nascent Soul yourself. In our earlier battle, with my one attack using Nascent Soul qi, you were promptly defeated. The Azurewind Blade Intent is inferior to your Mountbatten Sword Intent. The only thing I used it for was to harmonize with the formation and control the Nascent Soul energy into a true attack. And that's all that was needed.” It went unsaid that Nascent Soul cultivators had more than qi energy to resort to.

Seeing Xiaoyi's morose expression, Shu Yidan hurriedly rephrased his statement. ”As it goes, for most people, only Nascent Soul Realm can match Nascent Soul Realms. Unless a truly ridiculous amount of circumstances are fulfilled, you certainly can't hope to battle Nascent Soul cultivators.”

”What would they be, then?” Xiaoyi asked with an interested grin.

”In terms of cultivation… You need to cultivate the apex of all qi cultivation techniques from the very start of Qi Condensation Realm. You need to reach mastery with using your Three Energies of Essence, Qi and Spirit. Meaning, you need to master physique-based essence attacks, energy-based qi attacks and mentally-based spirit attacks. Finally and most importantly, you need to master a Domain.

In terms of treasures… You need an extremely strong and extremely compatible Natal Artifact. You need all the other treasures you carry to battle to be extremely strong as well. Oh, and most importantly, you need to do all that before reaching Nascent Soul Realm.” Shu Yidan stopped speaking.

Xiaoyi seemed bothered hearing the long list. ”I have a Sword Immortal bloodline, though… Since I can easily battle Golden Cores, why isn't it possible to extend to Nascent Souls?”

”…Between Golden Cores and Nascent Souls, there is a huge boundary. A majority of cultivators stop their journey at Golden Core realm. It is nearly impossible to take a step forward.” Shu Yidan was one whose cultivation journey began and stopped at peak Golden Core in the past timeline. ”At Golden Core realm, the cultivation and refinement of qi reaches the pinnacle. So from Nascent Soul, the target of cultivation is the spirit… the soul. Upon reaching Nascent Soul, the spirit reaches great sublimation. Lifespan shoots up to 1000 years, qi and essence are refined to a higher realm, divine abilities can be cultivated… Basically, one truly embarks on the path of Immortality from this realm.”

Shu Yidan realized that he had unexpectedly revealed passion in his speech. But he didn't bother downplaying it… it was the heartfelt frustration-filled sentiments of his past life. ”I am not exaggerating, cultivating to Nascent Soul is hard.”

Xiaoyi only nodded, seemingly not understanding yet pretending to understand. That familiar expression made Shu Yidan smile once more… before his smile froze.

The distance between them narrowed so quickly... too quickly. And how had he revealed the sentiments that had frustrated his heart in the past timeline so easily?