Chen Ye stared at the nascent soul ocean swirling within his mind and blinked.
Is this… the Divine Sea realm?
It felt so surreal.
All he did was take a nap!
But then, an irrepressible grin spread across his face, and he nearly threw his hands on his hips and roared with laughter.
This system was incredible!
He loved it!
Chen Ye felt the ocean of power within him and was beyond excited. However, he had just leaped to the Divine Sea realm and was still unfamiliar with this newfound strength. If he were to face a true, seasoned Divine Sea master right now, he would almost certainly lose.
But so what?
Even the weakest Divine Sea master was still a Divine Sea master! In the entire Azure Cloud Sect, that was elder-level power. As far as he knew, among all the true disciples of the sect, not a single one had reached the Divine Sea realm. The best among them were only at the peak of the Void Shattering realm.
And he had become a Divine Sea master overnight!
Among the younger generation of the Azure Cloud Sect, he was now, without a doubt, number one!
He was finally worthy of the title "Eldest Senior Brother of Jade Bamboo Peak"!
He stepped out of his bamboo hut and looked up at the azure sky and white clouds. He felt more cheerful than ever before. Then, his gaze fell upon Xiao Qingluan, who had also just emerged from her hut and was now staring at him. The more he looked at her, the more he liked her. "Junior Sister, good morning."
Hello, my wonderful junior sister.
Without her, how could he have this cultivation base?
Thinking of this, he decided to cook a magnificent feast at noon to reward his diligent junior sister who had cultivated all night. "Junior Sister, what would you like for lunch? I'll head down the mountain to buy some ingredients and cook for you."
Xiao Qingluan's eyes lit up. She had to admit, Chen Ye's cooking was superb. Still, she maintained a reserved demeanor, not showing too much excitement. "Senior Brother can make whatever he likes. I'm not picky."
"Alright, then. By the way, how was your first night here? Did you sleep well?"
"It was adequate."
Though it couldn't compare to the imperial palace of her past life, circumstances were different now. She had to make do and couldn't be choosy.
"That's good to hear."
Chen Ye smiled faintly, looking at Xiao Qingluan. The more he looked, the cuter she seemed. "Well then, Senior Brother is off to buy groceries. You should continue to cultivate hard."
With that, he turned to leave.
Watching Chen Ye's retreating back, Xiao Qingluan shook her head. Alas, he has no idea that he is about to become the stepping stone for my advancement. Hmmph, seeing as he has treated me well, I shall grant him a lifetime of wealth and glory in the future.
Chen Ye whistled a jaunty tune as he made his way down the mountain to buy ingredients.
Halfway down the path, it suddenly dawned on him. He was now a grandmaster of the Divine Sea realm. He could fly!
There was no need to walk down the mountain at all.
But just as he was about to leap into the air, a sharp cry echoed from above. A moment later, a pheasant plummeted from the sky and landed at his feet with a thud.
Looking closer, the pheasant was riddled with bloody wounds. The impact with the ground had finished it off.
"Is this... free food falling from the sky?"
Chen Ye blinked.
Suddenly.
A streak of sword qi shot towards him. The sword qi wasn't particularly powerful, but if it had been the Chen Ye of yesterday, he would have been knocked back, possibly even injured.
But now, Chen Ye didn't care at all.
He casually flicked his wrist.
Clang!
The sword qi dissipated on the spot.
Such a crisp sound!
Chen Ye looked at his pale, slender palm, feeling incredibly powerful.
Not far away, two figures approached, their eyes wide with surprise. The young man in the lead spoke, "Well now, I didn't expect a mere mortal physique to block my sword qi. How surprising."
Chen Ye looked at the two and asked curiously, "Who are you?"
"Heh, Chen Ye, you don't recognize me? Then surely you remember the youth who knelt outside Jade Bamboo Peak for three days and three nights, three years ago!" the young man sneered.
Chen Ye wracked his brain. "Three years ago... Oh, I remember. Three years ago, there was some fool kneeling at the foot of Jade Bamboo Peak, begging my master to take him as a disciple. But he never even saw my master and ended up fainting from exhaustion."
Shen Ziling was one of the top experts of the Azure Cloud Sect.
A half-step Transcendent.
With her legendary beauty, she was the dream girl for countless disciples. The number of people who wanted to become her disciple was as vast as the sea. He remembered that three years ago, a certain youth had knelt for days on end, but unfortunately for him, Shen Ziling was deep in a nap and didn't emerge for over half a month.
Chen Ye had kindly advised the youth to try his luck at another peak. He was promptly scolded.
"You, a mortal, got to become Elder Shen's disciple! Why can't I? Elder Shen must be testing my sincerity!"
"Don't you dare try to stop me from becoming her disciple! I am the only one worthy of inheriting Elder Shen's legacy! You're just a mortal, what right do you have?"
Chen Ye had simply ignored him.
Later, the youth knelt for three days and nights before passing out. He heard he was eventually accepted by Soaring Sword Peak, one of the seven main peaks, and hadn't heard anything about him since. Chen Ye didn't even remember his name.
He never expected to run into him again today.
"For the past three years, I, Zhang Bai, have cultivated day and night on Soaring Sword Peak! I have now reached the ninth level of True Qi, just half a step from the Spirit Spring realm! I never thought I'd run into you while out hunting today. Chen Ye, draw your sword!"
The young man, Zhang Bai, pointed his sword at Chen Ye.
Chen Ye spread his hands. "Where do you see a sword on me?"
"Hmph, as the sole disciple of Jade Bamboo Peak, you don't even have a storage ring? How pathetic!" Zhang Bai snorted.
Chen Ye shrugged. "Yep, my master is quite stingy. You're lucky you didn't join Jade Bamboo Peak, or you might not have reached your current cultivation. Besides, Jade Bamboo Peak has a new junior sister now."
He wasn't lying.
Shen Ziling was an oddball. She accepted a disciple but didn't teach him, leaving him to his own devices. If Zhang Bai had really joined their peak, he likely wouldn't be where he was today. Unfortunately, to Zhang Bai, these words sounded like pure mockery.
See? My master accepted another disciple. But she still wouldn't accept you.
"Good, very good! Today, I, Zhang Bai, will show you the fruits of my labor!"
Zhang Bai let out a low roar and thrust his sword at Chen Ye.
The sword moved with sharp, decisive power. A thin layer of flames licked along the blade's edge.
Chen Ye could tell it was a standard Azure Cloud Sect sword technique. The flames were because Zhang Bai possessed a Fire Spirit Body. The heat wave rolled forward, a testament to his power.
This single strike would have been enough to kill the Chen Ye of yesterday ten times over.
Unfortunately for Zhang Bai, he came at the wrong time.
If he had come just one day earlier, he might have been able to teach Chen Ye a harsh lesson.
But now...
Chen Ye casually extended two fingers and lightly pinched the incoming blade. He said calmly, "Too naive."
He applied a minuscule amount of force, letting a wisp of his vast spiritual power flow out.
Clang!
The sword shattered into pieces.
The backlash of spiritual power surged along the hilt. Zhang Bai was sent flying, spitting a mouthful of blood before he even hit the ground, fainting instantly.
Seeing this, Chen Ye tossed the broken hilt aside.
"Oops, I used a little too much force."
He had just advanced to the Divine Sea realm and couldn't perfectly control his power yet. He had tried his best to hold back. But even so, he had still knocked the poor guy out cold with a single move.
"You... you..."
The other young man accompanying Zhang Bai stared at Chen Ye, his face pale with terror. "You've been hiding your strength all this time! You're no mortal!"
How could a mortal physique possibly be this strong?