Chapter Sixty-One: The Limit of Thirty

In the early morning, within the Cambrian Hall of the Longteng Martial Academy, Ye Xin exhaled deeply, scattering the luminous motes suspended in the air with his breath. He then opened his eyes and stretched his body.

“Boss, it’s about time. If we delay any longer, other students might come in,” Xie En whispered.

“I know,” Ye Xin replied, rising to his feet and gazing up at the ceiling etched with runes. “This Cambrian Hall is truly impressive. Even if I started cultivating from scratch, it wouldn’t take a year for me to become an advanced innate warrior.”

“The Cambrian Hall relies on primal stones as its power source,” Xie En remarked. “It’s much more economical than what we’ve used before. Too bad we can’t dismantle it and take it with us.”

“I wonder how Yang Xuantong’s cultivation in the path of runes is progressing,” Ye Xin mused. “If he succeeds, it’ll save us a great deal of resources.”

“Boss, I don’t quite understand. Why entrust such a good opportunity to Yang Xuantong?” Xie En asked. “If it’s about closeness, we’re much closer to you. If it’s about merit, that coward always hides at the back during fights. If not for your protection, with his attitude, he wouldn’t survive more than two months in the Tianzui Battalion—someone would have killed him already.”

“Do you know what my greatest strength is?” Ye Xin smiled.

“Hmm...” Xie En hesitated. “Boss, you have too many strengths, as countless as the sands of the Milky Way...”

“Get lost!” Ye Xin laughed and cursed. “My greatest strength is understanding people. I know your nature, your tempers, your preferences. As a leader, I must place you in the right position, so you can shine and burn with your fullest brilliance. Yang Xuantong loves research, and the rune path suits him perfectly. If it were any of you, dealing with runes day in and day out, you’d be driven mad within a year.”

“There’s some truth in that,” Xie En admitted.

“Letting someone do what they love yields twice the results for half the effort. The opposite brings twice the effort for half the results,” Ye Xin said. “You started a bit late. If I don’t make a thorough and comprehensive plan for you, your progress in life may remain limited.”

With that, Ye Xin frowned in thought.

“Boss, what are you pondering?” Xie En asked curiously.

“There’s something I’ve been considering for a long time,” Ye Xin replied. “I just can’t figure it out. Tell me—these neighboring principalities are full of talented people, yet why do they all stop at advanced innate warriors? Is it lack of aptitude? Insufficient resources? Or a deficiency in comprehension and intellect?”

Xie En was stunned, then also fell into deep thought. After a long pause, he said uncertainly, “Maybe... the real geniuses get recruited by the sects? The rest, compared to those geniuses, are quite lacking.”

“Nonsense,” Ye Xin shook his head. “When my father left Longteng Martial Academy, he stood out among his peers. He participated in the selection, breezed through the physical trial, but failed the heart trial. I refuse to believe those recruited by the sects were stronger than my father.”

Xie En scratched his head. He was never one for deep thinking, and Ye Xin’s question seemed too elusive to grasp.

“The Han family’s patriarch, Han Sanmei, was a prodigy in his youth, but he too failed the selection,” Ye Xin continued. “Not to mention others—Xiao Demon Finger was apparently eliminated as well. Was his aptitude insufficient? Did he lack comprehension and wit? Ha... fascinating...”

“Then what do you think is the reason, Boss?” Xie En asked.

“I don’t know,” Ye Xin paused. “Let’s talk about Iron Crown Tian. His abilities... tsk, he’s not even fit to carry Xiao Demon Finger’s shoes. He simply progressed a bit faster than his peers. Why did he get into a sect?”

Xie En kept scratching his head. Thinking hard was a bit too much for him.

“The key lies in the heart trial. What kind of heart allows entry into a sect?” Ye Xin said languidly, then smiled. “Enough about that. Let’s focus on your cultivation. Han Sanmei became an advanced innate warrior at twenty-one, Wei Juan also at twenty-one, my father at twenty, Wang Fang at twenty-two... Many years have passed, yet their progress remains stagnant. Don’t you find it odd?”

“But they’ve refined their killing moves,” Xie En said.

“I’m talking about advancement,” Ye Xin replied. “In the ancient forests, small fierce beasts like wolves and leopards can sometimes defeat lions and tigers with their speed and endurance. But if they possessed the strength equivalent to lions and tigers, combined with their speed and endurance, how terrifying would they become?”

“Advancing to cultivator... that’s easier said than done,” Xie En sighed.

“I have a hypothesis,” Ye Xin said. “A human body peaks at around thirty years old. After thirty-five, all aspects begin to decline. That must be a threshold. In other words... if you can’t advance to cultivator before thirty-five, you’ll never have hope for the rest of your life.”

“Boss, that’s a sound hypothesis,” Xie En nodded.

“So, before you reach thirty, I’ll do everything in my power to help you cross that threshold,” Ye Xin said, then paused. “By the way, what does the Spirit Body truly mean? Have you found out?”

“I have,” Xie En said. “The Spirit Body refers to the coexistence of Yang Force and Yin Sha within one person. Some records elevate the Spirit Body above the heavens, while others go out of their way to disparage it. In the end, my head was spinning...”

“With your lazy nature, it’s tough asking you to research records on the Spirit Body,” Ye Xin said, walking up to the dais and sitting down. “Give me a brief explanation.”

“When the boss gives an order, I do my best. Besides, no one but me—certainly not Xue Baiqi and the others—can access the Longteng Martial Academy’s library,” Xie En said. “One book was fairly neutral and broad in scope, even mentioning the cultivation world.”

“Oh?” Ye Xin’s smile appeared. Xie En wasn’t stupid, just lazy. If forced to work seriously, he rarely disappointed.

“And it described some things that sparked the imagination,” Xie En went on. “It said that whether it’s the Nine Principalities, the Empire of Gods, Yan, or the Lawbearing Empire, everyone actually lives in an insignificant world called Mortal Life World. Above Mortal Life World is the World of Enlightenment, above that is the World of Longevity. Even the World of Longevity isn’t the end, but... the author didn’t know what lies beyond.”

Ye Xin’s smile faded as he gazed intently at Xie En.

Xie En fell silent for a long time, clearly shaken by the information. “The author was fortunate enough to meet a cultivator of immense power, who told him about the Spirit Body. Though he wrote little, he made it clear: the Spirit Body is both genius and trash.”

“What does that mean?” Ye Xin asked.

“The Spirit Body is born with a barrier between Yin and Yang, unable to gather primal force. In Mortal Life World, it’s almost impossible to break this barrier, so it’s considered trash. But in the World of Enlightenment, cultivators are much stronger, with many ways to harmonize Yin and Yang—there, it’s genius,” Xie En explained. “Of course, there are lucky ones. The author mentioned the founder of the Lawbearing Empire, Li Shichuan, who was also born with the Spirit Body. It’s said that as a child, he was flying a kite outdoors when struck by heavenly lightning. He survived by a stroke of luck, and the calamity turned into blessing—Yang Force and Yin Sha merged, and his progress soared. He started from nothing and built a vast empire.”

Ye Xin was taken aback, a strange idea forming in his mind. Could Li Shichuan share the same origins as himself?

“Boss, you weren’t struck by lightning too, were you...” Xie En murmured.

Ye Xin ignored Xie En, his gaze vacant, lost in thought.

Just then, voices sounded from outside. Two students from the Fifth Battalion entered the Cambrian Hall side by side. Spotting Ye Xin, they were somewhat surprised, then bowed to Xie En and found seats for themselves.

Outside the Cambrian Hall, Ye Ling, Wen Rong, and others were approaching. Wen Rong glanced back and quietly asked Ye Ling, “Where’s your brother?”

“How should I know where he is?” Ye Ling’s face darkened. “He goes his way, I go mine.”

Wen Rong and Shen Miao exchanged glances. They understood: yesterday’s incident with Deng Qiaoying coughing up blood had created a rift between the siblings.

“Ling, I discussed it with my family yesterday,” Shen Miao said gently. “Everyone said your brother has backbone. Destroying the Sirius Technique was probably the best choice, or else future troubles would have kept coming.”

“Shen Miao, do you take me for a child?” Ye Ling was visibly irritated. “Your family would say something like that? Say it again!”

“Actually... Wen Rong said it...” Shen Miao stuck out her tongue. “Isn’t it the same? I’ve always considered Wen Rong like a real sister!”

“Don’t talk to me about him!” Ye Ling said.

Ye Ling’s display of animosity toward Ye Xin was prearranged. After such a major incident yesterday, if Ye Xin and Ye Ling didn’t act properly, it would arouse suspicion. Ye Xin simply treated Wen Rong and the others as a weather vane—if they believed the siblings had truly fallen out, no one else would see through it. Ye Ling therefore acted with utmost seriousness.

The group entered the Cambrian Hall, surprised to see Ye Xin already there. After greeting Xie En, they each took their seats on the mats, occasionally stealing glances at Ye Xin.

After more than half an hour, the Fifth Battalion students gradually arrived. Now, only nineteen students remained in the Cambrian Hall—the others had perished on Shuangjia Mountain.