Chapter 545: Chapter 545: Cultivating with the Eldest Senior Brother

The Saint Heir, still smiling and seemingly oblivious to Qin Yue’s attitude, said, "No, you won’t refuse to teach me."

He spoke with utter confidence. "Did you know that Ye Qingchen was present when the demonic cavern appeared? The formation I set up effectively saved his life. In essence, by teaching me about formations, you would also be saving Ye Qingchen."

Qin Yue’s heart skipped a beat. She asked with a mix of shock and anger, "Qingchen went to the demonic cavern? Is he in danger?"

The Saint Heir squinted and chuckled. "To find you, he went to Eternal City to participate in the Sect’s newcomer competition, aiming to earn the qualification to enter the Ten Ancient Clans. And you should know, the Demon Clan appeared right during that competition."

Qin Yue’s heart ached, and she muttered to herself, "Qingchen, why are you so foolish... risking so much for me."

The Saint Heir waved his hand with a laugh. "But don’t worry, he has already left Eternal City safely."

Qin Yue glanced at the Saint Heir. Hearing that Ye Qingchen was safe brought her a slight sense of relief, but the Saint Heir clearly had no intention of letting her feel at ease. He continued, "But that lad is truly a lovesick fool. He’s now striving to gain entry to the demonic cavern through one of the four major academies. Let me tell you, I was the one who spread the news that anyone who accumulates enough points through the trials in the demonic cavern will get a chance to come to the Ten Ancient Clans. Upon hearing this, Ye Qingchen has been desperately vying for this opportunity. Hahaha!"

By the end of his speech, the Saint Heir couldn’t help but burst into hearty laughter.

As Qin Yue heard how Ye Qingchen was constantly taking risks for her, her heart warmed, yet she also began to feel distressed. Unwittingly, tears began to stream down her face.

* * *

On a low hill, next to the stele of the Divine Tree Academy, Qin Chuan led Ye Qingchen, Zhu Liang, and Cheng Lu as they all sat meditating around the stone monument.

The sky had completely darkened. Without a house, they had to make do with spending the night in the courtyard. They were all Martial Artists and could go several days and nights without sleep without any ill effects. Therefore, instead of wasting time, it was more practical to meditate and cultivate.

Ye Qingchen was also sitting cross-legged. After circulating the Divine Tree Technique for several Circulations of Energy, a thought suddenly struck him, and he opened his eyes. Just moments before, he had sensed the nature’s spiritual energy around him becoming more active.

A Martial Artist’s cultivation is fundamentally a process of continuously absorbing nature’s spiritual energy to temper their body and achieve breakthroughs. However, a person’s body can only contain a finite amount of this energy. Therefore, experts at the Martial Emperor Realm develop methods to manipulate this energy externally, without having to draw it into their bodies. This not only greatly increases their ability to use nature’s spiritual energy, but it also reduces their own energy consumption. Moreover, they can use this external energy to defy gravity and fly through the air. This is one of the hallmarks of the Martial Emperor Realm.

However, some extraordinarily talented individuals can master methods of using nature’s spiritual energy without reaching the Martial Emperor Realm. Without exception, these people are the elites among their peers. Even after they break through to the Martial Emperor Realm, their combat strength far surpasses that of an average Martial Emperor.

Ye Qingchen had once studied these methods himself but had ultimately given up after failing to grasp the knack. Just a moment ago, however, he had a sudden epiphany, feeling a faint connection with the surrounding nature’s spiritual energy. That was why he had halted his cultivation.

When he opened his eyes, he saw countless streams of nature’s spiritual energy dancing joyously around Qin Chuan, Zhu Liang, and Cheng Lu, surging with excitement. This spiritual energy, which lacked its own consciousness, seemed to find a sense of belonging around the three, flowing in and out of their bodies in tandem with their breath.

This situation was different from merely absorbing spiritual energy; it was a state of self-transcendent enlightenment. It was precisely because Ye Qingchen was so close to the three that he was affected by the vibrant spiritual energy, leading to his own insight.

Ye Qingchen activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, observing the surrounding spiritual energy and the cultivation state of the three men as his own understanding steadily deepened.

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Qingchen also slowly entered a state of egoless clarity as nature’s spiritual energy began to gather around him automatically. He was in a state of pure, selfless awareness, completely oblivious to his own condition.

This state astounded his senior brother Qin Chuan, who had been watching him closely. When Qin Chuan first met Ye Qingchen, he only knew that he was a fourth-level Martial King with combat capabilities comparable to the Peak of the Martial King Realm, but he did not fully understand the specifics of his junior brother’s situation. When Ye Qingchen began meditating, Qin Chuan knew perfectly well that he had no clue about manipulating nature’s spiritual energy. Yet, in such a short time, he was able to cause it to resonate with him.

Qin Chuan realized that Ye Qingchen must have experienced a sudden enlightenment from observing him and his two junior brothers cultivate.

To grasp the basics in such a short time just by observing... My junior brother’s comprehension must be the highest I’ve ever seen.

Qin Chuan marveled inwardly. He then closed his eyes and resumed his own cultivation, contemplating whether he should change his original training plan for his junior brother.

What Qin Chuan didn’t know was that Ye Qingchen inherently possessed an extremely high level of comprehension. Aided by his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, everything was magnified before his eyes in the greatest possible detail. Furthermore, he had studied nature’s spiritual energy before, and though he had not mastered it, he had accumulated some experience. The combination of all these factors allowed Ye Qingchen to resonate with nature’s spiritual energy so quickly.

As time ticked away, the sky gradually brightened.

Qin Chuan stopped cultivating. He chose not to disturb his two junior brothers, Zhu Liang and Cheng Lu, and instead gently roused Ye Qingchen. He gestured for Ye Qingchen to be silent, then waved him over and led him down the low hill.

After a night of contemplation, Qin Chuan had finally formulated a new cultivation plan for Ye Qingchen. Originally, he had planned to simply temper Ye Qingchen’s fundamentals. Once his foundation was up to standard, he would have another junior brother take over the training. But after witnessing Ye Qingchen resonate with nature’s spiritual energy the previous night, Qin Chuan had changed his mind.

Resonating with nature’s spiritual energy was a benchmark for reaching the Martial Emperor Realm. For Ye Qingchen to achieve this while only at the fourth level of the Martial King Realm meant he was far superior to those so-called geniuses. After all, even the most talented cultivators who managed to grasp nature’s spiritual energy at the Martial King Realm only began to get a feel for it after reaching the realm’s higher levels. The fact that Ye Qingchen could achieve this was enough to prove that his comprehension and foundation were exceptional.

Instead of wasting time tempering his foundation... why not... be a little bolder!