Time flew like a fleeting shadow.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed. For two years, the skies above the Great Wilderness had been a battleground. The golden claw and the small red bird—two adult pureblood beasts—had torn the wilderness nearly to pieces.
Of course, the great tribes of the Great Wilderness were generally protected by guardian spirits.
As long as the beasts weren't deliberately targeting them, the shockwaves from their clash were intercepted by these spirits, sparing the tribes from catastrophic destruction.
At first, many tribes feared the fighting would spill over to their doorsteps. But after two years of battling solely in the skies, the tribes—including small villages like Stone Village—grew accustomed to the presence of two terrifying creatures dueling above.
Still, they treaded carefully outside their borders. No one knew when a stray shockwave from the fight might accidentally fall upon them, reducing them to ash like the shattered mountain ranges.
____
The Great Wilderness, Cangmang Mountains, Stone Village
"Five years. A whole five years, Liu Shen. I think I've really been abandoned."
Shi Yi sprawled across the canopy of Liu Shen's willow tree, his voice heavy with resignation. What had once been uncertainty had hardened into despair. He felt truly cast aside.
Is the Martial King Manor that mighty?
To just discard a Double Pupil bearer like this?
"Two years ago, the two elders who were guarding you from the shadows outside Stone Village left. They seemed to have urgent matters and didn't even have time to inform you," Liu Shen said, her tone as calm as ever.
At that moment, she remained in her willow tree form, rooted at the heart of Stone Village. Except for Shi Yi, no one dared climb her canopy and lounge there.
"I know. When you mentioned one fat and one thin two years ago, I knew they were Ninth Grandpa and Thirteenth Grandpa," Shi Yi replied listlessly.
"With your current strength, leaving the Great Wilderness wouldn't be difficult. You could return to the Martial King Manor and seek answers," Liu Shen said, her voice still serene.
"Liu Shen, I'm only at the peak of the Heavenly Passage Realm. You're not thinking of going back on your word, are you?" Shi Yi's eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"As long as you achieve it, I'll keep my promise. But I don't believe you can," Liu Shen said with unwavering certainty. She genuinely doubted Shi Yi's ability.
Reaching the extreme limit of ten Heavenly Passages wasn't something one could accomplish by holing up in Stone Village and cultivating in isolation. It required the tempering of life-and-death struggles, with only a slim chance of success.
If everyone could advance their realm or break through to the extreme simply by meditating and avoiding conflict, why did so many still chase after opportunities?
"It's just breaking through to ten Heavenly Passages. Do you have to look down on me like that?" Shi Yi gritted his teeth inwardly. She says I can't do it? I'll prove I can.
At this point, Shi Yi was eleven years old. He'd been in Stone Village for five years, training under Liu Shen's guidance the entire time.
Two years ago, he had six Heavenly Passages. Now, he had nine. The addition of three passages might seem minor, but it was no small feat.
Under normal circumstances, a cultivator in the Heavenly Passage Realm could advance to the next realm with just six passages.
Shi Yi had initially planned to do the same. He had no interest in pushing every realm to its absolute limit, nor did he believe he had the ability. His strategy was simple: overpower those in lower realms with his higher cultivation.
He'd intended to break through to the next realm at nine passages, seeing no need to strive for the elusive tenth.
It was common knowledge that six Heavenly Passages were sufficient to advance. Eight were the human race's limit, nine were achievable only by ancient species or pureblood beasts, and ten Heavenly Passages were unprecedented in the Lower Realm's Eight Domains.
Thus, the saying: Nine Heavenly Passages can claim kingship; ten can claim supremacy.
If the Blood Transformation Realm was about tempering the body to withstand the influx of heaven and earth's energy, preventing the body from bursting in later cultivation, the Heavenly Passage Realm was about laying the foundation for potential. The number of passages one opened often hinted at how far they could go.
For Shi Yi, nine Heavenly Passages were more than satisfactory.
It wasn't that he lacked ambition.
His mindset was straightforward, summed up in eight words:
Bully the weak, dominate with superior strength.
This was Shi Yi's truest intention, his goal from the start.
To him, the ideal was to crush opponents with overwhelming, unassailable power—not to engage in fair, honorable duels.
Undefeated at the same level?
Why should I fight you at the same level? Why not be one level above?
Even a higher rank in bureaucracy can crush you—same goes for a higher cultivation realm.
The world wasn't full of teenage prodigies who could fight above their level.
If everyone could battle beyond their realm, the concept of cultivation stages would be meaningless.
So, in Shi Yi's view, staying one or two realms ahead meant he could thrash his opponents with ease. If he was unlucky enough to face a prodigy who could fight above their level?
If I can't win, I won't fight. If I can't fight, I'll run. No need to slug it out to the death. When the time's right, I'll come back and take them out with a surprise attack.
But Liu Shen saw things differently. To ensure Shi Yi built a solid foundation, with the potential to one day stand shoulder-to-shoulder with her, she made a promise: if he broke through to ten Heavenly Passages, he could have true, tangible contact with her humanoid form.
Not like now, merely lying on her canopy, sighing at her, lamenting his fate.
Yet Liu Shen underestimated Shi Yi's determination—especially when it came to certain matters.
Over two years, without the aid of external opportunities like spiritual fruits or elixirs, Shi Yi had pushed himself to nine Heavenly Passages through relentless, day-and-night cultivation.
Because of her promise, he suppressed his urge to break through to the next realm, determined to prove to Liu Shen that he could achieve ten Heavenly Passages.
"Shi Yi, reaching nine Heavenly Passages through solitary cultivation, without any external aid, is already remarkable. But breaking through to ten isn't as simple as you think. Ten Heavenly Passages, even in the Upper Realm, mark a true teenage prodigy," Liu Shen said, her tone as steady as ever.
In most cases, her voice carried that same calm, making it hard to discern her emotions.
"Joking? I'm a Double Pupil bearer. It's just ten Heavenly Passages. I'll break through sooner or later and show you I can do it," Shi Yi declared, his voice brimming with unyielding resolve.
He wasn't sure what his Dao heart was.
But he couldn't accept her saying he couldn't do it.
Just grind it out?
I'll grind it out for you to see!
"The difference between nine and ten Heavenly Passages, though only one passage, is like the gap between a hair's breadth and a thousand miles. Shi Yi, I trust you understand this," Liu Shen said.
Truthfully, she was somewhat surprised. She'd estimated that Shi Yi, with his isolated cultivation and lack of conflict, would at most reach eight Heavenly Passages, relying solely on his Heavy Pupil talent.
After all, eight was the human limit. Without opportunities, breaking through to nine was nearly impossible.
Yet, over two years, Shi Yi had shattered her assumptions with his actions.
It turned out that, beyond fighting and seizing opportunities, diligent cultivation could yield results too.
Liu Shen's surprise was understandable.
The word "opportunity" was synonymous with danger. Many who believed they'd found their chance ended up dying for it.
The greater the opportunity, the higher the risk of death—even for the strong. In essence, chasing opportunities was a gamble of fate.
It all came down to who had the better fortune.
If your fate was lacking, no matter how grand the opportunity, it wasn't yours. You might even suffer calamity, becoming a stepping stone for someone with greater destiny.
At such moments, talk of Dao hearts or effort was meaningless. It all boiled down to luck.
_
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