But then again, to live without striving or seizing, without desires or ambitions, was simply not feasible. Even someone as cautious as Shi Yi couldn't wholly abstain from competing or wanting. As long as one lived in this world, unless they truly isolated from it all, conflict and competition were inevitable—only the objects of desire differed.
Some fought for women, others for resources or power.
Such was the nature of life.
Yet Shi Yi would never risk his life for some so-called grand opportunity, gambling on who had better luck or pinning his existence on the whims of fate. He despised gambling, always had, ever since he was a child.
If he wanted something, he'd trade for it fairly. If trading wasn't an option, he'd take it by force.
After all, a person only had one life. Why bet it recklessly?
In a way, achieving the Tenth Heavenly Passage was itself a gamble. The Ninth Heavenly Passage was already the limit for mortal beings—even pure-blooded creatures rarely went beyond. To open the Tenth Heavenly Passage required wagering one's life, teetering on the edge of death to surpass the Ninth's extreme limit, to transcend and ascend to the Tenth.
Nine was the pinnacle of numbers; ten was defying the heavens.
To defy the heavens, you had to bet your life.
It all depended on whether the heavens granted you the chance—whether you were favored by fate itself.
"I understand perfectly," Shi Yi said, his eyes gleaming with resolve, his voice brimming with confidence. "The Ninth Heavenly Passage can make you a king, but the Tenth makes you a venerable, capable of fighting beyond your realm. It's not something the Ninth can compare to. Throughout history, only a handful have ever broken through to the Tenth."
He recalled his days in the Martial King's Manor. He hadn't just indulged in the luxuries of a noble's life. In his spare time, he pored over ancient texts on cultivation. This was a world where strength reigned supreme, where the weak had no voice in the presence of the strong. You could play the part of a hidden tiger, but you couldn't truly be a mere pig.
So, while Shi Yi might complain about the hardships, he never let an opportunity to grow stronger slip by. Otherwise, he wouldn't have achieved the strength to wield a hundred thousand jin with a single arm.
Of that hundred thousand jin, ninety thousand came from years of medicinal baths, painstakingly building his foundation. The final ten thousand jin were gained after enduring the baptism of the Fire Qilin's true blood, a breakthrough that pushed him to new heights.
Shi Yi's ability to reach a hundred thousand jin of divine strength in the Blood Transformation Realm proved that, despite his complaints, he never slacked in his cultivation. Only through relentless effort could he rival the mightiest cubs of pure-blooded ferocious beasts.
"You really think you can do it?" Liu Shen asked, her tone tinged with skepticism.
She couldn't fathom where Shi Yi's unshakable confidence came from. Advancing through diligent cultivation was one thing—within her understanding—but to reach the pinnacle of perfection? If it were that simple, wouldn't she have emerged invincible after a few million years in seclusion?
"Liu Shen, you'll never understand the potential that erupts when a man gets serious," Shi Yi replied, his voice steady and resolute. "No matter how impossible something seems, there's always a chance to make it real."
As he spoke, he activated his Nine Heavenly Passages. In the void, nine volcanic craters materialized, each glowing like a radiant sun suspended in the sky.
The Ninth Heavenly Passage could crown a king; the Tenth could crown a venerable.
By his original plan, reaching the Ninth was enough. There was no need to risk his life for the Tenth. But Liu Shen had made a promise, coupled with an attitude that doubted his ability to succeed. Now, he had to prove to her that nothing in this world was truly impossible.
Of course, Shi Yi's cautious nature meant he wouldn't recklessly gamble his life—especially not for a woman. Betting his life for a woman? If he won, fine. If he lost, she'd run off with someone else. That kind of foolishness wasn't his style.
So why was he so confident in front of Liu Shen?
The answer was simple.
Shi Yi already had a plan to break through to the Tenth Heavenly Passage.
In his previous life on that azure planet, he was a fan of the primordial myths of the Flood Desolation. He might not know every detail of this Perfect World, but when it came to the Flood Desolation, he could recite its tales effortlessly—from Pangu splitting the heavens and earth to the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation, the Witch-Demon Calamity, the Human Emperor's Tribulation, the Investiture of the Gods, and even the ambiguous Westward Journey.
Though the worlds differed, their underlying principles were interconnected.
Shi Yi believed that certain Daoist theories from the Flood Desolation could bear fruit in this world. That was the source of his confidence, the reason he believed he could achieve the Tenth Heavenly Passage.
"Shi Yi, you're this obsessed over something like this?" Liu Shen asked, her tone carrying a hint of oddity.
She had suspected as much, but it still struck her as strange. Her promise was meant to test whether Shi Yi was the type to be swayed by such things. She hadn't expected him to be so fixated, driven to such an intense obsession just for the chance to be close to her humanoid form.
In her ten of thousands of years of existence, she had never encountered someone as peculiar as Shi Yi, someone who would develop such a fixation over mere physical appearance.
"Liu Shen, give me three months," Shi Yi declared. "I will break through to the Tenth Heavenly Passage. When I do, I hope you'll honor your promise and grant me the chance to stay by your side."
As he spoke, he noticed Hu Niu waving at him from a distance. With those final words, he leaped down from Liu Shen's canopy, took Hu Niu's hand, and left.
___
Over the past two years, Shi Yi had shot up in height, his presence now exuding a youthful vigor. He was beginning to awaken to his masculinity, no longer the powerless boy he'd been two years ago. Still, it was only the beginning—he wouldn't fully mature until he was twelve, and true adulthood would come at sixteen. For now, he was merely sprouting.
Hu Niu had transformed as well. Gone was the tomboyish, tiger-like girl. In her place stood a beautiful young woman, radiating the vibrancy of youth. The only constant was her waist-length black hair, which danced in the wind whenever she channeled her blood essence to activate her precious techniques.
For some reason, whenever Shi Yi saw this sight, he felt an inexplicable gaze upon him, as if an indescribable presence was watching him from the depths of the river of time.
"Yi Gege, the Suanni precious technique is so hard," Hu Niu complained, clinging tightly to Shi Yi's arm. "I've been trying so hard, but every time I attempt it, I fall just short."
She had already claimed Shi Yi as her own, fiercely keeping the other girls of Stone Village at bay.
"Don't rush," Shi Yi said gently, ruffling her hair. "You've only recently broken through to the Heavenly Passage Realm and opened your first passage. Focus on stabilizing your cultivation first. There's no hurry to master the Suanni technique."
His tone was patient, like a kind older brother soothing her frustration.
Over the past two years, it wasn't just Hu Niu who had grown. Every youth in Stone Village who had undergone the baptism of archaic true blood had advanced from the Blood Transformation Realm to the Heavenly Passage Realm. Though their physical strength fell short of the hundred-thousand-jin mark, and they couldn't cultivate the Original True Solution, they could still practice the methods of the Martial King's Manor.
Teaching a man to fish was better than giving him a fish. Shi Yi hoped Stone Village could grow strong enough to protect itself. He couldn't stay here forever.
___
"Shi Yi, I don't know where your confidence comes from, but three months is a short time," Liu Shen's voice echoed in the silent void as she watched Shi Yi and Hu Niu walk away. "I'll be watching. I hope you can surprise me."
"I won't disappoint you, Liu Shen," Shi Yi called back without turning.
It seems he really has a plan, Liu Shen thought to herself.
Unbeknownst to her, she was growing more and more curious about him.
_
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