Martial Peak
chapter-4790

“Is that so…” Xu Yi lowered his head. A long while passed before he raised his head and said, “I am willing to cultivate that Secret Art.”

He might be very young, but he had given much thought to this matter. If he did not cultivate this Secret Art, with his aptitude that had eliminated him from Seven Stars Sect’s selection, he would not have many other future options once he left this place. Even if he managed to join other smaller Sects, his cultivation would not amount to much no matter how much effort he put into it.

Although the Ancestor in front of him had mentioned that cultivating the Secret Art would bring various disadvantages, that was something that would only happen in the distant future. Why bother to worry about that now?

“You can take your time to consider. There’s no rush to answer!” Yang Kai waved his hand dismissively.

Xu Yi nodded silently and did not rush to express his intentions again. Nevertheless, he continued to stay on the Spirit Peak.

From that next day onward, Yang Kai started to prepare various means to nurture Xu Yi’s foundation. He would occasionally toss Xu Yi into a giant bathtub to soak in a medicinal bath for several days or bring out some medicinal liquid for Xu Yi to apply on his body. Once in a while, he would also hand out some elixirs for Xu Yi to consume.

The young man did not refuse any of these items.

Yang Kai did not teach Xu Yi any cultivation techniques. Be that as it may, Xu Yi discovered that his body was undergoing a subtle change as time passed. He seemed to shed his former self and was reborn as a result. His body felt much lighter compared to before. Even his vision and hearing became significantly sharper.

Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai had also gone through this process in the past. Before they started cultivating in earnest, Yang Kai had spent enormous amounts of time and energy laying their foundation for them. As the saying went, ‘All tall buildings began from the ground’. He himself had not enjoyed such favourable conditions when he started cultivating, but he spared no effort when it came to his Disciples.

Nobody had ever been so kind to Xu Yi before. Ever since the death of his parents when he was five years old, he had lived the life of a wanderer. There were also several occasions where he nearly starved to death. If not for his good luck, he would have died a tragic death a long time ago.

As Yang Kai did not restrict his freedom, he would often leave the Spirit Peak and wander around Seven Stars Sect. He was only a teenager after all; it was only natural that his curiosity was at its peak.

All the people he met would treat him courteously, regardless of whether they were Common Disciples or Elders in the Sect. At the same time, he slowly grasped Yang Kai’s identity and influence from the snippets of conversations that he heard from the people around him. Everybody in Seven Stars Sect believed that the Ancestor had already taken him in as a Disciple, so nobody dared to show him any disrespect.

Therefore, he did not hesitate to express his willingness to cultivate the Secret Art when Yang Kai questioned him again two months later.

“I hope you’ve thought about this carefully. I’ve already explained the disadvantages of the Secret Art to you. Once you begin cultivating, it will be too late for regrets,” Yang Kai warned solemnly.

Xu Yi nodded seriously, “This Disciple has decided! If I don’t cultivate this Secret Art, this Disciple might already be part of the soil in 100 years. There may be disadvantages in cultivating this Secret Art, but it’s still better than living a mediocre life!”

Yang Kai nodded slightly, “In that case, I will teach you the Great Nothingness Scripture!”

Xu Yi hurriedly bowed down, “Disciple greets Honoured Master!”

Yang Kai received the worship, but he did not ask Xu Yi to stand up immediately. Instead, he opened his mouth to explain something, “I have to let you know one thing. You are not the only Disciple under me. I’ve already taken in two other Disciples before you. Your Eldest Senior Brother is Zhao Ye Bai and your Second Senior Sister is Zhao Ya. They are elsewhere at the moment. I’m sure you will have a chance to meet them in the future.”

Xu Yi nodded. He had heard about this previously. The Seven Stars Sect disciples had mentioned his Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Sister while leisurely chatting with him, but he did not know much about the other two Disciples under his Honoured Master.

“Honoured Master, I’ve heard that Eldest Senior Brother does not have good aptitude. Is that true?” He asked.

Yang Kai nodded and swept a glance over Xu Yi, “He is on par with you.”

Xu Yi blushed when he heard those words. His aptitude was his greatest shortcoming. He secretly thought to himself that he had to work harder in the future; otherwise, he would only embarrass the Honoured Master when he was travelling outside.

At the same time, he couldn’t help feeling curious. Other people generally only accepted Disciples with good aptitude and rarely even bothered to give those with poor aptitude a glance. On the contrary, the Honoured Master seemed to accept these Disciples without such qualms.

At any rate, he was secretly grateful for the Honoured Master’s peculiarity. How else would he have the opportunity to worship the Honoured Master?

“Calm yourself and focus your mind!” Yang Kai instructed and simultaneously stretched out his finger towards Xu Yi’s forehead.

Xu Yi felt a finger stabbing at him before he could react. In the next moment, a warm and gentle force flowed into his mind. It was immediately followed by a considerable amount of inexplicable information. His body swayed unsteadily as a result, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

Before he could understand what had happened, he heard his Honoured Master’s voice, “This is the Great Nothingness Scripture. Don’t rush to cultivate the Secret Art. You only need to comprehend it for now.”

“Yes!” He nodded respectfully.

In the following months, Xu Yi lived in the house where Zhao Ya and Zhao Ye Bai had lived previously. He soaked in medicinal baths, applied medicinal liquid, consumed Spirit Pills, and constantly comprehended the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture.

Unfortunately, he had never cultivated before, so he could not really comprehend anything when he suddenly came into contact with the mysterious Secret Art. It was fortunate that Yang Kai would take some time out of his schedule to explain the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture to him.

One day, Xu Yi was soaking in the bathtub and listening to Yang Kai’s explanation when he suddenly noticed that his Honoured Master had gone silent. Moreover, his Honoured Master was completely motionless as though somebody had used a Binding Secret Technique on him. Startled, he jumped in fright and anxiously shouted, “Honoured Master?”

Yang Kai waved his hand at Xu Yi dismissively and stared blankly in a certain direction.

What was inside his Small Universe was just a projection of his Spiritual Energy, while his true body remained beneath the huge stone monument from before. The reason for his sudden absent-mindedness was that one of the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture had suddenly broken through his bottleneck and advanced to the next Realm.

Although it was only an advancement from the Origin Returning Realm to the Origin King Realm, Yang Kai clearly detected a trace of Time Principles permeating the disciple’s body for a brief moment when the advancement succeeded. It was only present for a moment before vanishing without a trace. If he had not been proficient in the Dao of Time, he might not have detected them at all.

The other disciples, even the one who just advanced into the next Realm, seemed completely oblivious to the energy fluctuations. When Yang Kai tried to investigate further, the energy fluctuation from the Time Principles had already vanished. Furthermore, the disciple who just advanced into the next Realm showed no other signs of the Time Principles around him.

This situation puzzled him greatly. Nevertheless, he confirmed that the Great Nothingness Scripture was indeed related to the Dao of Time.

Li Yuan Wang had only given him half a year’s time, so it was predestined that his endeavour would not produce many results; hence, it was truly fortunate that he had asked Xu Yi to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture. As long as Xu Yi was in his Small Universe, all the changes that occurred to Xu Yi while cultivating this Secret Art would not escape his perception.

It would seem that the only way for him to find the answers to the connection between the Great Nothingness Scripture and the Dao of Time was from Xu Yi. As a result, he started to nurture Xu Yi even more diligently than before, using only the very best herbs to help his Third Disciple solidify his foundation.

Xu Yi’s innate talent was poor, but his aptitude improved slightly thanks to Yang Kai’s efforts. At this rate, it would become easier for him to cultivate in the future.

When there was only half a month before the end of the six-month period, Xu Yi woke up one morning only to see his Honoured Master standing by his bedside and staring intently at him as soon as he opened his eyes. Startled, he hurriedly greeted the other party, “Honoured Master!”

Yang Kai’s gaze was profound, and he studied Xu Yi keenly as though he was trying to figure out something. There was a look of absolute confusion on his face. That was because he discovered that Xu Yi’s body already contained the Yuan Qi that came from cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture. Although it was as weak as a fluttering candle flame, the nature of the Yuan Qi was identical to the five Lang Ya Paradise disciples beneath the stone monument.

In other words, Xu Yi had officially begun to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture! It was just that Yang Kai clearly recalled that there was nothing different about Xu Yi last night. More importantly, he had yet to allow Xu Yi to officially begin cultivating.

During the past few months of contact, Yang Kai had watched Xu Yi’s actions carefully. The young man was simple and honest without any kind of scheming or cunning in his heart. He was very similar to his Eldest Senior Brother Zhao Ye Bai in this aspect. He also treated Yang Kai’s words reverently. If Yang Kai did not allow him to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture, then Xu Yi would never cultivate the Secret Art on his own initiative.

Besides, Yang Kai did not see Xu Yi cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture either, so where did the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi come from?

“Is something wrong, Honoured Master?” Xu Yi asked in confusion. The way the Honoured Master stared at him was making him feel very uneasy. Thus, he vaguely wondered whether he had made a mistake somewhere and displeased his Honoured Master.

“Did you cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture?” Yang Kai inquired bluntly.

“No!” Xu Yi quickly shook his head, “I would not dare to cultivate the Secret Art without Honoured Master’s permission.”

He did not seem to be lying.

“What did you do last night?” Yang Kai continued to question.

Nothing inside his Small Universe could be concealed from his perception, and he had indeed watched Xu Yi sleeping the entire night. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened, but the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi definitely only started appearing last night.

“Disciple did not do anything. I was simply sleeping.”

Yang Kai frowned, “Check your own body. Do you feel anything different from before?”

Xu Yi hurriedly perceived himself when he heard those words. A short while later, he exclaimed in surprise, “Honoured Master, it feels like there’s something cool swimming around in my body!”

“That’s the Yuan Qi of the Great Nothingness Scripture.”

Xu Yi was stunned. Although he had never cultivated before, he understood what it meant for the Great Nothingness Scripture’s Yuan Qi to appear in his body. Be that as it may, he clearly had never officially cultivated the Great Nothingness Scripture.

[Where did the Yuan Qi come from? Could it be that I gained such benefits just from listening to the Honoured Master explain the mysteries of the Great Nothingness Scripture to me?]

After a moment of bewilderment, he suddenly scratched his head and looked at Yang Kai apologetically, “Honoured Master, does dreaming count as cultivation?”

“What dream?” Yang Kai furrowed his eyebrows together.

Xu Yi explained, “Disciple had a dream last night. I began to cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture, but… it was just a dream!”

Yang Kai was puzzled, “You dreamt that you were cultivating the Great Nothingness Scripture?”

Xu Yi replied, “Yes. I’m certain I cultivated in my dream. Disciple has always had many dreams since I was young. It happens almost every night. Moreover, it always feels as though many days have passed in my dreams. I often wake up feeling dizzy and exhausted as a result.”

A sudden realization struck Yang Kai, and he suddenly had a bold conjecture, “Do you always feel as though many days have passed every time you enter a dream?”

Xu Yi mulled over the question for a moment, “Most of the time. There was once when I felt as though I stayed in my dreams for two whole months. Moreover, everything in my dreams felt very real, almost like I was really living in that dream.”

Yang Kai asked, “Even after you came here?”

Xu Yi nodded, “Yes. But, after coming here, I don’t feel so exhausted anymore whenever I experience such dreams. It’s probably because my body has grown stronger.” Pausing for a moment, he added, “Honoured Master, I really did not cultivate the Great Nothingness Scripture.”

“I know.” Yang Kai pondered in silence for a moment and casually said, “It might be that you’re extremely compatible with the Great Nothingness Scripture. That may be why you can gain something just from listening to my teachings.”