No matter how unwilling Yun Nantian was, it was an undeniable fact that he had been defeated head-on in full view of everyone by Su Qinghe, who was only at the Peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening Realm.
All his previous arrogance and the daydream of defeating Su Qinghe had vanished into thin air.
This battle also made everyone in the Su Family recognize Su Qinghe's strength anew. Whether in the past or the present, the younger generation of the Su Family could not help but lower their heads before Su Qinghe.
"Nantian, our battle ends here. As a martial artist, what does a single defeat matter? Every true expert is forged through thousands of hardships and even the trials between life and death."
Seeing Yun Nantian's dejected demeanor, Su Qinghe spoke.
Although they were both teenagers in their teens, Su Qinghe had been reborn once, and his vision from his past life far surpassed everyone present. Since they were of the same clan and had no enmity or grievances, Su Qinghe also hoped that the Yun Family could produce a true darling of the heavens.
"No one is born an expert. Cultivators like us should soar straight up! The world is vast and the territory is boundless. When the day comes that you stand above the heavens and at the peak of the mountains, overlooking the earth, will you still think today's single failure matters?"
Su Qinghe continued. These words were spoken to Yun Nantian, yet they also seemed to be spoken to himself, spurring himself ever onward.
"Qinghe, well said! As expected of our Yun Family's number one genius, well done!" Yun Tian looked solemnly at Su Qinghe. At this moment, he felt as if he were only just meeting this adopted son for the first time.
Monstrous talent, broad-mindedness, and a transcendent, steadfast martial heart. His future would surely be boundless!
"Is this Young Master Su's martial heart? No wonder he is so strong!"
"Brother Su actually... Brother Su is truly someone the likes of us cannot compare to."
...
As Su Qinghe's voice trailed off, the square fell silent for a brief moment, as if everyone were pondering his words, before breaking into a flurry of whispers.
Indeed, these words spoken by a sixteen-year-old boy could not fail to command respect!
At this moment, Su Qinghe's acclaim within the Yun Family had reached its peak.
"To have Qinghe in the Yun Family is the fortune of the Yun Family!" The three elders exchanged glances, and the Second Elder, Yun Jinghong, sighed and spoke.
Even the First Elder seemed at this moment to have forgotten that Su Qinghe had injured his son Yun Nantian, and instead gave Su Qinghe a grateful look.
Because Su Qinghe's words just now not only demonstrated his transcendent martial heart, but also showed no pride as a victor, magnanimously guiding Yun Nantian.
Perhaps these words would not have had such a great effect if spoken by someone else, but Yun Nantian had long regarded Su Qinghe as a target to surpass, only to suffer a crushing defeat overnight.
Now, with Su Qinghe's guidance, Yun Nantian would have no more inner knots in his future cultivation, and would journey forward against the wind.
Su Qinghe did not linger. He bowed to his adoptive father Yun Tian and the three elders, then turned and left straightaway.
Looking at that tall, slender, and aloof back, the crowd in the square harbored various thoughts.
"Brother Su, thank you! I think the path of martial arts I walked before was too narrow. Wait for me, I will definitely keep pursuing it!" Yun Nantian watched Su Qinghe walk away, a radiance unlike his usual self shining in his eyes.
"Today's battle ends here. Everyone go down and cultivate on your own."
Following the voice of the Clan Head Yun Tian, the crowd in the square dispersed one after another.
Inside the room.
After returning, Su Qinghe began to meditate. The Great Sky Creation Palm he had used in the martial arts arena just now was precisely the foundational chapter from the palm techniques of the Great Sky Creation Scripture.
In his past life, Su Qinghe had cultivated the Great Sky Creation Palm up to the fifth layer at most, but now that he had just cultivated it to the second layer, releasing the martial skill already possessed such might.
Although it was only a single chapter, it was equivalent to a Huang-grade top-tier martial skill of the Yun Family, or even stronger.
From this, one could see the profundity and power of the Great Sky Creation Scripture. Su Wuxie had once told Su Qinghe that once the Great Sky Creation Scripture was cultivated to higher levels, the grade of the cultivation technique would also grow and advance.
Therefore, Su Qinghe was certain that the Su Family's Great Sky Creation Scripture was definitely not just some Earth-grade or Heaven-grade technique, but perhaps even surpassed the level of Heaven-grade techniques.
The cultivation techniques and martial skills of the Divine Martial Continent were divided into: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Huang. Heaven-grade was the strongest, and Huang-grade was the lowest. They were further divided into top, middle, and lower tiers.
Among the Yun Family's martial skills, the Huang-grade top-tier was already the strongest martial skill, and in the Great Xia Kingdom only the royal family possessed Mystic-grade martial skills. Earth-grade martial skills were probably only owned by some powerful sects, while as for Heaven-grade martial skills, legend had it that only one or two had ever appeared in the entire Southern Domain, resting within those high-and-mighty Martial Dao Holy Lands.
"With my current cultivation coupled with the foundational martial skills of the Great Sky Creation Scripture, ordinary people below the Life Palace Realm are no longer my match. I can fight against the Third Layer of Life Palace, but against the Fourth Layer of Life Palace, I have no chance of winning."
"Relying solely on foundational martial skills is still not enough. I might as well cultivate this first..."
Su Qinghe muttered to himself.
If anyone knew Su Qinghe's thoughts at this moment, they would undoubtedly be utterly speechless. You, at the Peak of the Second Layer of Pill Opening Realm, can already cross a major realm to contend with the First Layer of Life Palace, and yet you are still unsatisfied!Immediately, a set of Earth-grade lower-tier martial skills obtained in his past life surfaced in his mind—the "Life-seizing Shadow-Killing Sword".Life-Deadly Shadow-Killing Sword: Uses the power of spiritual source to condense sword shadows. The swordsmanship is complex, flickering like starlight, making it unpredictable. When this swordsmanship is trained to its peak, one can travel a hundred miles in an instant and kill enemies across realms!
The cultivation of martial skills is divided into: Entry, Minor Success, Major Success, Perfection, and Peak!
Regarding the cultivation of martial skills, the higher the Wuxing, the faster the comprehension. Only when a martial skill is cultivated to the peak realm can its true might be unleashed.
"That's the one. Perhaps once I train it to Major Success, I can use it to contend with a powerhouse at the Destiny Palace Fifth Layer." Su Qinghe made up his mind.
The Yun Family Council Hall.
"Clan Head Yun, the City Lord sent me here this time to discuss the matter of next month's clan grand tournament."
Inside the council hall, a plump middle-aged man spoke slowly.
This person was Sun Quan, the steward of the Yangshou City Lord's Mansion. Although he was only a steward, Sun Quan handled many matters in the City Lord's Mansion and could be called the City Lord's number one confidant.
"Steward Sun, could this tournament be any different from usual?" Yun Tian frowned as he looked at Sun Quan.
The distribution of power in Yangshou City was primarily dominated by the four major families and the City Lord's Mansion. The four major families were the Yun Family, the Lin Family, the Xie Family, and the Liu Family.
Among them, Yun Family Head Yun Tian's cultivation was at the Late-Stage Second Layer of Spirit Movement Realm, Lin Family Head Lin Dongtian's cultivation was at the Spirit Activation Realm Second Layer Mid-Stage, Xie Family Head Xie Wuji's cultivation was at the Late-Stage Second Layer of Spirit Movement Realm, and Liu Family Head Liu Dong's cultivation was at the Late-Stage Second Layer of Spirit Movement Realm.
In the past, the four major families had fought among themselves, but their overall strength was roughly equal, and neither could do anything to the other.
Therefore, there would be a clan grand tournament every year, meaning that none of the four major families wanted to engage in a large-scale battle that would damage their foundations, so the younger generation would compete instead, determining family rankings to obtain more resources.
In the past, the City Lord's Mansion would simply issue a notice, and each family would screen the 5 strongest youths within their family to participate.
This time, the City Lord's Mansion had sent Sun Quan over; presumably, this grand tournament was not as simple as it seemed. In an instant, Yun Tian thought of many possibilities.