Is Ye Ling weak?
Of course not. If anything, he should be considered exceptionally strong.
But Ye Ling's point of reference should be cultivators of his own generation, not someone like Blood Edge.
More importantly, Blood Edge knew very little about the disciples of Heavenly Gate and had no idea that their strength had never been tied to cultivation realm in the first place. After all, those who understood that secret were long gone.
So his misjudgment of Ye Ling was only natural.
It wasn't really his fault. In the Cultivation World, ninety-nine point nine percent of judgments are based on Cultivation Level.
Even in rare cases of fighting across levels, surpassing a major realm is already astonishing—and that usually only happens at lower realms.
By the later stages, even a minor realm gap is like the difference between heaven and earth.
Why did Gui Ying only dare to ambush Blood Edge?
Because he knew full well the enormous gap between them. His only chance was to strike by surprise. Otherwise, there was no hope of winning. Even if he gathered all his subordinates, defeating Blood Edge head-on would have been utterly impossible.
That was the reality of tier suppression.
Now look at Ye Ling—just an "unremarkable" Foundation Establishment cultivator. There was no way Blood Edge would associate him with the legendary Heavenly Gate.
Which meant—
Did Gui Ying deliberately pass this mission to me?
Is the kid on stage a fake?
Blood Edge stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Gui Ying's motive wasn't hard to guess. Set him up to capture the wrong target, then let the Sect Leader punish him after he returned.
But even if everything unfolded exactly as Gui Ying intended, at most he'd get scolded. At his level, unless he committed a grave offense like betraying the sect, dying wasn't even on the table.
So what would Gui Ying gain from pulling a stunt like this besides offending him?
As for trying to eliminate him?
Sure, they had conflicts of interest, but that was nothing more than workplace rivalry. It hadn't reached the point of life-and-death enmity.
Besides, with the Heavenly Demon Curse as a lethal trump card, Gui Ying wouldn't dare act recklessly. Or rather, he had no reason to. Blood Edge, of course, had no idea that Gui Ying carried personal hatred.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why Gui Ying would stage something so childish.
And the less he understood it, the less willing he was to act.
Blood Edge had survived all the way to the Great Ascension Stage for a reason. Compared to other Demonic Cultivators, his greatest strength wasn't talent—it was knowing when to lie low. Those who couldn't keep themselves alive, even if more gifted, had long since been wiped out by the Righteous Path Alliance. Only Demonic Cultivators like him—bold yet cautious—could laugh last.
"This is…!"
Just then, Blood Edge suddenly sensed someone peering at him.
No—more accurately, someone somewhere was sketching his appearance into existence.
At his level, even if separated by thousands of miles, he could sense through Heaven and Earth whether someone was observing him. That was precisely why the Righteous Path Alliance had never managed to capture this great demon.
An ambush!
That was his first reaction.
Without hesitation, he put on a bored expression and casually walked toward a nearby alley. As he moved, he pulled out various small trinkets from his robe and began altering his appearance.
Something was wrong here.
His sharp Spiritual Awareness picked up a faint trace of danger. It wasn't strong—but anything that could make him feel threatened was no small matter. The safest choice now was to retreat.
Besides, he had only come because Gui Ying invited him. Since he now sensed that Ye Ling on stage wasn't the real target—and someone was lurking in the shadows watching him—he had every right to abandon the mission. At worst, he'd return to the sect and endure a perfunctory scolding from the Sect Leader. If anyone bore responsibility, it would be Gui Ying, who initiated the task.
When it came to passing the blame, he was practically untouchable.
And in a few decades, he would ascend to the Demon Realm. Once that happened, even the Sect Leader wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
If it was an easy mission where he could crush the weak, he'd gladly play along. But if there was any risk—even the slightest—he wouldn't take it.
After ascending, he would enjoy complete freedom. Why gamble at a time like this?
Blood Edge didn't hesitate for even a moment. As a great demon lord, he slipped away without so much as a word to Gui Ying.
Let fellow Daoists die; so long as I live.
Of course, he didn't go far. If nothing happened on Gui Ying's side, he could always come back.
Perfect plan.
Ye Ling, seated on the platform, and Leng Qingqiu—who had revealed her identity and secured an audience with the commander and deputy commander of the Garrison Guard—would never have imagined that their unintentional coordination had driven off a peerless Great Ascension Stage demon lord.
If Ye Ling had known, he would have understood the reason immediately.
A clone of the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden.
And not just one—two.
Still, the fact that Blood Edge could sense danger from the unseen like that? In terms of running for his life, Ye Ling would have to admit—he was unmatched.
Coincidentally, just as Blood Edge slipped away, the first round of the Talisman Practitioner assessment finally saw someone successfully draw a Talisman.
And just like that, his departure gained the perfect bit of cover—though, in truth, no one had been paying attention to him anyway.
"That golden light—that's the Great Thunderlight Talisman!"
"The Great Thunderlight Talisman?"
"It's the most powerful Talisman among Qi Refinement–stage Talisman Practitioners. One talisman is enough to shear off an entire mountain ridge!"
"Hiss… is it really that terrifying?"
"If someone at the Foundation Establishment stage used it, blowing up a small mountain would be effortless!"
"Terrifying! Truly terrifying!"
The crowd that had been discussing Ye Ling only moments ago instantly burst into shocked exclamations at the sight of the golden light in the arena.
Tsk. He actually dares steal my spotlight. What Talisman should I use later to make things difficult for him?
Ye Ling wasn't upset with the so-called genius below the stage. What bothered him was that his Emotion Points income had plummeted. Aside from his die-hard fans, everyone was now talking about the Great Thunderlight Talisman.
He had taken a look at that Great Thunderlight Talisman. It was nothing more than a simplified "Thunder" character. At this point, he could manifest it out of thin air without even forming hand seals.
And this is what they call a genius?
What a letdown.
Elder Wang said, "Strong brushwork. A fine seedling."
Elder Zhang nodded. "Indeed. Within ten years, this child will surely make a name for himself in the Talisman Dao."
Elder Zhao stroked his beard. "The Azure Curse Sect has a worthy successor. Given a hundred years, they might even break into the ranks of first-grade sects."
Elder Sun smiled. "I'd say there's a real chance."
???
Ten years? A hundred years?
Cultivation really does consume time.
For some reason, Ye Ling suddenly thought of Bai Yiyi. When she first took him in, she'd enthusiastically insisted that cultivation was easy — that anyone with hands could manage it. If he hadn't been running on pure protagonist cheats, his two future wives — Lefty and Righty — might've been gone by now.
Hearing the elders' remarks, he felt a sense of reassurance.
Right. This is the cultivation I recognize.
Just then, Elder Wang assumed Ye Ling was too timid to speak and asked:
"Young Friend Ye, what do you think?"
"Not bad."
Still thinking about Bai Yiyi's adorable face, Ye Ling answered absentmindedly.
"…"
Seeing how distracted he was, Elder Wang frowned slightly, faintly displeased.
He was, after all, a senior figure. Ye Ling's attitude made it seem as though he didn't take him seriously at all.
But Elder Wang was not narrow-minded. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given Ye Ling the opportunity to speak in the first place.
"Ahem…"
Sensing the tension, Elder Zhang quickly stepped in. "Brother Wang, Young Friend Ye's sect… has considerable achievements in this field."
He didn't know much about the Heavenly Gate Sect, but one thing left a deep impression on him: the young Golden Core girl invited by the Immortal Talisman Sect had lectured the sect master and Supreme Elders as if scolding grandchildren.
One had to understand—the Immortal Talisman Sect was a holy land of the Talisman Dao. Its sect master and Supreme Elders were all peerless Great Ascension experts.
More importantly, their attainments in the Talisman Dao were among the very best.
Yet even so, before that young girl, they hadn't dared utter a word. They had behaved like obedient children just beginning their studies.
That was why, upon seeing Ye Ling's Heavenly Gate Token earlier, Elder Zhang had been so shocked that he nearly forgot proper etiquette.
"Oh."
With Elder Zhang's explanation, Elder Wang's mood improved somewhat, though his curiosity about Ye Ling only deepened.
Of the examiners present, he knew everyone except Ye Ling—though only in passing.
Take Elder Zhang, for example. His cultivation realm was lower, but his mastery of the Talisman Dao was certainly no less than Elder Wang's, perhaps even greater.
It was only because Elder Wang's realm was higher that he sat as chief examiner. Otherwise, that position might well have belonged to Elder Zhang.
"My apologies."
Ye Ling quickly came back to his senses and addressed Elder Wang.
"Just now, I was recalling the teachings of my sect's elders and lost focus for a moment. I hope you can forgive me."
These were future patrons of fortune. He couldn't afford to offend them. Besides, he had indeed been distracted, so an apology was only proper.
"Oh? What did you recall?"
Elder Wang wasn't trying to make things difficult. He was genuinely intrigued.
"Characters."
Ye Ling remained calm. This was his strong suit.
"If the 'Thunder' character were combined with the 'Blaze' character, could it increase the overall power?"
"Excellent, excellent. To think you've reached this level of thought. Much sharper than those children who only know how to memorize."
Elder Wang felt genuine relief at Ye Ling's question.
Nowadays, Talisman Practitioners simply copied formulas step by step, never thinking about innovation.
What the Talisman world needed was exactly someone like Ye Ling.
The genius below who drew the Great Thunderlight Talisman was impressive, yes—but far too conventional. There was no personal touch, no individuality. Clearly someone who relied on rote memorization. Otherwise, a practitioner's own style would naturally seep into the work.
Of course, given that genius's age, reaching this level was already enough for high praise from the examiners.
But Ye Ling was different. At such a young age, he was already considering questions that even Talisman masters debated.
A talent worth teaching. Truly worth teaching.
Elder Wang felt gratified.
And yet—
Still too young.
Smiling, Elder Wang offered guidance.
"Your reasoning isn't wrong. But the relationships between characters are far more intricate than you imagine."
...
For more chapters, feel free to follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/LordFatty (40 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.