Chapter 842: Sparring Session

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In front of the Qingyun Building, more and more of the Nine State College’s disciples started to gather and took their places.

Ye Futian saw a few familiar faces that he had previously seen on the Nine State Forum. For example, one of the top ten in the Nine State Forum, Ye Guhong. Now, Ye Guhong had already stepped into the Sage Plane. He sat cross-legged on the ground and looked at Yu Sheng in the guest seat, thinking to himself, He should have entered the Sage Plane by now.

Back then, on the Nine State Forum’s stage, Ye Guhong had been defeated by Yaya and did not even enter the top five. He had personally experienced Yaya’s strength, but after he heard that Yaya was a spiritual body, he felt that his defeat was not unjustified. However, how strong was Yu Sheng to be able to defeat Yaya?

Back then, he did not have a chance to fight with Yu Sheng on the Nine State Forum.

Countless disciples surrounded the outer ring of the Qingyun Building, looking up at the Qingyun Building as though observing a ceremony. The people sitting in the Qingyun Building, apart from the people from the three holy lands, were all already very famous within the Nine State College.

At that moment, Sage Liuyun looked around at everyone and said, smiling, “Today, I am glad to introduce the people from the three holy lands to all of you. This is the Barren State’s Holy Zhi Palace Lord Ye Futian, as well as its Holy Elder and the number one person on the Nine State Forum, Yu Sheng. I am sure you have heard of them. This is the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty’s Zhou Huang, he is an expert on the Sage Ranking. With him are Zhou Ya and Zhou You, they are both princes from the Sacred Dynasty. This is Liu Zong, the disciple of the three Saints from Xihua Sacred Mountain.”

After Sage Liuyun’s simple introduction, the College’s disciples all paid their respects. They all had elegant demeanors and outstanding auras.

“This time, from the three holy lands, Yu Sheng, Liu Zong, Zhou Ya, and Zhou You have agreed to enter the Nine State College to cultivate for a period of time. As such, I have gathered all of you here. You are the elites of the College, and this is a rare opportunity that you can have a chance to learn from Palace Lord Ye, the first on the Nine State Forum, Yu Sheng, and the three Saints’ disciple, Liu Zong, and take cultivation pointers from them,” Sage Liuyun said to those in the building.

“Yes.” They all nodded as beside them, Ye Futian replied, “Senior, you are being too courteous. The Nine State College is full of talented people and has the best teachers in the Nine States to teach them. We have come to seek answers to our cultivation, how could we be qualified to teach the Nine State College’s geniuses? At best, we are only exchanging cultivation tips.”

“Palace Lord Ye, there is no need to be humble. Although you only battled once on the Nine State Forum, entering the Nether Sword Mound and Palace Lord Ye’s performance in the Holy Zhi Palace’s sacred war was excellent. For the younger generation, it is not too much to say that they are learning from you. Even those with higher cultivation levels than Palace Lord might not understand cultivation as well as Palace Lord Ye,” Sage Liuyun said.

It was not purely flattery. Ye Futian had activated the Sword Matrix of the Void to kill the Chess Saint and had shouldered Sage Douzhan’s Divine Catastrophe during the sacred war, then nearly killed Zhou Huang. To Ye Futian, his only flaw was his age.

Now, Ye Futian and Yu Sheng had come to the Nine State College, so they would naturally make good use of this opportunity to temper the Nine State College’s disciples. They could also see how the College’s geniuses fared against Ye Futian and Yu Sheng.

The people from the Nine State College were all very quiet. Sage Liuyun looked at them again and asked, “Today, so many extraordinary figures from the three holy lands are here, why are you so quiet? There is no need to conceal anything. Anyone who has a question in cultivation, go ahead and ask.”

“Yes.” The disciples nodded.

At that moment, a person stood up and bowed to them and said, “I am the Nine State College’s disciple Mu Chen.”

The people from the three holy lands looked towards him. Mu Chen had an elegant disposition and was handsome with a scholarly aura, giving off a pleasant feeling.

“Palace Lord Ye has ascended to the Palace Lord of a holy land at such a young age, and Liu Zong is the disciple of Xihua Sacred Mountain’s three Saints and is reputed to become a Saint in the future. I would like to ask the two of you, why do we cultivate?” Mu Chen asked. He had directed his question towards Ye Futian and Liu Zong.

Everyone’s gaze landed on the two of them. Liu Zong smiled and said, “Palace Lord Ye, why don’t you go first?”

Ye Futian looked at Mu Chen and smiled, asking, “When I was younger, my elders claimed that I was chosen by the gods and was born extraordinary. Therefore, I also believed that I was destined to change the world. Have you ever had a similar experience?”

Many people had smiles on their faces. Evidently, many of them had experienced similar situations.

“After I grew up, I found out,” Ye Futian smiled, “that elder of mine was absolutely right.”

Many people heard Ye Futian’s joking tone and started laughing. In rumors, Ye Futian was extremely outstanding. They did not expect him to have such a humorous side.

“Everyone will experience many things in their life, I am the same as well. You will have a mission in every phase of your life, and what I need to do is to make sure I do the best for every phase,” Ye Futian replied. “So, if you ask me why I cultivate, I don’t know, but I know why I cultivate now—to eliminate the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty and let the Barren State rise among the Nine States. From the day I inherited the position of Palace Lord, that has been my mission,” Ye Futian said slowly. Although he still smiled while saying it, the expressions of the people around him had turned solemn. They felt a sense of respect for him.

The people from the Great Zhou Sacred Dynasty were sitting right beside him, but he had no reservations in saying that it was his mission.

“So, cultivation is to make good of the present,” Ye Futian replied.

Mu Chen bowed slightly towards Ye Futian and said, “Thank you for your wisdom.”

Sage Liuyun also commended him in his heart. As expected of the Palace Lord of a holy land, this was the magnanimity of a Palace Lord.

At that moment, the crowd turned to look at Liu Zong. Liu Zong said, “Cultivation is like climbing a mountain. Why do we all climb this mountain? There are some people who give up at the foot of the mountain, some who are unable to continue along the way. However, I want to see the view at the top of the mountain.”

Many people looked at Liu Zong with a newfound respect. Although the disciple of Xihua Sacred Mountain’s three saints had a completely different answer from Ye Futian, he had his own spirit of wanting to reach the top to see the entire world’s scenery.

“Thank you for your answer.” Mu Chen smiled and nodded, then took a seat. Evidently, he liked Ye Futian’s answer more, as seen by his reply to the two of them.

“I would like to ask Palace Lord Ye, what is the difference between a weak and a strong cultivator?” Zhu Yan looked at Ye Futian. He did not stand up but continued sitting down.

“Potential,” Ye Futian replied.

“Palace Lord Ye thinks that potential can determine everything?” Zhu Yan asked. “If that is so, effort and frame of mind are all meaningless?”

“If it is like Palace Lord Ye has said, isn’t one’s cultivation determined from birth?” someone beside Zhu Yan asked while looking at Ye Futian. Not just them, but many of the surrounding Nine State College disciples all looked at Ye Futian.

In the world of cultivation, potential was predetermined, so many cultivators believed in hard work and improving one’s frame of mind.

“I grew up in a small island city far away. Where I grew up, Mandate Sorcerers are considered geniuses and have outstanding potential. In many small cities, many people are diligently cultivating, and there are also others with a firm will to protect their homeland. However, why is it that the ones cultivating in the Nine State College are all of you here and not them?” Ye Futian looked at the crowd and asked. All of a sudden, the crowd fell silent. In the Nine States, it was impossible for someone who was not a Mandate Sorcerer without a Life Spirit to have high achievements.

“However, I did not say that potential determines everything. Potential is only the starting line for a cultivator. Only when you start at this starting line can you put in effort, determination, and frame of mind into the equation. However, nobody can deny that those with outstanding potential have to put in less effort to achieve results. That is exactly why those with less potential have to put in more effort and have a more determined frame of mind. However, those that reach the end will definitely have more outstanding potential than others. However, their potential might not be the most outstanding, but their determination and frame of mind will definitely be the most resilient,” Ye Futian said slowly.

Many people who had doubted him previously were all in awe.

Some people with higher cultivation levels also secretly agreed. Ye Futian’s understanding of cultivation was indeed thorough.

One’s potential was only the starting line of cultivation, but could not determine one’s eventual achievement.

“Is there a difference in strength between rules and laws?” Zhu Yan asked again.

“Of course. Some rare rule powers are the combination of multiple rule powers, so they are naturally stronger than singular rule powers. However, although there are strong and weak rule powers, its strength still depends on its user,” Ye Futian replied and many people nodded in agreement.

Although there were differences in the strength of rule power, it was eventually up to the user.

“I have heard that Palace Lord Ye cultivates in spatial rule power and specializes in Space-freezing. I cultivate in shredding rule power and specialize in both shredding rule power and force rule power. Does Palace Lord Ye feel that the spatial rule power or the shredding rule power is stronger?” As his voice landed, everyone in the area had shocked expressions.

Zhu Yan was asking for a duel.

“They are both not simplistic rule powers and can counter each other. It all depends on the user,” Ye Futian replied.

“Then, who does Palace Lord Ye think is stronger?” Zhu Yan asked again. There was a hint of aggression in his voice and he had bared his fangs.

Many of the Nine State College’s elites naturally wanted to challenge the man of the moment in the Nine States, Ye Futian.

“Zhu Yan wants to challenge the Holy Zhi Palace Lord Ye Futian,” the disciples in the outer ring mumbled in astonishment. They also wanted to see Ye Futian’s strength for themselves.

Zhu Yan was an extremely famous figure in the Nine State College and had exceptional combat ability.

“What do you feel?” Ye Futian suddenly smiled and asked him.

Zhu Yan smiled as well and replied, “Me.”

“Since that is so, why do you need to ask?” Ye Futian answered.

Zhu Yan nodded, then stood up and stepped towards the empty sparring area in front of them. He saluted Ye Futian and said, “The Nine State College’s disciple Zhu Yan, mid-level Sage, wishes to challenge Palace Lord Ye.”

Many of the College’s disciples had a glint in their eyes. As expected, Zhu Yan had challenged Ye Futian.

Many people from the Nine State College were excited. One of them was the Nine States’ legendary figure, the young Palace Lord of the Holy Zhi Palace, while the other was an extremely outstanding genius from the Nine State College. They had high hopes for the battle.