Xiao Se's talent went without saying. Reaching the Carefree Sky Realm at seventeen was something few had accomplished since ancient times. Over the past several centuries, only Mo Yi had surpassed him. But talent could only carry one as far as the Carefree Sky Realm. To enter the Spirit Wandering Mysterious Realm, one's state of mind was what mattered most.
The world was vast, and no one knew how many gifted people it contained. Prince of Langya, Xiao Ruofeng, had also possessed remarkable talent, yet he had ultimately stopped at the Carefree Sky Realm. Then there was Baili Dongjun. Strictly speaking, his talent was no inferior to Xiao Se's. If he had begun practicing martial arts from childhood like Xiao Se, he would most likely have entered the Carefree Sky Realm at roughly the same age.
However, Baili Dongjun's master, parents, grandfather, and the others had not done so. Instead, they had continuously built his foundation. By the time he ventured into the martial world at eighteen, he still did not know martial arts. Of course, that was by this world's standards. Baili Dongjun's "not knowing martial arts" meant that once he got drunk, he could unleash a Sword Immortal's swordsmanship. It was quite interesting, really.
Yet even Baili Dongjun had been unable to break through into the Spirit Wandering Mysterious Realm because of the knot in his heart. Only after that knot was untied did he make the breakthrough. Look at the Lone Sword Immortal, Luo Qingyang—he trained alone in Mu Liang City, and it still took him more than a decade to enter the Spirit Wandering Mysterious Realm.
This showed that the further one progressed in martial arts, the more important one's state of mind became. Xiao Se's ability to advance so quickly into the half-step Spirit Wandering