Clearing Doubts

When Zhao Yuling returned to the Book Repository, she saw only Little Turtle cleaning with a rag balanced on its head.

"Little Green, where's Little Chu Brother?"

Usually, the moment she came back, Zhao Yuling would seize Little Turtle for a vigorous round of petting. This time, remarkably, she did not make a move.

She was in no mood for it. Her head was full of question marks that needed answers.

Hearing the familiar voice, Little Turtle jolted. It flung the rag off its head and excitedly resumed its turtle crawl, its four stubby legs whirring like tiny electric motors. With a whoosh, it shot away like a little green rat, vanishing into the distance in an instant.

A moment later, Little Turtle, now hiding atop a bookshelf, felt that something was off. Normally, the instant it heard that voice, its head would already have fallen into those demonic claws. It would never be given time to react; even seeing her in advance was useless.

So how had it escaped those claws so smoothly this time?

Feeling strange, Little Turtle cautiously poked out its head. Then, surprise appeared in its mung-bean eyes.

Zhao Yuling was looking right at it. Clearly, its hiding place had been terrible—it had been discovered!

Yet she showed no intention of coming over and getting physical.

It really seemed as though she only wanted to ask it a question.

The routine was wrong!

This was not how their meetings used to go!

Little Turtle suddenly felt unaccustomed to it.

A hollow emptiness stirred in its heart, carrying a hint of loss.

It resisted being petted!

But after growing used to it, she had suddenly stopped petting it!

It felt as though it had been abandoned.

It stared blankly into Zhao Yuling's eyes.

Zhao Yuling's smooth, jade-like brows furrowed.

What kind of look was Little Green giving her?

She was only asking a question. It was not like she had laid a hand on it.

What was with that faint resentment filling its eyes?

"The little girl is back. Not bad, your vigor and spirit have grown stronger!"

Just as Zhao Yuling's eye twitched under its stare, the bedroom door deeper inside the repository opened, and Chu He emerged at just the right moment with his hands behind his back.

"Little Chu Brother, I broke through!"

Zhao Yuling hurriedly shifted her gaze.

"Mm. Not bad."

Chu He nodded.

Zhao Yuling's eyes flickered.

Little Chu Brother's reaction was no different from usual, making it difficult for her to judge the suspicion in her heart.

Her thoughts spun rapidly as she tried to analyze every tiny detail.

"Stupid!"

In the end, she gave up. Guessing was too exhausting; she could just ask directly!

Wasn't the person right in front of her?

"Little Chu Brother, I was imprisoned by the foreign clans before, and then a mysterious expert came and slaughtered all of them. I also feel that my breakthrough was far too abrupt, as though it had something to do with that mysterious expert. Was that expert you?"

She voiced the doubt in her heart.

"Does it matter whether it was or wasn't?"

Chu He shook his head and smiled, looking unfathomable.

He pulled over a chair, picked up a book, and began reading it slowly.

Zhao Yuling blinked twice.

What did that mean?

Why did Little Chu Brother always speak like this, making himself seem so unfathomable?

Though it truly did make him seem like a lofty master.

It was really hard to understand!

After thinking it over, Zhao Yuling did not press further. She felt that this answer leaned more toward an admission.

And perhaps Little Chu Brother spoke so vaguely because he had some unavoidable hardship.

Just like the stories in martial arts chronicles, where certain great experts secluded themselves due to circumstances beyond their control. Once exposed, they would bring about unfathomable trouble!

Yes!

That had to be it.

The more Zhao Yuling thought, the more reasonable it seemed.

She felt that she had already touched the edge of the truth.

"No, I need to remind Little Aunt about this."

Zhao Yuling made her decision inwardly.

Then she changed the subject and continued asking.

"Little Chu Brother, something seems wrong with my cultivation. I had only just broken through when I encountered a foreign-clan Half-step Invincible King. Yet after exchanging one move, they could not withstand it at all and were utterly crippled!"

"Why was that?"

Chu He raised a brow.

He had not expected the little girl to have slain a Half-step Invincible King.

From the Charm Clan!

"A Half-step Invincible King is all it was. What is strange about you being able to kill one?"

"After breaking through, you became a King! It is only natural for a True King to kill a false king."

Chu He spoke calmly.

There was nothing that could not be said about it.

The only reason he had not mentioned it before was that he could not be bothered to.

On the path of cultivation, as long as one walked the right road, the name of a realm was nothing important!

The King Realm could also be called the Heaven-Piercing Realm or the Great Emperor Realm—one could name it whatever one wished.

Names were given by people, and once enough people used them, they became convention.

There was also a tiny bit of mischievous amusement.

Just like now.

When the little girl first faced a Half-step Invincible King, she must have been extremely nervous, perhaps even filled with the despair of facing death without flinching.

And then—

She won!

She must have been utterly dumbfounded in that instant!

Besides, he had not told them because he did not want them to grow too inflated.

Especially that girl Lin Xueling, who had an especially severe case of eighth-grader syndrome.

Once she confirmed her own strength, Chu He reckoned that she would take up the burden of expanding territory for the Human Clan all by herself.

Then there would be another huge headache.

Girls with eighth-grader syndrome were not to be provoked.

"After the Innate Realm, isn't it the Half-step King Realm? How could I...?"

Zhao Yuling's eyes widened.

Though she had suspected it, she still found it unbelievable.

If Chu He had said that under his guidance, her combat strength was unmatched and she could defy common sense to slay a Half-step Invincible King across realms, she might have found that easier to accept.

"Who told you that the Half-step King Realm comes after the Innate Realm?"

Chu He asked.

"The ancient records say so, and everyone says so."

Zhao Yuling replied.

"Does what ancient records say necessarily make it right?"

Chu He smiled.

In truth, the ancient records had taken the wrong path, but they could not be called entirely wrong.

After the Innate Realm, one could directly break through into the King Realm. The Xia Clan, and even the various clans of the Barbarian Domain, might not necessarily have been unaware of this.

Before, Chu He had not known the exact circumstances of the Xia Clan and the Barbarian Domain. He had only assumed they were too foolish, cultivating for so many years without even discovering the flaws in their Cultivation Methods.

But after he had gained access to the Lin Family's many treasured secret manuals—

Chu He analyzed the matter and felt that the truth might not be as he had imagined.

The real reason might have been resources.

The path from the Innate Realm directly to the King Realm was far too perilous.

Even he and the two girls had used many treasures to build up their foundations before breaking through.

They had also constantly studied the True Intent Diagram, a tremendous opportunity that other living beings could only encounter by chance and never seek.

At the moment of their breakthroughs, they had further used the crucial King Breakthrough Pills, Golden Body Sculpting Pill, and various supplementary Pills.

Others who broke through presumably needed similar supporting items as well.

Yet the Barbarian Domain was far too barren. To refine Pills corresponding to the King Realm, the materials alone were enough to give one a headache.

And even if they managed to gather enough materials, alchemists were another problem.

Every alchemist was built up from countless resources and experiences. To become proficient at refining Pills for the King Realm, one first needed enough corresponding materials for practice.

And so, the matter returned to its starting point.

Resources.

Therefore, it was likely out of helplessness that the various clans of the Barbarian Domain had altered the correct cultivation route.

Between the King Realm and the Innate Realm, they added a Half-step King Realm, using an alternative method to accumulate their foundations.

Though it took many detours, it also reduced much of the danger.

Perhaps among the great clans of the Barbarian Domain, those descendants of powerful experts who had sufficient resources cultivated the correct Cultivation Methods.

But Chu He did not waste his breath explaining all of this.

Zhao Yuling froze!

That was right!

Were ancient records necessarily correct?

Were ancient people necessarily smarter?

"Little girl, don't overthink it. Whether it is the Half-step King Realm or the King Realm, it is only a name. Why get hung up on it?"

"The key to everything is your combat strength."

"Right now, you can kill a Half-step Invincible King. That is already enough!"

Chu He said with a smile.

Zhao Yuling nodded, half understanding and half confused.

It sounded so profound, so reasonable.

Still, to sum it up, she truly was a King!

"By the way, Little Chu Brother, what realm are you in now?"

Zhao Yuling suddenly asked curiously.

Before, she had always thought Chu He was at the Half-step King Realm, but now it was obvious that was not the case.

Chu He glanced at Zhao Yuling and said with a smile, "A little stronger than you. Just a little."

"Alright, you've asked all your questions. Sit down and read with me. Since you've already broken through, your training outside has been sufficient. For the next while, stay properly in the Book Repository and consolidate your cultivation."

PS: Thanks to big boss Meimei Chimei Wangliang Soul Douluo for the 100 reward.

Thanks to big boss DK98 for another 500 reward.