Three Years

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Yun had been on Great Bamboo Peak for three years. During this time, Ye Yun would chop bamboo in the back mountains every morning. After lunch, he would go to Tai Chi Cave to cultivate. Although three years had only turned him into a nine-year-old boy, his Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao had already reached the seventh level. This was even with him deliberately suppressing his cultivation, perfecting each level to its extreme, to the point where not a single bit more magic power could be compressed into his meridians before breaking through. Furthermore, a significant amount of magic power was used to nourish his body. Otherwise, he would have long since broken through to the eighth or even ninth level.

Compared to Ye Yun's rapid progress, Zhang Xiaofan on the other side was in a rather awkward situation. In three years, he had only managed to cultivate to the second level. When it came to demonstrating his bamboo-chopping skills, he could barely cut down a single stalk. However, Ye Yun knew this was due to his excessive blood loss during this period.

Perhaps due to the inertia of the plot, Xiao Hui, who was originally supposed to appear, found Zhang Xiaofan on time and led him to Soul Devourer. To Ye Yun's astonishment, even though he had secretly absorbed the power from both the Bloodthirsty Bead and Soul Devourer, Zhang Xiaofan inexplicably managed to fuse them together using the blood refining technique, creating the Soul Devouring Cudgel. This, in turn, caused him to suffer from both blood and qi deficiency, almost preventing him from even cutting down a single Black Knot Bamboo.

During dinner that evening, it was revealed that Old Six Du Bishu had reached the fourth level of Jade Purity, the Object Control Realm. This somewhat diffused the tense atmosphere surrounding the upcoming Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament. Qingyun Sect had a rule that any disciple who reached the fourth level of Jade Purity had to descend the mountain to travel the world, seeking good materials and spiritual treasures to cultivate magic treasures. This meant Du Bishu would be descending the mountain soon. Ye Yun, being too young before, had not been allowed to leave the mountain. In fact, the other peaks didn't even know Ye Yun had cultivated to the sixth level (Ye Yun, fearing he would be too ostentatious, hadn't informed anyone that he had already broken through to the seventh level). Also, due to his young age, he couldn't participate in this Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament. After all, when the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament began in two years, he would only be eleven years old.

Three days later, Du Bishu descended the mountain. Zhang Xiaofan, just like in the original work, took over the kitchen. Perhaps because of Ye Yun's mediation, Tian Buyi treated Zhang Xiaofan quite well over the years, not being as critical and demanding as in the original work. However, in contrast, Tian Ling'er, who was very fond of Zhang Xiaofan in the original work, didn't spend as much time with him. Instead, she pestered Ye Yun all day. Fortunately, Ye Yun often chatted with her, so Zhang Xiaofan didn't feel lonely. Moreover, Da Huang was very fond of following him.

In three years, Tian Ling'er had also transformed from a twelve-year-old girl into a graceful and elegant young lady. However, her greatest joy was still "bullying" Ye Yun. As she grew older, she had restrained herself considerably. Incidents like them sharing a bowl of porridge no longer happened.

During these three years, besides cultivation, Ye Yun's favorite pastime was studying medicinal theory and talismans, and tinkering with small gadgets. He could now refine Tian Buyi's Big Yellow Pill. He had also simplified the ingredients and developed a weakened version of the Big Yellow Pill, which Tian Ling'er jokingly called the "Little Yellow Pill." Relying on knowledge from his previous life and combining it with talisman techniques, he successfully developed a flying Mechanical Bird. Unfortunately, it was only palm-sized and couldn't carry anyone. He was also scolded severely by Tian Buyi for it.

One early morning, after breakfast, Ye Yun picked up the firewood axe by the door as usual and walked out. After walking quite a distance, he suddenly remembered that his introductory cultivation was over, and he no longer needed to chop bamboo. He quickly turned back, thinking that if his senior brother Song Daren and the others saw him, he would be laughed to death.

However, just as he feared, as soon as he turned around, he heard a familiar, sweet laugh from behind him, causing him to freeze in place. Ye Yun swallowed hard and turned his stiff body to look back. The graceful Tian Ling'er was standing under the shade of a tree not far from him, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Sen... Senior Sister, why are you here?" Ye Yun felt flustered. He knew his face must be burning red.

Tian Ling'er had never seen Ye Yun so embarrassed before and found it extremely amusing. She couldn't help but walk over, hug him tightly, and plant a kiss firmly on his cheek, leaving a faint lip print.

After kissing him, Tian Ling'er vigorously ruffled Ye Yun's hair and said with a smile, "Alright, I won't tell anyone about your embarrassing moment. But in exchange, you have to practice with me every day. The Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament is only two years away. If our Great Bamboo Peak still doesn't achieve good results this time, Father will surely be angered to death."

"There's such a good thing?" Ye Yun's mind was filled with questions. "But I can't worry about that now. I'll agree first. It's not a bad thing for me anyway."

"Okay, I promise," Ye Yun agreed without hesitation, thinking that even if he didn't agree now, Tian Ling'er would still pester him every day, so it was better to accept her offer.

Tian Ling'er smiled sweetly and said, "Since that's the case, let's start tomorrow. I'll go back and ask Father for a few suitable magic treasures for you right now. By the way, what kind of magic treasure do you want?"

"Hmm~" Ye Yun pondered for a moment. "A sword, I suppose. After all, to perform our sect's unique skill, the Divine Sword Thunder Control True Spell, a sword is necessary. It would feel like a waste if I couldn't learn it." Tian Ling'er nodded. "That's true. With your talent, senior disciple, you should be able to learn it in a few years. I'll go back and have Father find you a treasured sword as a weapon."

Suddenly, Tian Ling'er beamed and said, "Alright, junior disciple. I'll be going now. You go ahead and chop your bamboo!"

Listening to Tian Ling'er's clear laughter, like silver bells, Ye Yun looked dejected. It seemed this stain would never be washed away in his lifetime. He could only hope no one else had seen it.

After Tian Ling'er walked away, Ye Yun carefully surveyed his surroundings and sneakily returned to the kitchen, putting the firewood axe back.

Leaving the kitchen, Ye Yun suddenly found himself with nothing to do. He used to chop Black Knot Bamboo every morning, cultivate in the afternoon, and play with Tian Ling'er during his free time, so the days didn't feel boring. Now that he didn't have to chop bamboo, he suddenly had free time and didn't know what to do.

With nothing to do, Ye Yun found a shady spot under a tree and sat down, contemplating what to do next.

"If I cultivate, I'm already at the sixth level of Jade Purity and have reached its extreme. Further cultivation would only provide a negligible amount of energy to the system. I can't ask my master's wife for the subsequent cultivation techniques now, meaning I can't cultivate. I've already finished reading books on herbs, Miscellaneous Records of Kyushu, and Strange Records of Mountains and Seas. I also don't have the materials to tinker with modern gadgets. Argh! This is so annoying. What should I do!"

Ye Yun thought and thought but couldn't come up with anything else to do. He paced back and forth under the big tree, looking frustrated.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Ye Yun. He finally thought of what he should do next. A few days ago, Tian Buyi had found a substantial iron ore deposit in the back mountains and brought back a lot of good quality ore, which was piled up on the open ground behind Shou Jing Hall. He could refine these ores and forge some interesting "gadgets."