Zhang Qingshan

Ye Han could tell that this young man was easier to talk to than the Azure Profound Sect Master, the Fifth Elder, or the Seventh Elder. The fact that he had taken the initiative to stop Ye Han from waking Elder Liu was enough to show that he had a kind heart.

The young man was clearly an honest, decent person. Otherwise, he would not have offered to help him.

So Ye Han said to him, "Senior brother, don't lose heart. Your talent may be ordinary, but I can see that you work very hard. Heaven won't let those who work hard suffer for it. I believe in you. You'll definitely become a great cultivator."

In truth, he did not believe those words himself, but to build a good relationship with the young man, he had to say a few things against his own convictions.

After all, he could see that the young man's fearsome muscles were certainly not something he had been born with. Like the martial artists Ye Han had seen before, he must have developed them through grueling training.

Sure enough, Ye Han's words lifted the young man's spirits. He perked up and said, "That's right! As long as I work hard enough, I'll definitely become a great cultivator!"

Watching the young man's reaction, Ye Han understood.

He had received little welcome upon arriving at the Azure Profound Sect. Although he did not know exactly why, when the Fifth Elder and the Seventh Elder had fought over his Foundation Establishment Pill, the Azure Profound Sect Master had watched coldly from the sidelines without even glancing at him.

That had told him his talent might be even worse than this young man's. Otherwise, the sect master and elders would not have treated him so coldly.

It was only because of the sect rules and the Azure Mystic Token that they had been obliged to give him the Foundation Establishment Pill and exchange a cave abode with him.

Clearly, talent was extremely important in the world of cultivation. It might even determine whether someone could become a cultivator at all.

With this understanding, he asked the young man, "Senior brother, may I ask your name? I'm Ye Han!"

The young man scratched the back of his head and said, "Junior Brother Ye! Since the Seventh Elder brought you here, I'll probably be calling you Senior Brother soon. My name is Zhang Qingshan! I'm at the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining Realm!"

Hearing this, Ye Han replied politely, "You're too kind, Senior Brother Zhang. Even if my cultivation surpasses yours, you'll always be my senior brother! Just the way you saved me earlier is enough to earn my deepest gratitude."

Ye Han's courteous words immediately raised Zhang Qingshan's opinion of him considerably. He said with feeling, "Good thing you're just a child, or I'd be moved to tears. But you probably don't know, do you? In the cultivation world, strength reigns supreme. If your cultivation surpasses mine, you'll naturally become my senior brother. You speak so bookishly. You must have read quite a few books!"

Zhang Qingshan had clearly come from poverty and hardship himself. He knew that, among ordinary mortals, those who could afford to study generally came from families that were reasonably well-off.

But how could he have known that Ye Han had learned entirely by sitting in on other people's lessons? As far as Ye Han was concerned, did being good at studying count as a talent?

Ye Han smiled. "What good is studying? It's nothing compared to being a cultivator! How wonderful it would be to soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth."

Zhang Qingshan was indeed a rather straightforward cultivator. Hearing this, he poured out his grievances. "Ah, what do you know? You've only just arrived at the Azure Profound Sect, haven't you? You aren't a cultivator yet, so you don't understand. In the sect, without cultivation, you're as lowly as a dog. Anyone can bully you. Only when you become a high-level cultivator and an inner sect disciple does life get better!"

He paused, then continued, "Besides, how could you possibly soar through the heavens and burrow through the earth without reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm?"

Then he looked at Ye Han again and said, "A mortal like you, junior brother, without the slightest cultivation, will be looked down on wherever you go."

However, Zhang Qingshan seemed to feel that he had spoken too harshly and quickly changed his tune. "Still, you've already joined the Azure Profound Sect, and the seventh elder has taken you as his disciple. You're sure to become a powerful cultivator."

Ye Han committed all of Zhang Qingshan's words to memory, but aloud he said, "The seventh elder told me that once I reached the Azure Profound Sect, I'd soon become a cultivator, able to soar through the heavens, burrow through the earth, and do anything."

Though he said that, bitterness filled his heart. The seventh elder was a lofty, mighty cultivator. No wonder he had ignored Ye Han and left him on the mountain to fend for himself.

Come to think of it, why would a cultivator who was practically an immortal care whether a mortal like him lived or died?

Hearing this, Zhang Qingshan became even more convinced that Ye Han's background was extraordinary. Ordinary new disciples first had to become outer sect disciples and cultivate on the outer sect peaks. Only once their cultivation met the requirements for inner sect disciples could they enter an inner sect peak like Seven Mysteries Peak to cultivate.

Yet Ye Han was clearly still a mortal, without any cultivation at all, and he could already enter the inner sect to cultivate. As far as Zhang Qingshan knew, there was only one possible explanation: his talent already met the requirements for an inner sect disciple, meaning he had a heavenly spiritual root or dual spiritual roots.

Thus, his envy and respect for Ye Han grew stronger, and he even wanted to curry favor with him.

After all, having a powerful backer was extremely important in the cultivation world.

Of course, Zhang Qingshan could never have imagined that this little rascal Ye Han, despite his tender age, had a tongue as nimble as a reed and had steered him toward this conclusion with just a few words.

So he said, "Junior Brother Ye, the Seventh Elder probably wasn't lying to you. With your talent, you should become a cultivator very soon. Once you find a cultivation method that suits you, your talent and the help of medicinal pills will let you sense the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy in no time. Absorb enough of it, and you'll become a cultivator."

At this point, he said with an envious expression, "With your talent, Junior Brother, you'll soon reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining Realm. Then the Seventh Elder will surely procure a Foundation Establishment Pill for you. At that point, you'll be a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator!"

As he spoke, he could not conceal the envy and longing in his eyes. It seemed he had been striving toward that goal all along as well.

Ye Han listened and remembered everything, but betrayed nothing on his face. He sighed helplessly and said, "But after the seventh elder brought me here and gave me a cave abode, he never came to see me again!"

He now understood a little more: cultivators were divided into different realms and had to absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. And the Foundation Establishment Pill truly was something extremely important, capable of letting a cultivator advance into a new major realm.

No wonder both the Fifth Elder and the Seventh Elder had wanted to obtain that pill from him through an exchange. Clearly, it was not so easy to acquire.

However, Ye Han was no stranger to scheming either. He did not mention that he had exchanged his Foundation Establishment Pill for the cave abode, instead saying that the seventh elder had given it to him. That ought to make his status seem even more special.

Sure enough, Zhang Qingshan said with tremendous envy, "I'm so envious of you, Junior Brother Ye. Here, apart from a handful of Qi Refining Realm cultivators with connections, only Foundation Establishment cultivators are entitled to their own private cave abodes! If you have your own cave abode to cultivate in, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy is extraordinarily abundant! You get twice the results for half the effort."

Hearing this, Ye Han's heart stirred. No wonder Teacher Lan Qing had told him to use the Foundation Establishment Pill to secure a cave abode. So it had this benefit too...

Though Ye Han was thinking this, he put on an indifferent expression and said, "Ah, what good is having a cave abode? The seventh elder still hasn't taught me a cultivation method, or even the basics of cultivation! All I can do with a cave abode is sleep and eat in it."

Zhang Qingshan said regretfully, "That's such a waste. You should know that cave abodes have Spirit Gathering Arrays!"

After thinking it over at length, Ye Han suddenly said, "Senior Brother Zhang! It seems you've been cultivating for quite some time. Why don't you teach me some cultivation methods? In exchange, you can cultivate in my cave abode!"