When Ye Lingtian saw Qian Renxue's expression, how could he fail to see that her thoughts had wandered again?
He said helplessly, "It's not that I don't want to take you as my disciple. I'm preparing to go into seclusion."
Ye Lingtian looked at Xie Ningshuang and finished what he had left unsaid.
"I came to tell you, Master, that the bottleneck that has kept me stuck at the Great Perfection of Golden Core for the past few years loosened completely while I was healing in the spirit spring. In three days at most, I'll enter secluded cultivation and not emerge until I've broken through to the Nascent Soul Stage."
Xie Ningshuang froze on the spot at his words and said, somewhat speechless, "You brat, couldn't you come up with a better excuse?"
"You've only been in the sect for fifty years, and you already dare to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Stage? Do you know that when I formed my Nascent Soul at two hundred, I was already a prodigy the Great Qin Dynasty hadn't seen in tens of thousands of years?"
But seeing the serious look in Ye Lingtian's eyes, Xie Ningshuang fell silent for a moment before asking, "Really?"
Ye Lingtian nodded. "I wouldn't dare lie to you, Master. In fact, my obsession dissolved two weeks ago."
As he spoke, Ye Lingtian couldn't help glancing at Qian Renxue. After all, she had something to do with it. If he hadn't met her, he would still have been trapped by his obsession as a transmigrator.
Xie Ningshuang raised an eyebrow when she saw this. No wonder Ye Lingtian treated Qian Renxue so well. There was that connection between them too.
Now that she knew, she couldn't suppress a smile. She raised a hand and slapped Ye Lingtian hard on the shoulder, nearly injuring him.
"Good! Good lad! You really are my disciple! You haven't disgraced Sword-Seeking Peak!"
Beside them, Qian Renxue's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into her chest. Just moments ago, her eyes had been red, and she had thought Ye Lingtian was unwilling to take her as a disciple because he disliked her poor aptitude.
Only now did she understand that he hadn't been making excuses to avoid her at all. He was going to tread the great path to the Nascent Soul Stage that every cultivator sought but could not attain. The tips of her ears instantly turned so red they looked ready to drip blood.
The corner of her robe clutched between her fingers was damp with sweat as she murmured, "I... I can wait until you come out of seclusion to perform the ceremony and become your disciple, Young Master."
On the Douluo Continent, at the other end of the heavenly screen, Qian Daoliu was both shocked and delighted to see this.
What shocked him was that Ye Lingtian was actually about to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.
Before, they had known nothing about the Nascent Soul Stage beyond the fact that it was a realm above the Golden Core Stage. But after what had happened when they faced Baihuaxiang,
everyone on the Douluo Continent knew just how terrifying a Nascent Soul cultivator was.
And precisely because they knew, everyone looked shocked, and quite a few people sucked in a breath of cold air.
"As the saying goes, surviving a great disaster brings blessings afterward. Ye Lingtian is now about to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage. It really is astonishing," Ning Fengzhi couldn't help remarking.
"Yes. He could withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators while he was still at the Golden Core Stage. Once he reaches the Nascent Soul Stage, I'm afraid he'll be even more terrifying," Chen Xin remarked.
Yu Xiaogang's expression, however, could hardly have been uglier. If Ye Lingtian broke through, his status in the sect would rise with the tide.
As Ye Lingtian's disciple, Qian Renxue would likely enjoy quite a few benefits.
Tang San, meanwhile, was also a transmigrator, yet he didn't even have a place to call his own, much less a cultivation technique he could use normally.
They were both transmigrators, so why did it feel as if they lived in different worlds?
Qian Daoliu stood beneath the Angel God Statue, tears streaming down his aged face.
He cupped his hands and repeatedly called upon his ancestors for their blessing. "My Xue'er is so blessed! She's only just joined the sect, and she's already waiting for her master to form his Nascent Soul. Who wouldn't hold her in higher regard when they hear about it in the future?"
Beside him, Bibi Dong's eyes were full of envy.
"Has he become a god?" Di Tian murmured. From what he currently understood of this world, the Nascent Soul Stage was comparable to the gods of his own world.
It was just that Nascent Soul cultivators were stronger. Baihuaxiang was already comparable to an ordinary Third-Level God. Breaking through was like ascending to heaven in a single step.
Given Ye Lingtian's strength, he would probably be comparable to a Second-Level God after his breakthrough.
Moreover, even before breaking through, Ye Lingtian already had the divine sense of a Third-Level God. Afterward, he would be at least as strong as a Second-Level God, and might even reach the level of a First-Level God.
Di Tian couldn't help shaking his head. "He's only been cultivating for fifty years. Are all the humans in this world this outrageous?"
Di Tian finally understood why Baihuaxiang had been willing to abandon her original body to perform Body Possession on Tang San.
Human bodies were simply too good. Their talent for cultivation far surpassed that of demonic beasts, to say nothing of the Half-Demon Body, which combined the strengths of humans and demons.
"Since you're ready, I won't hold you up. Go and make your preparations." Xie Ningshuang paused and took out a luminous pearl.
"This is the Mind-Calming Pearl. It can help steady your mind when you face your heart demon," Xie Ningshuang said solemnly.
"Thank you, Master." Ye Lingtian nodded and accepted the Mind-Calming Pearl.
Ye Lingtian rubbed the cool, smooth Mind-Calming Pearl between his fingertips. He had just put it in his storage bag when Xie Ningshuang seemed to remember something else and pulled out a stack of defensive talismans glowing with golden light.
She stuffed a tortoise-shell magic seal capable of withstanding a full-force blow from a Nascent Soul cultivator into his arms.
By the time she was done, Ye Lingtian's storage bag was nearly full. Torn between laughter and tears, he said, "Master, I'm only going into seclusion to break through, not venturing into some ancient land of peril. What would I need all these things for?"
"What do you know?" Xie Ningshuang shot him a glare, though a trace of barely perceptible tension lingered at the tips of her ears. "The Heart Demon Tribulation during a Nascent Soul breakthrough is especially sinister. I nearly came to grief in it myself. Take these things. It's better to be prepared."
Warmth filled Ye Lingtian's heart. "Then thank you, Master."
"Ah, you're my only disciple. Of course I have to look out for you when you're about to break through." Xie Ningshuang waved a hand.
Watching from the side, Qian Renxue felt rather at a loss. Ye Lingtian had helped her so much, yet now that he was about to attempt a breakthrough, she seemed to have nothing she could give him.
"Work hard at your cultivation. By the time I come out after my breakthrough, try to have reached the Third Layer of Qi Refining." Ye Lingtian saw Qian Renxue's embarrassment and spoke with a smile.
"Yes!" Qian Renxue quickly replied. After a pause, she hurriedly asked, "Does it take a long time to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage?"
Ye Lingtian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know either. Since I joined the sect, I haven't seen anyone break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, so I don't know how long it usually takes."
Xie Ningshuang rolled her eyes at him. "You make it sound as though you couldn't see it happening. Isn't it because you cultivate too fast? It's only been fifty years. Ordinary Golden Core cultivators spend more than fifty years at a single minor realm."
"The sect master should already know about you, right?" Xie Ningshuang asked.
Ye Lingtian nodded. "Yes, the sect master already knows."
"So I, your master, wasn't the first to know you were about to break through?" Xie Ningshuang couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
It could only be said that women really did get hung up on the things they shouldn't.
Ye Lingtian's gaze flickered, and he said, looking a little guilty, "Master, I'll go and rest first. I just came out of the spirit spring, and I still need to regulate my breathing."