Chapter 24: Sealing, Demotion, and Setting the Tone

Chapter 24: Sealing, Downgrading, and Setting the Tone

"Ancestor??"

Luo Li’s young face was filled with shock. She could not understand why their ancestor would deal such a heavy hand against them. Their cultivation bases had been suppressed by an entire major realm—dropping straight from the Form-God Realm down to the Yuan Sea Realm.

Ye Yun did not speak; he merely flicked his finger gently. The grade of their two Imperial-level robes plummeted instantly, dropping to the Earth level. Following that, the two divine swords in their hands also saw their ranks significantly reduced to the Earth level. Everything was being diminished.

"..."

Luo Li and Jun Moxiao exchanged glances, a sense of terror gripping them as if their souls were about to fly away.

"Ancestor, what are you doing?" Jun Moxiao wiped away his tears, his voice trembling with a sob.

"I want to make you stronger!" Ye Yun stood with his hands behind his back, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Seeing their confusion, Ye Yun said softly, "True sword genius does not rely on external objects. You currently rely far too much on such things. If you wish to become peerless sword cultivators in the Cangnan Continent, remember this: you must temper your sword hearts as much as possible."

"The less you rely on external things, and the more you continuously refine your inner self, the clearer and more transparent your sword heart will become, and the more powerful it will grow. When that day comes, there will be nothing that cannot be severed by a single strike of your sword!"

"..."

Listening to the ancestor’s words, Jun Moxiao and Luo Li stared at each other, blinking hard. This concept of cultivating the "sword heart" completely overturned everything they had known until now.

Ye Yun smiled slightly. It seemed these children, who had seen so little of the world, needed time to digest his words. His actions were the result of careful consideration throughout their journey. The old Sword Saint, who had been invincible a hundred years ago, must have possessed extraordinary attainments in the way of the sword. Once a sword cultivator reaches a certain realm, their combat power becomes terrifyingly high. More importantly, that old Sword Saint’s sword heart was long since perfectly clear and unstained by dust. Such a person, even without a divine weapon, could wield supreme sword techniques using nothing but a wooden stick.

Of course, this did not mean he rejected weapons. If one possessed divine armaments, especially those above the King level, it would naturally be like adding wings to a tiger. Ye Yun suspected the old Sword Saint was a sword fanatic who had immersed himself in the path for many years, possessing an almost invincible, transparent sword heart. Even with divine weapons, Luo Li and Jun Moxiao would find it difficult to stand against him. To force their rapid growth, Ye Yun had sealed their cultivation and their divine equipment, cutting off their retreat. This would force them to focus entirely on the path of the sword, tempering their clear hearts without distraction. Moreover, the lower cultivation base would subject them to greater pressure—a pressure that would lead to breakthroughs faster than if they were still at the Form-God Realm.

Ye Yun had laid out a perilous, steep path for the two of them to defeat the old Sword Saint of the Sword God Sect. Once they successfully traversed this path, the future benefits would be immense; they would become the strongest sword giants in the Cangnan Continent, shining with brilliant light.

He recalled that his own master had used this exact same method of suppressing cultivation on him back in the day. It was because of this that once Ye Yun reached the supreme Eternal Realm of the Cangnan Continent, no one of his level—or even ten of them combined—could stand against him.

Ever since he emerged from the "Sign-in" space, Ye Yun had acquired an unimaginable amount of resources. His initial thought had been to simply pile resources onto Jun Moxiao and Luo Li to boost them. However, the appearance of the Sword God Sect’s old Sword Saint made him realize the flaw in that approach. Resources should be used, yes, but he had to impose limitations on the children so they would forge ahead under pressure, achieving greater heights and hopefully reaching the glorious realm he had once occupied.

"Have you two figured it out yet?" After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Ye Yun saw their expressions slowly return to calm and smiled gently.

"Ancestor, I think I understand," Luo Li was the first to speak.

"And you?" Ye Yun turned his gaze to Jun Moxiao. The boy’s face flushed red, and he nodded hurriedly.

"Good!" Ye Yun shrugged and laughed softly. "Next, we will challenge the arrogant disciples of every major sect, letting you experience the thrill of breaking through under pressure."

"Yes, Ancestor!" Luo Li grew excited, her face flushing crimson. Challenging the prodigies of major forces was something she had never imagined before; just the thought of it felt incredibly thrilling. In her eyes, those disciples had always been high and mighty existences, but now, she would be the one to defeat them. For a girl like her, challenging Form-God Realm elders held no sense of achievement—they were old and established—but challenging peers in the Yuan Sea Realm was a different story altogether.

Seeing her excitement, Ye Yun felt a stir in his heart. He tapped her shoulder lightly and asked with a smile, "Luo Li, as the Sect Master of the Shenlong Sect, have you ever thought about the future development of the sect?"

Luo Li was momentarily speechless. When she had joined the Shenlong Sect as a child, there were only four people in total. As the new Sect Master, she had truly never considered how to develop it.

"Jun Moxiao, do you have any thoughts?" Ye Yun shifted his gaze to the blushing boy beside her.

"Ancestor..." Jun Moxiao stammered, "Could it be that you want us to start recruiting disciples now?"

Ye Yun shook his head and paused, giving them a few minutes to think. When, after another incense stick's time, they still had no answer, he did not feel discouraged. After all, the children were young and lacked experience.

"Hehe!" Ye Yun chuckled, looking at them with earnest gravity. "Any sect's development cannot be separated from cultivation resources. If you start accumulating them now, then when the day comes for the Shenlong Sect to open its gates and recruit widely, you will have no worries."

Luo Li’s eyes lit up. She giggled and clapped her hands. "Ancestor, do you mean... that while we challenge these major sects, we should start plundering their resources?"

Ye Yun merely smiled and said nothing.

"This is allowed?" Jun Moxiao looked on in shock, looking helpless. "Senior Sister, we are the descendants of the dignified Shenlong Sect. Must we really go around robbing others?"

"Hmph!" Luo Li put her hands on her hips, looking fierce and righteous. "Why not? The world of cultivation is survival of the fittest! If our Shenlong Sect wants to grow strong in the future, we naturally need resources. And the Ancestor cannot protect us forever... we, as senior sister and junior brother, will have to face the storms sooner or later, so we must start preparing now!"

Listening to Luo Li, Jun Moxiao blinked, finally seeming to understand. Luo Li waved her small fist and continued fiercely, "Junior Brother, the Ancestor has already reached the True God Realm; who knows when he might leave the Cangnan Continent? At that point, everything will depend on us. So, while the Ancestor is still by our side, we must scrape together as many resources as we can!"

Hearing Luo Li articulate this so clearly, a look of admiration appeared on Ye Yun’s face. Back when he trained in the Shenlong Sect, he too had plundered resources from countless sects; that was the foundation that eventually allowed the Shenlong Sect to rise to an Eternal-level sect. Now, all of this fell upon the shoulders of this pair of senior sister and junior brother.