Chapter 44: The Gap

After selecting his followers, Ye Qingxuan intended to set off immediately to return to the Xuantian Sect.

However, thinking about the journey from the Ye Family to the Qingmu Prefecture City, Ye Qingxuan shamelessly requested Ye Yuhong to escort him, and they exchanged transmission talismans in the process.

Facing Ye Qingxuan's request, Ye Yuhong did not refuse.

As the group arrived outside the hall, Ye Yuhong was preparing to take out a flying boat to transport the three of them to Qingmu Prefecture City when he suddenly noticed a figure rushing toward them.

"Ye Qingxuan, you coward, you actually dared to come back?"

Hearing the newcomer's words, Ye Yuhong looked at Ye Qingxuan with a strange expression, his eyes filled with profound meaning.

Feeling Ye Yuhong's gaze, Ye Qingxuan looked toward the approaching figure, feeling somewhat bewildered.

He remembered that he hadn't offended any girls, had he?

In a moment, the figure arrived before them. Her exquisite face was currently puffed up in anger, and her eyes were fixed intensely on Ye Qingxuan.

Looking at the stunningly elegant young woman before him, Ye Qingxuan asked hesitantly

"Who are you?"

To his surprise, hearing his question, the girl instantly flew into a rage, shouting indignantly

"You scoundrel, Ye Qingxuan! You're actually trying to pretend you don't know me? We agreed to a competition of cultivation speed, but you secretly slipped away!"

If she hadn't happened to receive news of Ye Qingxuan's return by chance, she wouldn't have known that this coward had snuck back!

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan had an epiphany. He studied the girl before him, and memories from many years ago began to surface in his mind. He asked uncertainly

"Are you... Ye Qingshuang?"

It was difficult for him to connect this breathtakingly beautiful young woman with the cold, aloof little girl from over twenty years ago.

One could only say that Ye Qingshuang's transformation was so immense that Ye Qingxuan could not recognize her immediately.

Seeing that Ye Qingxuan had finally recognized her, Ye Qingshuang became even more furious and demanded

"We agreed to a competition of cultivation speed, so why did you run away secretly? Hmph, coward!"

Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan shrugged innocently

"I never agreed to compete in cultivation speed with you back then. I'm not competing with you!"

At this, Ye Qingshuang stomped her foot and said huffily

"Hmph, I don't care! You won against me in the assessment back then, so I'm going to win it back by competing in cultivation speed. I am currently at the ninth layer of Qi Refinement; you definitely can't beat me!"

As she finished, the corners of Ye Qingshuang's mouth curled up slightly, her tone carrying a hint of pride.

In the Ye family records, the fastest person with a three-attribute spiritual root had taken twenty-five years to reach the ninth layer of Qi Refinement.

She had taken less than twenty-three years, thereby breaking the family record.

Watching the slight smirk on Ye Qingshuang's face, Ye Qingxuan smiled inwardly but said nothing.

While Ye Qingshuang was feeling triumphant, Ye Yuhong suddenly interjected

"Girl Qingshuang, Qingxuan is currently at the Great Perfection of Qi Refinement and is about to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm. If we are truly talking about cultivation speed, he is actually a fraction faster than you!"

Ye Qingshuang's true identity was the granddaughter of the Ye family's Great Elder, so Ye Yuhong naturally knew her.

Hearing Ye Yuhong's words, Ye Qingshuang's mouth hung slightly open, and her pupils dilated instantly. Once she processed it, she immediately questioned

"That's impossible!"

She remembered that Ye Qingxuan clearly only had the talent of a single-attribute spiritual root; how could his cultivation speed possibly exceed hers?

Seeing her disbelief, Ye Yuhong could only shake his head.

"Qingxuan!"

Hearing the Clan Leader's call, Ye Qingxuan understood and could only helplessly release his aura.

His cultivation level was roughly similar to hers; if he didn't release his aura, Ye Qingshuang would be unable to perceive his exact realm.

Once Ye Qingxuan released his aura, Ye Qingshuang confirmed his cultivation level, and a look of utter disbelief flashed in her eyes.

Ye Qingxuan's talent was clearly only a single-attribute spiritual root, while she had three; how could her cultivation speed be slower than his?

Seeing her expression, Ye Yuhong sighed

"You girl, you are just too competitive. All these years of your desperate cultivation—was it all for this?"

That old fellow, the Great Elder, had been constantly boasting to him about how hard his granddaughter practiced; so that was the reason?

Looking at Ye Qingshuang's stunned expression, Ye Qingxuan felt a bit of pity. After all, she was an old companion. Thus, he said casually

"Ye Qingshuang, you lost this time. How about we compete to see who breaks through to the Purple Mansion Realm first? You've already lost twice; don't lose a third time!"

There was no need to compete for the Foundation Establishment realm; once he contracted the Blessed Land and returned to the Xuantian Sect, he could break through immediately. Competing for the Purple Mansion Realm would serve as motivation for her.

Sure enough, upon hearing Ye Qingxuan's words, the light returned to Ye Qingshuang's eyes. Regaining her confidence, she said with full certainty

"Ye Qingxuan, just you wait! For the third time, I definitely won't lose again!"

After leaving her ultimatum, Ye Qingshuang transformed into a streak of light and departed.

However, what she did not know was that this parting might be forever.

Seeing that Ye Qingshuang had left, Ye Qingxuan did not dwell on it and smiled slightly.

"Clan Leader, let's go!"

Ye Yuhong shook his head slightly. *Young people these days... I just don't understand them!*

Then, he took out a fourth-grade flying boat, brought Ye Qingxuan, Ye Zhaoheng, and Ye Zhaoyu along, and piloted the boat toward Qingmu Prefecture City.

A flying boat was a product of the combination of smithing and formations, distinguishing it from magical treasures; thus, they were categorized from grades one to ten, corresponding one-to-one with cultivation realms.

***

After Ye Qingxuan left, Ye Qingshuang, having returned to her cave dwelling, began to cultivate even more diligently.

In truth, it was normal for Ye Qingshuang to find it hard to believe that her cultivation speed could not match Ye Qingxuan's.

Normally, for every additional spiritual root attribute, a cultivator's speed would double based on the original foundation.

If the cultivation speed of a single-attribute spiritual root was 1, then a two-attribute root would be 2, and a three-attribute root would be 4, and so on.

Theoretically, her cultivation speed should have been four times that of Ye Qingxuan!

The more spiritual roots one possessed, the effect would far exceed a simple "one plus one equals two" logic.

However, this was only the theoretical speed; cultivation speed would also vary due to external factors.

Factors such as a cultivator's daily training time, the supply of cultivation resources, the density of external spiritual energy, physical strength, and the toughness of the meridians would all affect cultivation speed.

Take Ye Qingxiao, for example. As an existence with five-attribute spiritual roots, his theoretical cultivation speed should be 16 times that of Ye Qingxuan.

But due to factors like his early days of performing miscellaneous tasks, insufficient resources, and his physical body's inability to withstand the impact of overly powerful spiritual energy, his actual cultivation speed was only about twice as fast as Ye Qingxuan's.

For true geniuses, the greatest factor affecting cultivation speed in the early stages was not external objects, but rather their own physical strength and the toughness of their meridians.

As cultivation levels rose, or as one practiced body-refining techniques to improve physical strength, the gap brought by true talent would become increasingly obvious and increasingly despairing.

The higher the realm, the more massive the required energy. Many cultivators were not unable to break through bottlenecks, but rather their own talent dragged down their cultivation speed, preventing them from accumulating enough lifespan to gather the energy needed for a breakthrough.

Although Ye Qingxuan possessed eternal life and could ignore this point, he remained cautious. Since he had a way to increase his own spiritual roots, he would naturally strive for it with all his might.

The influence of spiritual roots on a cultivator was simply too great; talent was, at times, truly an unreasonable existence.

And resources were the second most important factor affecting cultivation.

Coincidentally, Ye Qingxuan could easily obtain both of these after choosing to become a Blessed Land Cultivator.

This was one of the reasons why Ye Qingxuan had previously chosen to become a Blessed Land Cultivator—because the Blessed Land could increase a cultivator's spiritual roots.

Of course, it was also because he had the Eternal Turtle clone and the mysterious bead in his mind to back him up that he ultimately made the decision.

Tomorrow he would contract the Blessed Land, and the Earth Immortal inheritance that everyone was yearning for would appear!