After receiving the empowerment from Divine Monk Kongjian, Ye Qiu gained a century’s worth of cultivation, feeling unprecedentedly powerful at that moment.
A moment passed.
Ye Qiu opened his eyes and, seeing Divine Monk Kongjian’s appearance, felt a pang in his heart.
At this time, Divine Monk Kongjian’s gaunt face was covered with deep wrinkles, his cheeks dotted with brown spots, his complexion ashen and lifeless.
Ye Qiu could tell that Divine Monk Kongjian had little life left.
Yet, Divine Monk Kongjian’s face was full of smiles, his gentle eyes shimmering with kindness.
“Monk, your great kindness cannot be repaid, let me kowtow to you!”
Bang, bang, bang!
Ye Qiu knelt before Divine Monk Kongjian and respectfully kowtowed three times.
Divine Monk Kongjian asked, “Benefactor Ye, how do you feel now?”
Ye Qiu said, “Thanks to your gift, I feel filled with strength.”
Divine Monk Kongjian nodded with a smile, “Excellent!”
“Monk, your kindness to me, I…”
Ye Qiu’s voice choked, unable to continue, tears of gratitude welling in his eyes.
Divine Monk Kongjian smiled faintly, “Benefactor Ye, you need not feel guilty or sad.”
“As I said earlier, my time is near, rather than taking this century of cultivation to the Western Paradise, it’s better to give it to you.”
“You have many enemies, to survive, you must have sufficient strength.”
“Besides Long Wu below the tower, the Forbidden City’s Long Si, Long San, and Long Er all possess a century of cultivation, even before their seclusion, their skills were formidable, once they emerge, their cultivation will surely have reached the pinnacle.”
“And then there’s Long Yi, years ago, even I couldn’t handle him, when he emerges next, there may be no one in the world who can stand against him.”
“For years, Long Yi has not pursued the peak of martial arts, but another path.”
Ye Qiu asked curiously, “What path?”
Divine Monk Kongjian uttered four words, “The path of immortality!”
Ye Qiu’s heart jolted.
Divine Monk Kongjian asked, “Benefactor Ye, do you know of the existence of true qi?”
Ye Qiu nodded, “I have cultivated true qi, and it’s… innate true qi.”
Divine Monk Kongjian’s face was full of astonishment, “Innate qi? Benefactor Ye, are you certain?”
Ye Qiu affirmed, “I’m certain.”
“Hahaha…”
Divine Monk Kongjian laughed heartily, then said, “Innate qi, a rarity seen once in a century, one in a million.”
“Benefactor Ye, I was not mistaken, you are not only a person of great fortune but also possess immense destiny, your future achievements will surely be limitless.”
“Amitabha!”
Ye Qiu asked with confusion, “Monk, you mentioned true qi earlier, what were you trying to say?”
“Benefactor Ye, you are perceptive, I wanted to tell you about the path of immortality, cough, cough…”
Divine Monk Kongjian suddenly coughed up blood mid-sentence.
Ye Qiu hurriedly said, “Monk, let me administer a few acupuncture needles!”
Divine Monk Kongjian shook his head, declining Ye Qiu’s offer, then wiped the blood from his mouth and said, “As is well known, in today’s martial world, there are three master lists, the Tiger List, the Dragon List, and the Divine List.”
“Those who ascend the Divine List are all beings who have cultivated true qi.”
“Some have cultivated one strand of true qi, others two strands.”
“I have cultivated three strands of true qi.”
Ye Qiu was shocked.
He had thought cultivating one strand of true qi was impressive, but he hadn’t expected Divine Monk Kongjian to have cultivated three.
Yet, what Divine Monk Kongjian said next shocked him even more.
“Back then, Long Wu’s skills were inferior to Du’e’s now, he hadn’t even cultivated a single strand of true qi, but when I fought him earlier, I discovered Long Wu has cultivated three strands.”
That strong?
If Long Wu was this powerful, then what level had Long Yi reached?
As expected, Divine Monk Kongjian continued, “Among those in the Forbidden City, Long Yi has the greatest martial talent and strength.”
“When Long Yi came to Tianlong Temple years ago, he had already cultivated three strands of true qi.”
“After secluding himself for so many years, if my guess is correct, Long Yi now has at least nine strands of true qi.”
What?
Nine strands of true qi?
Was he still human?
Ye Qiu’s eyes widened in disbelief, taking a while to recover before saying, “Monk, isn’t your guess a bit…?”
Divine Monk Kongjian finished his sentence, smiling, “Benefactor Ye, you’re wondering if I’m overestimating Long Yi, aren’t you?”
Ye Qiu nodded slightly.
“I am not overestimating Long Yi,” Divine Monk Kongjian explained, “I have a basis for saying this.”
“The reason Long Yi has been in seclusion is to break through his cultivation and step onto the path of immortality.”
“The primary condition for embarking on the path of immortality is to cultivate nine strands of true qi.”
“With nine uniting into one, the gate to immortality can be opened.”
“So, if Long Yi hasn’t cultivated nine strands of true qi, he wouldn’t have remained in seclusion for so long.”
Divine Monk Kongjian said with concern, “Once he opens the gate to immortality, there may be no one in the world who can stand against him, unless…”
Ye Qiu asked urgently, “Unless what?”
“Unless your father is still alive,” Divine Monk Kongjian said, “Over twenty years ago, your father had cultivated five strands of true qi, recognized as the world’s greatest master.”
“At that time, even Long Yi was no match for Benefactor Ye Wushuang.”
“That’s why your father was qualified to top the Divine List.”
Ye Qiu sighed.
To this day, he didn’t even know if Ye Wushuang was alive or dead.
He had thought, with the century of cultivation gifted by Divine Monk Kongjian, he could stand above all, if not sweep the world, at least fear no one from the Forbidden City.
Now, hearing Divine Monk Kongjian’s words, Ye Qiu realized he had been like a frog in a well.
Ye Qiu marveled, “No wonder the Forbidden City is so arrogant, daring to disregard even the highest leader and the God of War, Long Yi has reached such a level.”
“Not so, not so,” Divine Monk Kongjian said, “The Forbidden City’s dominance has another reason.”
Ye Qiu pressed, “What reason?”
“You’ll understand in time, Benefactor Ye,” Divine Monk Kongjian was unwilling to dwell on the topic, saying, “Benefactor Ye, my time is short, I have two requests, may I ask?”
Ye Qiu quickly said, “Monk, whatever you need, just tell me, as long as I can do it, I’ll go through fire and water without hesitation.”
Divine Monk Kongjian said, “Though I am a monk, humans are not plants, who can be without emotion?”
“I can’t help but worry about my foolish disciple.”
“Benefactor Ye, my first request is that after I pass, you help look after Du’e and Tianlong Temple.”
Ye Qiu nodded, “Of course, even if you hadn’t said it, I would do so.”
“Thank you, Benefactor Ye,” Divine Monk Kongjian said, “My second request is that I wish to see the power of the Six Meridians Divine Sword.”
“Very well.”
Ye Qiu agreed, turned, and walked toward the lower levels of the tower.
