{I had to think alot about this chapter (it was going to be longer and about the process of inheritance, meaning dual cultivation, but I'm not in the mood to write a full blown sm*t for now) Also, I decided to change a few plotlines that I had planned, trying to make the next few events go faster. If everything goes according to plan, the story might just stray away from the canon events entirely for sometime.}
Su Yan parted her soft, cherry lips to answer Wang Feng's question.
Her response?
As the Lead Disciple of High Heaven Pavilion, a 2nd Class Force — Though officially ranked as 2nd Class, High Heaven Pavilion's current strength, considering figures like Ling Taixu and Meng Wu Ya, could rival the elite 1st Class Forces of the world — Su Yan had access to knowledge and insight far beyond most cultivators.
In her understanding, the pinnacle of cultivation was the Above Immortal Ascension Realm.
That realm alone defined the peak of humanity's strength in the current age.
But just as she was about to say this out loud—she hesitated.
Her gaze involuntarily shifted… toward the two orbs suspended in the void, slowly rotating with unfathomable grace. Each orb radiated an aura far beyond what she could comprehend—ancient, noble, and filled with a mysticism that transcended worldly logic.
'Is 'Above Immortal Ascension Realm'... truly the peak?', the thought lingered like a shadow in her mind.
The more she observed those two orbs, the more uncertain she became. Their very presence exuded a grandeur and weight of existence that made even the loftiest human achievements feel shallow.
She reflected on everything that had happened since the appearance of the secret realm—the unnatural phenomena, the inexplicable pressure, the strange laws and broken logic that pervaded the space.
She began listing, in her mind, all the things she had witnessed here—one after another—that not even a cultivator at the Above Immortal Ascension Realm could explain, let alone replicate.
The list kept growing.
Her certainty kept crumbling.
Inwardly, she sighed.
When her eyes met Wang Feng's again, she found him already watching her—his gaze calm, but within it, a flicker of anticipation... no, satisfaction. As if he had foreseen her doubt and waited for her to reach the conclusion herself.
"...I don't know," she whispered, her voice barely above a murmur—yet those words felt louder than thunder in the silence that followed.
She stared into his eyes, and in them, she saw only the quiet gleam of a man who had seen further, and was now watching others catch up to the truth he already grasped.
Wang Feng calmly turned his gaze back to the orbs, his voice quiet, almost distant.
"Yeah… after all, no one truly knows what the actual peak is."
He exhaled softly, a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of long-forgotten truths.
"But…"
Su Yan blinked in surprise, her attention sharpening.
"What I can tell you is this—" he paused, his tone steady, "—cultivation from the Tempering Body Realm to the Immortal Ascension Realm is merely a process of a martial artist gradually unlocking the potential already dormant within their body."
Su Yan furrowed her brows, visibly puzzled. Her expression turned contemplative, but before she could question him, Wang Feng continued—his voice low, yet filled with quiet certainty.
"The true cultivation begins only after breaking through the Immortal Ascension Realm. From that moment on… each step forward is no longer just strength—it is transformation. A fundamental change in the very essence of what you are."
Su Yan's breath caught in her throat. She listened, unmoving, her mind whirling as his words rippled through her like waves on still water. Everything she had believed, studied, and strived for—was it just the beginning?
She tried to gather her thoughts, but Wang Feng's next words shattered what little focus she had left.
"A single cultivator at the next realm beyond Immortal Ascension can effortlessly kill dozens below that level," Wang Feng said calmly. "And above that? A single being could dominate—or even destroy—a world like ours, without facing any resistance."
He glanced at the two floating orbs, his gaze solemn. "At the known peak… no one in this world can even fathom the power a being might hold."
Su Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Wang Feng's voice firmed as he turned to her. "—And those two orbs? They are the Source… of two such beings. Beings who once stood at the very peak of existence."
Su Yan's entire body trembled. She leapt to her feet, her eyes fixed on the two glowing orbs, their mystic light reflected in her dilated pupils. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest as she gulped unconsciously, trying to steady herself.
She wanted to refute him. But something in her — along with all of Wang Feng's previous predictions — she was curtain of one thing by now: what Wang Feng said was most probably true.
Wang Feng observed her reaction and chuckled quietly. Then, he fell silent, letting her process everything.
After a few long breaths, Su Yan turned back to him. Her voice, usually cool and controlled, cracked with emotion.
"If… If we accept the inheritance… could we reach the same heights as those two beings?"
Wang Feng paused, meeting her gaze. He nodded—then laughed and slowly shook his head.
"What's the point of that?" he said, his tone quiet but laced with irony. "Didn't those two beings end up like this?"
He gestured toward the floating orbs. His eyes didn't waver.
Su Yan opened her mouth to say something — but stopped. She looked back at the orbs, her lips trembling. She couldn't refute his words. Not with what stood before her.
Her racing heart began to settle, but a faint tremor still lingered in her chest.
"So… you want to give up on it?" she asked, almost scoffing at the absurdity, her brows knitting slightly.
Wang Feng chuckled, the sound rich with amusement. "No. Of course not," he said, his eyes reflecting the swirling lights of the orbs. "What I want… isn't to reach the same level as those two beings—"
He paused, his voice turning resolute.
"—What I want is to surpass them. To go beyond the peak."
Su Yan's eyes widened again, stunned into silence.
Surpass them?
Didn't he just say those beings stood at the very pinnacle of existence?
She had thought the Immortal Ascension Realm was already the apex… and now, he claimed the beings above even that weren't the end?
Her thoughts swirled in chaos, but amidst that, a tiny flame ignited. A spark of ambition, impossible to extinguish once lit.
A hesitant breath left her lips. "And… how do you intend to do that?" she asked, her icy voice barely above a whisper. It trembled—partly from doubt, partly from hope.
Wang Feng smiled. Calm, confident, and steady.
He took slow steps toward her, each one echoing softly across the void-like space.
Stopping just a few inches away, he leaned slightly forward, hands clasped behind his back. His gaze locked onto hers—sharp, burning, yet playfully mysterious.
"I have my ways~" he said, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
His voice dropped slightly, low and smooth, almost like a whisper meant only for her.
His eyes bored into hers with quiet intensity.
"Do you want to learn~?"
Su Yan's breath caught. The words, the tone, the look—everything stirred something deep within her.
And for a brief moment… the two stood silently under the gaze of the floating orbs—one holding secrets, the other, a storm of desire and curiosity.
After what felt like hours, Su Yan let out a shaky breath and looked away from Wang Feng's deep eyes. Quite curiously, she didn't pull back.
Before, she didn't like someone in her personal space. But even when Wang Feng was so close to her, she didn't feel the slightest but uncomfortable. Which made her confused since this was the first time she was feeling like this.
She looked at him and asked, "why would you want to teach me?", her voice was low, a bare whisper.
Wang Feng blinked before he chuckled and said, "oh~? You still want me to say it?", he said as he leaned back and stood straight. He took a step forward and now stood less than 2-3 inches away.
Looking down into her eyes, he whispered in a stretched out voice, "isn't it clear..", he leaned forward, his face an inch away from her, making a bluch appear on her cheeks, her hands clinching as she looked up at him.
"I like you~~"
Su Yan shivered intensely, her face flushed as she tried to push herself back.
But—
Wang Feng didn't let her. His hand shot out and grabbed a hold of her right wrist with his left hand and pulled her towards him, his right hand wrapping around her waist, holding her.
He looked at her as she glared at him fiercely while struggling, "let me go!", she spoke coldly, but he felt no real strength in her body. Wang Feng smiled and did the opposite.
He tightened his hold—
"— you know, you can break out of my hold if you really tried~", his words were low, making her skin crawl with goosebumps. The words making her realize how she hadn't used real strength to pull away — which she previously would have done without a thought.
Her face burned even more as she grinded her teeth, her heart trembling as she felt Wang Feng's body heat through their clothes.
Wang Feng smiled and let go of her, seeing as she looked at him while taking two steps back, her face flushed, chest slightly heaving from her deep breathing.
Wang Feng coughed and suddenly spoke in a serious voice, ignoring her aggrivated look.
"well actually, the thing is... This inheritance actually belongs to two beings that had been married... So..."
Su Yan froze — her breath hitched, her eyes widened and her body stiffened briefly — guessing what Wang Feng was getting at.
She looked him in the eye — myriad emotions swimming across her eyes. "So, you mean... Whoever accepts this inheritance... Would be bound in marriage?", she asked in a low voice.
"Most likely...", Wang Feng nodded slowly, making Su Yan fall into deep thinking.
A moment of silence passed through which Wang Feng constantly thought of how to approach the talk of Su Yan shifting to the new cultivation path.
Su Yan suddenly let out a long, steady breath and looked at him, her emotions turning back to normal after the short interval.
She suddenly asked, "The 'way' you were talking about... What is it?"
Wang Feng blinked, he hadn't expected Su Yan to inquire about this directly. He shook his head and just looked at her for a few seconds before he asked, "why do you think my power has been so much higher than those of the same realm?"
Su Yan frowned and thought about this. Her face tilted slightly, her brows knitted.
Wang Feng didn't wait for her too much and said, "it is because ... I found a different way to the peak.", his words made Su Yan's bewilderment deepen, after all Wang Feng's words were vague.
Wang Feng then looked at her and started telling her the same story he had told Xia Ning Chang and Meng Wu Ya.
The more Su Yan heard, the more she was shocked and awed, her breath rapid as she took in all the 'dream' that Wang Feng was telling her about.
"—because of that, I want you to cultivate the new path with me.", Wang Feng finished as he extended his hand towards her, "do you trust me enough to walk along with me?"
Su Yan stood frozen at Wang Feng's proposal. Her eyes looking into his, as if trying to see through his soul, her heart beating rapidly, her feelings a tangled mess of doubt, awe, shock, trust ... And something she was too afraid to admit.
A few seconds passed during which, Su Yan just stood there, making Wang Feng feel uncertain and nervous as well.
'was I too hasty...', he wondered as he felt a cord stuck in his throat, making him close his eyes.
After what felt like an eternity, Su Yan slowly raised her soft and small hand and clasped onto Wang Feng's much bigger hand.
"I...I will...", Su Yan voice sounded in Wang Feng's ears, making his eyes to flutter open, looking at her. Su Yan's voice was cold like it usually was, but it now held a certain softness and allure.