[Host has acquired the "Future Vision Dream" setting and gained permission to purchase the Heavenly Fate Eye · Fragment]
Noticing the word "setting," Ye Ling grew thoughtful.
The System had arranged an identity for him in this world, yet it had never explained the details. It only provided a document to prove his identity, along with a Jade Pendant as a token.
A living person like him clearly couldn't have been created out of thin air by the System. On top of that, his clothing was obviously made from high-quality materials, which suggested that the identity assigned to him in this world was far from ordinary.
Unfortunately, he had no clues at the moment. By the time his cultivation truly matured, who knew how many years would have passed? All worldly ties would have long been severed. At worst, he could always fall back on the ultimate solution—claim amnesia and play dumb.
Seeing Ye Ling silent for quite some time, with a contemplative look on his face, Bai Yiyi worried that she might be doubted and quickly changed the subject.
"My dear disciple, so… you dreamed of all of this?"
"No."
Ye Ling answered without hesitation, shaking his head.
Letting the prophetic dream end here was enough. If he kept acting, Bai Yiyi might turn the tables on him.
"My prophetic dream only went as far as meeting you, Master, and entering under your tutelage."
"Then…"
"But Master—"
Having already purchased the Heavenly Fate Eye · Fragment, Ye Ling calmly lied with a straight face.
"When I'm in a combat state, I can see my opponent's actions one second into the future. Against someone at the same realm, I wouldn't dare say I'm invincible, but I definitely won't lose."
Now that the ability was in hand, Ye Ling could spin his story freely.
As for—
"My dear disciple, if you had this ability, why didn't you say so from the beginning?" Bai Yiyi asked.
"Compared to such a trivial ability, my karmic bond with you, Master, was obviously more important to explain first."
Ye Ling's deep, dark eyes were filled with sincerity as he spoke earnestly.
"Master, in my dreams I encountered you countless times. I was long since captivated by your bearing and resolved to become your disciple no matter what."
To be fair, with a Master as cute as Bai Yiyi, who wouldn't want to be her disciple?
Faced with Ye Ling's heartfelt onslaught, Bai Yiyi sensed that something wasn't quite right, but the moment she met his gaze, her resistance collapsed.
She turned slightly to the side, her jade-like hand shyly twirling a lock of hair at her forehead. Her legs pressed together unconsciously as her face flushed red.
"I… I'm really not that amazing~"
Yet the crescent-moon curve of her smile completely betrayed how pleased she actually was.
After indulging in her vanity for a moment, she forced herself to calm down and asked,
"But my dear disciple, can you really break through to the Foundation Establishment stage overnight? There won't be any problems, right? If it damages your foundation, it wouldn't be worth it."
Seeing how concerned Bai Yiyi was for him, Ye Ling suppressed the warmth in his heart and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, Master. If I didn't have absolute confidence, I wouldn't have agreed to the duel so easily."
Ye Ling's Qi Cultivation stage was fundamentally different from that of others. His realm was solid and genuine, without the slightest bit of falsehood.
For Ye Ling, "Deconstruct Difficulty" was truly a divine skill. Not only did it eliminate bottlenecks during cultivation, but more importantly, it ensured that every realm he cultivated reached a state of true perfection.
Other cultivators might leave gaps in their realms, but as long as Ye Ling himself didn't slack off, the realms he cultivated would be flawless, without even a trace of imperfection.
Ordinary cultivators didn't develop flaws because they were lazy, but because they were unable to subdivide a realm to its finest components. No matter how exquisite their cultivation methods or how talented they were, imperfections would inevitably appear here or there. Humans weren't machines—mistakes were unavoidable.
Descriptions in cultivation methods always depicted ideal outcomes. But when Ye Ling cultivated, whatever effect the method claimed to achieve, he could achieve it. It was practically a bug.
In fact, cultivators throughout history had been searching for ways to reach a perfect realm.
There was once an ancient ascetic cultivator who created the Reforging Method.
After cultivating a realm once, he would cultivate it all over again. Only when he could no longer recast that realm would he advance to the next stage.
Yet even such a nearly self-torturous method still couldn't compare to Ye Ling achieving perfection in a single cultivation cycle. After all, even reforging didn't guarantee true perfection. In the end, it still depended on one's talent.
Compared to cultivators at the same level, Ye Ling was frighteningly strong. And the higher his cultivation rose, the wider the gap between him and his peers would become.
Unless someone was extraordinarily gifted or cultivated an exceptionally profound technique, they wouldn't even qualify to stand on the same stage as him.
Compare realms? I'm perfectly complete at my level.
Compare abilities? I can foresee your next move.
Ye Ling couldn't see what he had to fear. He wouldn't claim certain victory, but placing himself in an unbeatable position was well within reach.
Even if Leng Qingqiu used a magic artifact, Ye Ling didn't believe his high-grade Spirit Artifact, the Small Formless Sword, would be inferior. It wasn't as if Leng Qingqiu could just pull out a Dao Artifact.
And if things really reached that point, Bai Yiyi would step in.
After all, tomorrow's duel was meant to test personal strength, not random variables like magic artifacts. Otherwise, if Envoys were allowed to bring several Spirit Artifacts, small sects without deep foundations wouldn't stand a chance at all.
So although Ye Ling seemed to agree casually, he had already considered every factor.
But even without all that, there was one thing he would never allow.
No one was going to bully Bai Yiyi in front of him. Even if he couldn't win, he would still fight.
This Master of his could only be tricked by him. Outsiders didn't even get the right to try.
Staring…
Bai Yiyi looked at Ye Ling for a long moment before finally speaking.
"Since my dear disciple has said this much, then of course I trust you. But you mustn't push yourself too hard. When facing an absolutely overwhelming enemy, admitting defeat is the right choice…"
She suddenly paused halfway, as if recalling something, then continued,
"In the cultivation world, those who live the longest are never the reckless, hot-blooded types. They are the ones who cultivate quietly, accumulating strength until it finally erupts."
"Master, that was something Grandmaster told you, wasn't it?"
Ye Ling asked quietly, his gaze calm and distant.
"Eh? Ah! Ah… yes."
Bai Yiyi tried to struggle for a moment, but under Ye Ling's look that clearly said I see right through you, she could only admit it helplessly.
Even so, she insisted,
"But those words really do make sense. My dear disciple, you must remember them."
Of course they make sense. If even someone as forgetful as you can remember them, how could they not?
Ye Ling naturally understood the wisdom of keeping a low profile. Otherwise, he wouldn't be planning to wait until his cultivation was complete before going down the mountain.
But there were some things he had to do.
This time, he was determined to leave an extremely deep impression on Leng Qingqiu.