Chapter 684: Chapter 206: The Diverging Paths of Fourth Grade Cultivation, the Temptation of the Wolf Mother
What his younger brother could do, why couldn’t he?
But the fact proved that breaking through the Fourth Grade wasn’t so easy.
And he was simply not a match for the Barbarian King.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t defeat that thirteen-year-old brother of his.
Li Ping’an arrived at the camp gate, gazing at the distant firelight. He didn’t move forward but sighed and turned away... Today, he didn’t want to go home; he wanted to wander around.
He walked for two days and two nights, arriving at the "Eternal Night Line," or "World Boundary," mentioned by Li Yuan, and then stopped, leaning against a large rock and sighing.
After a while, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"A true man, why sigh?"
Li Ping’an abruptly jumped up.
Because he hadn’t sensed anyone approaching at all.
"Who are you?"
He looked warily at the newcomer.
It was a gentle man wearing a wreath on his head and holding a Li Staff.
His face bore a smile as comforting as a spring breeze, making it hard for anyone to harbor hostility towards him.
"My name is Su Mushen," the gentle man said openly, "I only showed myself because I heard someone sighing."
He seemed somewhat intimidated by the Western Pole Permafrost, so he only wandered outside and never ventured in.
He was indeed patient, waiting for a year without the slightest concern.
Li Ping’an examined the wreath-wearing man and suddenly said, "You are strong; do you want to fight me?"
His eyes were filled with fighting spirit.
He didn’t believe in this evil!
He couldn’t defeat his father, couldn’t defeat his brother, but could he not even beat a randomly appearing stranger?
He, Li Ping’an, wanted to regain confidence and start anew!
As for how the other person could approach silently, it was probably just because he excelled in body skill.
Su Mushen smiled and said, "You cannot beat me."
"Oh? So confident?"
Li Ping’an smiled, slung the Long Blade over his shoulder, cocked his head arrogantly, and said, "I, Uncle Li, am the best with the blade in the world."
Su Mushen said, "So impressive? Then...let me give it a try."
Li Ping’an raised his eyebrows and said, "You first. I suppose your weapon is that Li Staff in your hand?"
Su Mushen looked around, picked up a small twig the length of a finger from the ground, and said, "This... should be enough."
Li Ping’an was taken aback, and in a burst of anger, several "Li Ping’an"s immediately split off and charged at Su Mushen, who lifted that small twig and casually tapped and knocked.
Each of his taps gave Li Ping’an the feeling that he was about to capsize amidst raging waves.
After dozens of beats, Li Ping’an stopped, panting as he looked at him, his expression growing more severe.
"Who...exactly are you?"
The gentle man said, "Su Mushen."
After speaking, he paused and added, "Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the one who has been watching you for a long time, whom you couldn’t find no matter what.
I’ve been watching you because the same blood flows in both of us, but unfortunately, you have been cultivating the wrong Dharma Gate."
He shook his head gently.
Then, lightly leaning on his staff, a garden of ancient giants suddenly emerged all around.
One moment it was a barren land, and in the next, it had turned into a garden.
Li Ping’an stood in the garden, his eyes wide open, because... he had realized that this garden was truly terrifying, to the extent that even a single blade of grass was stronger than him.
And in this garden, there were not just hundreds or thousands of blades of grass?
For a moment, an overwhelming sense of despondency, an unprecedented blow, shrouded his heart.
His standing in his self-perception also rapidly diminished from the original "couldn’t beat only his father and brother" to "turns out I am truly a useless person"...
He sat despondently on the ground, his blade clinking as it dropped beside him, and looked up, lost amidst this abrupt green ocean.
Su Mushen approached him and said, "Without our bloodline, even if one cultivates to the utmost, they will halt at the Third Grade.
But you...are different from them.
Come, Ping’an, let me teach you some real power and take you to see some real landscapes."
"I don’t trust you," Li Ping’an said hoarsely.
Su Mushen said, "If I wanted to kill you, it would be easy.
I could have acted even a dozen years ago.
I haven’t killed you; I’ve merely observed you quietly.
My actions should at least allow you to take the first step towards trust."
Li Ping’an said, "Why didn’t you show up before, and why appear suddenly now?"
Su Mushen said, "The world is changing dramatically. I... just don’t want a being with the same blood as me to die so easily."
After speaking, he looked at the despondent Li Ping’an and asked, "Do you want to learn?
My lineage is the Path of the Human Soul.
Fourth Grade is easy to enter.
Third Grade is where the true fork in the road lies.
Without guidance, one will not enter, no matter what."
Li Ping’an raised his head in surprise, looking dazedly at the wreath man in front of him, exclaiming, "You are Third Grade?"
Su Mushen smiled, "Yes, I am."
The vigilance suddenly arising in Li Ping’an’s eyes did not escape his notice.
Su Mushen continued, "Maybe you, or even your family, misunderstand me, thinking I am some kind of mastermind behind the scenes.
But that’s not the truth. I just want to do something for this world, to prevent it from becoming an eternally setting sun, never to rise again.
Sometimes, to make the world better, to make humanity better, one has to do things that seem wrong or even cruel to ordinary people.
You don’t understand me now because you haven’t tried to understand.
But now I teach you power, you... will gradually understand."
Li Ping’an warily said, "What if I don’t understand?"
Su Mushen said, "It doesn’t matter. At least having one more strong person in the world also brings one more hope."
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