Chapter 1165: Chapter 1165: Acting
As expected, Zongming’s avatar quickly said, "I am here to express my stance; do whatever you wish. I will always support any actions you take for the benefit of the Ancient Abyss Sect."
Yang Yan was overjoyed upon hearing this and respectfully said, "Thank you, Master, for fulfilling your disciple’s wishes!"
However, at this moment, Sect Leader Lin An was not in a good state.
The Ancestral Master intentionally showed up just to show support?
It seems this matter cannot be opposed!
Just as expected, Zongming slowly turned his head and said earnestly to Lin An:
"Xiaozzi, remember, short-sightedness and stubborn conservatism will lead to no future. If we wish to strengthen the Ancient Abyss Sect, we must dare to take risks. Since you regard Yang Yan as a beacon of hope, you must support him without reservation!"
With that, Zongming’s avatar gradually disappeared.
Sect Leader Lin An bowed once more towards the direction where Zongming’s avatar vanished, respectfully saying "Farewell, Ancestral Master," and then fell silent.
After a while, he sighed, raised his head, and said to Yang Yan, "Go ahead and do what you need to do!
Moreover, my previous promise still holds."
Yang Yan clasped his fist towards Lin An, "Thank you, Sect Leader!"
Afterward, he went directly from the Teleportation Array at the door to the hall outside.
Upon returning to Butcher Palace, Yang Yan found Guo Guoguo sitting inside the guest room.
Before Yang Yan could ask, Guo Guoguo hurriedly approached him, worriedly asking, "Yang Yan, are you alright? My father... didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?"
After all, the scene of Yang Yan confronting ten late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators is still vivid in her memory.
It was clear that Yang Yan’s battle was not easy.
If not for Elder Dugu, with Golden Core cultivation stepping in, Yang Yan may not have emerged unscathed, perhaps having paid some price.
Yang Yan was a bit puzzled by her question and somewhat dismissively said, "Me? How could anything happen to me!"
Then he mischievously asked, "What’s the matter, Guoguo, are you concerned about me?"
"I’m not concerned about you at all!" Guo Guoguo’s face flushed with anger, as she reached to pinch Yang Yan’s ear.
This time, Yang Yan was quick to dodge, promptly restraining Guo Guoguo’s menacing hand and quickly retreating.
Guo Guoguo massaged her reddened wrist, angrily saying, "I came here to ask you, how did those ten swords train so swiftly?"
"In just a few days, they advanced from the fifth and sixth layers of Qi Cultivation directly to the ninth layer, almost reaching perfection!"
As she spoke, Guo Guoguo’s face flushed with jealousy.
After all, she had only reached the seventh layer of Qi Cultivation in perfection, while the ten swords had exceeded her within days.
"They’re just as monstrous as you!" Guo Guoguo muttered angrily as she pondered more about it.
"You’ve been with them these days. Haven’t you noticed anything?" Yang Yan responded with a smile.
Honestly, he did not know how the ten swords had improved so quickly.
Even if the spiritual power here had increased a hundredfold, the distance between each layer had expanded a hundredfold as well.
The same speed didn’t account for such rapid progress.
"It’s Lingbi." Lin Zimu emerged from the inner room to explain, "I observed your ten swords, and found each of them contains Lingbi."
"Lingbi is a kind of self-imposed limitation formed within cultivators who do not advance their cultivation over time."
"This limitation can obstruct a cultivator’s training, but once broken through, it releases accumulated spiritual power, advancing multiple levels isn’t impossible."
Listening to this explanation, Yang Yan understood the situation.
It’s like a game with returning player rewards; you haven’t trained for some time, so when you log back in, you receive some benefits.
The ten swords must have stumbled upon such an opportunity.
Yet this was a good thing; he didn’t want the gap between them to be too large.
Though surprised, with the ten swords gaining self-protective strength, their plan could proceed more smoothly.
Yang Yan had an in-depth discussion with the sect elders about the ten swords being ambushed during training.
This caused varied reactions among the ten swords.
To prevent similar events, despite their rapid progress, they formed small groups to watch over each other and avoid such occurrences.
After all, being interrupted during training and going astray would be disastrous.
Since the meeting a few days ago, the top three swords under Yang Yan encountered bottlenecks or other issues during cultivation.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t overcome these hurdles.
They even reread the magic technique provided by Yang Yan to confirm no mistakes, and sought his advice.
Fu Changjian tentatively asked, "Lord, according to the technique you taught us, we’ve encountered some difficulties. We hope you can help us."
"Certainly, it’s just that you’re not putting in enough effort. I went through the same experience initially."
Yang Yan, evidently uninterested in being disturbed while training, replied coldly.
"You probably don’t want to genuinely help us, right!"
An unsatisfied Jing Hong couldn’t help but speak up, perturbed by Yang Yan’s response.
Previously, when Jing Hong acted impulsively, Fu Changjian and Sanqian would intervene, but not this time.
They all seemingly agreed it was Yang Yan who wasn’t offering the true guidance.
"It’s probably because you aren’t putting your heart into it. If you can’t overcome minor challenges, how can you grow stronger?"
Yang Yan said with a composed face and ceased paying attention to them, returning to his meditation.
"Impossible! We followed your method exactly, yet advancing is tough. If it’s not your fault, whose fault is it?"
Jing Hong continued bitterly.
Yang Yan ignored him, remaining in his meditative state.
"Lord, since you can’t teach us, we’ll find other ways to train."
Jing Hong, in frustration, left abruptly with a final word.
Fu Changjian and Sanqian hesitated briefly, then followed Jing Hong out.
After they had gone far, Yang Yan slowly opened his eyes and murmured, "Ah, it’s tough leading this group. Hopefully, they will figure it out on their own!"
With a wry smile, Yang Yan closed his eyes again.
Though Yang Yan’s constitution surpassed the others, the effort he put in wasn’t as simple as they imagined.
The top swords among the ten, including Fu Changjian, had arranged to perform a hardship drama with Yang Yan to lure out the big fish.
They wanted to advance faster, higher, stronger along the path of cultivation; when a desire for capability arises, dissatisfaction and jealousy burn within.
This spread of jealousy prompted some forces to stir, creating an opportunity.
Outsiders believed the ship of friendship had already capsized among them.
And perhaps trust among the other swords had already begun to waver!
Not only Fu Changjian’s trio, but others among the swords also privately asked Yang Yan for clarification, with the same response.
The apparent conflict escalated, tensions rose sharply.
In reality, the hardship drama was a success.
While they were quietly waiting for the opportunity.
