The So-called Genius

Ye Wangchuan finished gathering the spoils of battle and prepared to leave with Li Luo.

At this moment, Li Luo.

[Ding, congratulations to the host for defeating an early-stage fourth-level enemy. Additional rewards for defeating a higher-level opponent: Villain Emotion Points +2000.]

[Ding, the host's companion has obtained a massive amount of rare treasures, worth 400 gold. Villain Emotion Points +4000.]

[Current remaining: 7100 points.]

Li Luo, who had just broken through to the second level, watched as these Villain Emotion Points poured in and couldn't help but smile.

Perfect timing. He could use these points to boost his cultivation when he got back.

……

……

On Spirit Mountain.

"Hu~ Hu~"

Fang Que lay sprawled on a recliner, snoring loudly.

Near the entrance to the cave realm, a dense crowd of people pressed together.

It was as if they were parents waiting for their children to finish school.

Just moments ago, some people had emerged early after handing over rare treasures to Guo Duan.

Naturally, these individuals shared the news about a fourth-level demonic cultivator blocking the entrance.

This undoubtedly added a layer of worry to the faces of those waiting for their disciples.

Near the exit, by a lakeside.

"Heh, hooked!"

Ye Zhentian, wearing a tattered straw hat, suddenly stood up and forcefully yanked his worn-out fishing rod.

In the next second, a tattered shoe hanging from the hook was flung into the air.

"Hahahaha!"

Beside him, Old Man Liu pointed at the shoe on the fishing rod, laughing so hard he clutched his stomach.

Ye Zhentian immediately grabbed the shoe and pretended to shove it into Old Man Liu's mouth.

This caused Old Man Liu to let out a sharp, panicked scream.

Nearby, Old Man Li watched the scene with a look of exasperation.

"Everyone's saying there's a fourth-level demonic cultivator blocking the entrance. Aren't you two worried about the kids getting into trouble?"

As soon as Old Man Li spoke,

Ye Zhentian and Old Man Liu, who still had the shoe in his mouth, turned their heads.

Both of them wore expressions of confusion.

Old Man Liu: "Pah! What's there to worry about?"

Ye Zhentian: "What's there to worry about?"

Old Man Liu: "Old Li, if you're so worried, why don't you just tear through the void and go inside to check?"

Ye Zhentian: "Eh, Ye Wangchuan still has the token I gave him. If something really happens, he'll let me know. I can just tear through the void and go in then."

Old Man Liu: "Exactly."

Old Man Li, whose cultivation was too low to tear through the void and enter the cave realm: "..."

Just as the group was pondering this,

"Liu Han! It's Liu Han, the young master of the Liu family!"

"Liu Han? Didn't he just awaken his potential? How is he already at the early stage of the first level?!"

"What terrifying cultivation speed! Who knows what kind of great opportunities lie within the cave realm!"

As the crowd buzzed with excitement,

Old Man Liu slowly walked up to Liu Han.

He examined Liu Han for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

"Not bad. Breaking through to the early stage of the first level in just two months—I'm very proud of you."

"Father, you flatter me. My cultivation is still far behind Brother Ye's!"

Liu Han replied modestly.

Old Man Liu chuckled, unfazed.

"It's fine. I don't need you to compare yourself to others. Just focus on surpassing your own limits. Besides, reaching the early stage of the first level in two months is already faster than I was when I was young!"

Old Man Liu's words deeply moved Liu Han.

At that moment,

"Ye Wangchuan, are you going for a walk tonight?"

"Not tonight. I have something to do."

At the exit, Ye Wangchuan walked out, pulling Li Luo along with him.

To avoid drawing too much attention, Ye Wangchuan had his puppet maintain the form of a spear.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd with sharp senses exclaimed in shock,

"Holy—! Young Master Ye went from the early stage of the second level to the mid-stage of the third level!!"

"Wait, what? From what to what?"

"Damn! That girl from the Li family is also at the early stage of the second level!"

"Oh my god!"

The crowd instantly swarmed toward them.

As for Liu Han, who had just been the center of attention,

No one cared anymore.

After all, jumping from the early stage of the second level to the mid-stage of the third level was far more shocking than an ordinary person reaching the early stage of the first level.

Liu Han: "..."

Old Man Liu: "..."

Liu Han: "Father, I'm going to go cultivate."

Old Man Liu: "Eh? Don't you want to rest for a bit?"

Liu Han ignored his father's words and instead found a secluded corner to start practicing his sword techniques.

Seeing this, Old Man Liu could only sigh helplessly.

"This silly child. His talent is already monstrous, but because Ye Wangchuan and Li Luo are even more monstrous, he's losing confidence. This isn't good..."

……

……

"Yeah, that's right. Exactly."

"That fourth-level demonic cultivator was killed by me and Li Luo together. That's all."

"How did we kill him? I forgot."

In the crowd,

Ye Wangchuan continued to brush off the questions from those around him.

When Ye Zhentian and Old Man Li came over to see what was going on,

Ye Wangchuan decisively said, "Father, take me back to the Ye family first. We can talk about the details later."

"Alright."

Ye Zhentian also had no interest in discussing matters in front of such a large crowd.

With a wave of his hand, he and Ye Wangchuan instantly disappeared from sight.

When they reappeared, they were already at the Ye family estate.

As for Li Luo, Ye Zhentian chose not to bring her along, leaving her for Old Man Li to handle.

"Whew~"

Ye Wangchuan let out a long breath, pulled out a chair, and sat down, casually recounting his experiences in the cave realm to Ye Zhentian.

He then took out two spatial rings.

One of the rings was looted from Murong, and the other from Guo Duan.

Inside were rare treasures, divine weapons, precious ornaments, and demonic cultivation manuals—things Ye Wangchuan didn't need.

The Ye family would know how to make use of these items.

As for the things that were useful to Ye Wangchuan, they were stored in his own spatial ring.

"Mm, good job."

Ye Zhentian nodded, his expression calm and unsurprised.

"Then I'll go see the Second Elder now."

Seeing that his father had nothing else to say, Ye Wangchuan got up and left.

As soon as Ye Wangchuan was out of the room,

"Good! That's my son! Reaching the mid-stage of the third level in two months and even killing a fourth-level opponent! He's got some of my old flair! Hahaha!!!"

Ye Zhentian leaned back in his chair, laughing heartily.

What could be more satisfying than having a genius for a son?

He immediately decided to go fishing for a big catch to celebrate!

……

……

At the Ye family's forging room.

Ye Wangchuan arrived at the door and knocked.

"Second Elder."

"It's Wangchuan! Come in!"

A spirited female voice called out.

Ye Wangchuan pushed the door open and was immediately hit by a wave of heat.

Bang—!

Bang—!

Inside the forging room,

A heroic-looking woman, drenched in sweat, swung a massive hammer, striking down repeatedly.

Below her, a sword glowed golden under the heat of divine flames.

She was the Ye family's Second Elder, a master of artifact forging.