My Swordsmanship Has No Upper Limit

"An Earth-level Top-grade Treasure."

"*Cough, cough...*"

When the resource Yi Yunya requested was announced, Yi Qing stopped drinking her tea. Then, she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"You’re requesting resources, not making a wish. Forget about now—even if you actually became a Steward of the Golden Jade Tower and shattered your jade, you still wouldn’t be qualified to ask for something like this."

Yi Yunya pressed, "If top grade is out, then what about high grade? That should be possible, right?"

"..." Shaking her head speechlessly, Yi Qing said with resignation, "Yunya, you’re asking for a rare Exotic Treasure, something born by chance from the Power of Heaven and Earth. This isn’t ordinary Spirit Materials or a Magical Artifact. If it were the latter, I’d give it to you right now."

"But for a treasure, you’re only qualified to request an Earth-Level Lower Grade one."

Upon hearing this, Yi Yunya’s face fell with clear disappointment.

However, she didn’t lower her request.

To prove her worth, the resolute young woman gritted her teeth and made a decision.

"Auntie, my father still has a balance of Merit Points in the Golden Jade Tower, doesn’t he? If I use the resources from shattering my jade, plus those Merit Points, can I exchange them for a High-grade Earth-level Treasure?"

"..."

Yi Yunya’s words made Yi Qing’s hand pause. Then, she frowned deeply and asked, "Yunya, are you sure you want to do this?"

"The Merit Points your father left you were for you to exchange for resources during your Foundation Establishment. If you use them now and the person you’re investing in fails, your entire cultivation path will be cut short."

The severe consequences of this decision did make Yi Yunya hesitate for a moment, but she quickly firmed her tone. "Thank you for the warning, Auntie. But I’m prepared for the outcome. Besides, I trust my own judgment."

Seeing that Yi Yunya understood everything and still made this decision, Yi Qing sighed and didn’t try to persuade her further.

"I hope you won’t regret this later."

After murmuring this under her breath, her expression turned solemn. "I understand your request. In my capacity as Vice Tower Lord of the Golden Jade Tower and an Elder of the Yi Family, I approve your application."

But Yi Qing wasn’t finished. Her expression grew colder and colder.

"You can go to the Golden Jade Tower’s Treasure Vault to retrieve what you asked for tomorrow."

"But remember, everything comes at a price."

"The item you’ve requested is of very high quality. Therefore, the Yi Family’s expectations of you will also be very high."

"You must become a Steward by the end of the month. Furthermore, you must become a Jade-level Steward within a year. If you fail, be prepared for punishment."

With that, she stood up, ready to handle the procedure for Yi Yunya to shatter her jade.

However, as she reached the door, she seemed to remember something. She turned back to Yi Yunya and said, "Oh, right. I’ll leave the Evil Flood Dragon True Intent Map for you. Its three uses will all be yours."

This made Yi Yunya smile. "Thank you, Auntie."

"You’re thanking me too soon. If you fail the trials that come after shattering your jade, you’ll have plenty of reason to cry."

...

After Yi Qing left, only a group of young men and women from the Yi Family remained in the room.

At this moment, everyone turned to look at Yi Yunyan with strange expressions.

Even Yi Yunyan herself could no longer be bothered with the matter of the Evil Flood Dragon Walking Water Map.

After staring quietly at Yi Yunya for a moment, she couldn’t help but speak. "Seventh Sister, aren’t you afraid of losing everything by making such a huge gamble?"

"Hehe, Fourth Sister, thank you for your concern. But I have confidence in myself, and in my senior brother."

With one last glance at the people in the room, a relaxed and cheerful Yi Yunya left.

But even after she was gone, the people in the room continued to discuss her.

"What on earth did that senior brother of hers do to make her so confident?"

"Shattering one’s jade... How many years has it been since anyone’s done that?"

Some were puzzled and curious.

Others couldn’t help but snort coldly, Yi Yunyan being one of them. "Whatever her plans are, she won’t get what she wants this time. The person she’s investing in is no match for Young Master Ye Cheng."

Yi Yunyan had great confidence in Ye Cheng.

And the other youths of the Yi Family were also very confident in the people they were backing.

Yi Yunhai: "The Steward position is mine this time."

Yi Shan: "My apologies, Seventh Sister. I have no intention of being your enemy, but the contest for succession has always been like this. Don’t blame me."

...

The position of Steward was very important to the current generation of Yi Family youths.

Cultivation has a saying about building a strong foundation for future success, and another that says being one step ahead keeps you ahead in every step that follows.

If they secured the Steward position now, they could wield more power in the Golden Jade Tower and acquire more resources.

After using those resources to increase their strength and recruit more talent, they could compete for even better positions.

This kind of snowball effect meant that anyone who fell a step behind could be permanently suppressed by those ahead of them.

Under these circumstances, the competition for the Steward position was incredibly fierce.

Meanwhile, because of Yi Yunya’s move to shatter her jade, many Yi Family youths now saw her as their primary enemy, and some were even preparing to team up against her.

"Yunhai, Yi Shan, let’s join forces. Although I don’t think that so-called Zhong Ming is any match for Young Master Ye Cheng, the fact that Yi Yunya dared to make such a big gamble means something strange is going on."

"Agreed."

"Then let’s eliminate her from the running first."

...

While some formed alliances, another group of Yi Family youths left the room to find Yi Yunya.

—The youths of the Yi Family all received support from the family, but the level of support they received differed based on their Talent and background.

Yi Yunya, Yi Yunyan, Yi Yunhai, and Yi Shan... they all called Yi Qing "Auntie" and were already prospective candidates for the Steward position at this stage, which meant the support they received was actually very high.

The resources and Talent of the other Yi Family youths were far inferior to theirs.

This made those youths give up any thought of competing with the main group.

Unable to compete, some of the Yi Family youths chose to bide their time, while others sought to align themselves with one of the main contenders.

The saying "when one person achieves the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven" also held true in the Yi Family.

If the person they followed became a Director or even the Vice Tower Lord, then as founding followers, they too could obtain high positions in the Golden Jade Tower.

It was a shortcut, in a way.

Yi Yunya had dared to make such a wager, and afterward, her demeanor wasn’t fearful or anxious, but relaxed and cheerful. This made many of the Yi Family youths believe she could actually win.

Under these circumstances, it was only natural that some would want to pledge their allegiance to her.

Yi Yunya accepted them all.

If one wanted to become a Director of the Golden Jade Tower, or even a Vice Tower Lord, they couldn’t fight alone. The support of other Yi Family disciples was also crucial.

Not to mention, after these people pledged their support, she could also gather some resources from her ’brothers and sisters’ to help cultivate Zhong Ming. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

...

Having learned of Zhong Ming’s situation, one chose to wait and see, while the other chose to bet everything on him.

Of all this, Zhong Ming was still completely unaware.

At this moment, he was lying on his back in a bamboo forest, watching the clouds unfurl and the Sun set in the west while massaging his head.

’Mind Reading is incredibly useful. Every time I activate it, I become a genius of comprehension, able to truly feel the rhythm of the flow of all things in nature.’

’With it, I can gain three to five hundred experience points for my Cultivation Technique in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.’

’Unfortunately, it’s just too mentally draining.’

’With my current Divine Soul Power, activating Mind Reading three or four times completely drains my Heart Soul power.’

’Sigh, my weak Divine Soul keeps me from unleashing the full potential of this ability.’

As he thought about this, Zhong Ming tried to make the best of it by indulging in a fantasy. ’If only there were some treasure that could amplify or restore my Heart Soul power.’

’Then, the progress of my Cultivation Technique would at least double.’

’And with such an incredible cultivation speed, I’d even have a chance to fight for first place in the Seven Peaks Grand Competition at the end of the month.’

Of course, Zhong Ming knew that a fantasy was just a fantasy, and reality was another matter entirely.

Miracles like pies falling from the sky weren’t going to happen to him.

So, he quickly cast aside this idle fantasy and closed his eyes, resting while listening to the sounds of the wind and flowing water.

Thanks to his Heaven Rewards Diligence trait, Zhong Ming could still gain Skill Level for his Cultivation Technique even without using Mind Reading.

He didn’t even need to open his eyes to look.

By listening with his ears and feeling with his heart, he could still perceive the rhythm in the flow of all things in nature.

With his eyes closed, his brain didn’t have to process so much useless information, which also freed his imagination. This tranquil state of perception was even more effective than staring with his eyes wide open.

[You have listened to the sound of flowing water and gained a slight insight into Flowing. Progress for your Spirit Stream Finger · Jie Technique +3]

[You have listened to the sound of wind rustling the fallen leaves and gained a slight insight into Flowing. Progress for your Spirit Stream Finger · Jie Technique +4]

[You...]

Time passed quickly in this tranquil state.

Soon, the Sun had completely set, and the moon slowly began to rise.

Seeing the sky grow dark, Zhong Ming... had no intention of going back.

Using the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed, he lay in the midst of nature, quietly feeling the influence of the sun and moon’s passing on the world. He watched the countless stars as they flowed across the boundless night sky.

’It’s not just the world... the universe itself is also in motion, always flowing...’

[You have observed the revolution of the sun, moon, and stars and gained a new insight into Flowing. Progress for your Spirit Stream Finger · Jie Technique +102]