AGM 278 Reverting to Simplicity, Comprehension
After finding out that Bailu Yi was close to Qin Wentian, naturally, Di Cheng would then seek out many members of the White Deer Institute to learn more about his love rival.
The members were all extremely familiar with Qin Wentian and Di Cheng easily discovered that he was a third-ranked Inscriptionist with a cultivation base at the third level of Yuanfu. He didn’t hail from any of the major powers and knew of Bailu Yi only because of their mutual interest in Divine Inscriptions.
Hence, that was the reason for his earlier words. He wanted to knock Qin Wentian off his ‘pedestal’ by putting down Divine Inscriptionists and even claim that it was impossible to fight using Divine Inscriptions during actual combat.
But with his actions, Qin Wentian showed that it wasn’t impossible, and on the contrary, easily dealt with Di Chang.
The Bailu Jing and his father all stared in amazement, their understanding of Qin Wentian’s level of attainment deepened once again. The path of Divine Inscriptions was akin to the path of cultivation in the sense that they were both tremendously difficult to advance in. Moreover, most peak-tier, third-ranked Inscriptionists all already had a headful of white hair. It was extremely uncommon to come across such a young peak-tier, third-ranked Grandmaster that could even effectively use Divine Inscriptions in combat. Qin Wentian was too abnormal.
He would definitely step into the fourth-rank sooner or later, it was merely a matter of time. By then, his status would be completely different.
If he could step into the realms of ordinary fourth-ranked Inscriptionists before the age of twenty, the fame and status he would enjoy wouldn’t lose out to the few names at the top of the Heavenly Fate Rankings. At the very least, such a character hadn’t appeared before in the Moon Continent.
However, to cross from the third-rank to the fourth-rank, it was akin to the difficulty of Yuanfu stepping into Heavenly Dipper. This was a huge watershed, it wasn’t so easy to break through.
But presently, none of them noticed that not far away, there was an elder whose eyes shone with an indescribable emotion when he saw Qin Wentian’s execution of his ability with Divine Inscriptions.
“From now onwards, do not bother Little Yi any longer. You are unworthy of her.” Qin Wentian stared at Di Cheng, his voice matter-of-fact. He was speaking for Bailu Yi on account of their friendship. A beautiful lady like her, in addition to her genteel personality and outstanding talent, her boyfriend would never be at the level of Di Cheng. As he said, Di Cheng was simply unworthy.
Di Cheng’s countenance alternated between shades of green and white. Although he was humiliated by Qin Wentian when they crossed blows, what could he do? In any case, he had already lost his persuasiveness. He was unlikely to convince the Di Clan’s elder to deal with Qin Wentian for him. The purpose of the Di Clan visiting the White Deer Institute was to form a good relationship. How would it look if they saw him persuading an elder to mistreat Qin Wentian, a guest of the Institute? Especially after he had mishandled the situation.
No matter how bitter he was, Di Cheng could only accept this.
And just after Qin Wentian and Bailu Yi took a few steps forward, a chill wind suddenly gusted as yet another silhouette appeared, intercepting them once again.
Upon seeing the face of the person obstructing his way, Qin Wentian’s countenance froze slightly, feeling slightly depressed. What was going on today? First, there was Di Cheng blocking his path and right after him, this aged-looking figure blocked it again. Although Qin Wentian didn't know exactly who this aged figure was, Qin Wentian knew that he had seen this old man before in the Institute. It should be one of the elders.
“Grandpa Tong, is anything the matter?” Bailu Yi faltered slightly as puzzlement shone on her face.
Grandpa Tong was her senior, the same generation as that of her real grandfather. He was one of the nine elders of the White Deer Institute. His words carried considerable weight as a fourth-ranked Divine Inscriptionist in addition to being a Heavenly Dipper Sovereign.
“Little Brother Qin, I wish to borrow something from you.” Bailu Tong’s eyes shone brightly as he stared at Qin Wentian.
Qin Wentian politely replied, “What would Senior like to borrow?”
“The ancient scroll of that Celestial Phenomenon Ascendant.”
As the sound of his voice faded, Qin Wentian’s eyes widened as he involuntarily glanced at Bailu Yi. Did she reveal to Bailu Tong what had happened in the secret realm?
Back then he heard from Bailu Yi that the other transcendent powers made a pact to keep silent, there shouldn’t be anyone else who would know of the events that had transpired within the secret realm.
At this moment, Bailu Yi was stunned as well. She hadn't expected that Bailu Tong would know about this.
The ancient scroll of the Gold-Element Ascendant was a priceless treasure. Qin Wentian lent it to Bailu Yi only because of their closeness, as well as the fact that he trusted her. However, he wasn’t at all familiar with Bailu Tong. Anyone would be angered to have some stranger suddenly come up, randomly asking to borrow a priceless treasure. Qin Wentian was no exception.
Bailu Tong noted the expressions on their faces and instantly understood. It seemed that the ancient scroll really did end up with Qin Wentian.
“I heard Little Brother Qin met with great fortune in the secret realm and obtained the ancient scroll of Divine Inscriptions of that Celestial Ascendant. I would just like to borrow the book to browse through some of the Ascendant’s insights. I’ll return it to Little Brother Qin right after that,” Bailu Tong continued, as a terrifying light flashed past Qin Wentian’s eyes.
What status did Bailu Tong have? And how valuable was the ancient scroll? Blocking his path under the pretext of borrowing the scroll? Bailu Tong was obviously planning to take it for himself.
“Senior must be joking. Junior has such a low cultivation base, how could I even obtain anything of value from that secret realm?” Qin Wentian laughed, looking Bailu Tong in the eye.
Even if Bailu Tong knew that he had the ancient scroll, he wouldn’t go and admit it.
The ancient scroll may be a valuable treasure, but it was also a great source of trouble. Regardless of whether others knew about it or not, Qin Wentian would never admit that he was the one in possession of that ancient scroll.
“Oh? But my sources are reliable.” Bailu Tong similarly stared at Qin Wentian, as a smile appeared on his face.
Valuable treasures would naturally cause feelings of greed to appear in the hearts of men. If Qin Wentian didn’t have such a close relationship with Bailu Yi and wasn’t a guest of the White Deer Institute, Bailu Tong would have already resulted to using force to snatch it.
Plundering and theft weren’t an uncommon thing in this cultivation-oriented world. Strength was everything.
“Senior must have been mistaken.” Qin Wentian continued smiling. He was sure this matter wasn’t divulged by Bailu Yi and Bailu Jing. And even if they had revealed it, Bailu Tong wouldn’t be the first to receive the news.
Since that was the case, it must have been those chosen from the transcendent powers. They intentionally leaked this piece of news out.
“Since that’s the case, will Little Brother Qin allow me to inspect your interspatial ring?” Bailu Tong laughed.
His words were truly too presumptuous.
Who in this world didn’t have secrets? An interspatial ring is one of the most personal items owned by a cultivator. How could one easily allow others to inspect it?
“Grandpa Tong, you forget yourself.” Bailu Yi frowned, although he was her elder, he had gone overboard with his forceful manner of approach.
“Little Yi, this matter has nothing to do with you.” In fact, if it weren’t for her sake, how could he be this polite with Qin Wentian?
“Are you sure this has nothing to do with me?” Bailu Yi replied harshly, her tone filled with sarcasm. Her arms were still linked to Qin Wentian’s.
“You should understand the importance of that Ascendant’s scroll. Now that it’s right in front of me, your Grandpa Tong definitely needs to obtain it.” Bailu Tong stared at Bailu Yi, his tone as grating as chopping nails and slicing iron.
“Bailu Tong, don’t overstep your bounds.”
At this moment, a silhouette walked over. This was none other than the large-eyed elder whom Qin Wentian had met before.
Bailu Tong’s countenance didn’t shift in the slightest when he saw the large-eyed elder. As a Divine Inscriptionist, that ancient scroll of the Ascendant was only a few feet away from him. Such a temptation was irresistible.
“Great Elder.”
“I’ve already said what I wanted to say,” the large-eyed elder coldly berated. “Don’t forget it was Qin Wentian who aided our White Deer Institute in that exchange, enabling us to enter the secret realm.”
“Hmph.” Bailu Tong flicked his sleeves and left. Evidently, he wouldn’t be forgetting this matter any time soon.
“Many thanks to Great Elder.” Qin Wentian respectfully clasped his hands in the direction of the large-eyed elder.
“As a guest of our Institute, it should be us who must apologize for the treatment you’ve just received. I, on behalf of the Institute, still hope that you will forgive us,” the large-eyed elder replied. After which, he shifted his glance to Bailu Yi. “Little Yi, you must take good care of Little Brother Qin, alright?”
“Mhm.” Bailu Yi mumbled, as a tinge of redness appeared on her cheeks before departing with Qin Wentian.
They set off once again to the back mountains. Over there, it was peaceful and quiet, the gentle breeze causing people to have a sense of tranquility.
Qin Wentian sat on the ground and an involuntary smile appeared on his face when he saw Little Rascal nuzzling its head into his chest.
He extended his right arm and as he flicked his left fingers, a beam of sword light flashed past and made a light cut. Soon, droplets of vibrant blood dripped downwards.
“Little Rascal, open your mouth,” Qin Wentian instructed.
“Yiyi ya!” Little Rascal shook its head, an appearance of reluctance appeared in its eye, as though it were angry at Qin Wentian.
“I know you followed me back then because you could sense something in my bloodline calling out to you. I know my blood is useful to your evolution and it doesn’t affect me if I lose a few drops of it, so don’t worry about me.” Qin Wentian lovingly patted its head.
A pouting expression appeared on Little Rascal’s face before it opened its mouth.
“How well-behaved.” Qin Wentian laughed as he proceeded to drip his blood into Little Rascal’s mouth. Moments later, a golden gleam could be seen flashing in its eyes as Little Rascal yawned and ran off, falling asleep to the side.
“There may be people intentionally spreading the news around, are you not worried at all?” Bailu Yi couldn’t help asking when she saw how relaxed Qin Wentian was. Bailu Tong’s actions couldn’t help but cause her to feel pressure.
How would others take this bit of knowledge, if even an elder of her Institute reacted like this?
“Valuable treasures would naturally stir the greed in the hearts of men. Why is there a need to worry? I just have to be stronger than what they can throw at me,” Qin Wentian replied. Bailu Yi nodded, “I agree, each predicament appears incomparably complex but yet, doesn’t simplicity lies on the other side of complexity? Strength can indeed solve everything, but sadly you are still too young, you are not powerful enough as of now.”
“Wait, what did you just say?” Qin Wentian’s eyes suddenly lit up, as he stared at Bailu Yi.
Bewilderment colored her face as Bailu Yi looked back at him. Qin Wentian couldn’t be angry, right? He didn’t seem like someone who would be so easily angered.
“Erm, strength can indeed solve everything, but sadly you are still too young, you are not powerful enough as of now,” Bailu Yi repeated.
“No, what was the sentence before that?” Qin Wentian’s heart was pounding with excitement.
“Each predicament appears incomparably complex but yet, doesn’t simplicity lies on the other side of complexity?” Bailu Yi mumbled. She didn’t know what Qin Wentian was thinking about.
“Yes, that’s it, seemingly incomparably complex, but in fact, simplicity is just on the other side of it.” Qin Wentian drew in a deep breath, as comprehension dawned on his face. He inclined his head slightly, enjoying the feel of that gentle breeze, immersing himself in that pure feeling of enlightenment.
“Going from simplicity to complexity, that’s because one understands the essence of its application. Yet, reverting to simplicity from complexity is the highest level,” Qin Wentian murmured. Bailu Yi’s eyes flickered but she couldn’t understand what Qin Wentian meant.
Qin Wentian squatted down as he slashed a single vertical line in space. This was just an ordinary straight line, yet it clearly contained a surge of hidden energy within it.
Bailu Yi stared at that vertical line in confusion. She still didn’t understand. She walked up to Qin Wentian before squatting down and studying it, channeling a slight bit of Astral Energy into it to observe the changes.
A split-second later, a vast column of sword light exploded forth from the thin air, causing such shock to Bailu Yi that she fell over backward, sitting on the ground. She could only stare at Qin Wentian in amazement when she felt the power the column of sword light contained.
“You broke through…” Bailu Yi’s heart was pounding, her tone was filled with emotion.
“Yeah.” Qin Wentian smiled, as though nothing extraordinary had just happened. The confidence he normally radiated suddenly intensified by several degrees!