I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Having read the script, Ye Yong merely smiled and said nothing. After all, bluster was a form of strength, one that could command greater respect and fear from the outside world.

The bamboo grove was too far from the periphery, and he had no idea if the old turtle was currently in slumber. Ye Yong began to ponder how he might catch the old turtle’s attention.

—

56 The Porter

Seeing Ye Yong gazing into the distance, lost in thought, Zhou Yunqi did not disturb him. After a while, Ye Yong suddenly turned to her and said, “Sister Yunqi, I have a question for you. Among the creatures we commonly see, which one lives the longest?”

Zhou Yunqi pondered for a moment. “It should be the turtle, right?”

“How long can an ordinary turtle live?”

“I recall reading a book that stated around 300 years.”

“And if it were a spirit turtle?”

“Depends on the breed, and the cultivation.”

“Is there any chance of eternal life?”

Zhou Yunqi shook her head. “Eternal life, such a tempting phrase, yet alas, no one in this world can achieve it, not even the saints.”

“So, it follows that all things in this world must one day meet their end, correct?”

“Hmm…” Zhou Yunqi was curious why Ye Yong would ask such a thing. She watched as he slowly recited a quatrain.

“Though the divine turtle lives long, it too has its time… The blessings of nurturing joy can grant one longevity.”

Zhou Yunqi’s pupils contracted and trembled, leaving her utterly speechless. As a cultivator of the literary arts, she grasped the power of poetry more deeply. If Ye Yong were also a scholar, reciting this verse would likely have enveloped him in a resonance of Dao, allowing him to begin comprehending its essence. Unfortunately, he was not a scholar, and thus failed to resonate with the literary Dao.

Of course, no other scholar could plagiarize him, for in this world, Ye Yong was the first to utter this poem, already acknowledged and recorded by the Heavenly Dao.

As for Ye Yong himself, he held no particularly profound thoughts; he merely felt that the old turtle, while hibernating to extend its life, was also seeking a breakthrough. This poem suited it well.

If it could hear, it would likely take a slight interest in itself; but if it couldn’t, it mattered not—he had nothing to lose.

Yet, as the poem echoed, a sudden rumble of thunder broke the clear, cloudless sky.

The thunder was deep and low, not loud, but it struck just as Ye Yong was showing off, making him tense, fearing he might be struck down. Fortunately, nothing happened; instead, he felt an inexplicable lightness, as if his spirit had been elevated.

—Ye Family;

In Ye Yong’s room, Hua Ningyan, who was cultivating, suddenly opened her eyes. She discovered that her entire body was faintly glowing, a wondrous energy surging into her being.

Having already cultivated smoothly, she unexpectedly broke through, leaping past the Foundation Establishment stage without any hindrance, arriving directly at the third layer of crystallization.

This startled Hua Ningyan greatly; she feared she had done something wrong, for Ye Yong had told her to accumulate one realm at a time, ensuring a solid foundation.

Yet no matter how she examined her foundation, it was as stable as could be. Under the influence of that wondrous energy, her spirit had also grown considerably.

It seemed she hadn’t done anything particularly special, had she?

Doubtful.

Hua Ningyan jumped off the bed and stepped outside.

At the same time, with no pond to gaze into, the summer wolf, Xia Shiqi, was yawning in the yard when it suddenly looked up, for it saw its mother glowing.

Though the faint light was hard to perceive in the daylight, it was a wolf, a wolf with cultivation, and thus could not judge by the standards of ordinary folk.

Xia Shijia, sprawled on a chair in the pavilion, also lifted its head to look at Xia Shiqi. The two wolves locked eyes, and in that moment, their cultivation surged, advancing two small realms.

Previously, Ye Yong had been feeding them beast pills continuously. Xia Shiqi, who had only reached the third layer of crystallization, was now at the seventh, while Xia Shijia had ascended to an even higher small realm.

Such a speed of advancement was something they would never have dared to imagine while in the secret realm.

“Woohoo!!” Xia Shiqi howled at Xia Shijia, who responded, engaging in a brief exchange.

At that moment, Hua Ningyan stepped out of the house. Xia Shiqi observed her for a while, realizing that this little foundation-building fox had actually broken through to the third layer of crystallization. This speed felt off—would she one day surpass me?

Suspicion arose!

Xia Shiqi approached Hua Ningyan and sniffed, seriously doubting that she had snuck a taste of something extraordinary.

Xia Shijia also came over, and the three spirit pets, who had signed a high-level soul imprint with Ye Yong, were utterly oblivious to what had transpired, having inexplicably broken through.

Before long, a woman in yellow floated down into the yard. She looked at the three spirit pets and said, “Just now, I sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy here, and it was quite significant. Have you all broken through in succession?”

“Indeed!” Hua Ningyan, as a rare talking spirit fox, didn’t need to exchange wide-eyed glances like Xia Shiqi and the others, howling in confusion; she could communicate with the newcomer without barriers.

As for the newcomer, who else could it be but Ye Yong’s young mother, Lin Wei?

“We didn’t do anything, Lady Lin Wei.” Hua Ningyan was still quite flustered, like a person who suddenly found a large sum of money in their account—surprised yet suspicious of the source, worried it might be taken away at any moment.

Lin Wei, using her Nascent Soul cultivation, peered into their conditions. Hua Ningyan, with her lower cultivation, was a gifted spirit fox, but Xia Shiqi and Xia Shijia were filled with questions.

The seventh and eighth layers of crystallization—just yesterday, they had been at the fifth and sixth layers. Even with resources, it was hard to believe that two wolves of ordinary bloodlines… no, slightly less than ordinary Earthstorm Wolves could break through two small realms in such a short time, and their foundations were solid.

Hua Ningyan claimed they had done nothing, and Lin Wei believed her. Since the issue did not lie with the spirit pets, it was highly likely related to their master.