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

Ye Yong had no intention of winning anyone’s favor; he simply wanted Liang Xiao Rou to familiarize herself with the Ye family and to redistribute some resources, all while enhancing the Ye family’s strength. In the future, he had no desire to be the head of the family; the pressure was immense, and it was far better to be a carefree bystander.

—

95 Earth-Level Techniques

There were still many younger members of the Ye family, encompassing the main family, collateral branches, and external families.

The main family, needless to say, is closely tied to Ye Yong by blood—grandchildren of various grandfathers. The side families are a bit more distantly related, akin to cousins. The branch families are even further removed, having split off long ago, their bloodlines thinned. The outer families consist of those affiliated clans, whose elite offspring are sent to the main family for training and study.

In the training grounds alone, there are over a thousand people. Ye Yong instructs everyone to line up by gender, handing Qin Shidream a storage bag, assigning her to oversee the female team.

If the genders were mixed, or if he were to manage the female team himself, they might still be sorting by nightfall.

While Ye Yong busies himself, Ye Mao is leading Liang Xiaorou around the training grounds, trembling with anxiety, fearful that this little ancestor might find something to be dissatisfied with. Yet Ye Mao has his own motives; during the introductions, he weaves in questions about what Senior Sister Luofei likes, or if she has taken an interest in anything recently.

Luofei is the Senior Sister from the Sword Pavilion that Ye Mao has his eye on, and she shares a good rapport with Liang Xiaorou.

“Why are you asking these things?” Liang Xiaorou shoots Ye Mao a glance.

In the Sword Pavilion, as long as one isn’t foolish, it’s clear who Ye Mao has affections for. However, Luofei’s family background isn’t much inferior to the Ye family’s, and she has no shortage of suitors. Though Ye Mao shares the same surname as Ye Yong, being a cousin, he doesn’t even measure up to a fraction—no, a thousandth—of Ye Yong’s standing. Among the female cultivators of the Sword Pavilion, his reputation is quite low.

It should be noted that since Ye Yong joined the Tianluo Sect, the aesthetic standards of the female cultivators have skyrocketed. With just his presence, he has successfully raised the bar for male cultivators seeking partners.

“It’s nothing, just a curious inquiry from a junior brother,” Ye Mao remains oblivious, believing his actions to be shrouded in secrecy, unnoticed by anyone.

“Then why not ask the person directly? What do you mean by asking me?”

“Because Senior Sister happens to be visiting our Ye family, so… it would be convenient if she could share a word.”

Liang Xiaorou sizes up Ye Mao. His looks are decent enough, but his gaze and demeanor exude a clear arrogance. Even now, as he pleads with others, he appears stiff, lacking the innate warmth that Ye Yong possesses. Liang Xiaorou understands why Luofei wouldn’t even feign politeness to get closer to Ye Yong. This type, once given a hint of favor, would climb the ladder without hesitation.

“Sorry, I’m not familiar with these matters. If you want to know, you should ask her directly.” Seeing Ye Mao prepare to persist, Liang Xiaorou promptly pulls out a communication stone. “Shall I contact her now? She can answer your questions on the spot.”

“No need!” Ye Mao quickly backs down, focusing on introducing the training facilities. By the time he finishes detailing everything, Ye Yong has also completed his distribution, and each person receives resources worth 800 low-grade spirit stones.

Eighty high-grade spirit stones! For cultivators of their age, merely dreaming of such wealth is a luxury. To share it? That’s more difficult than possessing such a fortune.

Ye Yong’s image grows even more towering in the eyes of the younger generation.

Yet Ye Yong still feels that the distribution is too meager; he must find an opportunity to give out more.

By the time they leave the training grounds, dusk has settled.

“I never expected the techniques modified by your Ye family to be so ingenious. Take the simple Cloud-Pushing Palm, for instance; with just a minor adjustment, its power can more than double.” Liang Xiaorou, having inherited the combat genes of the Liang family, is particularly inquisitive about such matters.

“If you wish to know more, I can take you to the Hall of Techniques for a stroll.”

“No, no.” Liang Xiaorou quickly shook her head. “The Hall of Techniques is a sacred place for the family; how could I, an outsider, be allowed in?”

“I believe just a glance at the techniques below the Xuan level should pose no issue. Besides, we are outsiders now, but in the future…” Ye Yong revealed a knowing smile.

“Who’s talking about the future with you?” Liang Xiaorou shot him a glance, her cheeks slightly flushed. “But if it were truly possible, I would indeed like to observe.”

“Is Shi Meng going as well?”

Qin Shimeng nodded, equally intrigued.

Going to the Hall of Techniques, Ye Yong had more than just familiarizing the heroines with the Ye family in mind; he harbored thoughts of learning new techniques.

The Xuan-level techniques he had previously mastered were already at a peak level, yet due to the basic nature of the挂机 system, he could not advance further. The Xuan-level techniques were sufficient for now, but as his cultivation progressed, Ye Yong believed he should learn some Earth-level techniques to keep close. While the system shop offered a variety, wouldn’t it be sweeter to get them for free from the Ye family?

The guardian of the Hall of Techniques was Ye Yong’s second uncle. In the past, he would never have allowed an outsider to step foot inside, but now? Ye Yong could empty the Hall of Techniques without issue, though his uncle knew he would never do such a thing.

Ye Yong thought he would need to use some persuasion to gain entry, but before he could finish his words, his uncle beckoned him inside.

Inside the Hall of Techniques, over a hundred juniors were engrossed in their studies; not everyone trained in the training grounds, after all. The prerequisite for training was having learned a technique.

The Hall of Techniques was not suited for distributing resources, so Ye Yong could only assume they lacked fortune.

Qin Shimeng and Liang Xiaorou were quite self-aware, not venturing to the higher floors, but instead staying in the second floor’s Xuan-level technique area, selecting techniques they found interesting to observe and study.

Ye Yong ascended to the third floor, arriving at the Earth-level technique area, with his uncle accompanying him, ready to offer advice on what he wished to learn.

The number of Earth-level techniques was scarce, with each compartment housing one, totaling fifteen.

Of course, this did not mean the Ye family possessed only these few Earth-level techniques; rather, these were the ones available for the branch families and outsiders to learn. In other small to medium families, Earth-level techniques were considered heirlooms, reserved solely for the direct descendants.

In the Ye family, however, as long as one met the cultivation standards and accumulated a certain amount of family contributions, there was a chance to learn. This was why outsiders scrambled to serve the great families; the benefits were undeniable.

What if one wished to learn other Earth-level techniques? They could seek out instructors, hall masters, or elders and take them as mentors.

The Ye family also had hall masters, with several halls operating in tandem, among which the Alchemy Hall was indispensable. After all, a great family of cultivators could not rely solely on external sources for alchemy; if a family war broke out and their supply of elixirs was cut off, they would lose half the battle before it even began—wouldn’t that be a source of ridicule?

But I digress; Ye Yong had no need to seek anyone for learning techniques. The fifteen here were already more than sufficient.

“You don’t need to worry about me, I’ll just take a look.”

“This won’t do, although you’re talented, Yong’er, selecting a land-level technique requires a senior cultivator’s guidance.” Land-level techniques correspond to the Golden Elixir and above, and having the Second Master personally accompany him is a sign of concern.