The Shishe of Jianzong was always the place with the most vibrant life in the sect.
The mist rising from Lingmi mingled with the aroma of various dishes, filling the noisy air.
Disciples gathered in groups of three or five, chatting loudly, their conversations ranging from sword techniques to street gossip, creating a rare scene of ordinary life in this world of cultivation.
When Ye Chen carried his tray to a secluded corner and sat down, there was a barely noticeable pause in the surrounding noise.
Like a stone thrown into a calm lake, ripples spread outwards.
The laughter at the neighboring table quieted, and from further away, a few glances came over, filled with awe, curiosity, and a hint of scrutiny.
Since the ranking at Wendao Lake and the small disturbance afterwards, the name Ye Chen had become even more prominent.
Ye Chen seemed oblivious to it all.
He simply ate quietly, his movements neither hurried nor slow, detached from everything around him.
He remained this way until a talkative inner sect senior at the next table stood up to leave.
At that moment, Ye Chen set down his chopsticks and spoke.
“Senior, please wait.”
The senior froze, turned, and upon seeing Ye Chen, his face broke into a warm smile.
He quickly bowed.
“Ye Chen! Are you… are you calling me?”
“Yes,”
Ye Chen nodded calmly.
“I wanted to ask senior about something.”
“Please, ask whatever you wish! Please!”
The senior, surprised and flattered, sat back down, his posture humble.
“Do you know anything about the sect competition of the Northern Continent?”
“The sect competition?”
The senior was stunned, then suddenly understood.
He lowered his voice, excitement in his tone.
“You really don’t know, junior? Well, you’ve only been in the sect for a short time. This is the grandest event in the entire Northern Continent’s cultivation world!”
He cleared his throat and continued.
“The competition is held only once every five hundred years, hosted alternately by our Zixiao Jianzong and Qingyun Holy Land. By the calendar, this year it’s our sect’s turn!”
Ye Chen tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, saying nothing, signaling him to continue.
“At that time, not only the two top sects, but all second and third-tier sects of the Northern Continent, even some renowned rogue cultivators, will come to watch or participate!”
The senior grew more excited as he spoke.
“You can go to the southern part of the sect, near Zixiao City. The martial grounds there are already being expanded for the event. The scale is… incredible!”
“How much longer until then?”
Ye Chen finally asked the question that concerned him most.
The senior calculated on his fingers.
“About… three years, I think.”
He chuckled, looking at Ye Chen with natural expectation.
“Are you planning to participate, junior? With your unparalleled talent at the Foundation Establishment realm, I doubt anyone in the same rank could surpass you! You’ll surely win glory for our sect!”
Ye Chen neither agreed nor disagreed, simply cupped his hands.
“Senior flatters me.”
“Not at all!”
The senior waved his hands, then pulled a smooth communication jade slip from his storage bag and offered it with both hands.
“Junior, this is my messaging stone. If you ever want to know anything, you can contact me anytime. I may not be skilled in other things, but I’m well-informed!”
Ye Chen glanced at the jade slip, then accepted it.
“Thank you.”
He stood, gave a slight nod, and took it as his farewell.
The senior watched him leave respectfully, only releasing a long breath and discussing excitedly with his companions once Ye Chen’s figure disappeared at the entrance of the Shishe.
Ye Chen walked leisurely on the road back to Sword Courtyard.
Along the way, the gazes he felt were even more concentrated than in the Shishe.
He could sense the emotions behind them, but had no intention of understanding.
It was as if he walked through a forest unrelated to himself; no matter how dense the trees, to him, they were merely scenery.
He did not return to Sword Courtyard.
Instead, he made his way, familiar as ever, up the abandoned stargazing platform.
The wind here was as cold and lonely as ever.
Ye Chen sat at the edge of the stone platform, looking down at the sect shrouded in clouds and mist.
Three years.
To an ordinary cultivator, this span of time was a mere blink.
But for Ye Chen, it was a clear, inescapable deadline.
A deadline to deal with troubles.
He truly had no interest in the so-called competition, whether in participating or watching.
What he most wanted was to retreat beneath Wendao Lake for decades, stabilize his cultivation completely, and perhaps let his increasingly chaotic heart settle.
But that thought flashed away in an instant.
He remembered Xiao Xiao.
He could imagine, if he vanished again without warning, even for a short while, what madness would consume that girl.
The fragile balance that had just been restored with a wound would collapse into a deeper abyss.
He could not leave.
So, the arrival of Xiao Liuli and Ling Qingshuang in three years became something he had to face.
The chaotic thoughts brought by those two letters last night seemed to clear and simplify in the cold wind.
They… simply did not understand.
They did not understand why he left, nor the difference in the paths he sought compared to theirs.
A trace of the absolute rationality of the Primordial Sword Sovereign flashed in Ye Chen’s eyes.
Then explain it to them.
When they arrive, lay out your thoughts and path openly and honestly.
If once is not enough, say it twice.
Perhaps they will not accept it immediately, will be angry, will be confused.
But time heals all.
After years, decades, when they find new horizons and new experiences, they will come to understand how insignificant their obsessions once were.
That was his answer.
To him, a direct and effective answer.
Ye Chen did not know.
This solution, born of divine logic and deemed “reasonable” in his mind, was, in truth… naive and arrogant.
He only felt a weight in his heart fall away, withdrew his distant gaze, stood up again, and gripped the sword at his waist.
The wind seemed to whisper something.
He could not hear it.