The Martial Saint Started from Scavenging

The moonlight, like water, poured in through the gaps in the carved window, spreading a flowing silver glow over Ye Sheng.

He stood by the window, his figure as straight as a pine tree. His moon-white brocade robe was bathed in moonlight, and the surface of the fabric shimmered with a subtle luster, as if a silver stream was slowly flowing between the folds of the robe.

The night breeze slipped in through the cracks in the half-open window, gently ruffling his clothes and carrying the faint chirping of insects from the distant mountains and forests.

Ye Sheng slowly raised his right hand, his gaze falling on his palm. His hand had distinct knuckles and was slightly white in the moonlight.

With a thought, the newly generated internal energy in his dantian flowed quietly through his meridians to his palms, and the meridians warmed slightly wherever the energy passed.

There was no spectacular display, nor dazzling brilliance; only the air above his palm slightly distorted.

The distortion was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible without careful observation, but Ye Sheng could clearly feel the terrifying, yet restrained, power condensed in his palm.

His gaze passed over the window and landed on the thick, ancient pine tree in the courtyard. The pine tree was as thick as two people could hug, and it was at least several hundred years old.

Ye Sheng took a deep breath, his eyes suddenly sharpened, and he casually swung his hand in the air at the ancient pine tree.

"laugh--"

A crescent-shaped blade of energy, almost invisible to the naked eye, flew from his palm and ripped through the night sky.

The next second, the trunk of the ancient pine tree trembled violently.

Immediately afterwards, a smooth cut slowly emerged from the middle of the tree trunk. The upper half of the crown paused for a moment, then slowly slid down, separating itself from the lower half of the trunk, and finally crashed heavily to the ground with a "boom," kicking up a cloud of dust.

Falling leaves fluttered down, startling several birds that were roosting for the night.

Releasing external qi to injure people from a distance! This is the skill of a grandmaster!

Ye Sheng stared blankly at his palm, then looked at the ancient pine tree in the distance that had been cut in half, a look of undisguised shock flashing in his eyes.

He never expected that his casual strike would be so terrifying.

The trunk of that ancient pine tree was as hard as iron. Ordinary swords and knives would at most leave a white mark when they struck it, but just now, he had simply swung his sword in mid-air and cut it in half.

This was only when he had just broken through to the Grandmaster realm and was not yet proficient in using Qi, nor had he fully mastered the techniques of exerting force.

If in the future he could further condense his inner energy and compress it into tangible sword energy and saber energy, how terrifying would that power be?

With a single slash, it could probably easily break through even the protective true essence of a Golden Core cultivator.

Suddenly, a powerful sense of confidence welled up in Ye Sheng's heart.

He felt that the identity barrier between himself and the world, which had repeatedly caused him to run into obstacles, seemed to have been completely broken down at this moment.

He was no longer the lowly vagrant struggling to survive, bullied by others, unable even to protect his younger brother. Instead, he was a registered household, a martial arts master certified by the Great Abyss Dynasty, and even a martial arts grandmaster who could command the attention of Golden Core cultivators!

From this day forward, no one can trample on his dignity at will.

Ye Sheng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, drawing the surging internal energy back into his dantian.

After a while, he opened his eyes, his gaze becoming calm and resolute.

He knew very well that now was not the time to be complacent; improving his strength was only the first step.

Next, he had an even more important thing to do: find Ye Kai.

The next morning, as dawn broke and the sunlight climbed onto the windowpane, someone knocked on the door.

Ye Sheng opened the door, and standing outside was a young man dressed in the robes of an outer disciple of a sect. He had an unfamiliar face, but his attitude was extremely respectful.

He held a letter and a blue jade slip in both hands, bowed and handed them over: "Elder Ye, this is what Senior Sister Shen Qingqiu asked me to deliver to you. She instructed me to personally hand it to you this morning."

Ye Sheng accepted the letter and jade slip, nodded, and the outer disciple tactfully withdrew.

He closed the door, went back into the room, and stood by the window. Morning light shone through the paper window, casting pale golden spots on the floor.

Ye Sheng glanced at the letter and wondered to himself: Senior Sister Shen is a cultivator, why would she write to me?

He then sat down on the chair by the window, opened the envelope, took out the letter inside, and read it carefully.

"Junior Brother Ye, I know you are extremely anxious and wish you could go back to Beast Taming Peak to find your brother. But it is precisely at times like this that you must not lose your composure."

Upon reading this, Ye Sheng felt a warmth in his heart. Although he had only known this Senior Sister Shen for a short time, she always gave him reminders at crucial moments.

"Neither my junior sister Liu Qing nor I will stand idly by regarding your brother's situation. We will help you find a solution. What you need to do now is to adjust your condition as soon as possible and conserve your energy. Only when you are strong enough can you protect the people you want to protect in the event of any future changes."

He continued reading: "Soon, our sect will be holding a triennial sect disciple competition with another major cultivation sect in the Eastern Region, the 'Myriad Spirits Pavilion.' As a guest elder of our sect, you will not need to participate in the competition, but you can attend as an observer. This may be a rare opportunity."

Ye Sheng's gaze lingered on the word "opportunity" for a moment, as if deep in thought.

"The Myriad Spirits Pavilion has a long-standing relationship with my Azure Cloud Sword Sect. It also has a Beast Taming Garden within its grounds, which is as large in scale and has a wide variety of spirit beasts as my sect's Beast Taming Peak. Perhaps you can take this opportunity to inquire about some information from the elders or disciples of the Myriad Spirits Pavilion."

"In the art of beast taming, the Myriad Spirits Pavilion is the true lineage in the Eastern Region. What they know and have heard may provide you with new clues. Of course, your own safety is the most important thing."

"In addition, that jade slip contains information about the Myriad Spirits Pavilion and the Zongbi (a type of martial arts competition). You can place it between your eyebrows and extend your divine sense to examine it closely."

Ye Sheng read the letter again from beginning to end. He could feel Shen Qingqiu's sincere concern, and he remembered this affection.

Then, Ye Sheng picked up the jade slip again. The jade slip was entirely green, warm to the touch, and faintly shimmered with spiritual light.

He placed the jade slip between his eyebrows and focused his mind. Instantly, a flood of information rushed into his mind, the beginning of which contained detailed information about the "Myriad Spirits Pavilion".

Wanling Pavilion, as another major cultivation sect in the Eastern Region that can rival Qingyun Sword Sect, also possesses unfathomable depths.

According to historical records, Wanling Pavilion has been established for over three thousand years, several hundred years earlier than Qingyun Sword Sect.

Legend has it that its founder once tamed a level 5 demon king with strength comparable to the late Nascent Soul stage, thus laying the foundation for the Myriad Spirits Pavilion.

The cultivation path of the Qingyun Sword Sect is completely different from that of the Qingyun Sword Sect. The Qingyun Sword Sect focuses on the sword path, and most of its disciples are sword cultivators. They emphasize breaking through all laws with a single sword, and their attacks are fierce and their killing intent is overwhelming.

The Wanling Pavilion is renowned for its "spirit control" techniques. They are skilled at communicating with various spiritual beings, commanding spirit beasts to fight for them, manipulating spirit plants to set up grand formations, and even signing contracts with legendary demon spirits to borrow their immense and terrifying demonic power for their own use.

It can be said that every cultivator in the Myriad Spirits Pavilion is a born "spirit beast summoner," and on the battlefield, one person can be equivalent to an army.

For this reason, the Beast Taming Garden of the Myriad Spirits Pavilion is far superior to the Beast Taming Peak of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect in both scale and strength.

According to records, the Beast Taming Garden of the Myriad Spirits Pavilion covers nearly a thousand acres and houses hundreds of species of spirit beasts, ranging from the lowest-ranking first-grade spirit rabbit to the highest-ranking fourth-grade dragon. Among them is even a fifth-level guardian beast, a golden-haired hou that has lived for over a thousand years, rumored to be as powerful as a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

"Spirit Control Technique..."

Ye Sheng looked at the four characters, lost in thought, his brows furrowing slightly.

He suddenly remembered that Yun Zhonghe seemed to have used a similar method at the Bewitching Ferry, controlling the water ghosts to his advantage.

At the time, he thought it was some kind of supernatural power of a cultivator, but now that he thinks about it, the technique is somewhat similar to the spirit control technique of the Myriad Spirits Pavilion.

Could it be that Yun Zhonghe has some unknown relationship with this Wanling Pavilion?

Or perhaps the cultivation technique he practiced was originally from the same source as this "Spirit Control" technique, and was obtained from the Myriad Spirits Pavilion in his early years.

Ye Sheng silently kept this point of doubt in his mind, as it might be an important clue.