2 Disappointing News

"My name is Logean Wuji but, please, call me Wuji. What are your names?"

Heavenly Thunder and Hellish Quakes wreaked havoc in Ye Hong and Ji'er's minds. Their suspicions were confirmed, but the truth was that they did not dare believe it until it was affirmed. Hearing the words come from the man's mouth, they could no longer contain the shock, excitement and awe.

"Ah- Young Master Wuji- this lowly one is called Ye Hong!" Ye Hong bowed once again, pressing his head against the stone tiles.

"Ling Ji'er greets Young Master Wuji!" Ling Ji'er copied Ye Hong's actions, bowing repeatedly.

"Please, please, there is no need for bowing. Also, you may call me Wuji."

"This lowly Ye Hong would not dare, Young Master Wuji. You are someone for whom we have the utmost respect and reverence. We fear that in all the realm, none would dare call you anything less than Young Master Wuji."

Smiling warmly, Logean Wuji waved his hands and once more sent the wind to lift them up. "Then you may call me Mister Wuji instead. I fear I am no longer worthy of the title 'Young Master.' Even Sir Wuji is better."

Exchanging a glance, Ye Hong and Ling Ji'er shrugged, then Ye Hong suddenly had a thought, but he did not know how to put it into words.

"I know. You wish to ask me about my clan- my family."

Ye Hong's eyes immediately went bloodshot and a few strands of his hair turned white due to sudden stress. His teeth chattered for just a moment before he quickly dropped to his knees and responded, "Please forgive my insolent curiosity, Sir Wuji! I am not worthy of receiving an answer!"

Smiling all the same, Logean Wuji shook his head and chuckled. "I take no issue. It is because the story is a sad one that I feel I am unable to share it right now. Forgive me."

Seeing that Logean Wuji was about to hold his head low and apologize, Ye Hong immediately rushed forward and stopped him. "I would not dare receive your apology, Sir Wuji! Please lift up your head!"

With the same bitter smile on his face, Logean Wuji shook his head. Once more, the sun caught his attention and his smile faded away.

Ling Ji'er and Ye Hong could tell that the sun reminded him of something, but they did not dare ask what. After all, he had told them that he would tell them the story another time. Eventually, they stood up and turned to look at the sun as well.

'This is kinda awkward,' Ling Ji'er thought, nudging Ye Hong's shoulder and signalling for him to do something. Realizing her intentions, Ye Hong flew into a silenced rage and quietly threw a fit.

"If you don't know what to say then how the hell will I know?" He whispered this as he glared at her, then returned to looking at the sun while mumbling curses toward Ling Ji'er.

She frowned, folded her arms and looked around. It was awkward and she was not the kind of person that was able to sit still in such a situation. Sitting to listen to an interesting story was one thing, but remaining in awkward silence was another.

Unbeknownst to them, Logean Wuji was walking across the water toward them. It was only when they heard the faint splash of his feet against the surface of the water that they turned around.

His long black robe dragged on the water behind him, yet it was not wet. What was even more shocking was the fact that, no matter how much they tried, neither of them could sense even the faintest amount of qi on his body.

It was no special thing to be able to walk on water. Anyone with sufficient qi could do it. However, to do so without the usage of qi was almost impossible, and the implications of such a thing went straight over both their heads.

They simply could not understand how it was possible.

"What is it? You both look petrified." Logean Wuji saw their shocked faces and was confused. In his mind, anything he could do without the usage of qi should be possible for any ordinary person to do, let alone for two cultivators.

"Ah- This... Sir Wuji is sure to have myriad divine techniques that are beyond rare in this realm. Walking on water without even using a single bit of qi is something we have never seen performed."

Logean Wuji was just about to step out of the water and onto the rock, but when he heard what Ye Hong said he froze. 'Even something as simple as this is something cultivators from this realm haven't seen?'

Clearing his throat, Logean Wuji stepped out of the water and asked them, "By the way, Mister Hong and Miss Ji'er, what level have you reached in your cultivation?"

He wanted to gauge just how high their cultivation bases were in order to get a feel of the current standards. Judging by their looks, they seemed to be in their late twenties. If he wasn't wrong, they should have fairly high cultivation bases.

"Ah, Sir Wuji must have wanted to spare us from the sheer might of his divine will. This lowly Ye Hong has only just stepped into the Realm of Qi Condensation." Hiding his embarrassment, Ye Hong kept his head hung low and turned away from Logean Wuji's gaze.

"I, Ling Ji'er, am already at the peak of Qi Condensation!" Though she tried to remain humble, Ling Ji'er could not fully contain her pride. She even began to think that Sir Wuji would praise her a bit.

Little did they know that, beneath the surface of Logean Wuji's calm face, he was absolutely flabbergasted. Never before in his life had he received such a shock, and it was taking a toll on his mental state. After taking a few seconds to calm down, he smiled at them both.

"W-wow, Qi Condensation huh? That sure is- uh- something…" It was obvious to them that he was underwhelmed. Ling Ji'er pouted as she was brought back down to earth and out of her fantasies. Who was she to receive praise from someone like Sir Wuji? Just his mere gaze had caused them to lose a large number of years from their lifespan.

"Don't be fooled though, Sir Wuji. We may be trash, but there are geniuses even younger than us that have long left the Qi Condensation realm behind!"

Picking up on Ye Hong's meaning, Ling Ji'er realized that this was an opportunity to regain some face. She once again grew prideful and said, "That's right, Sir Wuji. My kid sister turns thirteen this month, but she's already half a step into the Mortal Qi Realm!"

Ye Hong and Ling Ji'er both perked up, their eyes glowing as they awaited Sir Wuji's pleased expression. Before long, they were stunned. That was because, despite learning of Ling Ji'er's sister's talent in cultivation, Sir Wuji still seemed underwhelmed.

'What kind of joke is this? A cultivation genius and they're only a half-step Mortal Qi Realm practitioner? Surely this realm hasn't regressed that badly.' Logean Wuji saw the sincere disappointment in Ye Hong's and Ling Ji'er's faces, so he cleared his throat and uttered a few words of praise for Ling Ji'er's sister, to which she giggled gleefully.

Ye Hong, on the other hand, could tell that the so-called geniuses of the region would only be trash before Sir Wuji's eyes. After a bit more thought, his expression brightened and he said, "Sadly, our Logean Mountain Region doesn't count for much. I've heard that in the Proud Heaven Empire geniuses are bred like mosquitoes; there are simply too many of them."

When he said this, Ye Hong noticed that Sir Wuji became interested as his ears twitched and his eyes widened ever so slightly. Finally feeling a sense of hope for the realm, he continued.

"In such a place as the Proud Heaven Empire, which our region exists on the border of, being a genius is simply not enough. I'm afraid that not even Ji'er's little sister would count for much more than dog shit, no offense to you and your sister Ji'er."

"Screw you!" Though he was simply trying to exaggerate the difference so as to appeal to Sir Wuji, Ji'er did not catch on and thus took offense. She glared at Ye Hong and stormed off to the side. Seeing this, Logean Wuji chuckled softly and thought, 'Good thing I chose to stay quiet about it, then.'

"Ahem! As I was saying, Sir Wuji. There are two reasons why the Proud Heaven Empire is such a holy land for breeding cultivation geniuses. The first reason would be the elites that live in it. Everyone, from commoner to noble, is more or less an elite of the nation, meaning they all can attend the Proud Heaven Academy."

Finally, Logean Wuji was wholeheartedly growing excited. Though he was a bit skeptical at first, hearing how much Ye Hong praised this 'Proud Heaven Empire,' he thought that he would finally learn of something that was up to par with a more normal standard. It had to be known that, long ago, Logean Wuji lived in the exact same realm they were in. Though he spent most of his time on Mount Logean, he had some relations with cultivators on the outside.

Comparing the realm then to how it was now, he almost didn't want to believe it had gotten worse as time went by.

Of course, Ye Hong noticed his expression and began to feel his own sense of pride. Even if he wasn't from the Proud Heaven Empire, it was enough that something within the same world was able to impress Sir Wuji.

"The Proud Heaven Academy is the second reason why the Proud Heaven Empire is a holy land. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the academy is the true holy land. Even a servant or outer court disciple from the Proud Heaven Academy would far surpass any genius elsewhere. For example, the distant relative of our region's chief, Su Xiaoyu, who will also be thirteen this year."

"Her cultivation base has already exceeded the Mortal Qi Realm!"

For once, Logean Wuji breathed a sigh of relief. 'It's not as bad as I thought after all. There are still some young geniuses in the realm, so the future is still bright.'

Logean Wuji was so pleased with the news that he forgot to wait for final confirmation from Ye Hong. He outright blurted out, "Ah, this is great news. So tell me, what realm has this 'Su Xiaoyu's' cultivation reached? The Divine Spirit Realm, perhaps? Maybe she is even a Lesser Immortal?"

Ye Hong was about to laugh and correct Logean Wuji, but he suddenly started stuttering when he realized just what Logean Wuji had said.

"Did you say L-l-lesser Immortal?"

At that moment, Logean Wuji had a bad premonition dawn on him. He should have expected it, but part of him didn't want to accept it, so he jumped to conclusions.

"S-s-sir Wuji, this lowly one regrets to inform you that Su Xiaoyu has only just stepped into the Divine Opening Realm."

Logean Wuji sighed, feeling both ashamed of himself and embarrassed for the realm. 'Just how did it end up like this, for a child who is not even at the Divine Spirit Realm to be called a genius?' Thinking this, he lost all hope for the younger generation.

"What about the senior disciples?" Logean Wuji thought that, given that the genius Ye Hong spoke of was so young, her seniors would be much stronger and competent. Sadly, he was sorely mistaken.

"Actually, Sir Wuji… The senior disciples are all below the Divine Spirit Realm as well. The youngsters of the new generation are all once-in-a-lifetime geniuses that have never appeared in the realm for thousands of years. Unfortunately, they have yet to grow up and meet Sir Wuji's standards…sigh …"

If Logean Wuji was not great at keeping his true feelings hidden, he might have shed a few tears for the current world. The generation that was supposed to be the most promising was actually laughably mediocre. When Logean Wuji assumed Su Xiaoyu was at the Divine Spirit Realm, this was already him being conservative. In the Logean Clan, it was all-too-common to see a child of ten years already being a Lesser Immortal. Since he could not expect cultivators on the outside to match up to that, he lowered the bar for Su Xiaoyu a bit, only to still be disappointed.

"This is truly depressing."

By now, both Ye Hong and Ling Ji'er were standing off to the side. Though she had stormed off, she continued to listen. Even though she didn't admit it openly, she knew that her little sister truly couldn't compare to the young talents in the Proud Heaven Empire. Yet, to their surprise, not even those geniuses were enough to impress Sir Wuji. When they heard him say it was depressing, they groaned and began to sulk even more.

"I can still remember when my father and mother taught your ancestors how to read and write. Back then, they meditated on our letters and numbers for weeks on end without food or water."

When they heard this, they completely forgot about their depression and moved closer to Sir Wuji. This was valuable information to them, things lost in the annals of time and forgotten by most.

"As Mother and Father looked on, your ancestors seemed to gain enlightenment from the numbers and letters we wrote for them. Once they recorded what they learned and meditated further, they came back to us to inform us of their newfound knowledge."

"It was funny," Logean Wuji chuckled, "seeing them all excited about simple laws of cultivation." If Logean Wuji listened close enough, he would hear the loudly pumping hearts of Ye Hong and Ling Ji'er.

Their ancestors gleaned secrets of cultivation after simply being instructed on how to read and write? What madness was this!?

"They brought us their scriptures, showing us the incomplete cultivation technique they were able to piece together from their enlightenment. We helped them complete it, since Father insisted we let them figure it out instead of just giving them better techniques."

"We helped them just a bit, and they were able to unravel a few of the secrets. They learned of the Body Transformation Realm, the first step on the path of cultivation. To cultivate qi, one must have a profound body without blemish. This is where cultivators begin to strengthen the body in its entirety: the bones, muscles and organs- everything needs to be strengthened."

"The Qi Condensation Realm, which is when cultivators begin to cultivate the dantian of qi. This is a crucial step, as the dantian needs to be pushed to the limits of how much qi it can hold. This decides how much qi a cultivator will have for the rest of their life."

"They also learned of the subsequent realms of cultivation: Core Formation, Mortal Qi, Divine Qi, Divine Opening, Divine Spirit, Lesser Immortal and Greater Immortal. This was the limit to their comprehension. No matter how hard they and their descendants tried, they could not attain enlightenment of the realms beyond. Not even those of them that had actually become Greater Immortals. This perplexed Father and Mother for quite some time."

When he had spoken up to here, Logean Wuji sighed and closed his eyes, unwilling to speak on the matter any longer. He shook his head lightly then smiled at the two slack-jawed people next to him. A soft golden glow surrounded their bodies, making them look almost like human torches. This was a sign of semi-enlightenment.

With a profound and mysterious look in his eyes, Logean Wuji turned toward the path that led down the mountain.

"Well then, why don't we go down for a walk?"