Chapter 872: Chapter 42: Genius or Trash?
The star domain of the Desolate is exceptionally cold and silent, just like the exceptionally cold and silent heart of Zhou Yan.
In fact, when faced with the completeness of the Great Domain, Zhou Yan realized that without comprehensive cultivation guidance, relying solely on self-exploration in cultivation, even a genius would have their limitations, and over time, these limitations would be magnified indefinitely.
This is the so-called ’starting point’.
The starting point of a cultivator at the lower level and the starting point of a cultivator in the Great Domain have a fundamental difference.
Heaven and earth, there is no place that has true so-called fairness, even the so-called ’effort’ is not truly fair.
In terms of cultivation, experience, and even the ability to gain enlightenment and other aspects, in the low-level plane, Zhou Yan’s efforts surpass most of the cultivators in the Great Domain.
But the words of Xuanyuan Ancestor were incredibly realistic and brutally revealed one thing.
Perhaps with enough effort, perhaps with sufficient talent, but if your starting point is not as good as others, ultimately you may still be inferior to them.
This is reality, and it has nothing to do with fairness, because in this world, in this Great Domain, there has never been any fairness.
Although Zhou Yan felt a bit heavy-hearted, he did not feel disappointed by this reality; instead, it ignited a new fighting spirit within him.
Because, from beginning to end, he actually did not lose his combat power, did not lose his abilities. Those temporarily sealed abilities have just not met the conditions for unlocking. Those are his foundation, a foundation that the other cultivators in the Great Domain do not possess.
A strong foundation ultimately leads to a longer path, this is something Zhou Yan understands more clearly than any other cultivator.
"Zhou Yan... don’t lose heart, in fact, when it comes to the singularity of talent, your talent is unprecedented and unparalleled, otherwise, I wouldn’t have helped you so much, because only in you can I sense a bit of hope. Over the years, I have actually gone through many cultivators, but I have never appeared, not because they were weak, but because their mentality was too poor. Some of them were cultivators who established strong rules in the Great Domain, but there was no hope to be spoken of.
I watched coldly as they died one by one.
But you are different, your mentality, your daring, and your madness have all deeply impressed me. If we were born in the same era, perhaps I would even acknowledge you as my master and become your true weapon of reliance."
Xuanyuan Ancestor seemed to think that his words were a bit heavy, so he changed his tone and instead consoled Zhou Yan.
However, Zhou Yan was not as fragile as Xuanyuan Ancestor thought, and his soul body showed a hint of a smile, transmitting to Xuanyuan Ancestor, "Ancestor, rest assured, don’t worry about any of the rules I understand being very powerful, the domains I establish even more so, even if it’s countless times more difficult than for others, I am still quite fortunate.
If I were the same as others, even if labeled a genius, but with combat power comparable to others, I would be unsatisfied. With my character, such a situation would likely make it difficult for me to go far.
Life is about struggle. The more you give, the more you will receive. But if you don’t give, you will never receive. I want to give more than others and even more bitter sweat, then obtaining the domain bonus of the Thirteen Souls is also an unparalleled opportunity and reward.
Now, to understand the form of the Dark God Domain, my first soul took a breath of time, so when my soul body recovers to open the second great form of the War Beast Sword Soul to understand the form of the Dark God Domain, with the addition from the first layer Dragon Form Dark God Domain, the understanding of this second great form of the War Beast Sword Soul, even if it’s ten times more difficult, would take only ten breaths of time.
The third level, I estimate to be one hundred breaths.
This method of calculation should be relatively reasonable and reliable, so calculated this way, it’s a simple calculation method, using the mathematical science method passed down on Earth by the Mechanical Clan, the Mechanical Clan is indeed remarkable in this regard.
One breath, less than a millisecond. One hundred breaths, less than a second. One thousand breaths, approximately seven seconds. And ten thousand breaths, just about sixty seconds, equal to one minute.
Then, completing the twelve great forms of the War Beast Sword Soul domain rules to achieve the First Transition of the Divine Thirteen Souls, is over a hundred million minutes, converting to over seventy thousand days. Over seventy thousand days, nearly two hundred years to complete the First Transition of the Divine Thirteen Souls, this process may not be considered very poor... With what you, Ancestor, know, given your identity and former status, what you know must be quite outstanding figures. Such figures advancing a level in a century may seem like nothing to you, Ancestor, but to others, it will be an impressive progress. So, my talent should be similar to theirs, just slightly slower."
"Of course, this is just during advancement, perfecting the corresponding War Beast Sword Soul naturally takes more time, but I think, for others a breakthrough might take a century, for me, at most two hundred years, I can still be considered in the ranks of geniuses.
However, as I progress further, it indeed becomes harder and harder, I have sensed this too. But I myself have not regressed, the difficulty in progress implies every progress has a qualitative improvement, which is a very good thing for me."
Zhou Yan shares his analysis with Xuanyuan Ancestor.
Zhou Yan was not originally a person of many words, however, Xuanyuan Ancestor was an existence both a teacher and a friend, some thoughts Zhou Yan had to clarify, otherwise the other’s contributions would seem unappreciated.
Zhou Yan is someone who respects his teacher and important principles, so even if it violates his own principles, and he speaks more, he must make everything clear.
Clearly, Zhou Yan’s words left Xuanyuan Ancestor somewhat dumbfounded again. Xuanyuan Ancestor never expected that Zhou Yan would judge the cultivation time in such a manner. Xuanyuan Ancestor merely estimated broadly, thus there were certain oversights in various aspects, and these slight oversights caused a deviation in results.
Whereas Zhou Yan’s calculations allowed room in every aspect, in calculations, he appropriately exaggerated, so the data calculated, in turn, is closest to the truth.
After all, ten thousand breaths is less than sixty seconds.
If such a calculation is magnified at each level, the difference will not be small either. In fact, if each aspect is calculated rigorously, the time would be around a hundred years, which is roughly the same time those cultivators remembered by the Xuanyuan Ancestor took to break through, so Zhou Yan cannot be called trash.
More importantly, after Zhou Yan mentioned this, the Xuanyuan Ancestor realized one thing: Zhou Yan possesses both the Nine Orifice Exquisite Heart and the Ancient Evil Heart. Once these two are combined and his body begins to merge, forming the Nine Apertures Evil Heart, his soul body can transcend. In other words, those one billion minutes will have another level extracted, resulting in only ten million minutes. Ten million minutes is only about seven thousand days, which is twenty years, equivalent to five times the cultivation speed of an ordinary cultivator.
The Thirteen Souls, with five times the cultivation speed of ordinary cultivators... this is already somewhat defying heaven.
There’s also the Great Dao Sword Body’s enlightenment ability and the bonus after the Nine Apertures Evil Heart. Sometimes, one enlightenment can directly save a hundred, even a thousand years of understanding time, which is a terrifying acceleration method.
The Xuanyuan Ancestor calculated for a long time, and the more he calculated, the more he found Zhou Yan’s potential to be terrifying.
However, no one else would know this hidden potential. On the surface, Zhou Yan shows thirteen soul power auras, which would probably be considered the worst soul body talent.
Yet, they don’t know that Zhou Yan’s true potential is incredibly astonishing, far surpassing the pure soul body geniuses.
"You... it seems even I, the Ancestor, nearly went blind. In the Great Domain, you probably..."
The Xuanyuan Ancestor smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say.
In Zhou Yan’s situation, any capable Great Domain cultivator can see it as a ’mixed’ soul body constitution.
’Mixed’ means ’trash’.
’Clarity’ represents talent.
In Zhou Yan’s situation, entering the Great Domain, it’s estimated to be very difficult even to find a Sect of Supreme Dao.
However, the Xuanyuan Ancestor did not say this, but he knew Zhou Yan would fully understand.
"Ancestor, this I understand as well, but how it will be specifically, we’ll see. We’ll see where the path leads. I never thought I could possibly slay the Sword Venerate during my lifetime. Now it’s just reaching a larger environment. Let’s take it step by step. For now, I just want to get stronger quickly and let Ning’er recover swiftly."
Zhou Yan sighed lightly.
In fact, Zhou Yan did consider the result of the calculations. It seemed brilliant, but whether the next insight would improve tenfold within a breath is hard to say. If there is any delay, the time thereafter would become terrifyingly long.
However, Zhou Yan would never utter such words, nor would he show a state of having no faith.
That would harm others and himself.
If a person develops a decadent heart, the desire to strive would quickly be extinguished.
Zhou Yan is not such a person.
"Hmm... Now that you’ve entered the Great Domain, I am nearly exhausted, unable to help you any further. You must avoid using methods like devouring the Flame Throne to gain power, as it will trigger the Void Thunder Tribulation of the Great Domain, enough to destroy you in an instant. Back then, what Lee Ran encountered was similar to this Void Thunder Tribulation, which is why he was severely injured.
Also, since you are entering the Dark God Domain, I will pass on to you some basic Dao. After all, I am like this now, and if you become strong in the future, my recovery will only be in a better state. I will erase parts of my memory related to personal experiences and transmit the necessary knowledge to you. With all your skills, entering the Great Domain just like this would be a waste and a pity.
It’s indeed quite regrettable. Instead, combine it with my understanding, and thoroughly comprehend what truly suits you in the Great Domain, your own Dao.
The Dao of the Great Domain is the Supreme Dao, equivalent to a Dao you’ve created yourself.
At this point, you need to break free from others’ frameworks and carve out a brand-new path that is all your own."
The Xuanyuan Ancestor’s voice gradually weakened, yet at the last moment, he infused a soul power, like a clear spring, into Zhou Yan’s soul body.
Zhou Yan was utterly unprepared to stop it, and it all happened in an instant.
It was then that Zhou Yan realized, even when the Xuanyuan Ancestor was nearly exhausted, he was still no match for him. The gap between him and the Xuanyuan Ancestor was not only a difference in realm but also a chasm in the Supreme Dao!