After two years of diligent guidance from Ye Ping’an, little Mengyao had already reached the tenth layer of Qi Refinement.
She was now just one opportunity away from breaking through to the eleventh layer. But in the Wastelands, even a single step forward could be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
In this time, Mengyao had grown from a six-year-old girl into a child who looked about eight or nine, her rosy lips and pearly white teeth making her all the more adorable.
As for Ye Ningyue, she had aged from eleven to thirteen, but physically she already looked fourteen or fifteen.
Despite her young age, her figure had started to develop noticeable curves. It was anyone’s guess how stunning she’d become once she came of age.
Perhaps it was thanks to some stellar parental genes, but even at this young age, Ningyue’s physique was already turning heads—so much so that many of the male disciples in the sect couldn’t help but sneak glances her way.
Still, since she was close to Ye Ping’an, no one dared to act on their desires.
On the contrary, many female disciples of the Xuanxing Sect began secretly seeking out the “little maid” for her beauty secrets.
After all, watching a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl rival their own curves was nothing short of maddening.
Rumors spread quickly: Surely she must’ve used some kind of heavenly technique to grow like that!
But unfortunately, talent is talent. No secret manual or mystical pill was behind it. And so, these hopeful girls had no choice but to leave disappointed, dreams deflated.
Ye Ping’an himself was now ten years old. With his fine features and fair skin, he looked like a young celestial prince straight out of a painting.
But good looks didn’t mean much in a world like this.
He was, after all, nothing more than cannon fodder in this story—barely even worthy of being called a background character.
Unless something miraculous happened, he probably only had five years left to live.
Looking at his junior sister, who stood so close to breaking into the eleventh layer but couldn’t quite make the leap, Ye Ping’an felt a pang of helplessness.
This was the reality of the Wastelands. That Mengyao had reached such a level in just two short years was already nothing short of miraculous.
She could easily be called the number one genius in the entire region.
To support her, Ye Ping’an had secretly raided more than half of the Xuanxing Sect’s treasury.
If it weren’t for the remaining spirit stones being needed for emergencies, he might have cleaned it out completely.
All the spirit stones, pills, and elixirs that had gone into Mengyao’s cultivation… collectively, they cost the sect nearly half its fortune.
But it was all worth it—it proved just how frightening her talent truly was.
And just to make things clear: even if all those resources were dumped into Ye Ping’an himself, he probably wouldn’t even make it past the seventh layer.
Now, with spiritual energy scarce and only a handful of spirit stones left, Mengyao would likely need several more years to break into the eleventh layer.
But Ye Ping’an didn’t have that kind of time.
Given her current strength, it was time to move forward with the next phase of his plan.
And so, this morning, Ye Ping’an made a decision—he would borrow the main character Feng Aotian’s opportunity for himself.
Facing the two girls standing before him, Ye Ping’an clenched his fists and declared with conviction,
“I’ve decided. We’re heading to the Lower Domain today.”
“Yay! No sword training today!” Mengyao immediately let out a cheer. After grinding every day to improve her cultivation, just hearing that they’d be going outside filled her with joy.
“The Lower Domain? Young Master, why are we going there?” Ningyue asked, frowning in confusion.
“With Mengyao’s current level, staying in the Wastelands any longer would slow her progress. It might take years just to break through again.”
“By the time she hits the twelfth or thirteenth layer, she might be old and wrinkled,” Ye Ping’an said, half-joking, half-serious.
“Well then… why don’t I just take a Foundation Establishment Pill and skip ahead?” Mengyao mumbled, pouting.
She thought quietly to herself: maybe if she stopped aiming so high, she could just stay by her senior brother and Ningyue forever.
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Ye Ping’an’s expression turned stern.
“With your talent, not pushing yourself to reach the twelfth layer would be a complete waste. Don’t you ever think like that again.”
Besides, even if she wanted a Foundation Establishment Pill, it was almost impossible to get one right now.
There wasn’t a single alchemist left in the Wastelands.
Anyone who wanted that kind of pill had to head to a proper sect in the Lower Domain—and Ye Ping’an’s own sect, the Lianhua Sect, was currently in the midst of pre-war mobilization.
All their resources were being hoarded for internal disciples, to ensure they had the strength when battle began.
Foundation Establishment Pills, even in the Lower Domain, were priceless. None had been released to the public in years.
And it was only because of this war that Lianhua Sect hadn’t checked on the Wastelands lately. In fact, even when a Blood Demon was on the verge of reaching Nascent Soul stage, they were still clueless.
If it weren’t for the protagonist stepping in to resolve that disaster, once the Blood Demon broke through, both Lianhua Sect and its rival Feiyu Sect would’ve been reduced to demon food.
“Okay, okay! I get it!” Mengyao quickly nodded, like a chick pecking rice. Despite her strength already far surpassing Ye Ping’an’s, she still listened to him out of long-standing habit.
“But… the Lower Domain’s really far away,” Ningyue said, brows furrowing with concern.
“Even with a carriage, the journey would take forever. And if something dangerous happens along the way, what do we do? Unless… we fly by sword… But, Young Master, neither of us knows how to fly!”
She suddenly turned toward Mengyao, eyes gleaming with realization.
“Ningyue, you guessed it.” Ye Ping’an turned as well, locking eyes with Mengyao.
“W-what is it?” Mengyao shrank back a little under their gazes, nerves kicking in.
“Of course you’re going to fly us there!” Ye Ping’an said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
In the world of cultivation, controlling objects with spiritual energy required at least the fourth layer of Qi Refinement. But that was just for levitation—real sword flight needed at least the sixth layer.
Even then, flight time was short, and bringing even one extra person was pushing it.
Ye Ping’an?
He hadn’t even reached the fourth layer. And that was with the advantage of being the sect leader’s son.
If he had the same resources as an ordinary disciple, breaking through to the second layer would’ve been a miracle.
As for Ningyue?
Aside from her increasingly curvaceous figure and fair, jade-like skin, she was still completely mortal.
So naturally, the heavy lifting fell to little Mengyao—now a powerhouse at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement.