Chapter 3249: Never Even Dreamed Of

Song Ruyu's talent of entering the Transformation Realm at sixteen truly shocked Ye Chen; needless to say, if he were to report this to the Wanlong Hall, everyone there would probably feel ashamed.

Wan Pojun was already a martial arts genius, yet even in his twenties he had only entered the Dark Realm with his help.

If he were to break through on his own, reaching the Transformation Realm by forty would already be an extraordinary achievement.

But Song Ruyu not only entered the Dark Realm at sixteen, she had even comprehended the Dao by her early twenties!

Such talent and strength, Ye Chen had never heard of before.

Astonished, Ye Chen couldn't help but ask her: "You entered the Transformation Realm at sixteen—was it due to a master's guidance, or did you encounter some opportunity?"

Song Ruyu thought for a moment, then shook her head: "No, I merely had a martial arts mind method, the same as those used by the death warriors and the Elite Cavalry Guard of the Breaking Pure Association."

Ye Chen asked again: "Did the Breaking Pure Association give you no help at all?"

"No." Song Ruyu said: "I simply followed the mind method on my own, cultivating diligently. Though I had no one guiding me, I also encountered no difficulties; my breakthroughs were smooth all the way. In two or three years I had already reached the peak of the Manifest Realm, in three or four years I had entered the Dark Realm, and after another three or four years I broke through into the Transformation Realm. They say breaking through each realm in martial arts is as difficult as climbing to heaven, and even finding an opportunity to break through is hard, but for me, everything seemed to happen naturally and effortlessly."

Ye Chen sighed: "Sometimes people really are not of the same kind; your attainments in martial arts are truly unprecedented in my life."

Song Ruyu self-deprecatingly said: "Although my attainments in martial arts are strong, martial arts after all fall short of the Dao by more than one dimension—just like no matter how skilled a martial arts master is, he cannot match guns, cannons, and missiles. Before you, Mr. Ye, I have no power to resist whatsoever."

Ye Chen asked her: "Then how did you enlighten and comprehend the Dao? Please explain the cause and effect clearly."

Song Ruyu said: "I never thought I would have the chance to enlighten and comprehend the Dao. I only knew that in the Breaking Pure Association, martial arts masters held high status, and cultivators held even higher status. For someone like me from a collateral branch of the family, whether male or female, the most promising path was actually to become a cultivator and serve the Breaking Pure Association—only then could one truly change the family's fate."

She continued: "The Wu family wanting to become cultivators is not difficult. To favor the lord's own kin and enhance their survival strength, the lord every few years would screen the Wu family's new generation of children, selecting one or two with the best talent to help them enlighten and comprehend the Dao."

"Enlightening and comprehending the Dao is as difficult as climbing to heaven; without external intervention, the Wu family over several centuries producing even one who could comprehend the Dao on their own would already be worthy of burning high incense. So the lord, to increase her family's share of strength, would use her own cultivation and elixirs to help the Wu family's descendants enlighten and comprehend the Dao."

"But the cost of forcibly helping someone enlighten and comprehend the Dao is great; even the lord cannot truly achieve rapid mass cultivation of cultivators. Basically, it takes an average of two to three years to cultivate one or two entry-level cultivators—and that is already considered the utmost limit."

"Moreover, the vast majority of cultivators who enlighten and comprehend the Dao through external intervention, due to limited talent, find it hard to progress far. Wanting to become a master like the Four Great Marquises demands exceptionally high talent."

Continuing, Song Ruyu said: "In the lord's eyes, the Song family are merely tools for the Wu family to continue their lineage; she has always looked down on them. But I was able to comprehend the Dao because, when I was sixteen, a Wu family expert came to the Song family to inspect eligible girls, discovered I had already entered the Dark Realm, and immediately reported this to the Grand Commander."

"The Grand Commander seemed never to have heard of anyone entering the Dark Realm at sixteen; astonished, he immediately reported this to the lord."

"And he reported it to Wu Feiyan because, for many years, the lord has been actively seeking talents suitable for enlightening and comprehending the Dao, or already enlightened geniuses, and upon finding them, brings them under the Breaking Pure Association's command."

"After the Grand Commander reported my situation to the lord, the lord let the Grand Commander give me a mind method for me to contemplate, and said that if I could successfully enlighten and comprehend the Dao, she would take me as her personal disciple."

Ye Chen asked her: "You……you actually enlightened and comprehended the Dao just by relying on a mind method?!"

Just now, Song Ruyu said she relied on a mind method to gradually break through to the Transformation Realm; if her enlightenment and comprehension of the Dao was also due to a mind method, then this talent is excessively strong.

Song Ruyu said: "Self-enlightenment and comprehension of the Dao is the lord's test for martial arts geniuses; she no longer has extra energy to use her own power to help martial arts geniuses enlighten and comprehend the Dao. So, whether a martial arts genius can enter her sight ultimately depends on whether they can enlighten and comprehend the Dao by relying solely on the mind method."

Continuing, Song Ruyu said: "After receiving that mind method, I immediately realized it was my only chance to escape the fate of marrying into the Wu family and simultaneously change the Song family's destiny. Thus, I treasured that mind method as a priceless jewel, neglecting sleep and food to contemplate it for six years, and finally, two years ago—when I was twenty-two—I successfully enlightened and comprehended the Dao!"

Ye Chen felt his head spin as he listened, unable to help but say: "To enlighten and comprehend the Dao in six years—this speed is unheard of!"

As he spoke, he looked at Song Ruyu and asked: "So, you are now Lord Wu Feiyan's personal disciple?"

"Not quite." Song Ruyu said: "After I enlightened and comprehended the Dao, the Grand Commander reported the news to the lord. The lord perhaps never expected that a neglected collateral branch of the family could produce a young girl capable of self-enlightenment and comprehension of the Dao, so she immediately ordered the Grand Commander to bring me to the Right Military Commander's Mansion to truly serve the Breaking Pure Association, and she also wished to see me personally when she inspects the Right Military Commander's Mansion at the beginning of next year, and then take me on as her personal disciple then."

Having said that, Song Ruyu added: "The lord's command, the Grand Commander naturally dare not neglect; he immediately brought me to the Right Military Commander's Mansion and appointed me as a Deputy Secretary. The lord also had people send that fine sword and a small Nourishing Origin Pill to the Right Military Commander's Mansion, and the Grand Commander personally handed them to me."

Ye Chen nodded, raised the fine sword in his hand, and asked her: "Is this sword the one Lord Wu Feiyan gave you?"

"Yes!" Song Ruyu nodded: "This fine sword contains a formation for thought control, greatly enhancing my combat ability, and that small Nourishing Origin Pill happened to provide me with extremely precious spiritual energy."

Continuing, Song Ruyu said with a somewhat dim expression: "What I never even dreamed of was that the small Nourishing Origin Pill sent by the lord, although containing spiritual energy, also contained a stronger strange poison. That strange poison is extremely domineering; it is said even cultivators cannot dispel it, and within three years one must take the antidote, otherwise death is certain!"