Invincible Young Master in the City

Having obtained the seventh little crystal, Ye Fan still couldn’t draw on its power.

The power of this little crystal seemed stronger than that of the previous six, and as for the elemental attribute within it, Ye Fan had no idea. Right now he could only try to understand the seventh little crystal through his own observation.

The time left to him was already running short. If he couldn’t, in a brief span, thoroughly investigate the attributes of the seventh little crystal and, in passing, activate the other six little crystals in his body, then all his previous efforts would have been for nothing. At this moment he needed to gain the complete trust of the seventh little crystal and attempt to establish a way of communicating with it.

At this very moment, somewhere within the Pan Gu secret realm, Pan Gu was also observing Ye Fan’s every move. By closing his eyes he could meditate and sense the fluctuations in Ye Fan’s power; he could feel that Ye Fan was currently subduing the power of the seventh little crystal.

"You’re not going to hinder him?" Fu Xi asked.

"Why should I hinder him? There’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing now. I’m very satisfied with his efforts. Once he completes the fusion of these elemental powers and finds the chosen one, we shouldn’t be far from saving the heavenly tribulation." Pan Gu said, still with his eyes closed.

Fu Xi looked somewhat puzzled as he said, "Have you considered that if he fuses these powers, then after he saves the heavenly tribulation, his cultivation will surpass yours? How will you suppress his cultivation then? At that time, I’m afraid it won’t be so easy for you to defeat him."

"Even if it’s somewhat difficult for me, it’s not something completely impossible," Pan Gu said. "The meaning of our existence as ancient cultivators lies in suppressing those lower-tier cultivators, people like Ye Fan. Ye Fan’s cultivation may be high, but you must also understand: if we can’t make Ye Fan submit without resistance, then we can only fight him. And defeating him is far easier than defeating the heavenly tribulation."

With a hint of helplessness on his face, Fu Xi said, "I hope that after saving the heavenly tribulation, you can still stay this optimistic. But as I see it, Ye Fan’s cultivation is already rising rapidly. If by then you can’t defeat him, you’ll end up enslaved by him, and the entire ancient cultivation world will become a joke. The humans we created will in the end still overcome us. Isn’t that far too ironic?"

...

...

At this moment, those concerned about Ye Fan were not only Pan Gu and Fu Xi, but also Zhuo Junwu and Shen Biancheng.

Zhuo Junwu had been paying close attention to what Ye Fan was doing. When he learned that Ye Fan had obtained the seventh crystal, he felt somewhat confused. On the one hand, he wanted Ye Fan’s cultivation to be higher so he could collide head-on with the ancient mighty ones; on the other hand, he hoped Ye Fan could help him complete the heavenly tribulation.

"Master, it seems that junior brother is no longer heeding your summons. He’s acting more and more on his own, and now he’s even found the seventh crystal. What should we do?" Shen Biancheng asked, sounding a bit nervous.

Zhuo Junwu said coldly, "Do you think I’ve made no preparations at all? But even knowing his cultivation is improving, what good methods do we have? His existence is either to fulfill the heavenly tribulation or to save it. There is simply no third path to choose. I truly don’t know how I should guide him. In him I see the unyielding tenacity of humanity. That may once have been a virtue, but now this same stubbornness has become his greatest fatal weakness."

Bai He asked from the side, "I wonder what method Master Zhuo intends to use to complete the heavenly tribulation?"

"This doesn’t concern you too much. I gave you power, but that doesn’t mean I’ll indulge you in questioning my decisions. The ancient cultivation world no longer needs to exist. Even if Ye Fan saves the heavenly tribulation, he must still complete the enslavement of the ancient cultivators. That in itself fulfills the task assigned by the heavenly tribulation in another form. As for how to deal with a Ye Fan whose cultivation surpasses that of the ancient cultivation world—that’s a matter for the next heavenly tribulation, and has nothing to do with us," Zhuo Junwu said.

After pondering carefully, Shen Biancheng asked, "Going by what you say, Master, doesn’t that mean junior brother himself is the greatest heavenly tribulation?"

"You could put it that way. The main goal of this heavenly tribulation is to annihilate the ancient cultivators. Even if the heavenly tribulation itself cannot be completed, Ye Fan can still accomplish it in the end. So he’s still advancing in accordance with the principles the heavenly tribulation gave him. It’s just that we must now prevent him from being used by Pan Gu, Fu Xi, and the others. Ye Fan is very straightforward in many situations; even when he clearly knows something shouldn’t be done, he still goes all in to accomplish it. That’s what worries me," Zhuo Junwu said.

Shen Biancheng asked for instructions, "Then please give the order, Master. This disciple will go at once to help you protect junior brother."

"You, protect him? Forget it. It’s not just that you lack the ability—even if you had it, so what? Ye Fan’s cultivation has already reached a terrifying level. He now already regards both you and me as enemies. If you go to see him, no matter how tactfully you try to persuade him, he won’t listen to anything you say. His stubbornness is almost exactly the same as mine..."

Zhuo Junwu seemed lost in thought.

Shen Biancheng said, "Then Master, are we just going to do nothing now?"

"We act! What needs to be done must still be done. But remember this: you must not become Ye Fan’s open enemy. You must understand, I now have to rely on his strength to complete the heavenly tribulation. No matter how the ancient cultivators are ultimately defeated, Ye Fan will be heavily involved. If you disrupt the process, I will not spare you!" Zhuo Junwu threatened.

Shen Biancheng bowed very honestly and said, "Yes, Master. This disciple knows what to do."

...

...

Ye Fan was still staying on Earth, and for now he still had to help Lan Jing and the seventh crystal complete the next few rounds of cultivation.

Through these repeated cultivation sessions, Ye Fan sought to draw the little crystal’s attention, to make it serve him. Then he would be able to make the little crystal become a part of his own body, so that it could help awaken the other six little crystals.

Of course, this was only Ye Fan’s own conjecture. As for how exactly to accomplish it, Ye Fan himself had no real confidence, because many things had gone off track from the very beginning. The six little crystals being sealed was not entirely a bad thing for him. At least he could use the elemental power formed within his own body to unleash tremendous offensive force, whereas before, when he relied on the six little crystals, he had been using external power.

When you turn power into your own, then whatever trouble you encounter ceases to be trouble. If you must depend on others or on some powerful weapon, once that person is gone or that weapon is no longer in your hands, the only possible outcome is death.

"Ye Fan, after two rounds of cultivation I feel like there’s a lot of strange power in my body. What is this?" Lan Jing looked at Ye Fan and asked.

"It’s elemental power," Ye Fan answered with certainty.