Longevity: My Talents Are a Bit Abundant

Starlight Island, at the summit of the main peak.

Shen Xuan fell a little behind True Monarch Qing Yun.

The two of them stood at the edge of the cliff, beneath their feet a sheer ten‑thousand‑zhang precipice and the boundless vast sea.

In the distance the waves piled up into long lines of deep indigo, and when they surged close they shattered against the reefs, turning into sheets of foam.

Like a dream, like an illusion.

True Monarch Qing Yun and Shen Xuan were both Water Cultivators.

Both liked to wear azure robes, and both had the refined air of scholarly gentlemen.

Standing together, they bore quite a few points of resemblance.

Only, no matter how you looked, the difference in their ages was a bit too great.

True Monarch Qing Yun was steeped in the air of twilight.

Shen Xuan was in the full bloom of his prime.

At this moment, True Monarch Qing Yun stared at the ceaselessly surging seawater, lost in a daze.

His gaze pierced through the rolling spray, cast toward a more distant, hazy faraway.

In his eyes there was some special thing, rising and falling with the swell of the sea.

It was a deep, bone‑weary exhaustion born of having lived through a long, long span of years.

The sound of waves came in bursts.

The two of them remained silent.

After a long time.

True Monarch Qing Yun let out a faint sigh.

"Shen Xuan, it is this old man who has been at fault."

Shen Xuan was slightly taken aback.

"This old man is old; my eyesight grows worse and worse."

True Monarch Qing Yun turned around and fixed his gaze on Shen Xuan.

This time, he did not use his Divine Sense.

With those eyes that were no longer clear, he carefully sized up the Shen Xuan before him.

In his gaze there was none of the oppressive might of a Nascent Soul True Monarch; instead he seemed like an ordinary elder, scrutinizing a younger member of the clan.

"Truly alike!"

Shen Xuan stood still, calmly meeting that gaze head‑on.

He remembered many years ago, the first time he had stood before True Monarch Qing Yun, like an ant looking up at a mountain, that suffocating sense of helplessness when life and death, fate itself, rested in another’s single thought.

Now, the oppressive might that had once made even his soul tremble had completely vanished.

It was not that True Monarch Qing Yun had reined in his aura.

But that he himself now stood high enough to look level at that mountain he had once only dared to look up to.

Under the perception of the Other Shore Demon Flower.

Shen Xuan could clearly feel that True Monarch Qing Yun’s Lifespan was nearing its end

with perhaps only thirty to forty years remaining.

"You are truly like this old man in his youth!"

As the only Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Seeing Shen Xuan, likewise a Water Cultivator at this moment.

True Monarch Qing Yun could not help but feel quite a few emotions.

"True Monarch Purple Maple sent word to this old man, saying that you have achieved Body Refining Great Success and stepped into the Divine Power Realm."

"This disciple chanced upon a fortuitous encounter overseas and, by luck, broke through."

Shen Xuan replied respectfully.

True Monarch Qing Yun still did not use Divine Sense to probe.

As though a clan elder, speaking with him calmly from the heart.

However, as a disciple of the Cyan Cloud Sect, Shen Xuan always maintained respect toward True Monarch Qing Yun.

He would not refute him face to face.

In truth, True Monarch Qing Yun came from a prestigious family within the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Apart from both being Water Cultivators.

Their birth, background, and paths were entirely different.

There was nothing there to be compared.

True Monarch Qing Yun’s Talent was exceptional.

From childhood he had been cultivated as the Sect’s prodigy.

He had "wealth, companions, methods, and land" complete.

He only needed to focus on cultivation, never once needing to worry about Cultivation Resources.

Shen Xuan, however, was different.

He was of Loose Cultivator origin.

Aside from Mister Yan, who had first led him onto the path.

To have come to where he was today was entirely by his own efforts.

Mn, and the Mysterious Jade Talisman he activated at sixty.

Many times, birth determines destiny.

For one from a poor family to set his ambitions high has always been a path of nine deaths for every life.

If you fall into depravity, no one will stop you.

But if you wish to make a name for yourself, to defy the heavens and change your fate, the ones who will try to block you are not just in the thousands upon thousands.

Birth determines destiny.

So it is in the secular Mortal World.

And in this Cultivation Realm where interests weigh even heavier, it is all the more cruel.

On the path of the Loose Cultivator, every step forward must be fought for with a hundredfold hardship; the obstacles along the way are beyond counting.

Shen Xuan possessed the vision of a previous life and had a clear grasp of human affairs.

He had always been exceedingly cautious, putting safety first.

In dealing with people and handling matters, he only sought to be true to his own Wenxin, and never cared for the opinions of others.

All interpersonal ties in the Cultivation Realm are, in essence, relationships of interest, exchanges of value.

Even those he trusted most—Qin Yuehan and True Master Cold Jade—were no exception.

Let alone True Monarch Qing Yun before him.

Behind that complex, indescribable emotion, how much was appreciation for talent, how much was planning for the Sect, and how much was an old man’s reminiscence of the past—in all likelihood, even True Monarch Qing Yun himself might not be able to say clearly.

"Since you have achieved the Divine Power Realm, you are a Tier Four Cultivator. Shen Xuan, what plans do you have?"

True Monarch Qing Yun said calmly.

His eyes looked straight at Shen Xuan.

His own disciple had attained the Divine Power Realm, and yet it was an outsider who informed him.

This was undoubtedly a very shameful matter.

This also precisely showed.

That this disciple Shen Xuan harbored wariness toward him, and had never truly relied on him or on the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Shen Xuan opened his mouth and was just about to speak.

"Wait a moment!"

True Monarch Qing Yun said, "Shen Xuan, this old man asks you—are you willing to take up the position of Sect Leader of the Cyan Cloud Sect?"

Shen Xuan smiled, and shook his head slightly.

"True Monarch’s favor is more than this disciple deserves. Only, this disciple has long been used to a free and easy life, and is not material for presiding over a Sect."

A hint of disappointment flashed in True Monarch Qing Yun’s eyes.

He had already known Shen Xuan would answer thus.

"Alas! Shen Xuan, think it over once more. If you take on the position of Sect Leader of the Cyan Cloud Sect, this old man will gather the full strength of the Sect to help you condense a Nascent Soul!"

Shen Xuan asked calmly, "True Monarch, in your view, between Senior Brother Spirit Sword and Senior Brother Mysterious Trace, whose chances of condensing a Nascent Soul are greater?"

True Monarch Qing Yun was silent for a while before he said, "Both have a chance."

Shen Xuan said nothing, quietly looking at him.

True Monarch Qing Yun held his gaze for several breaths, then slowly said, "Spirit Sword’s chances are somewhat greater."

Shen Xuan asked again, "If True Monarch were to give his full support, whom would you choose?"

This time, True Monarch Qing Yun remained silent for even longer.

On the summit there was only the sound of wind and waves.

Shen Xuan already understood.

He smiled and said, "The position of Sect Leader carries a heavy burden, demanding the expenditure of endless effort and years. This disciple’s aptitude is limited; even if I devoted myself single‑mindedly to cultivation, I would still have no certainty of glimpsing the path to Nascent Soul. Such a great responsibility, I would never dare to usurp."