Watching the Mountain

"Was your failure because you lost to Qin Yufeng?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I had never known defeat before. I had built up an aura and belief of invincibility. After losing to him, that aura and belief were shattered. I can no longer be as unstoppable as I was before."

Zhang Zhentian clenched his fists, his expression filled with bitter frustration.

"Just a single loss?" Xu Ran asked quietly.

Zhang Zhentian shook his head and said, "Senior Brother, you don’t understand. An aura and belief of invincibility only exists because one has never lost. If you lose, how can you still be invincible?"

"It’s just like Ye Shan. He never lost."

"I’m the one who vowed to take Ye Shan’s place. I can’t lose. If I do, it means I can’t replace him."

After speaking, he sighed, his voice low.

"All these years, I’ve worked tirelessly, never daring to slack off for a moment. I always remembered my goal: to replace Senior Brother Ye Shan and become the new symbol of faith for the Sect’s disciples."

"Many people said I had already succeeded. That now, everyone in the Sect only remembers me, the Evergreen Sword Saint, and no one remembers Ye Shan anymore."

"But I’m the only one who knows the truth. I’ve never reached the level Senior Brother Ye Shan once did."

He looked up slightly at Xu Ran and said, "Senior Brother, you saw it too, didn’t you? The disciples’ reactions after I lost to Qin Yufeng."

He cracked a mocking smile. "They were actually comforting me, telling me to keep trying."

"But... no one would ever comfort Senior Brother Ye Shan. They all knew he didn’t need comfort. They would just tell him to get back on his feet, pick up his sword, and continue to lead the Sect to glory."

"Back then, everyone witnessed Senior Brother Ye Shan’s Golden Core shattering. But even so, as he lay gravely injured and unconscious, not a single person doubted that he would be invincible again once he woke up."

"Because in everyone’s hearts, as long as Ye Shan was alive, he was the symbol of invincibility. He would never fail."

"But what about me? No matter how hard I try, everyone will only ever see me as the Evergreen Sword Saint who grew up before their very eyes. I’m the pride of the Sect, but... I’m not the invincible Ye Shan."

"That’s why I always told myself I could never fail. I had to be stronger than Ye Shan, more dazzling, until I completely surpassed him."

"But, in the end, I still lost."

"And as long as I have a loss to my name, I can never become the new Ye Shan."

Xu Ran listened to Zhang Zhentian’s words and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly.

"A few years ago, I had an argument with Senior Brother Ye Shan. I asked him how much of his former glory he thought you possessed."

"Senior Brother Ye Shan said you only had ten percent of his glory."

"I was unconvinced. I said you had at least eighty or ninety percent. He insisted it was only ten, and even said that getting him to personally admit you had that much was the greatest honor of your life."

Xu Ran continued, "I disagreed with him, so we argued. I told him you would surpass him sooner or later and become the most dazzling person of this era. He said you couldn’t do it, but I stood my ground."

He finished, staring directly at Zhang Zhentian. "Even now, I still hold that belief. I have always firmly believed that you can surpass Ye Shan and become the strongest, most dazzling existence of this age."

Zhang Zhentian was slightly stunned by his words.

Xu Ran went on, "When Elder Flowing Clouds entrusted you to me yesterday, he told me he wasn’t praying for you to become the invincible Evergreen Sword Saint again. He just hopes you can become a normal person and live a normal life."

"Grandfather." Zhang Zhentian lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression from Xu Ran.

He let out a long sigh and said to Zhang Zhentian:

"You know what I’m like. I don’t understand all this about beliefs of invincibility. I just cultivate quietly. Like I told you before, as long as you walk the path of cultivation to its very end, everything that came before will just be scenery and memories along the way."

"What you do now is up to you."

With that, Xu Ran turned and left quietly, not disturbing him any further.

*

*

*

Everyone was changing, but Shen Wuchen remained the same.

After he broke through to the Purple Mansion Stage, many people who were curious about his method of trading power for a higher Realm were eager to see what his strength would be like.

As a result, many disciples at the Purple Mansion Stage came to challenge him.

Faced with their enthusiasm, Shen Wuchen accepted all comers. With an arrogant expression, he took on every challenge.

The result was no surprise: out of one hundred and twenty-three battles, he lost every single one.

In reality, by the time less than half the matches were complete, the remaining challengers had lost interest and wanted to call it off.

Shen Wuchen, however, disagreed. With a cold expression, he said, "I, Shen Wuchen, am a man of my word. I said I would accept your challenges, so I must see them all through to the end."

Seeing his insistence, everyone could only resign themselves to continuing the matches.

Ever since breaking through to the Purple Mansion Stage, Shen Wuchen had not yet gone to see Xu Ran.

This was because the moment he broke through, he had gone around boasting that it was all thanks to Master Xu. This forced the Sect to hastily push Zi Teng Master into the spotlight to divert attention.

Then, while Zi Teng Master paraded around with his hands behind his back and his chest puffed out, bragging about how he had pioneered this brand-new path of "Realm-Flow," Shen Wuchen had to tag along and act as a witness.

On top of that, accepting so many challenges meant that even though it had been over half a year since he reached the Purple Mansion Stage, he still hadn’t had the chance to offer his congratulations to Xu Ran.

Only after losing his final match did he hurry to Qing Xuan Peak.

But as soon as he stepped into Xu Ran’s Cave Mansion, he saw a figure sitting dazedly in the front courtyard. The man was powerfully built and dressed in black martial attire, but he looked dispirited.

He recognized him at a glance. This was his formidable rival for the chance to become Master Xu’s disciple—the Evergreen Sword Saint, Zhang Zhentian.

Upon recognizing the man, Shen Wuchen, who had come to offer congratulations, instantly wiped all expression from his face. He put on his usual mask of cold arrogance and spoke icily.

"You. What are you doing here?"

Hearing Shen Wuchen’s voice, Zhang Zhentian quietly looked up. He was slightly taken aback when he saw who it was.

He was certainly no stranger to Shen Wuchen. Xu Ran had told him about the young man before and had even entrusted him with the task of tempering him.

Later, the two of them had participated in the New Domain Grand Tournament together, though they hadn’t interacted much.

Looking at Shen Wuchen’s faint hostility, Zhang Zhentian instantly recalled what Senior Brother Xu had told him. Instead of answering Shen Wuchen’s question, he asked with a hint of curiosity:

"Senior Brother Xu told me your goal is to defeat me one day?"

Shen Wuchen’s expression froze. He felt a pang of embarrassment. ’Why does Master Xu tell everyone everything?’

’And he told the person involved, no less! Isn’t he just trying to make things difficult for me?’

He was at a loss for a moment, but he was well-practiced in these situations. He quickly reverted to his emotionless, arrogant facade and said coolly, "So what if it is?"

Zhang Zhentian was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it still your goal now?"

"Now?" Shen Wuchen paused, then recalled the recent rumors about Zhang Zhentian circulating within the Sect.

At this thought, he gave a disdainful sneer. "What you do has nothing to do with me. I only need to achieve my own goal."

Zhang Zhentian was taken aback by this. He studied Shen Wuchen for a long time before slowly asking, "Junior Brother Shen, I’m curious. In the grand tournament, you clearly knew you would lose, so why did you still participate?"

Shen Wuchen shot him a glance and replied flatly, "Because I want to get stronger."

Zhang Zhentian was startled for a second, but then he understood. The man wanted to accumulate combat experience. But when he thought about his track record, he fell silent again. After a moment, he asked hesitantly, "But does that really do you any good?"

Shen Wuchen knew what he meant. He was implying that since Shen Wuchen relied on overwhelming others with his higher Realm, combat experience was of little use to him.

"Every little bit of strength counts." After saying this, he looked at Zhang Zhentian with that same arrogant expression and declared, "Just you wait. I will defeat you with my own hands."

Shen Wuchen knew he was weak, but he had never given up on the idea of becoming stronger. He refused to miss even the slightest opportunity to improve his strength, which was why he was always willing to fight, even if he always lost.

Zhang Zhentian fell silent at his words. After a long moment, he suddenly raised his head, his gaze clear and bright. He gave Shen Wuchen a small smile and said:

"Junior Brother Shen, there’s no need to wait. Since we’ve run into each other today, let’s have a match right now."

Shen Wuchen stiffened. He had only come to offer his congratulations today; he hadn’t planned on fighting.