"Eight levels in six hours."
Zhao Yuexin’s gaze, sharp and unwavering, remained fixed on him, piercing through the dimming light of the forest. It was a look designed to dissect, to peel back layers of outward composure and casualness, searching for the raw, unvarnished truth hidden beneath any pretense. She was trying to discern the reality from what might rely be a clever deception.
"Do you know what that ans on Tianyuan Star?" she pressed.
Lin Yi, with a fluid and almost lazy efficiency, sheathed the Thunder Surge Blade. The smooth, soft click of the blade sliding ho was the only sound for a mont, a subtle counterpoint to the quiet tension in the air. His shoulders relaxed slightly as his hands beca free.
Lin Yi felt a peculiar tension settle in the air around them. He could sense the probing gaze, the sharp scrutiny of soone who had long surpassed the ordinary.
He knew without a doubt that individuals of Zhao Yuexin’s caliber, those whose cultivation had reached truly profound heights, possessed an innate ability to perceive the cultivation level of others with startling clarity. It was like trying to hide the sun from soone who lived among the stars. To them, the veil of ordinary obfuscation would be paper-thin, easily seen through. He understood perfectly well the silent astonishnt unfolding within her.
His astonishing 10,000-fold amplification, a secret he guarded fiercely, was now, through his rapidly rising level, becoming an undeniable, perplexing reality before her eyes. It was a phenonon that defied established understanding, a glitch in the very fabric of cultivation, and he knew it had to be shaking her fundantal beliefs about the world. For now, maintaining a quiet deanor seed the only sensible course of action; any explanation he offered would likely fall short, only raising more questions he wasn’t prepared to answer, as he offered no verbal response to her unspoken query.
Just as the silence threatened to stretch uncomfortably, a booming voice ripped through the quiet contemplation in his mind.
"Little one!" Lei Bao said in Lin Yi’s mind. "You have kept a secret from all this ti, haven’t you? You never once ntioned possessing such a truly defying stroke of luck, a gift so extraordinary it borders on the impossible. This isn’t rely good fortune; it’s a talent of the Ascendent level, an exception, sothing almost unheard of in our generation, or perhaps any generation for that matter." He paused, shaking his head slowly, piecing together the impossible puzzle. "The way your experience seems to be accumulating, the sheer speed of it, is clearly being multiplied. There is simply no other conceivable explanation for the astonishing fact that you have managed to reach such an incredibly high level—238, in fact—in what amounts to just a re six hours. It breaks every established rule of cultivation progression, pushing past what anyone would consider reasonable or even possible."
As Lin Yi didn’t respond to her question, she quickly continued, sparing him no room for thoughts.
"It ans even core disciples of the Zhao Family, individuals who have dedicated their lives to cultivation and possess resources far beyond what you can imagine, would call such a feat absurd, bordering on the impossible."
She then took a few slow, deliberate steps forward, her movent precise and unhurried, emphasizing the seriousness of her statent.
"The outer zone beasts are here for very specific purposes: they’re useful for tempering nascent foundations, for refining raw combat instincts, and for solidifying the fragile breakthroughs that cultivators achieve. They are foundational tools, not so kind of accelerated leveling chanism. They are absolutely not sothing people use as a casual ans to jump eight significant levels in half a day’s work." Her words were laced with an undercurrent of disbelief, a clear indication that his actions had completely upended her understanding of cultivation.
Lin Yi, rather than engaging directly with her incredulity, simply lifted his gaze. He looked past her, towards the darkening expanse of the sky visible through the tangled canopy of the forest, where the last vestiges of daylight were fading into deep blues and purples.
"Then perhaps your family is simply using them inefficiently," he offered, his voice still remarkably calm, almost conversational, betraying no hint of challenge or apology. It was a comnt designed to irk, a gentle but firm counter-accusation.
For the very first ti since their encounter, Zhao Yuexin’s composure faltered, just for a fleeting mont. A subtle twitch, almost imperceptible, tugged at the corner of her brow, betraying a flicker of genuine irritation beneath her carefully constructed calm. It was a rare break in her otherwise flawless mask of authority.
"You speak with an extraordinary degree of boldness," she stated, her voice now carrying a sharper edge. "Especially for soone whose guest token, which grants you access and protection here, could be revoked at my re whim, leaving you vulnerable." The implied threat hung heavy in the air between them.
"And yet," Lin Yi said, his gaze finally eting hers with a steady, unblinking intensity, a small, knowing glint in his eyes, "you have not revoked it."
It was a quiet observation, but it highlighted the contradiction in her warning, suggesting she was holding back for reasons she hadn’t stated.
The two individuals stood locked in a silent exchange, their eyes holding, each attempting to read the other, to gauge the true asure of their opponent. The air thrumd with unspoken questions and challenges.
A soft, cool breeze, like a sigh from the ancient trees, rustled through the dense foliage, stirring the leaves and montarily breaking the rigid stillness that had settled around them. It carried the scent of damp earth and distant, wild greenery.
Within the sheathed Thunder Surge Blade, a faint, almost playful crackle of energy emanated from Lei Bao. It was a subtle, almost imperceptible hum, but to those who knew it, the sound clearly conveyed a sense of amusent, as if the blade itself was enjoying the tense drama unfolding.
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