Ye Tiancheng was busy these past few days, eager to find his fiancée and show off his abilities. This eagerness stemmed from a long period of suppression, and Shen Shi understood his feelings without needing explicit explanation, thus remaining silent.
Around the third day, fruits indeed began to appear. They were as small as fists and emitted a faint glow even before ripening.
"Why are you in such a hurry? What's yours will be yours, and what isn't, won't be," Shen Shi finally couldn't help but say to Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng found Shen Shi's words reasonable. He believed that solidifying his foundation was paramount; without it, everything else would be a mirage. Thus, he placed great trust in Shen Shi's advice.
"That's right. Trusting me will never be wrong. Now, pick one of these pears and eat it."
"Are you trying to harm me by making me eat it before it's ripe? Will it give me diarrhea?" she asked, very worried about the situation.
"Don't worry, it absolutely won't kill you."
Shen Shi said to Ye Tiancheng with a hint of helplessness. His words were always absolutely correct, where could there be any error? This fellow simply wouldn't believe him and insisted on going against him, which made Shen Shi feel helpless and angry, yet also resigned.
It was precisely because he was so anxious that he spoke to Ye Tiancheng in such a stern tone. Hearing his words made Ye Tiancheng feel utterly miserable, as he had never experienced such a severe tone before.
This fellow was also extremely anxious, speaking without regard for the consequences. Now, he was making Ye Tiancheng feel unbearable pain.
"I never expected you to be so unaware of the importance of urgency..."
"What if I know now?"
"Then quickly eat it as I instructed!" Hearing this, Shen Shi felt utterly exasperated.
Ye Tiancheng followed Shen Shi's instructions and ate an unripe pear.
As the pear entered his stomach, he immediately felt a surging energy rush towards his abdomen. In an instant, he felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration.
This energy instantly gave him an unparalleled feeling of power, as if he could kill several tigers.
In a flash, he felt a buzzing in his ears, as if many energies were in motion.
After this surge of energy entered his dantian, his dantian instantly expanded. He felt an extreme discomfort.
Afterward, Shen Shi remained silent, as if waiting to witness his suffering. This left Ye Tiancheng feeling like he wanted to cry but had no tears...
He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, he's going to kill me and not even bury me."
Just as Ye Tiancheng was feeling deeply disappointed and about to curse him, he suddenly heard Shen Shi say, "Shut up and cultivate quickly. When you are about to succeed, it will be the time the pears ripen."
Hearing this, he immediately began to cultivate. Not long after, he reached the third level of cultivation, feeling an unprecedented, overbearing power coursing through him.
The reason for his rapid progress was entirely due to his body's energy merging with his cultivated physique, forming a perfect power.
It was this perfect power that filled him with confidence.
"Now you can go out and show off. You can finally retaliate against those who oppressed you before," Shen Shi reminded Ye Tiancheng at this moment.
Ye Tiancheng had been suffocating for days, feeling like he was going insane staying in one place. Upon hearing Shen Shi's words, he leaped up immediately.
It so happened that there was someone monitoring him in this place, someone sent by Hou Mingzhu. Ostensibly, he had handed over the management of the Hou family's affairs to Ye Tiancheng, but in reality, she didn't trust him at all. The person secretly monitoring him was named Hou Ye.
Hou Ye was a disreputable fellow who always found fault with Ye Tiancheng at critical moments.
Because Ye Tiancheng hadn't been seen for several days, Hou Ye assumed Ye Tiancheng didn't respect him. Coincidentally, as Ye Tiancheng reached the third level, Hou Ye came to confront him.
"Ye Tiancheng, you scoundrel, get out here!" When he had nothing else to do, he always liked to extort something from Ye Tiancheng. He hadn't seen Ye Tiancheng pay his respects for days, so he was very angry.
Ye Tiancheng completely ignored his shouts. Lacking any real power, he didn't take Hou Ye seriously at all. As Hou Ye became enraged, he kicked open the shed where Lin Fan was cultivating. The door was designed to keep out gentlemen, not villains, and it wasn't sturdy at all. It was immediately kicked open with a crash.
"Kid, you're tired of living, and you don't even respond when I call you." After kicking the door open, Hou Ye saw Ye Tiancheng sitting there with his legs crossed, chewing on something. He then noticed a pear tree not far away. It bore fruit, and in the midst of the approaching winter, there were pears...
This fellow found it incredible and wanted to taste the pears. So, he reached out with his lecherous hand towards a pear. Of course, he didn't manage to grab the pear. He felt a sharp pain shoot into his chest. Instinctively, he looked and saw a hand gripping his, and the person was staring at him fiercely.
"Let go, you damn bastard!" Hou Ye was furious. He had never felt bullied in this place before, as he was usually the one bullying others. Seeing Ye Tiancheng gripping his hand, he flew into a rage.
"I am no longer the person I was. How dare you be arrogant in front of me? You're the one looking for death." Ye Tiancheng didn't hold back at all. With that, he applied more force to his hand. The sound of bones cracking and grinding was heard. Hou Ye's entire hand was broken and completely ruined.
The pain from his broken hand made him feel as if the sky and earth were collapsing. He cried out, "You are the master! Let go, my hand is about to break!"
"It's too late to say that now. So, I'm going to teach you a lesson. How have you treated me these past three years? Tell me properly."
"I was wrong for the past three years. I understand you are powerful. Please let me go! I am willing to be your ox or horse."
"At your beck and call, hah! I've seen plenty of trash like you. So, scram! Go to Hou Mingzhu. I'll teach you a lesson: it's not about principles, it's about the strong dominating the weak." Perhaps he felt he had gone too far, but thinking about the grievances and suppressed emotions he had endured for three years, it was understandable that he became cold-blooded and ruthless when they erupted.
This fellow now clearly understood his situation, so he dared not say anything further. His mood immediately turned very gloomy. The world of "the strong are respected" was a natural order. Those who were not strong were destined to be eaten and exploited, so it was his own fault for bullying Ye Tiancheng before and now being retaliated against by Ye Tiancheng.
Therefore, he felt extremely distressed. He hadn't wanted to dwell on such matters, but at this moment, he couldn't help but respect Ye Tiancheng's intentions, becoming very serious. A killing intent emanated from his eyes, making him extremely cautious and uneasy all over. Thus, he immediately obeyed Ye Tiancheng's command and rushed out of the wooden shed.
It felt as if this fellow had finally avenged his deep-seated hatred. A strong person dealing with a weak one was like a complete slaughter.
Because it was the first time he had experienced revenge, Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of elation and became a bit arrogant. Shen Shi looked at him with a wry smile, "You truly lack foresight. You're proud of such a small matter. If you encounter something more brutal, let's see how you handle it."
"Something more brutal? What does that have to do with me?"
He added, "This has nothing to do with you, does it? You're not me, how would you know the satisfaction of having three years of suppressed emotions explode at once?"
"I certainly don't know what you're thinking, nor do I want to know."
"You are so annoying," Shen Shi decided to stop talking to Lin Fan, feeling that conversing with him was a waste of his energy. Therefore, he chose to remain silent.
This fellow quickly ran into the city and reported the matter to Hou Mingzhu. Upon hearing his words, Hou Mingzhu chuckled, "Don't let such things happen in front of me again, or you'll regret it."
"It's the absolute truth. If I lie, may lightning strike me and arrows pierce my heart, may I die a terrible death." Hou Yan was on the verge of tears.
"That brat is trash. I've never thought highly of him. You're hyping him up as if he's some divine being, what am I supposed to think?" Hou Mingzhu simply didn't believe him. How could she believe such a story? This was too much of a boast. If he had been unlucky, Hou Mingzhu wouldn't have hesitated to believe it, but for him to be so powerful as to break Hou Ye's hand? How was that possible?
"What I'm saying is true. I've never lied to you."
"How can you expect me to believe you? It's impossible to believe you. Get out!" Hou Mingzhu was rushing to a party and didn't want this fellow blocking her way. She looked at Hou Ye with disdain.
Hou Ye felt like a pig's bladder reflecting in a mirror, neither inside nor out, and had no choice but to slink away.
If she didn't believe his words, no amount of辩解 would be useful. This was a situation where he couldn't defend himself.
"Saying such things is truly wicked and brainless..." Hou Ye deeply regretted agreeing to Hou Mingzhu's request to watch Ye Tiancheng. Now that he was telling the truth, this little shrew didn't believe him. He was so angry he almost hit the wall, but then he thought it didn't matter. After all, Ye Tiancheng would seek revenge on him later, and Hou Mingzhu would lose even more face then.
Upon thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel happy.
This was only natural.
Because the spirit of Ah Q was constantly breeding in his mind.
When you can't beat someone, you naturally have to find some reason to feel good about yourself. This is what is called YY.
Soon, half a month passed, and Ye Tiancheng had cultivated to the seventh level. During these days, he had eaten several special pears.
Through several days of cultivation, his body had become even stronger and more robust. He felt filled with power, capable of killing several cows. He laughed heartily, "It seems I'll be on the path to the peak of my life from now on, able to conquer beautiful women."
"You kid, your mind is always filled with inappropriate thoughts. Be careful of going into qi deviation. Cultivators must protect their essence and not offer it to women easily, or you'll regret it when it's too late."
"Enough with the nonsense. Let's sell these pears in the market." Since the pears were fully ripe, he didn't need to think much. He just wanted to sit on a mountain of gold and walk towards the peak of his life. Simple life, simple thoughts, simplicity is happiness. For Ye Tiancheng, he had never considered cultivating to become an immortal or anything of that sort.
"Truly rotten wood that cannot be carved, and dirt that cannot be plastered on a wall." Shen Shi looked at Ye Tiancheng's smug expression and felt like crying without tears.
Ye Tiancheng paid no attention to what Shen Shi said. He ignored him, picked the pears, and took a basket of them towards the town.
He soon arrived in town, but it wasn't as good as he had imagined.
Because at this season, this kind of fruit was not popular. Everyone was busy eating tangerines.