Chapter 493: Chapter 482: Sword Cultivator Father
Ye Sheng now deeply regrets, not only has he failed to meet his father’s expectations, he even once misunderstood his father.
It turns out that his father had never given up on him, and had even silently done so much for him!
The Roc Wing Bone, any cultivator would know how precious it is; it’s a relic of divine beasts that only existed in ancient legends. It’s hard to imagine how much suffering his father must have endured to obtain it, and now for his sake, his father not only took out his treasured collection but also went to ask his ordinarily estranged master for help.
Ye Sheng clenched his fists, suddenly feeling like a complete scoundrel; he had even doubted whether his father just needed him to carry on the lineage, not actually liking him. Thinking back now, how could it be just liking? It was clearly deep affection for him.
"Ye Sheng? Ye Sheng... What are you thinking about?" Seeing his expression was off, Perfected Ming Shi interrupted his thoughts.
"Master, it’s nothing, I was just thinking of my father," Ye Sheng replied truthfully.
"What is there to think about him." Perfected Ming Shi muttered to himself, remembering the Roc Wing Bone inside the space ring, and then shut his mouth, after all, it’s hard to be tough once you’ve taken something from someone.
He cleared his throat and continued: "Don’t overthink it. Your father entrusted you to me just to fulfill your wishes, but not practicing the sword in the future doesn’t mean you can relax. Do you really want others to say that even the son of the Lonely Swallow Sword Lord is but a mediocre person?"
"I won’t let that happen." Ye Sheng clenched his fists harder at the thought of his father being talked about because of his own incompetence.
"That’s the right mindset. Your father has done so much for you, you should think about diligently cultivating to repay him. Think about it, if you could refine a sword suitable for your father in the future, he would definitely be very happy," Perfected Ming Shi continued to encourage him.
This method was indeed very effective for Ye Sheng; his eyes became sharp and bright, and he felt full of fighting spirit at the thought of his father using the sword he would refine with his own hands.
"Master, I will work hard," Ye Sheng promised with fierce determination in his eyes.
"Hmm, good to have such ambition. This is the foundation of starting artifact refining, take it back and study it well. If there’s anything you don’t understand, go ask your senior brother," Perfected Ming Shi said.
"Yes, Master."
From that day on, Ye Sheng fully immersed himself in diligent study and practice. Given that he was only at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer, aside from the necessary rest, he scheduled all his time orderly. Although artifact refining was the most important, he still practiced the sword for at least two hours every day.
"Master, did you call for me?" This day, just as Ye Sheng was about to practice the Soul Power Technique that Ye Qiu gave him, he received a message from Perfected Ming Shi.
"It’s your father; he has recently taken a sect task and will be away for a while. He wants you to come back to Hidden Sword Peak."
"Yes, Disciple understands."
As he approached the bottom of Hidden Sword Peak, Ye Sheng felt somewhat excited. Since learning that his father sought his master for his betterment in artifact refining, he hadn’t seen his father, and the sudden summons filled him with joy, but also worry about his father going away.
When Ye Sheng arrived at the entrance of Ye Qiu’s cave dwelling, Ye Qiu was already sitting inside waiting for him.
He was still wearing his simple black attire. Although the clothes were unadorned, Ye Qiu’s tall stature and dignified manner made him look especially upright and martial.
In the past, Ye Sheng would feel somewhat intimidated by Ye Qiu’s cold face, but today he found it exceptionally warm.
"Dad, you wanted to see me?" Ye Sheng’s tone carried a hint of excitement.
"Mmm, take a seat," Ye Qiu replied, still sporting his signature cold expression.
"How has your recent learning been?" After a moment of silence, Ye Qiu awkwardly expressed his concern.
Ye Sheng grinned, his tone warm and familiar: "It’s going well, Master teaches very well, and the eldest senior brother is also a very good person. Dad, I will work hard and won’t let you down."
Ye Qiu nodded at his words: "That old man Ming Shi may be unreliable, but he does have some real skills, and your eldest senior brother Jin Quan is also not bad, his conduct in life is very good."
He paused for a bit before continuing: "The path of cultivation is not an easy one, it should be done for oneself, not for others, no matter what you become in the future. As long as you can live with no regrets, I will not be disappointed. So don’t compare yourself with others, just do your best."
The reason Ye Qiu came up with these words after some silence was because he feared that Ye Sheng would compare himself with Lin Shen, the Child of Destiny, and hoped he would not follow the same old path as in his previous life.
After listening, Ye Sheng felt a warmth in his heart. He knew he had misunderstood before—indeed, his father loved him deeply. He also made a silent vow to cultivate diligently, vowing not to bring shame upon his father.
"Dad, I understand, I will work hard in the future," Ye Sheng assured Ye Qiu with a smile.
Seeing that Ye Sheng seemed genuine and was learning Artifact Refining, his favorite, and that he wasn’t being pressured anymore, Ye Qiu felt somewhat relieved, believing that his son’s temperament should change a great deal.
"Dad, I heard from Master that you’re going to leave the sect for a trip, how long will it be? Is it dangerous?" Ye Sheng’s itch of concern finally led him to ask the worrisome question.
After hearing this, Ye Qiu felt that he should allow Ye Sheng to focus on his cultivation, and so he explained: "The highest cultivation level in the Xuanyuan Realm is the Nascent Soul Stage, and your father is at the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, who could harm me? Don’t worry. It’s just a sect task, nothing serious. If all goes well, I should be back in two or three years."
Ye Sheng felt much more relieved after hearing this. There were few in this Small Thousand World who were more powerful than his father, and since sword cultivators do not fear battling those above their level, his father indeed would not be in any danger. With this, Ye Sheng finally put his mind at ease.
What he didn’t know was that beyond the dangers posed by other cultivators, the risks from nature itself are not to be underestimated. But this is something that Ye Qiu would not tell him at the moment.
"These are some items I’ve collected in the past; now that you’re starting Artifact Refining, you should be able to use them." Ye Qiu took out a storage bag and placed it on the table.
Ye Sheng was immediately overwhelmed by the favor, feeling even more how deeply his father cared for him. But he did not wish to accept them, so he tried to refuse: "Dad, I have just started learning Artifact Refining, I won’t need these items yet. Plus, you’ve worked hard to collect them, how could I accept them? If I need anything, I’ll earn it myself."
As the son of a cultivator and a sword cultivator at that, Ye Sheng knew that in the Cultivation World, sword cultivators and body cultivators were among the poorest. If he took the contents of this storage bag, his father might have nothing left but his sword. How could he accept it? He would earn what he needed himself.
"Take it," Ye Qiu said with indisputable authority, "These things are of no use to me."
Ye Sheng, now just a ten-year-old at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, couldn’t withstand Ye Qiu’s imposing attitude. With Ye Qiu insisting, he had no choice but to accept.
Holding the storage bag, Ye Sheng solemnly said to Ye Qiu: "Dad, once I’ve made a success of Artifact Refining, I will craft a sword for you, how about that?" After asking, Ye Sheng felt extremely nervous, as he did not know whether his father would accept it. After all, his father’s current sword was forged from the core of tungsten gold ore. Could he ever craft a better sword than that? And would it meet his father’s standards?