"Xuan’Er, are you still hesitating?" Gongsun Yanran asked. "You say it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big one, which just means you don’t want to suffer indignities. But even if you stay here, occupying a One-Star Main Town and acting as commanders over a radius of several hundred miles, don’t you still have to pay tribute to the nearest Two-Star Main Town? At the end of the day, you’re still considered inferior. But if you move to a city and have your own independent residence, your days will be peaceful. You won’t face the slightest storm."
Her words left the Ye Family members filled with longing. A life of smooth sailing without any storms was incredibly enticing!
Ye Xuan, however, suddenly came to his senses. With a serious expression, he said, "Mother, I originally didn’t know how to refute you. But now I do."
"What do you mean, Xuan’Er? Are you still choosing to object?"
"That’s right. I object!"
"Why?" Gongsun Yanran asked, her brow furrowing deeply. Her proposal had been carefully considered before she brought it up; it offered a hundred benefits to the Ye Family and absolutely no drawbacks.
Even the Ye Family members were utterly bewildered. Why was the Patriarch still objecting?
Glancing at his clansmen, Ye Xuan explained in a resolute voice, "I object precisely because it would be smooth sailing."
"Isn’t smooth sailing a good thing, Xuan’Er?"
"No! How can a family ever rise if they don’t weather storms?" Ye Xuan countered. "Most importantly, if we bask in comfort year after year, the entire family could collapse the moment a minor wave hits. In my eyes, a flower raised in a greenhouse cannot withstand the harsh wind and rain."
"You’re just twisting logic now, Xuan’Er," Gongsun Yanran retorted. "With my Gongsun Family backing you, even if there are storms, they’ll be minor ones. They won’t pose a threat."
Ye Xuan’s gaze deepened. "Mother, what if the Gongsun Family is no longer around? Or what if Dapeng City is no longer ruled by the Gongsun Family?"
"What do you mean by that, Xuan’Er!" Gongsun Yanran’s expression darkened with displeasure.
"Mother, I’m not cursing the Gongsun Family," he clarified. "But this world is ever-changing. The Gongsun Family has already commanded a city for fifteen hundred years—how do you know how much longer they can keep commanding it? What if, one day in the future, the City Lord of Dapeng City passes away naturally? Mother, you should know what a natural passing entails. When that time comes, Dapeng City will plunge into a chaotic war! If the Gongsun Family is too busy fending for itself and faces the threat of extermination, how could they possibly look after the Ye Family?"
Gongsun Yanran shook her head. "You’re too stubborn, Xuan’Er. The probability of the City Lord passing away naturally is extremely low. It might be one or two thousand years from now, and that’s more than enough time for the Ye Family to grow strong within a city."
"Mother, you’re talking about possibilities," Ye Xuan replied. "It might be one or two thousand years, but it could also be one or two hundred years, or even shorter. When that happens, the Ye Family will absolutely be the first to be exterminated due to our ties as the Gongsun Family’s in-laws. Therefore, I object!"
As he spoke, Ye Xuan looked at all the Ye Family members. "I know what everyone is thinking. I promise you, in the future, I will definitely make the Ye Family the commanders of a city! But if we go to Dapeng City now, our limit will probably be just another large family within it. Because the days there are simply too comfortable!"
Ye Xuan wasn’t a glutton for punishment, but he knew that a Cultivator’s path could absolutely never be a comfortable one. Comfort bred stagnation. People who spent years in their comfort zone could never weather great storms.
If Ye Xuan wanted to bring glory to the Ye Family, it couldn’t be done if he was the only strong one. He had to elevate the family’s overall strength. He didn’t expect everyone in the Ye Family to become an unstoppable force, but at the very least, they had to understand what it meant to struggle and strive. They couldn’t start fantasizing about a comfortable life—let alone enjoying one—while they were still weak.
Once people got too comfortable, they lost their drive. Humanity possessed an innate laziness! The strong conquered their laziness, while the weak were conquered by it.
"Xuan’Er... is comfort a bad thing?" Gongsun Yanran spoke up again, realizing she didn’t understand her son at all. She merely wanted to give him and the Ye Family members a comfortable life. Why was he so opposed to it? "Don’t you like a comfortable life?"
"Mother, nobody dislikes a comfortable life, and I’m no exception," Ye Xuan replied. "I just believe that if you aren’t the strongest, you won’t get to have a comfortable life. Besides, given how weak we are right now, what right do we have to enjoy such comfort? Mother, I appreciate your good intentions. But I object."
Ye Xuan’s voice was absolute and unyielding.
The cultivation speed in a city was indeed ten times—or even more—than that of a small town. But that was only for conventional, step-by-step cultivation. That kind of cultivation was inherently slow! To rapidly increase one’s cultivation level ultimately relied on resources. As long as there were sufficient resources, let alone a small town, even a tiny village could produce an unparalleled powerhouse.
"Father, Yizhou, please talk some sense into Xuan’Er," Gongsun Yanran suddenly said to Ye Zeyun and Ye Yizhou. "He’s young and a bit stubborn."
As soon as she finished speaking, both Ye Zeyun and Ye Yizhou shook their heads.
Ye Zeyun took it a step further, declaring, "Ye Xuan is the Patriarch of the Ye Family. If he says we aren’t going, then we aren’t going."
Following Ye Zeyun’s words, the other Ye Family members began to chime in.
"That’s right! If the Patriarch objects, then we object."
"We’re not going, we’re not going! What’s so great about some bothersome city anyway? A golden palace isn’t half as good as our own humble home."
They laughed as they spoke. Those smiles were the greatest form of validation Ye Xuan could ask for.
"You all..." Gongsun Yanran was left utterly dumbfounded.
She had actually witnessed a level of cohesion within the Ye Family that not even the Gongsun Family possessed! She wondered how Xuan’Er had managed to achieve this.
"Mother, let’s just leave this matter be," Ye Xuan said with a smile. "I know you’re doing this for the Ye Family’s own good. But if you truly want to lend us a hand, could you do me a favor?"
"What favor?"
"I previously asked Grandfather about the Secret Realm, but he said I wouldn’t be able to enter the Three-Star Secret Realm. Is there any way for me to get in?"
The Gongsun Family’s Three-Star Secret Realm was indeed a massive temptation for Ye Xuan. It only opened once every ten years, and while there might not be many Level Six Beasts inside, the number of Level Four or Level Five Beasts he needed would definitely be several times greater than in a Two-Star Secret Realm. He had to find a way into the Three-Star Secret Realm.
"You want to enter the Three-Star Secret Realm?"
"Yes. Is there a way?"
"There is," Gongsun Yanran replied. "As long as you place in the top three of the family tournament. My blood flows through your veins, so you are eligible to participate."
Ye Xuan was dumbfounded. "That’s an option? Why didn’t Grandfather tell me?"
"He didn’t? That’s probably because he didn’t think it was possible for you to reach the top three."
"Why?"
"My Gongsun Family has no shortage of geniuses. The youths capable of ranking in the top three are all powerhouses at the 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm or higher. Do you think you’re a match for them?"
"The 5th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm?" Ye Xuan frowned.
His current cultivation was at the 7th Layer of the Super Spirit Realm. Theoretically, if he unleashed all of his trump cards with his full strength, he could fight against a powerhouse at the 6th Layer of the Demon Spirit Realm. But that only applied to ordinary Cultivators. It didn’t account for the boosts from powerful Martial Techniques.
Ye Xuan could rely on the Dragon Soul and his Martial Techniques to gain a terrifying boost in strength. But couldn’t others do the same?
Liu Ruoxi was a prime example. The exquisite Martial Techniques commanded by the geniuses of the Gongsun Family would absolutely be no weaker than Liu Ruoxi’s.