Chapter 678: Fortune and Misfortune are Two Sides of the Same Coin

“My lord... what happened?”

While Yu Longzi was still trying to process his shock, Yun Chaoyu, Zhao Yuanrong and Yu Ningxin stepped into the Dragon Hoard Hall and voiced their concern. Clearly, they could feel the shockwaves as well.

Yu Longzi did not answer them. He simply stared at the private room with a complicated expression on his face.

The three elders[1] subconsciously traced the shockwaves to its origin and turned to look at the private room. At first, they were confused and puzzled. When realization finally struck them, they exchanged shocked glances with one another.

“Did that man... actually learn something from the ‘Dragons Memoir’?!”

“Impossible! He’s an outsider! How could he possibly learn anything from the founder’s notes?”

They were all late-stage Spirit Masters, and they had all read the “Dragons Memoir” as a matter of course. While they couldn’t say that they hadn’t learned anything from the travel notes, their gains were trivial at best.

If even they, people who had had decades to study the “Dragons Memoir”, was unable to glean much from it, how could an outsider possibly do better? Or so they thought. They could not help but feel amused and saddened by their own naivety.

“There is no such thing as impossible in this world.”

A long silence later, Yu Longzi finally spoke up, “The jianghu has existed for countless years, and geniuses are born every year. The one thing this world does not lack are geniuses.”

“From the moment they are born, they already hang in the sky like the moon. We are but fireflies compared to them. That is why the saying, ‘There exists Man who shines like the moon and makes you feel like a firefly’ exists.”

Yun Chaoyu, Zhao Yuanrong and Yu Ningxin did not say anything. No one liked to admit that they were mundane, but in the end, one must accept reality.

“We’ve been cooped up for so long that we are like frogs who view the sky from the bottom of the well!” Yun Chaoyu said with a bitter smile.

Zhao Yuanrong and Yu Ningxin looked a little depressed as well.

Yu Longzi advised seriously after giving his elders a moment to process their thoughts, “I did not mention this so as to expound your or my inferiority. Admiring the moon is one thing, undervaluing yourself and wallowing in self-depreciation is another. So long as you affirm your heart, keep your feet on the ground, and relentlessly toil toward your dream and goal, who is to say you cannot join the heavens one day?”

“We obey your lesson, my lord.”

His advice was most enlightening. The three elders solemnly saluted Yu Longzi in thanks because of it.

“Engrave your goals in your heart and work toward them with your body and soul. That is the martial way.” Yu Longzi gave them one last piece of advice before instructing, “You may go. Have the disciples lock down the Dragon Hoard Hall temporarily. No one is to come near without my express permission.”

“As you command, my lord!” The three elders saluted him and left to carry out their orders.

Still, this unexpected breakthrough had given him hope. Once upon a time, he had no idea how he could ascend to the next stage, and his efforts had felt as futile as fighting against the march of time. But thanks to this experience, he had glimpsed some of the sights of that peak and found his direction.

Although the experience was no Dragon Gate that would transform him into a Grandmaster, he now had hope and direction. So long as he kept his feet on the ground and worked toward his goal, he might yet scale that impossible peak and become one of the giants!

So yes, Yu Longzi was disappointed, but it wasn’t a big disappointment at all.

In fact, he found himself no longer resenting Ye Qing for what he did. Instead, he was grateful and impressed.

It was true that Ye Qing had scaled their mountain and humiliated them in a way that only the celestial woman from centuries ago could compare. However, it was equally true that he would never have glimpsed the sights of that peak called Grandmaster via his own efforts. He could have toiled his whole life and never even reached the starting line.

It was said that fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. Who could say that a humiliating disaster wasn’t a blessing in disguise?

His thoughts were still racing when the door to the private room suddenly swung open, and Ye Qing appeared.

Right now, Ye Qing felt like a paradoxical existence to Yu Longzi’s senses. The young man was standing right in front of him, yet for some reason, he also felt as far away as the horizon. His presence felt ordinary, but it was also vast, ephemeral, and profound at the same time.

Before Yu Longzi could probe further though, Ye Qing withdrew his aura like the clouds covering up the sky. This time, he truly felt no different from an ordinary person.

The first thing Ye Qing said after offering Yu Longzi a smile was, “Congratulations on piercing the veil and glimpsing the stars above, mountain lord. Given enough time, you will surely become a Trueman.”

Yu Longzi was surprised. He did not think that Ye Qing would see through him at first glance. He quickly gathered himself and replied with a slightly complicated expression, “It was all thanks to you. Speaking of which, congratulations on your enlightenment and taking yet another step toward greater heights.”

“I wouldn’t call it a step. It is at most a small gain.”

Ye Qing said smilingly, “I definitely have to thank you and Trueman Dragonrider for the ‘Dragons Memoir’ though. His martial arts challenges the heavens, and his dao encompasses both heaven and earth. This junior is most impressed.”

“Your talent is also one of a kind, warrior,” Yu Longzi replied sincerely.

“You flatter me, mountain lord. I’m well aware that I possess outstanding talent, but one of a kind? That is not a compliment I am willing to bear,” Ye Qing replied with a carefree smile on his face.

A moment of silence later, Yu Longzi asked suddenly, “You mentioned that you are a wanderer with no background before, warrior. Is it the truth?”

“That is correct.” Ye Qing nodded. He wasn’t surprised by Yu Longzi’s sudden change of topic. It was almost as if he could read the older man’s mind.

Yu Longzi asked with the utmost sincerity, “In that case, would you like to join Dragonrider Mountain?”

1. Is Yue Hualong still bedridden? Is he dead? Or maybe the author just forgot the sect has a fourth elder. It was left unexplained in the raws, and now you can suffer that uncertainty with me... forever. Man, I love it when I can make others suffer with me! ☜