Chapter 248: 248 - Why is there a smell so similar to hers on you

News of what had happened in the palace of the council of elders spread like wildfire.

Unlike the outer region of the Blue Moon Continent, where Qingyi was already very well known for his achievements and talent, his name in the Orthodox Alliance was basically non-existent.

A rookie who impressed all the squad leaders and won first place during the selection.

These achievements were quickly forgotten amid the stressful routine of the alliance’s warriors.

But now that had changed.

His squad leader’s report stated that he had killed the current heir to the leader of the demon cult in a one-on-one fight. Something that was quickly confirmed by reports from other spies in the demon cult.

That alone would have raised his prestige to incomparable levels, but it didn’t cause as much shock as the news that followed.

Tianyu had challenged Qingyi to a duel to the death, and not only had Qingyi accepted this duel, but Yanxiao himself, the guardian of Qingyi’s origin sect, had given permission for it to happen.

With that, Qingyi’s fame exploded through the roof, his name on the lips of every orthodox warrior on every street corner.

"Ah... I should have taken another route..." Qingyi lowered his head, feeling intense stares focus on him as he walked through the orthodox alliance.

It sure was uncomfortable when his wives weren’t there for him to brag about what an amazing husband they had.

With a weary sigh, he hurried on, arriving in an area completely separate from the orthodox alliance; a cluster of luxurious pavilions protected by powerful defensive formations.

That place was home to the residences of the transcendents who founded the orthodox alliance.

Without hesitation, Qingyi walked down the wide street that separated these many pavilions, arriving in front of a large mansion with flaming red walls.

Through the huge double doors, clearly not made for humans, Qingyi could see a figure lying on a gigantic cushion, watching him with interest.

"It took longer than I expected." Yanxiao’s feline body rose, his large, sharp claws being briefly revealed as he stretched.

"Greetings, guardian. May I ask what you wish with me?" Qingyi asked, bowing and respectfully clasping his fists together.

The gentle smile on Yanxiao’s huge face suddenly disappeared as he sensed Qingyi’s cultivation.

The day before, Qingyi was at the eighth stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, but now, he was already a single step away from the Rebirth Realm.

Even seeing it with his own eyes, Yanxiao still found it difficult to understand Qingyi.

"Qingyi."

"Yes, Guardian?"

"How long have you been cultivating?"

That question made Qingyi shudder slightly, thinking of an answer.

After a moment’s hesitation, he decided to tell the truth.

He was in no position to lie about his talent, not when he had proven it so many times.

"My master started training me when I was 10, but I only embarked on my cultivation journey for good a little less than two years ago."

"Less than two years..." Yanxiao whispered. "Qingyi, do you know what the talent curve is?" The tiger turned its face, its feline eyes focusing on the horizon.

"No, guardian."

Sighing, Yanxiao explained: "The talent curve is what defines a cultivator’s limit and how quickly a they reaches their limit, it’s steeper at first, but then it starts to straighten out.

It only took Tang Biyue twenty years to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, but she’s already been in the Rebirth Realm for over two hundred years.

As a mythical beast, my lifespan is much longer than humans and I reached the rebirth realm after 100 years of cultivation.

Even so, it took me more than four thousand years to finally reach the realm of transcendence.

That’s the talent curve, when you reach the end of it, your cultivation slows down, the annual breakthroughs start to take decades, centuries or even millennia."

Qingyi listened attentively, a doubt soon rising in his chest. "Thank you for your teachings, guardian. But why are you telling me this?"

"Because your talent curve seems to have no end, it’s not slowing down. On the contrary, it’s getting faster." Yanxiao replied. "You’re an anomaly that I’ve only seen a few times in my life."

"Few times? Has the guardian ever seen other people like me?" Qingyi tilted her face slightly.

"A few, sometimes every few millennia, sometimes every few tens of millennia." Yanxiao walked around Qingyi, his claws tapping the ground.

"They have two futures: either they die early, or they ascend to the immortal heaven. I’ve never seen any of them who have stayed on this plane for more than a decade. Either they ascend before they’re thirty, or they die before they’re thirty."

Yanxiao brought his face close to Qingyi’s, sniffing him.

A breath of boiling air left his huge nostrils and made Qingyi’s long hair flutter.

He wondered which of these Qingyi was?

Unfortunately, that wasn’t what Yanxiao was there for.

Looking into the future of someone like Qingyi was dangerous, the heavens didn’t like such things and no divination master would have the courage to accept such a request.

"Qingyi." Yanxiao forced even more seriousness into his voice.

It was time to deal with the matter for which he had called Qingyi.

"I put the sect leader under house arrest, do you know why I did that?"

"I heard rumors that she was controlled by a being from the immortal heaven, her original soul erased and exchanged for a fragment of that being’s soul."

"Oh... You’re better informed than I thought." Yanxiao sniffed Qingyi once more.

"You’ve never had any contact with her, right?" Yanxiao asked.

"No, and honestly, I don’t understand where the guardian is going with this." Qingyi shook his head.

"If you’re lying to me, the consequences will be severe." For the first time since Qingyi and Yanxiao had met, the huge flaming tiger unleashed its aura on the young man.

The world around them seemed to fall silent, Yanxiao’s Qi so overwhelming that space seemed about to collapse, unable to withstand so much power.

"Tell me, why is there a smell so similar to hers on you? Did she give you the means to advance so quickly?"