I Can Copy the Talents of All Creatures

As Yu Fei listened to Ye Shuping’s rant, he found himself thinking differently.

He didn’t know what these so-called Confucian methods were, but he knew one thing: a gentleman acts on certain principles and refrains from acting on others.

His senior brother seemed gentle on the surface, but in reality, his will was incredibly firm.

He was not the kind of person who would take something without asking.

The principles Ye Shuping spoke of were based on the mindset of a brute warrior—that a Martial Artist’s life is defined by nothing but struggle.

’These thoughts flashed through his mind, but he didn’t voice them. His martial cultivation was too low; there was no point in discussing the path of cultivation with the likes of Grandmasters and Martial Saints.’

Seeing that Yu Fei had no interest in discussing it, Ye Shuping began to explain the cultivation of the Great Sun Glaze Body.

"What level is the Yang Fire inside your body at now?"

"Teacher, it has reached a height of nine feet nine inches and is purple. It won’t advance another inch!"

Ye Shuping nodded with satisfaction.

"Excellent. Any further, and you’ll be in the realm of the Great Sun Glaze Body. The next stage is to use the Yang Fire in your body as a guide to draw the Great Sun True Flame into yourself. You will condense a Great Sun Fire Seed, using it to temper your divine soul, Inner Qi, and physical body until you attain the supreme Glaze Body. This is a wide, open road to power!"

At this, Ye Shuping grew excited and asked, "Do you know what the most powerful aspect of the Great Sun Glaze Body is?"

Before Yu Fei could answer, he continued, explaining it himself, "When cultivated to its peak, the Great Sun Glaze Body allows you to attain a True Form state ahead of schedule. To put it in more scientific terms, it’s mass-energy conversion. When necessary, you can transform into a ball of fire. From that point on, as long as your divine soul is not extinguished, your body will exist forever."

"As for the Immortal Vast Heaven True Form at the Martial Saint stage, it’s merely an enhancement of this ability."

"In other words, the most essential part of this Dharma Body technique lies within the Great Sun Glaze Body stage."

"This cultivation and body transformation spell has other wondrous uses as well, which you’ll understand when you reach the final stages!"

Yu Fei’s mind reeled with possibilities as he listened to Ye Shuping’s description. His motivation to cultivate soared to an unprecedented high.

The explanation took up half the day. That evening, the four of them gathered for dinner. Most of the ingredients were from the desolate beasts Yu Fei had brought back, supplemented with many specialties from his teacher’s island.

Martial Artists require immense amounts of energy. Although absorbing the world’s primordial qi can substitute for the metabolism of the Inner Qi system, they still need food to nourish their physical bodies.

During the meal, Ye Shuping explained some special cases concerning high-level Martial Artists.

Among high-level Martial Artists, unless they comprehend mass-energy conversion—that is, learn a so-called True Form cultivation technique and can transform into an energy body—they can never escape the need for food.

Across the vast Boundary Regions, there are far fewer resource-rich lands that can reliably feed high-level Martial Artists than one might imagine. This is one of the reasons why so many different organizations exist in a state of constant conflict, often turning on each other.

Thus, the chaos among high-level Martial Artists is, to a certain extent, directly related to the problem of putting food on the table.

With the implementation of the Prodigy Project, the number of high-level Martial Artists has been steadily increasing, which has become one of the fundamental contradictions within the martial world.

Apparent ideological conflicts, tales of love and hate, revenge and passion—none of these are as direct or as important as this single, underlying cause.

The fundamental conflict between Yang Jingxuan and Ye Shuping was this: the Fourth Senior Brother wanted to halt the Prodigy Project. He planned to launch a massive war in the Boundary Regions to cull the number of Martial Artists, establish a pyramid-like social structure for the martial world, and seal off the paths for advancing to the higher echelons.

He sought to force the entire society into a state of stability, adopting a policy of keeping the common people ignorant. He would divide the world into governed zones, and from then on, the number and strength of Martial Artists would become a product of central planning.

"Isn’t that... turning back the clock on history?"

Yu Fei had been deeply perplexed when his teacher had told him this.

"That’s why your senior brother, Yang Jingxuan, is an absolute moron! What’s even more terrifying is that many people agree with this idiotic philosophy."

They didn’t delve deeper into these topics. No matter what was said, Yu Fei was still just a tiny fifth-realm ant, and ants have no voice.

It came back to the old saying: the strong define the rules, while the weak get killed for spouting nonsense.

If you don’t have a seat at the table, you don’t get to comment on the food.

"Teacher, please, you first. I am merely presenting a gift with borrowed hands, using our junior brother’s spoils and many ingredients from the island. Please excuse my humble efforts."

Ye Shuping hadn’t even lifted his chopsticks when Zhuo Feiming eagerly snatched a bear paw.

Tang Lihui was left speechless. He had wanted to ask their teacher to sample the dishes first. This meal was far more complex than his humble words suggested. Tang Lihui had used both "civil and martial fires," followed the principles of medicinal soups—balancing "monarch, minister, assistant, and envoy" ingredients—and employed numerous cooking techniques like pan-frying, stir-frying, steaming, and boiling to create this feast.

Seeing Tang Lihui’s exasperation, Ye Shuping roared with laughter.

"You always make such a formal affair out of a simple meal. It’s rare for you all to gather together, so the most important thing is to be happy. Look at Xiaoming—she’s always the first to dive in at the dinner table. She’s a Titled Martial Saint, yet she still can’t shake that old habit."

"I’m telling you, Xiaoming, you could at least let your junior brothers have a bite!"

Only then did Zhuo Feiming pause, complaining casually, "Teacher, you know I’m on garrison duty in the Heavenly Palace Ruins. Not a blade of grass grows there, and the whole place is flooded with electromagnetic radiation. You have no idea how hard it is to get a decent meal. Look, I’ve even gotten thinner!"

"It’s not like our dear Xiaohuihui here, living the good life guarding Teacher’s Profound Bright Palace and eating well every day. Look, he’s even mastered the art of cooking. An ordinary person could never make food this good."

Tang Lihui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He had stayed by his teacher’s side for entirely different reasons, certainly not for a life of comfort and pleasure. But then again, his senior sister was praising his cooking!