Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

’It’s just a pity that I can no longer walk this Immortal Path...’

Weii Fei’s gaze dimmed.

He had been the first to obtain an Immortal Skill, yet he had become the one who fell the furthest behind among the four brothers...

The psychological blow was more than he could bear.

Moreover, among the four brothers, he had been the first to make the bold declaration that he would only marry and have children after achieving immortality.

But what was the result?

He had accomplished nothing.

Not only had he fallen behind in Cultivation, but at over thirty years old, he had neither a wife nor children. He was utterly alone.

"Second Brother, give me your wine." Wei Tu dismounted and reached for the wine gourd at Weii Fei’s waist.

Weii Fei froze. ’Didn’t Wei Tu ride after me to offer comfort?’

He shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts, dismounted, and casually handed the wine gourd to Wei Tu.

However, what happened next left Weii Fei stunned, speechless for a long moment.

After taking the wine gourd, Wei Tu didn’t drink from it. Instead, he crushed it in his palm.

The wine gourd shattered.

Wine splashed all over the ground, spattering onto both Weii Fei and Wei Tu.

"Second Brother, you were the one who found this Immortal Skill. You have more Immortal Fate than the three of us. Falling behind now is only temporary..."

Pausing, Wei Tu decided to provoke Weii Fei a little. "Don’t you want to surpass Fourth Brother Fu Zhizhou? He was looking down on you quite a bit at the banquet today."

"Fourth Brother?" Weii Fei couldn’t help but chuckle. "Third Brother, you don’t have to provoke me like this. I know Fourth Brother’s personality. Even if he looks down on me, he wouldn’t show it deliberately, much less in front of you..."

"I might not see eye-to-eye with Fourth Brother, but it isn’t because he’s a bad person. It’s just that I... I resent how everything has gone so smoothly for him since the day he was born..."

After more than a decade of friendship, he was not only familiar with Wei Tu’s character but also that of Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang.

Neither Fu Zhizhou nor Kou Liang was a man of poor character.

Wei Tu was left speechless.

After a few moments, he apologized, "It was my mistake, Second Brother. I misjudged you."

"But Second Brother, have you really given up on the Immortal Path?"

"Perhaps this particular Immortal Skill just isn’t suitable for you. If you find the right one, you might succeed in Qi Sensing..."

"The problem isn’t the person, it’s the Cultivation Technique!"

Wei Tu urged earnestly.

If Weii Fei hadn’t shared the Five Elements Spirit Body technique with him after the battle in Siyang Town... he might never have had another chance to encounter an Immortal Skill...

Over the past decade, the four brothers hadn’t been idle. They had been using their influence to search for other Immortal Skills within Shannan Dao.

But unfortunately, they had found nothing.

This alone was enough to show just how precious Weii Fei’s sharing of the Immortal Skill had been.

"The problem isn’t the person, it’s the Cultivation Technique..." Weii Fei muttered to himself, a spark returning to his dim eyes.

"Exactly!"

"It could be that the Thick Earth Body just isn’t right for me, which is why I’ve never found Qi Sensitivity."

Not wanting Wei Tu to worry or try to persuade him further, Weii Fei feigned confidence, forced a smile, and replied with those words.

"When I get back to Qingshan County, I’ll look for other Cultivation Techniques. Maybe I’ll make some progress!" he added.

With that, Weii Fei clasped his hands in a farewell gesture to Wei Tu and spurred his horse to leave.

A moment later, the dust kicked up by his horse on the main road slowly settled back to the earth.

Wei Tu could no longer see any trace of Weii Fei on the road.

’Do your best and leave the rest to Heaven’s will.’

’Those words sound simple, but throughout history, how many people have truly been able to live by them?’

Wei Tu thought to himself, glancing at the Golden Purple Destiny Chart that floated in his mind.

’Without the Late Bloomer Destiny Chart, I’m not sure if I could have persisted for over a decade with no progress in my Martial Arts Realm, just as Weii Fei has.’

’In terms of perseverance, Weii Fei has already surpassed more than ninety percent of the people in this world.’

...

「After Weii Fei’s departure.」

Wei Tu didn’t wait long on the road. He turned his horse around and returned to the Prefecture City.

At the West Gate of the Prefecture City, as Wei Tu was about to start his shift, he saw Kou Liang and Fu Zhizhou waiting for him inside the room.

"Third Brother, how is Second Brother’s mood? Has he managed to pull himself together?"

Fu Zhizhou asked.

Although he hadn’t seen Wei Tu chase after Weii Fei, he could guess that given their close bond, Wei Tu would have certainly gone to comfort him.

"It’s hard to say." Wei Tu shook his head, walked over to the tea table, and poured himself a cup of cool tea. "Second Brother is quite disheartened. I tried to comfort him, but a few words... how can they possibly undo the years of erosion on his spirit..."

Even as he was chasing after Weii Fei, he was well aware of the limited impact his words would have.

How could a few simple words possibly erase all the frustration and despondency built up from over a decade of fruitless persistence?

He—

was simply fulfilling his duty as a brother.

Doing something was better than doing nothing.

"If you and I can cultivate to the Innate Realm, perhaps we can help Second Brother find Qi Sensitivity... If not, we can support his children in the future..."

Fu Zhizhou sighed upon hearing this.

"That’s all we can do."

Wei Tu nodded.

Innate Martial Masters possessed all sorts of mysterious methods. Among them, helping another Martial Artist achieve Qi Sensitivity was one of their most "widely known" abilities.

After these few brief words, the three of them fell silent.

Back then, when they had made their three pacts at Xuanhe Tower, they had already anticipated that someone would eventually fall behind, growing more and more distant from the others.

But they had never expected that person to be Weii Fei, the very one who had shared the Immortal Skill.

...

「Another half-year passed.」

The time for the next reunion at Xuanhe Tower was approaching.

As was customary, Wei Tu sent an invitation to Weii Fei, asking him to come to the Prefecture City, stay at the Wei Mansion, and spar with him.

Wei Tu had expected this letter to vanish without a trace, that Weii Fei would refuse to come.

After all, since they parted ways that day, their correspondence had dwindled by more than half, as if Weii Fei was intentionally distancing himself from his sworn younger brother.

However, to Wei Tu’s surprise,

Weii Fei actually replied to this letter, and the content was much the same as before.

’Has Second Brother had a change of heart?’ Wei Tu guessed, thinking Weii Fei had finally come to terms with things.

「More than ten days later.」

Weii Fei arrived at the gate of the Wei Mansion, alone on his horse, and was welcomed inside by a Wei Family servant.

"Second Uncle."

Six-year-old Wei Yan’s eyes lit up when she saw Weii Fei. She ran up to him, pestering him to buy her pastries.

"Yanyan, go play with your little brother for a bit. I need to discuss something with your father," Weii Fei said with a smile, ruffling Wei Yan’s braided hair.

With that, Weii Fei strode to Wei Tu’s study and knocked on the door.

"Third Brother, I haven’t let you down. I’ve finally succeeded in Qi Sensing!"

The moment he saw Wei Tu, Weii Fei strode forward, embraced him tightly, and broke down in tears.

A man does not shed tears lightly.

After more than a decade of effort, his work had finally borne fruit. How could he not be overjoyed?

These were tears of pure joy.

"Second Brother? You succeeded in Qi Sensing?"

Wei Tu was stunned for a moment. He had thought Weii Fei had given up on practicing the Immortal Skill, but he never expected that after half a year, Weii Fei had actually persevered and taken that crucial step.

He quickly recovered, however, and congratulated Weii Fei.

Next, as was their custom, Wei Tu asked for the details of how Weii Fei had found his Qi Sensitivity.

Sharing Cultivation Experience.

This was a pact the four brothers had made.

"This time, I found my Qi Sensitivity not by using the Five Elements Spirit Body, but with another Immortal Skill."

"And I have you to thank for it, Third Brother. You were the one who said that perhaps that Immortal Skill and I were not a good match..."

"The problem was the Cultivation Technique, not the person."

Weii Fei was beaming.

"What? Another Immortal Skill?" Hearing this, Wei Tu was completely astonished. He couldn’t remain seated.

He had just said it offhandedly at the time, a platitude to comfort Weii Fei. He never imagined Weii Fei would actually take it to heart.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but wonder—’Does Weii Fei truly possess great Immortal Fate? How is it that both Immortal Skills were discovered by him, and not by me, Fu Zhizhou, or Kou Liang?’