Chapter 577: Proud of Today's Choice

"Of course, I won't force you to stay by his side. If you're unwilling, you can leave now."

Having said that, Qihai calmly took out a flask of wine and began to drink alone at a stone table nearby.

This was the Immortal Inscription Jade Brew that Ye Yuan had given him, which he had specially brought along this time.

He knew that these four people would definitely be very conflicted and wouldn't have an answer anytime soon.

Liu Hong was one thing, but the other three were all top-tier prodigies of their respective realms, the center of countless gazes.

Even if they now deeply admired Ye Yuan, it didn't mean they were willing to be his lackeys and obey his every command.

But Qihai had his own considerations. Ye Yuan had never belonged to the Boundless Realm; he was destined to shine brilliantly in the Divine Realm!

Given Ye Yuan's current rate of progress, Qihai believed that day would not be too far off.

Perhaps ten years, but at most no more than twenty!

Yet if there was any final hope for the Boundless Realm, it was definitely Ye Yuan!

Zhao Tianyin, a being at the Immeasurable Realm, weighed on Qihai's heart like a mountain.

Once the passage between the two realms was completely stabilized and Feng Huang personally descended upon the Boundless Realm, even he, as the realm lord, might find it hard to survive.

Originally, he had been constantly worried about this matter, until this time he saw Ye Yuan's stunning performance in the Haotian Tower!

Yes, Qihai was utterly amazed!

Two consecutive perfect clears, directly breaking into the seventh floor!

Such an achievement, though not unprecedented in the future, was absolutely unparalleled in the past!

Moreover, in just half a month, Ye Yuan had broken through several minor realms and reached the mid-stage of Huahai.

With such a cultivation speed, who could guarantee that he wouldn't have the strength to fight Feng Huang before his descent?

It was certainly remarkable that a youth from the Boundless Realm could obtain the inheritance of the Divine Realm, but Ye Yuan's greatness clearly lay elsewhere. His most remarkable trait was not the Divine Realm inheritance, but his astonishing talent—himself!

Qihai dared to assert that even if the Divine Realm inheritance fell upon these four people before him, they would absolutely never reach Ye Yuan's level!

After all, no matter how powerful the inheritance, a martial artist still had to comprehend the artistic conception and cultivate yuan force step by step.

The cultivation of yuan force was one thing, but the comprehension of artistic conception was entirely a matter of talent.

The reason Ye Yuan was so strong was precisely because his comprehension of artistic conception far surpassed that of these four!

And having these four follow Ye Yuan was also in the hope that they could become the future hope of the Boundless Realm, growing faster and becoming stronger!

If they couldn't let go of their pride, Qihai couldn't help them either.

"Alright! I'll stay and follow Ye Yuan!"

To Qihai's slight surprise, the first to speak was Qin Yan, who had once had a conflict with Ye Yuan.

"I'll stay!"

"I'll stay too!"

Guo Taoqun and Yin Yanhua followed almost immediately, while Liu Hong hesitated.

This situation was vastly different from what he had imagined before coming to the Haotian Tower.

He hadn't expected that now he would have to be a lackey to a youth much younger than himself.

"I..." Liu Hong showed a troubled expression and began to stammer.

Qihai glanced at him sideways and said calmly, "Don't overthink it. If you're willing, you're willing; if not, you're not. I won't make things difficult for you just because you leave. Besides, this idea came to me on a whim, and I haven't discussed it with Ye Yuan yet. Whether he himself is willing is still an open question!"

This matter was indeed a spur-of-the-moment idea; the unusual actions of the Hurricane Realm had made him uneasy.

From any angle, the act of slaughtering a city was the most foolish. But were the people of the Hurricane Realm really a bunch of fools?

Liu Hong's talent was indeed good, so he had taken the idea of keeping him as well.

"Actually, you don't need to feel wronged. You must have seen that Ye Yuan's talent and strength are something you can never catch up to in your lifetime. When he cleared the fifth floor, he already had that kind of power. After this second perfect clear, who knows what heaven-defying rewards he'll get. Once he comes out of the Haotian Tower, he and we will no longer be martial artists of the same caliber. Following him won't disgrace you. Perhaps one day, you'll be proud of today's choice!" At this moment, Qin Yan suddenly spoke up to persuade him.

Qihai took a delightful sip of the Immortal Inscription Jade Brew and laughed, "Not perhaps—definitely!"

Liu Hong finally let out a slight sigh and said to Qihai, "Alright, I'll stay!"

"Good, then each of you go into seclusion and comprehend."

Qihai was not particularly surprised by Liu Hong's choice.

This man was not stupid; otherwise, he wouldn't have achieved what he had. He knew very well in his heart what choice to make; it was just that he couldn't get past this hurdle in his own mind.

As long as the pros and cons were clearly analyzed, he would make a wise decision.

...

In the blink of an eye, Ye Yuan had spent over five months in the icy wasteland.

During these five months, Ye Yuan had frozen to death many times, each time because his yuan force was exhausted.

To avoid freezing to death, Ye Yuan thought of countless methods, but with little effect.

At first, Ye Yuan released the Blazing True Intent to maintain his body temperature, but he soon found that this quickly drained his yuan force and led to death.

Later, Ye Yuan learned to be smarter; he only maintained the released True Intent at a very low level, barely enough to keep from freezing, but the extreme cold was still acutely felt.

That bone-piercing chill brought him endless despair.

But Ye Yuan still persevered!

With a calm mind, Ye Yuan carefully maintained a faint True Intent to resist the freezing cold.

Gradually, Ye Yuan finally found some tricks!

Ye Yuan discovered that in this state, he could more clearly perceive the essence of the Blazing True Intent!

Although this feeling was still extremely vague, at least he now had a direction to strive toward, no longer as lost as before.

These days, Ye Yuan had been constantly pondering the Blazing artistic conception, gradually gaining some insights.

Heat is a release of energy. When the temperature is not high, this release does not cause much destruction.

But once the temperature rises to an extremely terrifying level, the destructive power of the Blazing artistic conception becomes astonishing!

In the end, it comes down to how high a martial artist can raise the temperature of the Blazing artistic conception!

The higher the temperature of the released technique, the greater the destructive power!

Take Ling Zhe Divine King's Nine Suns Burning Heaven, for example. Its terrifying destructive power was not due to its large range, but because it could raise the temperature within a certain area to an extremely terrifying level.

A level capable of killing a Divine King!

What a profound artistic conception that must be!

Ye Yuan was still far from that!

Having understood this, Ye Yuan no longer used the Blazing artistic conception to maintain his body temperature!