I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Ye Yong nearly spilled the tea in shock.

From the second layer of the Nascent Soul to the fifth layer—three small realms—completed in just four months?

Could it be that this youthful elder mother possessed astonishing talent?

Upon reflection, Ye Yong found it less strange. After the fall of the Ye family, Lin Wei was left alone, and with the demonic technique in her possession, her cultivation soared. With a miraculous jade pendant space, the protagonist’s cultivation had already surpassed Lin Wei’s by a considerable margin, yet she managed to catch up, forcing the protagonist into dire straits several times. If the antagonist didn’t possess high talent, they wouldn’t have much screen time, especially someone like Lin Wei, who appeared multiple times. It was a pity that fortune always favored the protagonist.

Noticing Ye Yong’s astonishment, Lin Wei smiled and explained, “This is quite normal. With a powerful technique, potential can be unleashed in a short time. After that, unless one has heavenly treasures, breakthroughs will return to a more ordinary pace. But enough about me; how is your cultivation now?”

“Crystal Layer One.”

“Hmm… In four months, breaking through from Foundation Layer Six to Crystal Layer One is quite impressive.”

Ye Yong felt a bit shy to admit that he had just connected to the network, his information severely outdated, his understanding of the outside world still stuck in the time before his retreat.

If Lin Wei knew what he had been up to these past four months, the stir he had caused, Ye Yong truly couldn’t imagine how this protective mother would react.

“Mother, it is as such. I have turned my focus to the arts of painting and music,” Ye Yong intended to proceed step by step.

“Oh?” Lin Wei paused, taken aback. “What is the reason for this?”

For as long as she could remember, Ye Yong had been devoted to swordsmanship; suddenly shifting to the obscure arts of painting and music left Lin Wei bewildered.

“In truth, my fortune from the old master was not merely a simple chance encounter. I have also inherited his legacy. Before his fall, he was a sage, though he perished in a cataclysmic battle tens of thousands of years ago.” Ye Yong had long prepared this tale; after reading countless novels, weaving a narrative of ancestral legacies and heroic deeds was as easy as breathing.

“A sage?” The mere mention of the term made Lin Wei hold her breath. If mortals gazed up at cultivators, then those below the sage level regarded sages with a similar reverence. Not everyone could achieve the status of a sage; throughout history, how many mighty beings had faltered at the threshold of becoming a half-saint, unable to advance further?

Sages were the closest beings to ascending to immortality, the strongest in the lower realms. They seldom acted, but when they did, it brought forth calamities that could shatter mountains and rivers.

“What battle could it have been…” As the question slipped from her lips, Lin Wei quickly covered her mouth. “I should not have asked.”

After all, it was a battle in which even sages could fall, undoubtedly a forbidden war.

“The old master did not reveal much of the details of his remnants, only mentioning a dangerous extraterrestrial race that covets our world. They are called the demons. The demons are not the same as the demon race; most of them lack the intelligence of the demon kin, yet possess terrifying power.”

“Demons…” Lin Wei repeated the name, as if to engrave it into her memory.

“In those days, the old master and a group of powerful beings fought fiercely against the invading demon army to protect this world for months. Many half-saints and sages perished, and he was among them. However, he foresaw his grim fate and thus left behind his legacy, waiting for a fated person to awaken it. A millennium later, just as his remnants were on the verge of dissipating, I happened to be that fated one.”

Lin Wei nodded repeatedly. Ye Yong had cleverly woven a lie based on the ancient secret realm of the Western Continent, leaving no trace of flaw. No matter what Lin Wei asked, he could respond fluently, yet it was clear she dared not inquire too deeply about the sages.

As for whether Lin Wei would suspect that Ye Yong had been possessed by that sage, she would not. It had been mentioned before that even a sage could not stabilize their soul overnight. Ye Yong held no arrogance towards her elders, so Lin Wei believed he must have learned many astonishing secrets from the sage, explaining his sudden transformation.

“This matter, you must never speak of to others, not even to the elders.” Lin Wei’s expression turned grave; when it came to Ye Yong’s safety, she had always been this way, even valuing it above her own life.

“Why?” Ye Yong had anticipated this reaction from Lin Wei; she would not allow anything that could threaten her son to occur.

“This is a matter of great importance; naturally, the fewer who know, the better. Think about it: for millennia, the existence of demons has never been known to the public. This indicates that someone has deliberately suppressed the information. While the suppression may stem from a desire to prevent panic, we cannot rule out the possibility that someone has become a lackey of the demons, intentionally concealing the truth to numb the masses.”

Ye Yong was taken aback; his mother was truly perceptive, able to deduce this.

Indeed, although the demons had been repelled, the barriers between worlds—let’s call them the domain walls—had been reinforced by the surviving sages of the war. The demons could not invade this world again for the time being, but it was clear that this was not the first time they had invaded. The war a hundred thousand years ago was truly terrifying; even immortals had to come to aid, shattering the very laws of nature, which was also why sages could not ascend now.

In the new empire, there were countless lower realms, and the realm where Ye Yong resided was but one. If one were to categorize it into four stages, they would be: the “World Creation Period,” the “Spirit Qi Birth Period,” the “Spirit Qi Flourishing Period,” and the “Spirit Qi Decline Period.”

The World Creation Period, as the name suggests, began with no world at all, only chaos. A certain deity gathered the chaos, using its power to create many worlds. After a long evolution, intelligent beings like humans gradually emerged.

The Spirit Qi Birth Period.

16 Layers Within Layers, Child Within Child

“Mother’s teachings, I shall remember.” Ye Yong had no intention of revealing to the elders what he had shared with Lin Wei. Primarily, it was because she had been in seclusion for far too long, disconnected from the pulse of the world. He feared that when she finally emerged, the deluge of explosive events might overwhelm her.

A preemptive inoculation against the legacy of the old master, so that when Lin Wei eventually heard of these matters, she would find it easier to accept, not perceiving Ye Yong as a stranger transformed, but as her son. After all, whatever grand deeds Ye Yong accomplished could always be attributed to that nonexistent elder.

Ye Yong poured a cup of tea for Lin Wei. He did not use the finest leaves; though merely of the second grade, under the art of tea mastery, even a cultivator of the Nascent Soul could find solace in its warmth. Of course, that was all it offered—no enhancements like those found in Foundation Establishment.

Lin Wei had known of Ye Yong’s study of tea mastery and had been quite astonished at the time. Now, reflecting on it, she was certain it was a gift from the venerable sage. Yet, even with such a legacy, one needed talent to truly grasp it. Thus, she could not help but feel pride in her son’s prowess.

“I have a painting I wish to gift to you, Mother. I believe it will greatly aid your cultivation of spiritual power.”

“Oh?” Lin Wei’s interest piqued. When she beheld the painting, vibrant with the essence of spring, her pupils constricted in surprise. “This painting is extraordinary… Yong’er, where did you acquire it?”

“Allow me to recount the tale.” Ye Yong briefly explained how he had altered his path to incorporate sound and imagery, joining the Hall of Sound and Image.

“So, this painting was bestowed upon you by the master of the Transformation Hall? No merit, no reward, Yong’er, you must not accept gifts so casually.”

“Please, Mother, let me finish.” Ye Yong sensed Lin Wei’s fierce protectiveness, her fear of him owing a debt, of being ensnared: “I painted this on my way home.”

He swiftly produced another painting, one that embodied the harshness of winter, placing the two side by side for stark contrast.

Lin Wei studied the scenes intently, her gaze tracing the verses inscribed upon them. She nodded at times, lost in thought at others, until at last she spoke, “With just a few strokes, such a profound difference emerges. Yong’er, did you truly create this?”

Even Lin Wei, who longed for her son to achieve greatness, found herself wavering at this moment. It was not that she wished to believe Ye Yong, but the painting before her eyes was simply too exquisite. Lin Wei was merely at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage; compared to her grandfathers, who had seen and experienced much, all of whom were at least at the Transformation stage, her own experiences felt woefully shallow.

“There’s no need for my child to lie to make his mother happy. Those aboard the ship can attest to my words.”

“I’m sorry, it’s not that your mother doesn’t believe you, but the painting is too remarkable. Without decades—no, a century—of skill and talent, it’s unlikely anyone could create such a piece.”

“What is this compared to the old masters?”