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

15

Desiring only to live well yet surpassing the protagonist – 14 Gift of the Cultivation Method

“The Ice Heart Jade Body Technique,” a very cliché name, yet it was an immortal-level cultivation method, perfectly suited for Qin Shimeng.

She was currently of the Ice Heart constitution, but in the future, it would evolve into the Ice Heart Jade Body, ranking among the top immortal constitutions.

Cultivation methods, like weapons, are categorized into Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. Following Heaven are Saint, Immortal, and Divine levels.

Ye Yong spent 1000 reversal points in the marketplace to exchange for the first part. The Ice Heart Jade Body Technique is divided into upper, middle, and lower parts. The upper part costs only 1000 reversal points, but the middle part costs 10,000 reversal points, and the lower part’s price doubles and doubles again, selling for the high price of 100,000 reversal points.

In other words, to master the entire Ice Heart Jade Body Technique, one would need to spend over 110,000 reversal points. However, compared to Saint-level treasures, this cultivation method is relatively cheap, as not everyone can learn it due to its requirements for specific people, talents, and constitutions.

As for Saint-level treasures, any Nascent Soul powerhouse could unleash nearly one-third of its power. Unless it’s a special treasure, they are not very selective; as long as one’s cultivation is strong enough and one has sufficient spiritual power, it will suffice.

Looking at those Saint and Immortal level artifacts selling for several hundred thousand or even millions of reversal points, these mere 110,000 reversal points are nothing. And Ye Yong didn’t buy the whole set, just the upper part.

Although it’s only the upper part, it’s enough to help Qin Shimeng smoothly reach the Nascent Soul stage. At the Nascent Soul stage, Qin Shimeng would inevitably meet the protagonist, and the fallen immortal elder in the jade pendant would naturally help her complete the rest. Ye Yong needn’t worry; he just needed to harvest a bit of Qin Shimeng’s goodwill to increase his reversal points.

“This cultivation method is named… ‘Ice Heart Jade Body Technique,'” Ye Yong deliberately omitted the word ‘immortal’ because the difference between including and excluding it was quite significant: “I discovered this method in a hidden compartment while buying antiques some time ago.”

After writing, Ye Yong handed the invaluable cultivation method paper to Qin Shimeng: “I remember you have the Ice Heart constitution, which should be very compatible with this method. Although it’s only the first part, it’s enough to ensure your path to becoming a Nascent Soul powerhouse is unobstructed. Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, there will surely be other ways to obtain the remaining parts of the method.”

Qin Shimeng knew she had a rare Ice Heart constitution, which was precisely why she hadn’t found a cultivation method that suited her until now. She had never heard of the Ice Heart Jade Body Technique, but as a cultivator, she was acutely aware of the preciousness of this method. Compared to her family’s cultivation method, it was far superior. Lately, Qin Shimeng had hit a bottleneck in her cultivation, and after much thought, she concluded that the issue must lie with the cultivation method, as the family’s method wasn’t a good fit for her.

—

Even without learning the Jade Heart Ice Body Technique, just by silently reciting it once, she felt her bottleneck loosening, as if she was on the verge of a breakthrough.

Cultivators have astonishing eyesight and memory. Qin Shimeng had memorized the technique as Ye Yong wrote it down. The paper was actually unnecessary, but it represented something—it was Ye Yong’s way of apologizing.

Qin Shimeng stood there, at a loss for words. For the first time since she could remember, her mind was a complete blank, devoid of vocabulary.

Under normal circumstances, Ye Yong would now seize Qin Shimeng’s hand, press the paper into her palm, and perhaps take advantage to flirt. But not this time. He wanted to live, and he was supposed to say farewell to Qin Shimeng. Why add ambiguity now, only to suffer later when he saw her getting close to the protagonist? So, Ye Yong’s current approach was to treat Qin Shimeng as a stranger. Besides, it wasn’t easy to increase her favorability, so why risk reducing it by being opportunistic?

Qin Shimeng was enticing, but reversal points were even more so. To change his fate from a doomed antagonist to the strongest bystander, Ye Yong relied on these reversal points.

“This technique is extremely precious, Miss Qin. Do not share it, lest it brings trouble,” Ye Yong said as he pushed the paper towards Qin Shimeng and stood up. “I have other matters to attend to and must leave. Farewell, Miss Qin, until we meet again.”

With that, Ye Yong returned to his mansion.

As the saying goes, ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ it took a long while for Qin Shimeng to recover. Her hands trembling, she picked up the paper, which bore Ye Yong’s neat handwriting.

“What does he mean by this?” Qin Shimeng was utterly confused by Ye Yong. First, he called off their engagement, granting her freedom, and now he presented a mysterious technique as compensation? Why was everything happening all at once today?

Qin Shimeng even wondered if she was still on the back mountain comprehending the sword, perhaps having fallen asleep by accident.

“Maybe it’s a trap; I must be cautious.” It could only be said that Qin Shimeng’s defenses were very high. Or perhaps it was because Ye Yong, outwardly a graceful gentleman, was inwardly a tyrant, leaving a deep impression on her. Even if Ye Yong now offered her an immortal weapon, Qin Shimeng would suspect he was plotting something, putting on an act.

Regardless, having received such a technique, Qin Shimeng couldn’t just ignore it. She had already tried operating it and found it to be a perfect fit. Her spiritual energy flowed faster. Without further thought, Qin Shimeng just wanted to hurry home and break through to the next level of foundation building.

—

Back in his room, Ye Yong looked at the change in Qin Shimeng’s favorability from -62 to -21, from ‘Disgust’ to ‘Wary.’ His reversal points had jumped from just over a thousand to over thirteen thousand, and he couldn’t be more pleased.

Acquiring the protagonist’s weapon, the Tianxuan Rod, had only added 300 reversal points. But after a chat with Qin Shimeng, spending 205 points to learn the Way of Tea, beginner calligraphy, and 1000 points to buy the first part of the Jade Heart Ice Body Technique, the return was over ten thousand reversal points. If only such transactions could happen more often!

But then, considering this was a cultivation novel, the protagonist would encounter many female leads and opportunities…

Ye Yong couldn’t help but swallow hard.

“Young Master… You…” Wu Xue wanted to say something but hesitated, stammering.

“It’s alright, ask whatever you’re curious about,” Ye Yong said, secretly wiping away the tears of joy at the corner of his mouth, looking at Wu Xue.

—

“Did you truly wish to discard your cultivation just now?” Wu Xue took a deep breath and voiced her question.

It was only thanks to the spirit tea she had drunk, which calmed her mind and gave her the courage to speak up. Once the effect passed, Wu Xue was like a quail in front of Ye Yong, where even making eye contact was an accomplishment, let alone asking questions.

“Hmm. I have made many mistakes in the past, especially towards Miss Qin, causing her much trouble. If it would make her happy, what is there to fear in discarding my cultivation?”

“But isn’t cultivation something cultivators value greatly? Without it, wouldn’t one just become a mortal?”

“Sometimes, there are things more important than cultivation. By the way, Xiao Xue, do you wish to cultivate?”

“I do, but I lack the talent and spiritual roots…” Wu Xue’s desire to become a cultivator was not for herself, but to have the strength to find her lost mother.

“Cultivation doesn’t necessarily mean becoming an immortal; martial cultivation is also an option.” Ye Yong glanced at the empathy meter, which had risen from -56 to -41 due to his conversation with Qin Shimeng, with Wu Xue present all the while, changing from 【Intense Fear】to 【Fear】. He realized that the 10,000+ reversal points were not all from Qin Shimeng; a small part was from Wu Xue.

“Martial cultivation? But my body is weak… it’s impossible.”

“What if I told you I have a way for you to practice martial arts?”

Wu Xue’s heart skipped a beat, but quickly returned to calm, even becoming somber: “It’s getting late, I should prepare the evening meal for the young master.”

“I am a cultivator, and though I haven’t fully abstained from grains, I won’t be hungry for a while. I’m serious, as long as you trust me, not only can I enable you to practice martial arts, but I can also make you a strong warrior, one that even cultivators would not dare to provoke.”

“I am well aware of my own capabilities, please, young master, do not tease me any further.” With that, Wu Xue turned and left for the kitchen of the Ye residence.

Ye Yong was not in a hurry; after all, Wu Xue couldn’t escape. He just needed to slowly increase her empathy meter.