Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 919 - 787: Exposing Weaknesses

In fact, just having cultivation damage is something many Supremes are unwilling to accept.Cultivation damage inevitably leads to a decrease in combat power; even spending a lot of resources, it’s hard to make up for it.

The worst is level drop, which may even affect longevity. Wouldn’t it be better to enjoy three hundred years of peace and prosperity?

The Paranoid calls out to Liu Qingyu, not only because he is a senior, but also because he genuinely looks down on him.

——Someone who doesn’t dare to challenge the Supreme level isn’t worth treating kindly.

But this Granny Jia is different, at least she tried the challenge and failed.

Speaking of which, did he himself truly succeed? That’s... hard to say.

Especially when the other party mentioned that failing to break through felt disgraceful, which struck a chord with him.

People like you and me rightly should have this pride!

Just for this statement, the Paranoid’s impression of Granny Jia significantly changed.

He nodded deeply, "Yes, the Supreme level... it’s truly a life and death experience."

Granny Jia glanced at him with suspicion and cautiously asked, "Could the senior share how you succeeded in breaking through?"

Very straightforwardly, she had already acknowledged him as a senior—which his words had proved.

Was it empty intimidation? Just look at the Panda’s reaction beside them.

Based on her understanding of Panda, she believed he wouldn’t just sit back and watch her make a fool of herself.

"Breaking through..." Hearing this, the Paranoid displayed a faint bitter smile.

He always emphasized his success when with Qu Jianlei, but he hesitated when faced with Granny Jia’s query.

The Paranoid values his reputation but is also very proud, unwilling to lie to others.

He could argue with Qu Jianlei, but seeing those hopeful old eyes, he lacked any interest in boasting.

——Anyway, based on my experiences, that guy already knows. If I don’t speak now, won’t he tell later?

Ultimately, he sighed and slowly shook his head, "It’s not fully successful now; you’ve seen my spirit and body out of sync."

"Uh..." Granny Jia was slightly surprised but only a little.

She had long noticed something was off with his condition; otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked so puzzled to begin with.

However, this situation is quite normal. She hasn’t heard of anyone smoothly breaking through to the Supreme level.

So she just paused briefly and nodded, "It’s okay not to be fully successful; you can take your time. Truly a genius."

She then sighed in defeat, "Anyway, you’re much stronger than me."

After touching his chin, the Paranoid spoke again.

"Since you’re not an outsider, when you were breaking through, did you choose inner cultivation or outer cultivation... or was it spiritual refinement?"

This question was quite bold, involving Supreme privacy and even potential pitfalls of calculation.

No matter the good relationship, it’s inappropriate to casually ask—unless there’s a friendship close enough to help protect.

But he was a senior and had advanced to the Supreme level, so asking like this surely wasn’t ill-intentioned.

To be fair, in the Paranoid’s view, asking this could be considered "bringing" the other person up.

Especially given her decent relationship with Qu Jianlei, and his curiosity; otherwise, he wouldn’t even bother asking.

Granny Jia showed visible surprise; she hadn’t expected him to be so straightforward.

In fact, she had always been a standout in her cohort, never encountering someone daring enough to ask her so directly.

But since they had already engaged to this extent, saying a bit more wasn’t a problem.

The key is that her time is running out, there really isn’t much worth fussing over.

The Imperial system doesn’t have the saying "better die after hearing the way in the morning," but this mindset isn’t uncommon.

Furthermore, the other party was candid enough to admit his unstable state.

She sighed softly, "I chose the inner cultivation path, but the details were somewhat different..."

"Wrong path!" The Paranoid interrupted her abruptly, "No wonder you failed."

Granny Jia’s back straightened at this, her eyes glaring, unexpectedly releasing a slight Supreme suppression.

She spoke coldly, "Please, have some respect, senior. My failure is my own issue. I don’t care for this rash judgment of others’ faults."

She maintained her stance over an ideological dispute, never retreating due to the other person’s strength. Without this belief, what’s the point of cultivation?

"Oh wow," The Paranoid looked at her with a half-smile, "But you did fail, didn’t you?"

"Some succeeded!" Granny Jia responded firmly, "And I made my own adjustments."

"Yet you failed!" The Paranoid indeed had a nasty temper and was relentless on certain points.

"You!" Granny Jia was furious, raising her sparse eyebrows.

But the next moment, she sighed in resignation, "Actually, on the path, there’s no definitive right or wrong. Senior, why be so forceful?"

"Inner cultivation is inferior!" The Paranoid declared decisively.

As the saying goes, only names are mistakenly given, never nicknames. The nickname given by Qu Jianlei was indeed fitting.

In the end, he had once crossed that threshold, and now at four hundred years old, he felt his words carried more weight.

"Emphasizing inner cultivation alone—without a strong physical body to support, can it bear the rapidly advancing cultivation level?"

Qu Jianlei had no intention of getting involved in their debate, silently lighting a cigarette: a strong body...like a pile of mud?

"You have a prejudice against inner cultivation!" Granny Jia replied angrily, "Inner cultivation emphasizes from the inside out, it doesn’t deny a supporting foundation!"

"Come on," the Paranoid waved his hand dismissively, speaking calmly, "Don’t argue; initially, I chose inner cultivation as well..."

The two began debating back and forth, while Qu Jianlei smoked his cigarette, leisurely watching their argument unfold.

For some reason, he always felt a sense of déjà vu, like watching Feng Qingyang and Yue Buqun.

Neither could win over the other, and in the end, Granny Jia couldn’t help but use a trump card on her senior.

"If outer cultivation is so good, why are your physical body and spirit uncoordinated? What does that indicate?"

The Paranoid rolled his eyes in frustration, wanting to argue further but feeling it would be undignified, so he glanced at Qu Jianlei, "You say something."

"What’s it got to do with me?" Qu Jianlei was taken aback, never expecting that watching the commotion would land him in trouble, "You two just continue your argument."

The Paranoid and Granny Jia asked simultaneously, "Whose side are you on?"

"I’m not on anyone’s side," Qu Jianlei instinctively answered, feeling objective; he wasn’t clear on what inner cultivation or outer cultivation truly was.

These were concepts developed from the Awakened System that only the Supreme could access, while he was entirely on his own path.

For some reason, after saying this, he felt something was amiss.

Sure enough, something was off; as soon as he finished speaking, those two suddenly asked, "Then what philosophy do you support?"

Qu Jianlei scanned their faces several times before speaking with an odd expression, "So you two are trying to learn from me?"

What was the Paranoid’s temperament? Yet he chuckled awkwardly and didn’t say anything.

Because he genuinely wanted to learn; the other’s profound understanding of spiritual qi had already greatly surprised him.

Considering he would rely on the Spirit Gathering Array for cultivation in the future, he swallowed his pride and accepted such a leader.

But upon learning that Qu Jianlei was actually Ran Bingluan, he was completely unsettled.

Why was Ran Bingluan being relentlessly monitored by the Anomalous Management Division? Because when he advanced to Supreme, he actually incited Tribulation Thunder!

This news was highly confidential, but given the Paranoid’s cultivation level and ruthless methods, it wasn’t difficult for him to find some clues.

Moreover, he wasn’t entirely without information channels.

Those minor figures he used to look down on had become Guardian Supreme in the military; if he encountered acquaintances, they were the top-tier individuals of the time!

The key point was that he understood; encountering Tribulation Thunder when advancing to Supreme meant pursuit of the ultimate realm that even Primordial Warriors aspired to.

Learning from such a person was genuinely not disgraceful; even the resurrected Primordial Warriors would come to learn, let alone him?

However, Granny Jia was much more straightforward; she pursed her lips toward the Paranoid.

"This senior recognizes you as the leader, so I’ll listen to your theories as a way to gain knowledge."

Qu Jianlei didn’t mind her words but stayed there, shaking his head a few seconds later.

"I don’t support either of your arguments, and as for my philosophy...information barriers, you know."

Granny Jia fell silent upon hearing the word "information barriers."

The Empire frequently emphasized this factor with such strong legitimacy.

"Come on, talk about it," the Paranoid shamelessly remarked.

"You will eventually break through beyond Supreme; describing the scenery would broaden our horizons."

"Will I break through beyond Supreme eventually?" Granny Jia’s eyes lit up again upon hearing this; who in the Empire could dare to speak with such certainty?

Yet, surprisingly, the person speaking this was already someone who had achieved a realm breakthrough, lending great credibility.

Qu Jianlei smiled, "Even geniuses who died young aren’t geniuses anymore; I’m still far off, you two carry on."

The Paranoid still had plans to extract more information, but Granny Jia was already directing her attention toward him.

"Esteemed senior, you’ve been asking me all this while; I’d like to inquire, did you advance through purely outer cultivation?"

Her question carried a hint of spite; progressing beyond Supreme with pure outer cultivation had numerous drawbacks.

Back when Granny Jia prepared for advancement, she mulled over various plans and knew these details very well.

If her opponent started boasting, she wouldn’t mind continuing to rebut.

Unexpectedly, Qu Jianlei’s face turned peculiarly odd upon hearing this—was that form considered pure outer cultivation?

The Paranoid, who had been observing him, noticed his strange expression and knew where the problem lay.

Recalling his own past awkwardness, he almost wished he could bury himself underground.

He coughed lightly, "I major in outer cultivation, along with cultivation of the spirit... but it’s Spirit Reversal cultivation."

Granny Jia was initially stunned, then her mouth slowly opened wide, and her gaze became peculiar.

Then she raised her hand and slapped her forehead heavily, "Outer cultivation and Spirit Reversal, you wouldn’t happen to be that Chaoyang..."

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