Chapter 653: A Shift in the Marriage Alliance, A Shift in Mentality

Yang Jing didn’t immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he walked straight to the meditation cushion in the corner of the Training Room and sat down cross-legged.

He knew his mind was in turmoil. Training rashly would not only make it difficult to progress, but his restless state could also cause his Inner Qi to fall into disarray, damaging the very foundation of his Martial Dao.

He first needed to adjust his condition and let his agitated mind settle.

The moment he closed his eyes to focus, the faces of the crowd below Feather Peak surfaced in his mind.

The unconcealable worry and heartache in Sun Ningxiang’s eyes, the somber look on Lin Ziheng’s face, the resentment on Fang He’s, Yan Chenglong’s unspoken sigh…

These images flooded his mind like a tide, and he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

‘Who would have thought? After all these years since I transmigrated to this world, I can still lose my composure this easily.’

In today’s assessment on Feather Peak, he had fought Chu Yunhai to a draw, but he ultimately lost in the sect’s final verdict. That, combined with the varied looks from the crowd, had stirred an irrepressible storm in his heart.

That was why after coming down from Feather Peak, he had first escorted Sun Ningxiang back to Yunxi Peak and then come straight to this Grade B Training Room, not even stopping by Qing No. 4 Courtyard.

He desperately needed a quiet space to calm his heart, which had been thrown into turmoil by the outside world.

Yang Jing shook his head slightly, scolding himself internally for being so foolish.

‘Just because I tied for first place in the Fushan Grand Competition, did I really think I was one of the top prodigies?’

Others might not know the truth about him, but he himself knew it all too well.

He had no hidden talent or special physique. Everything was out in the open. He was just an ordinary practitioner whose root bone had barely improved from Eighth-Grade to Seventh-Grade.

For the past few days, he had been completely fixated on the title of “number one potential seed” and the resources that came with it. He’d forgotten about the insurmountable gulf between himself and a top prodigy like Chu Yunhai, who possessed a superior Innate Root Bone and had even awakened a War Body.

It wasn’t that he was blindly arrogant; he had long anticipated that he might lose to Chu Yunhai.

But when the results were finally announced, when the entire Xuanzhen Sect and even all of Jintai Prefecture were abuzz about Chu Yunhai becoming the number one potential seed—predicting that he would be left completely in the dust by him in the future—he couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration, apprehension, and resentment.

This was especially true on Feather Peak. Although Elder Ouyang was still friendly toward him, compared to the favor he showed Chu Yunhai, that friendliness was tinged with a polite distance and a hint of pity.

This subtle difference made the gap between them feel all the more real.

Yang Jing couldn’t help but reflect that things had gone far too smoothly for him since he joined the Xuanzhen Sect.

He had risen from an outer disciple, putting on stunning performances in the Dragon Gate Martial Trial, the Cyan Qilin Battle, and the Fushan Grand Competition. After hearing so much praise, his mindset had actually become less steady than before. It felt like he was regressing.

Thinking back to his time at Sun’s Martial Arts Hall, even when his master, Sun Yong, had clearly favored Lin Yue, pouring more resources and guidance into him, he had never felt so imbalanced.

Back then, he had eyes only for cultivation, focused on honing his fundamentals. All other distractions and comparisons were irrelevant.

‘To think that now, when my strength has advanced by leaps and bounds, my mindset has actually weakened.’

He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to strip away the distracting thoughts from his mind.

As his breathing gradually steadied, the emotional storm in his heart slowly subsided. That long-lost feeling of being grounded, just like during his days at Sun’s Martial Arts Hall, returned to him.

Reflecting on it now, losing the contest for the number one potential seed wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

A path that is too smooth can make a person lose their way and forget their original purpose.

This setback, however, was a perfect opportunity for self-reflection.

His race was never about competing with others for short-term victories, but about focusing on the long run and properly walking his own Martial Dao path.

The title of number one potential seed was certainly tempting, but losing it didn’t mean he had lost his future.

He had a source of confidence that others couldn’t possibly match: the assistance of his panel. As long as he progressed steadily, he was fully confident he could break through to the Qi Absorption Realm, then push on to the True Qi Realm and the Pill Realm, climbing step by step to the greater heights of the Martial Dao.

Yang Jing slowly opened his eyes. The confusion and agitation were gone from his gaze, replaced by a look of growing resolve.

A clear goal had now formed in his mind.

‘Next, I must cast aside all distracting thoughts and break through to the Qi Absorption Realm in the shortest time possible. I will truly join the ranks of the Xuanzhen Sect’s top senior disciples.’

‘I will prove with my own strength that even without the resources that come with being the number one potential seed, I, Yang Jing, can still forge my own path on the Martial Dao.’