After a while, Yuan Lei put down the twig that he had used to draw and brushed off his hands before looking at Yun Bei Fen. "How are you doing? Missing senior martial brother Mei?"
Yun Bei Fen smiled happily at that. Yuan Lei really was smart. He was actually able to see that at just one glance! "Mn! I can't help but feel a bit sad that I can't go with him when he goes out for the patrol. Senior martial brother Yuan, what do you think I should do to get to the next level faster?"
Yuan Lei looked at him, at a loss for words. How to reach the next level faster … Most likely, he should ask that a prodigy like Mei Chao Bing and not a normal person like him. While his level also wasn't low, it definitely couldn't compare to somebody who had actually been at the core stage for several years at merely twenty-eight. "Well … Just promoting faster to the next level might not be such a good idea. You know, your level also needs to be stable. That is why after reaching one level, most people will spend some time in closed-door cultivation to consolidate it or go outside and train for a bit."
Yun Bei Fen slightly furrowed his brows. "It hasn't been that long since I reached this level. Actually, It was just before the Sect Master called everyone together for this mission."
Yuan Lei nodded. "Then I guess you really shouldn't rush ahead. Actually, considering your age, you're not that far off. Aren't you only about twenty?"
Yun Bei Fen nodded but there was not the slightest bit of understanding in his expression.
Yuan Lei's lips twitched. "Fen'er … What do you think is a normal age to reach the Foundation Establishment stage?"
Yun Bei Fen's expression turned thoughtful. After pondering for a moment, he gave Yuan Lei an uncertain look before turning to Yi Ju, hoping for some inspiration. When both of them just looked at him expectantly, he just made a guess. "Ten?"
Yuan Lei's expression dropped. He really couldn't help it. "If even half the people of our sect were good enough to reach the foundation establishment stage at the age of ten, then the Teng Yong Sect would definitely be the leader of all the sects of the cultivation world and there wouldn't be a need for four big sects."
Yun Bei Fen blinked his eyes, feeling that he somewhat understood. Ten seemed to be a little too low. "Fifteen?"
Yuan Lei's lips twitched. "What made you think so?"
Yun Bei Fen pondered for a moment longer and then, his expression lit up. "I think my first senior martial brother mentioned that he reached the refinement stage at that age!"
Yuan Lei thought of Zhi Guan and shook his head. Right, he had forgotten that Yun Bei Fen's senior martial brothers were abnormal as well.
Yi Ju seemed to be pondering something though. "Didn't your first senior martial brother enter the sect very late? Was he even there yet when he was fifteen?"
Yun Bei Fen blinked his eyes, feeling a bit unsure. "Then maybe he reached it after fifteen years?"
Yuan Lei give Yun Bei Fen a deep look and wondered just what was going on in his head. "Fifteen years? Fen'er, how old were you when you entered the Teng Yong Sect?"
Yun Bei Fen thought back and then looked down at his hands as if he wanted to count out just how old he had been. "I think I might've been about five?"
Yuan Lei nodded. That did make sense. "Then you also took fifteen years to reach the foundation establishment stage, didn't you?"
Yun Bei Fen wriggled his fingers and finally nodded. "It seems like that!" His expression immediately lit up and he seemed as if he wanted to leap to his feet and rush off to Mei Chao Bing immediately.
Yuan Lei hurriedly reached out and grabbed his arm, holding him back. "Now, now, there is no reason to get overly ambitious. The level you're at is completely normal for your age. It's only those absolute geniuses like Mei Chao Bing who will be able to reach that level sooner. There's nothing you did wrong.
"Thus, you also don't need to rush into getting to the next level. You'll be able to achieve that just in time. Hurrying it up might have a negative effect instead. But the thing is that you probably only focused on cultivating, didn't you?"
Yun Bei Fen looked at him curiously, not knowing where he wanted to go with this. "Yes. Isn't that how you get to the next level?"
Yuan Lei nodded. "It is. But then again, you also need the skills that you can use to attack demonic practitioners and defend yourself with. And that is what you are lacking.
"You only focused on your level but haven't managed to learn everything else. And I'm afraid that that is why Mei Chao Bing doesn't let you go out on patrol. It's the same thing with Yi Ju. She doesn't have many skills that she can use to protect herself. It wouldn't be good if she happened upon some demonic cultivators."
Yun Bei Fen furrowed his brows at that. Well, wasn't that why Mei Chao Bing was trying to teach him how to fly? And he had also shown him how to sense creatures and people by using the spiritual energy they gave off. But while he had gotten quite good with the latter, it was a different thing when looking at the former.
Thinking of just how much more he would need to train until he was able to fulfill whatever Mei Chao Bing would expect of him, he couldn't help but twist Xiao Hui's ears. "It'll take forever until I'm able to accompany him on patrol!"
Before Yuan Lei was able to console him, another person already stepped up to them with a smile. "Junior martial brother Yun, if you're so worried about not knowing enough skills to protect yourself, why don't you let me teach you? Since we're going to accompany your group, everybody will have a bit more time to stay in the camp. I can use my time to teach you if you want me to."
Yun Bei Fen turned around and naturally, the person standing there was Yang Wu Huang. Seeing him, his already unhappy expression turned even worse. That bad person had actually sneaked up on him!