“Boy, there’s a time for schemes and cleverness,” Ghost Emperor Yama said placidly. “But don’t get greedy. Becoming a Legendary is no simple feat.” His gaze was so piercing that it seemed capable of seeing through to all of Yang Qi’s secrets. “In the grand scheme of energy arts cultivation, the Lifeseizing level isn’t something particularly amazing. However, it is a time to set a solid foundation, which can deeply affect your future path. If you don’t seize enough life from the heavens, and end up with an unstable foundation, no amount of hard work later on will help. Some Nonary Lifeseizers take a thousand years to break into the Legendary level, and others even two thousand. For those who have a weak foundation, the process could even take as long as five thousand years.”

“You're absolutely right, Senior,” Yang Qi said. He actually had no idea what point Ghost Emperor Yama was trying to make, and was simply trying to play along.

“That energy art of yours seems deficient. Presumably it’s connected to some secret legacy of the distant past, so it’s...