Chapter 143: A Hundred Years, the Martial Sect's Development,

【Immortal cultivation knows no years. A hundred years passed quietly as you wandered the mortal world for a full century!】

【Over this century, you witnessed the birth, aging, sickness and death of mortals, the decay and renewal of dynasties, the rise and fall of a hundred years.】

【You witnessed far, far too many things. These were things you could never truly experience in secluded cultivation.】

【Because of this, you also grasped thirty strands of the power of heaven and earth's laws. Though your cultivation did not break through, you felt keenly the difference within yourself. With a raise of your hand, it was as if the entire world lay within your palm.】

【You appeared in a place where no one had set foot, and took out the Chessboard, stroking it personally.】

【"A hundred years without seeing you, I wonder if you can still give me some inspiration?" you murmured to yourself, then activated the Chessboard in your hand.】

【Various powers of heaven and earth's laws surged into your body. You felt each kind of law power, and things you hadn't quite understood before were suddenly mastered thoroughly, becoming clear.】

【Ten years later, the spiritual power within your body was exhausted, your Primordial Spirit too greatly consumed, and you were forced to stop.】

【Your face was covered in smiles, simply because in these ten years, you had once again grasped ten strands of law power!】

【"So this is how the Chessboard is used." You felt you had found a method to quickly grasp the power of heaven and earth's laws.】

【"A hundred years have passed. It's time to go back and see how the Martial Sect has developed!" you said in a low voice. In these hundred years, you had completely severed contact with the Martial Sect.】

【You walked unsteadily toward the direction of the Martial Sect. This time you walked for a full five years before reaching the Martial Sect's location.】

【"The Sect-Protecting Grand Formation shows no sign of being activated, and the sect hasn't changed much. Xiao Long even broke through to Spirit Transformation? Good, very good!"】

【Your Primordial Spirit power shrouded the entire Martial Sect, and you found that the Martial Sect hadn't changed much from before you left.】

【Soon, you noticed that at the central position of the Martial Sect, a human-shaped stone sculpture had been erected!】

【After examining it carefully, you realized it was actually yourself!】

【You saw carved on the stone tablet beneath the sculpture: Founder of the Martial Sect, Sect Master Ye Xiao!】

【You saw many flowers, wine, and various other offerings on the tombstone.】

【"The Sect Grand Tournament is about to begin. Sect Master Ye, please have mercy and bless me with a good result!" an Outer Sect disciple prayed to your sculpture.】

【"What use is worshipping me? It's not like I can fight for you," you said, somewhat amused and exasperated.】

【Soon, you saw more and more disciples kneeling before your sculpture, praying.】

【And most of the wishes they prayed for were related to cultivation. Only a few wanted to take shortcuts.】

【You secretly observed the entire sect's disciples for three days. On the whole, you were quite satisfied.】

【That night, you appeared in the Sect Master's residence. Xiao Long, who heard the commotion, appeared immediately, overflowing with excitement.】

【"Master, you're finally back! Xiao Long missed you so much!"】

【"Mm. A hundred years without seeing you, and you actually broke through to Spirit Transformation. Not bad!" you praised.】

【"Alright, tell me about the sect's situation over these hundred years."】

【"Also, that sculpture at the center of the sect—who erected it?" You returned to the main topic and asked.】

【"The sect has developed very well over these hundred years. Quite a few systems were perfected under the arrangements of those two Holy Sons."】

【"That sculpture you mentioned—the two of them carved it personally."】

【"They said it was to let the newcomers in the sect remember you, the founder of the Martial Sect."】

【"Not bad." You nodded in satisfaction, quite pleased with your own eye for people.】

【"Go call all the Peak Masters of the various peaks, along with those two Holy Sons. I want to inspect them," you instructed Xiao Long.】

【Soon, the Peak Masters, now expanded to fifty, all arrived, along with Xiao Yan and Ye Fan.】

【"Sect Master!"】

【"Sect Master, you're back!"】

【"Sect Master, after all these years you're still so young."】

【Among the crowd, you saw many acquaintances from back then. Some of them, due to lifespan, were already frail and aged.】

【A hundred years, two mortal lifetimes. You could see that everyone present had little lifespan left, only a few decades at most.】

【If they could not break through to the thousandth layer of heaven and condense a Golden Core within their bodies, they likely would not live much longer!】

【You knew this was the drawback of cultivating the Martial Way. Even if your talent was peerless, the slow speed of Martial Cultivation would ultimately lead to the exhaustion of one's lifespan!】

【"So this is the reason for the Martial Way's decline…" you thought to yourself. Since the era of the Old Village Chief ended, there were almost no Martial Cultivators left in the Cultivation World!】

【If not for you bringing out the Old Village Chief's and the others' techniques and founding a sect, perhaps the Martial Way really would have come to a complete end!】

【But fortunately! You looked at Ye Fan and Xiao Yan, both with thick blood qi and middle-aged appearances, and nodded in satisfaction.】

【"Eight hundred layers of heaven in the Martial Way. Excellent. I truly did not misjudge you two," you praised Ye Fan and Xiao Yan.】

【Xiao Yan scratched his head awkwardly. "Just luck."】

【"The luck guy, there he goes again." Someone immediately retorted.】

【After you clarified the sequence of events, you understood. It turned out that every time Xiao Yan broke through, after receiving others' praise, he would always say this one line about luck.】

【Though everyone knew Xiao Yan's character and knew he was just being modest, hearing it every single time would still make one feel a little uncomfortable.】

【"Sect Master, now that you've returned this time, are you leaving again?" Ye Fan asked in a low voice.】

【"Is something the matter?" You looked at Ye Feng curiously.】

【"This disciple is somewhat lost. I wish to ask Sect Master to dispel my doubts."】

【That night, you began to explain the Martial Way. This time you lectured for a full month, from the first layer of heaven of the Martial Way all the way to the two thousandth layer of heaven!】

【As for going higher, you yourself had not broken through to that realm, so naturally you would not mislead others.】

【This lecture drew over every disciple of the entire Martial Sect. Each one listened earnestly to your lecture, and even the Sect Grand Tournament that was about to begin was completely forgotten.】

【Those who, after learning of the Martial Way's hardships, still chose to stay were all people with lofty pursuits in the Martial Way.】

【By the time the disciples snapped out of it, you had already quietly departed, vanishing from within the sect.】

【"Farewell, Sect Master!" After Ye Fan came to his senses and saw that you were no longer there, he bent at the waist and performed a respectful bow toward outside the sect, saying loudly.】

【"Farewell, Sect Master!" The other disciples followed suit, bowing toward the direction you had departed, their tones filled with reverence for you!】

【You, who had long since departed, seemed to sense it at once. You turned back to look at the Martial Sect and smiled knowingly.】