I Can See Your Combat Power
Chapter 1789 - 222: The Saint Cannot

Chapter 1789: Chapter 222: The Saint Cannot

The Old Master of the Beast Taming Sect, across all of Xiehe, is a figure akin to an immortal.

If such a decree were to be heard in Long Valley, then Cao Yanran’s ranking among the true disciples would ascend by at least one or two places, and his future prospects would become boundless.

But if this were truly to happen, would you say it was due to Cao Yanran’s own ability, or because of the Old Master’s decree, transforming inadequacy into sufficiency?

In this world, such situations are the most abundant—matters hovering between success and failure, influenced by special conditions, peculiar timings, and unique actions, where even the slightest change shifts the facts.

And amidst these changes, advancing resolutely with an unwavering heart is wisdom; treading carefully as though walking on ice is also wisdom.

The Flower-Coat Old Man had spotted this latter form of wisdom within Cao Yanran, which is why he remarked that the Mao Sect has worthy successors.

"Come here, child, and eat this fruit."

Pinching a particularly plump peanut from a golden plate, the Flower-Coat Old Man handed it to Cao Yanran.

The ecstatic true disciple of the Mao Sect respectfully stepped forward, knelt down, and used both hands to receive the peanut kernel offered by the elder, solemnly chewing it and sending it into his mouth.

But a peanut kernel is just that, no matter how large and plump—it falls to the teeth of an adult in only a few bites. Yet, Cao Yanran managed to chew it no fewer than thirty times, then slowly swallowed the paste-like mishmash.

Once he confirmed there was not the slightest trace of peanut remaining in his mouth, the kneeling Cao Yanran bowed deeply in gratitude and said, "Thank you, Ancestor, for the fruit."

Observing this exceedingly solemn etiquette, Cao Changqing, who was busy devouring peanuts by the handful, couldn’t understand it at all. In his view, peanuts were meant to be eaten—what’s wrong with the old man sharing a few of them with juniors from among the surplus he collected daily?

Every time he handed some out, it was only one or two kernels at a time. So petty!

"Ah, you witless child!"

The Flower-Coat Old Man seemed to hear Cao Changqing’s thoughts and spat lightly, "If everyone were as unruly as you, the old fellow wouldn’t have enough peanuts to satisfy them all for a meal!"

With no rhyme or reason for the reproach, Cao Changqing became indignant. He scooped up two handfuls of peanuts and stuffed them into his mouth, his cheeks puffing up like a frog’s belly as he struggled to chew.

"Crunch, crunch!"

"Slow down! Slow down!"

Terrified, the Flower-Coat Old Man clutched his chest and exclaimed upon witnessing Cao Changqing’s ferocious chewing, "That’s all that’s left!"

"Hmph!"

Cao Changqing turned his face away in defiance and chewed even more viciously, his bites like rasping files.

"Ah, what sins has this old man committed to end up with such a debt-collecting child?"

Shaking his head, the Flower-Coat Old Man suppressed his anguish, refusing to look at the dwindling mountain of peanuts. Instead, he turned to Cao Yanran with a wrinkled yet kind smile and asked, "Let’s test your cultivation, child. Do you know the difference between the Other Shore Realm and the Saint Realm?"

Upon hearing the ancestor’s examination, Cao Yanran’s heart tightened, and he promptly sat up straight. Yet, after listening to the question, he didn’t immediately respond but instead lowered his head in thought.

His Sea of Consciousness churned as he recalled all his memories since beginning his cultivation—the teachings of mentors, the insights gained through arduous practice. All these attainments converged into his final answer, but Cao Yanran still refrained from speaking.

He began scrutinizing this answer, meticulously refining what he felt wasn’t precise enough. Only when no further revisions were possible did he eventually open his mouth with difficulty.

"Yanran believes the difference between the Other Shore Realm and the Saint Realm lies in this: the former reconfigures rules within heaven and earth’s permission, while the latter transcends heaven and earth to rewrite the rules in specific instances!"

When he finished speaking, Cao Yanran’s expression was composed. Though uneasy during both contemplation and expression, the moment he fully conveyed his thoughts, he felt unexpectedly liberated.

The Flower-Coat Old Man seemed quite pleased with this answer, the corners of his mouth lifting, "Rewrite the rules? That’s intriguing. Child, in your view, to what extent can this rewriting go?"

"As long as one can imagine it, it can be altered."

This time, Cao Yanran answered without hesitation, "Yin and Yang can be reversed, the Five Elements can be disrupted; weight and size determined by will; height and distance shifted at will. All things can be birthed by one thought and extinguished by another!"

"Ha ha, ha ha ha ha ha."

After hearing Cao Yanran’s words, the Flower-Coat Old Man burst into hearty laughter. When his laughter subsided, he asked again, "Then tell me, child, is there anything a Saint cannot achieve?"

"Cannot achieve?"

Cao Yanran froze. He hadn’t considered this question at all and was completely unprepared: "Moving mountains, overturning seas, plucking stars, pulling down moons... perhaps, perhaps the Saint’s boundaries lie only within life, death, time, and space?"

"Child, you’re imagining things far too grandly."

The Flower-Coat Old Man squinted and smiled faintly. He extended his palm outward to Cao Yanran, "The Saint Realm is indeed remarkable, but not to that extent. Even in the Saint Domain, there are many things they cannot do, some of them quite simple."

As these words fell, the elder slowly turned his palm over. With the gentle rotation of his palm came an inexplicable shift—a spring sky drenched in brilliant sunlight suddenly dimmed, blanketed in thick shadows growing darker still.

Within Long Valley, a cacophony of beastly roars and wails erupted, as if foreboding some unspeakable terror. Cao Yanran and Cao Changqing lifted their gazes skyward, their jaws slack in astonishment. Though the golden sun still hung in the cloudless sky, the daylight steadily waned.

Scanning the surroundings with anxious eyes, their vision reached its limit, encountering only eternal night as if daylight had morphed into dusk, with the sun casting but a larger moon’s glow.

A swift overturning of heavens and earth, a reversal of sun and moon—this must be the work of the Saint King.

Cao Changqing and Cao Yanran stared with mouths agape, speechless. Even as Fearsome Realm fighters, witnessing such a spectacle shook their cores.

Yet the Flower-Coat Old Man remained calm as though merely brushing dust from his coat. He spoke in a gentle voice, "An old man might steal the light of ten thousand miles of spring sun, but he cannot rob the sun in your hearts. A Saint may overturn mountains and seas, pluck stars, and move moons, but they cannot invert the truth and fairness stored in human hearts."

As he spoke, the elder rotated his palm once more, causing darkness to gradually fade away beneath the Phoenix Tree Divine Wood atop Long Valley’s peak, restoring light and warmth to embrace the land anew.

"This ’covering the heavens with one hand’—it’s merely a trick to show off in front of you children. Use it too long, and the harm falls solely upon this old man... cough, cough... cough cough cough."

Seemingly implying something beyond his words, the Flower-Coat Old Man bent over, coughing violently as though he might expel his lungs.

Cao Changqing turned pale with fright. He rushed forward and began patting the elder’s back while muttering quietly, "I told you, you stubborn old fool, to stop showing off. Now look at the mess you’re in!"

"Almost passed out—not your business, child, buzz off, buzz off."

The recovering Flower-Coat Old Man did not appreciate the concern and, turning to the mortified and pale-faced Cao Yanran, winked, "So now you understand, child. Even a Saint at such a level can sometimes choose not to act simply because they prefer not to."

"Rascal, take Yanran down the mountain!"

"Tch..."

Though unruly and lackadaisical, Cao Changqing knew to separate the trivial from the urgent. Although he suspected the old man was rushing to send them away merely to recover his dignity after his failed show of strength, he still rose and walked alongside his Mao Sect senior brother down the mountain.