Longevity: Comprehending the Heart Method

He was still a bit hesitant. It was no secret that he had succeeded as the Song Clan Leader. If he represented Luoxia City in the battle and lost, that would be one thing. But what if he won by some fluke? Would the Golden Crow Sect and the Celestial Vein Sect even acknowledge it?

Li Ru laughed heartily at his concerns. "Junior Brother, you worry too much. Though you are the Song Clan Leader, you are also a disciple of our great master. This is also common knowledge."

Song Changsheng was taken aback, then broke into a wry smile. ’That’s right. Strictly speaking, I can be considered one of Luoxia City’s people. And that’s no secret either.’

’One truly can’t see the forest for the trees when they’re in the thick of it.’

The last trace of doubt in his heart vanished. Song Changsheng stood up, cupped his hands in a salute, and said, "When does this tournament begin? It would be good for me to prepare in advance."

Seeing Song Changsheng agree, Li Ru’s face broke into a warm smile. He returned the salute and said, "It is set for one year from now. However, it would be best for you, Junior Brother, to arrive at Celestial Sound Mountain six months early. Master and several of the uncles intend to help you advance further."

"Advance further?" Song Changsheng was overjoyed. ’This is a truly unexpected boon.’

"Please arrange your clan’s affairs as soon as possible, Junior Brother. I must write back to our master, so I will not disturb you any longer." Seeing that the matter was settled, Li Ru rose to take his leave from Song Changsheng.

Song Changsheng personally saw him off the mountain. Afterward, he convened the Clan Elder Council to report the matter.

The Elders’ expressions varied upon hearing the news. Song Xianyun frowned and said, "This concerns the ownership of an entire province. The danger of this tournament will likely be no less than a battle to the death. Clan Leader, are you certain you must participate?"

"Last time, we fell for the Thunder King Hall’s trick to lure the snake from its hole. It was only thanks to Luoxia City’s intervention that the clan suffered no losses. A drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. For both sentimental and logical reasons, I must make this trip."

Seeing the worry on everyone’s faces, Song Changsheng offered a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry, I won’t try to be a hero. If I can’t beat them, I’ll just concede."

"As long as you have made your decision." Song Xianyun nodded slightly and said no more.

"The main reason I’ve gathered everyone today is the matter of the Foundation Establishment Pills. For the seven pills Uncle Tong brought back, have you drafted a list of candidates?"

Before he left, there were matters that had to be dealt with, and the distribution of the Foundation Establishment Pills was the most urgent.

Since the Minor Affairs Elder, Song Luzhou, was in seclusion refining Foundation Establishment Pills, Xia Yunxue rose to respond. "A partial list of candidates has been drawn up."

As she spoke, she took out a list written on beast hide. Song Changsheng took it and gave it a cursory glance, his brows immediately furrowing. ’Why are there only five people?’

In the past, they would always start with a long list and then narrow down the suitable candidates. This time, however, there were fewer people on the list than there were Foundation Establishment Pills. ’How am I supposed to choose from this?’

"Mother, why weren’t more candidates selected?"

"These are all the clan members who currently have the best chance of breaking through to Foundation Establishment," Xia Yunxue said with a hint of helplessness.

Acquiring Foundation Establishment Pills too quickly could sometimes be a problem of its own. In the past few years, they had obtained nine pills, which had already filtered through the qualified Cultivators several times.

Then there were the many who couldn’t wait for a Foundation Establishment Pill and tried to force a breakthrough. One after another, more than ten of them perished, with only Song Qingxing succeeding.

These were all the clan’s elite.

One way or another, this meant that among the remaining Cultivators who had condensed their Dao Foundation, they were either too old, had poor aptitude, or possessed some other flaw. After carefully picking and choosing, Xia Yunxue could only select the five with a relatively higher chance of success.

Song Changsheng pinched the bridge of his nose. He never thought he’d see the day he would be troubled by having too many Foundation Establishment Pills.

If they couldn’t even find candidates for these seven pills, there was no hope for the batch Song Luzhou was currently refining.

"Why don’t we set them aside for now and distribute them once the younger generation of the clan has matured?" Song Changxuan suggested.

His words were not without reason. There were many talented individuals among the clan’s younger generation of Cultivators, such as Song Qingxi, Song Qinghong, Song Qingxia, and Song Qingshi. They were all exceptionally outstanding, but they simply hadn’t been cultivating long enough; most were still in the Late-stage Qi Refining realm.

If they saved the pills now, they wouldn’t have to worry when the time came for them to be used.

His reasoning was sound, but Song Changsheng shook his head. What the Song Clan lacked most right now was manpower. They didn’t have the time to wait.

’Besides,’ he thought, ’by the time Song Qingxi and the others need Foundation Establishment Pills, the batch of Spirit Medicines planted in the clan’s Spirit Plant Garden will be about ready. We can just refine a new batch then. There’s no need to save these ones now.’

After a moment’s thought, Song Changsheng picked up the list again and asked, "Why aren’t Senior Clan Sister Changxue and Elder Brother Changqi on here?"

"Although they both meet the conditions, they have already failed their breakthrough attempt once. Every resource the clan has is exceptionally precious." Song Xianyun’s eyelids drooped. He didn’t elaborate, but everyone present understood his meaning.

Failures don’t get a second chance.

Song Changsheng fell silent at his words. In his view, since there was a surplus of Foundation Establishment Pills, there was no harm in letting the two of them try again.

But from the clan’s perspective, doing so would cause discontent among the members. As the Clan Leader, he had to be as impartial as possible, taking everyone’s feelings into account.

"Then select a few more. Prioritize clan members who have a special skill or have made significant contributions to the clan. The age limit can be relaxed to sixty-five, and it doesn’t matter if their aptitude is slightly lacking.

"Once the Foundation Establishment Pills from Fifth Uncle’s side are ready, finalize the candidates as soon as possible." Left with no other choice, Song Changsheng could only relax the restrictions.

Although this would lower the success rate, he had no other option. The clan needed manpower, and these Foundation Establishment Pills had to be converted into tangible strength as quickly as possible.

"Understood. I will go and make the arrangements," Xia Yunxue nodded.

「Seven days later.」

Song Luzhou emerged from seclusion. This time, he had also successfully produced five pills, but their quality was slightly higher than the last batch.

Now, Song Changsheng held twelve Foundation Establishment Pills in his hands. It was safe to say the Song Clan hadn’t been this wealthy in five hundred years.

But the most infuriating part was that he couldn’t pick out suitable candidates.

Every time he thought of those Cultivators who hadn’t waited for a Foundation Establishment Pill and chose to force a breakthrough, Song Changsheng’s heart ached so much he could hardly breathe. They were the clan’s most elite group of Cultivators. If they could have just waited a few more years, the outcome might have been completely different.

Unfortunately, there were no ’what ifs’. After all, no one had expected the Song Clan to acquire Foundation Establishment Pills so frequently in recent years. This was what had led many of the older Cultivators to risk it all. Otherwise, the situation today would be very different.

After a painstaking selection process, Xia Yunxue finally placed a list of twenty names before Song Changsheng.

A single glance was enough to give Song Changsheng a headache. He knew most of these people, and their quality was simply incomparable to the previous batches of candidates.

In the end, he took his brush and circled ten names: Song Changlian, Song Changrong, Song Changhe, Song Changnu, Song Changjun, Song Qingzhou, Song Qingqian, Song Qingyu, Song Qingqing, and Song Qingming.

They were all Cultivators from the "Chang" and "Qing" generations. Not a single one was from the "Lu" generation. This made Song Changsheng realize that the potential of the "Lu" generation Cultivators had likely been exhausted.

After distributing ten Foundation Establishment Pills, he kept the remaining two in reserve for emergencies.

After settling the distribution of the Foundation Establishment Pills, Song Changsheng went to Wind Language Hall and summoned Ding Qii. He handed over the improved *Qi Refining Introduction* that he had found time to work on and instructed him to cultivate it well.

If there were no problems with this version, Song Changsheng’s next step would be to start deducing it into a Tier Two Heart Method. The difficulty would surely skyrocket then, but he was already prepared for a long and arduous battle.

After leaving Wind Language Hall, Song Changsheng dumped all the minor affairs onto Song Luzhou and focused on refining the Supreme Profound Thundercloud Pot. With a Magical Treasure on hand, he would have another trump card for the future.

There were just under six months until he had to head to Luoxia City. During this time, aside from refining the Magical Treasure, he also attempted to cultivate the Little Divine Technique, Soul-Slaying Golden Saber, and the Escape Technique, Stepping on Snow Without Trace, to increase his chances of winning the tournament a year from now.

His days were busy and fulfilling.

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