Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Eight hundred miles from the East Sea Qin Family Island, within a secret chamber at a hidden base of the Qin Family, the Tier Four Sword Venerable Qin Du was deep in meditation. Suddenly, his heart leaped in his chest as a voice echoed in his mind. After a moment, a look of wild joy spread across his face. This Tier Four Sword Venerable expert knelt on the ground, facing the empty space before him with an expression as devout as the most faithful believer.

He then summoned all Qin Family members on the island who had surpassed the Sword Sect realm. Lately, these people had been under immense strain. This included the two Sword Venerable ancestors stationed on the island, Qin Du and Qin Wei. Ever since the Lie Family deliberately leaked that the Qin Family was cultivating evil techniques, the family had been under unprecedented pressure.

Just a few days prior, three experts at the Tier Six Sword Venerable Realm had suddenly descended upon the Qin Family Island. They struck in unison, and the most frightening part was that these three Tier Six Sword Venerables could somehow identify who was cultivating evil techniques. They swept across the entire island, executing every last one of them.

This incident had scared the entire Qin Family half to death. They never imagined there were so many Tier Six Sword Venerables on the Canglan Continent!

But on second thought, it made sense. Over a hundred thousand years had passed since the Ancient Era, with tens of thousands of years spanning from its later stages to the present day. Throughout this time, news of ascensions to the Holy Sanctuary had been largely concealed by the various major powers.

This had intentionally created the impression that the world had very few powerful experts.

In reality, however, nearly every major family and sect was convinced that the Canglan Continent concealed a great number of powerful experts.

Those were the members of the truly hidden families and sects! They would absolutely never reveal themselves to the world unless a major catastrophe occurred.

No sooner had the news spread of the Qin Family cultivating evil techniques than three Tier Six Sword Venerables appeared to purge the Qin Family Island. Was that a coincidence?

Not at all!

It meant that many powerful beings were constantly and silently watching over the world. They would not normally interfere, but as soon as a major incident occurred, they would emerge to maintain order.

It was a secret that even superfamilies like the Jingwu Family and the Gongsun Family were completely unaware of.

In truth, the world had simply been too peaceful from the late Ancient Era until the present day. As a result, those beings had no reason to emerge.

The endless squabbles and bloodshed between the great families didn’t concern them in the slightest.

But if they discovered a family like the Qin Family cultivating evil techniques and threatening to upset the world’s balance, those beings would undoubtedly strike without hesitation, nipping such a threat in the bud.

If the Qin Family hadn’t immediately made preparations, abandoning their island and leaving behind only cannon fodder, the entire family would likely have been annihilated.

For this reason, Qin Du was even a little proud of his foresight. But the pressure those mysterious experts had placed upon the Qin Family was still immense.

After returning from the Shushan Sword Sect, Qin Du had taken Qin Wei and a group of their scattered clansmen to an island eight hundred miles from the Qin Family Island, where they settled into a base the family had established long ago.

From high above, the location looked like nothing more than an utterly desolate, rocky island.

The island was long and narrow, like a partially unfurled sash—dozens of kilometers long but only a few kilometers wide. On the vast ocean, such rocky islands were innumerable and completely unremarkable.

The Qin Family’s ancestors had established this base long ago, deep beneath the island’s surface. It was stocked with massive quantities of food and water; they could hide here for a century without ever needing to worry about provisions.

Thus, while the place was safe for the Qin Family, it was also suffocating. After being accustomed to a life of luxury on an island that was a veritable Human Immortal Realm, this confinement—compounded by the threat of death—had caused morale to plummet to rock bottom.

Therefore, the news Qin Du received was absolutely exhilarating.

He addressed the crowd, "Our Qin Family’s time is coming! To hell with all those so-called followers of the Righteous Path!"

"People from the Abyssal Demon Realm... have they really arrived?"

Back inside the secret chamber, Qin Du’s younger brother, Qin Wei, looked at him and asked, "Does the Abyssal Demon Realm truly exist?"

Qin Du sneered. "I was never certain before. After all, the wars of the Ancient Era are far too remote for us. But we’ll know soon enough! That being... it’s absolutely, incomparably powerful! I don’t even know its location, yet its voice reached my ears with perfect clarity. It told me that the very first thing it sensed upon arriving in our world were the humans cultivating their race’s techniques!"

"Does that mean Lord Divine Dragon... is also from there?"

Qin Wei asked with a fanatical look. The Qin Family had been in a miserable state lately. News had just arrived that in the Imperial Capital of the Lanyue Empire, the family had lost two more Sword Emperors and a Sword Sect disciple. And that disciple was none other than the current Young Master of the family’s main lineage.

Qin Du and Qin Wei hadn’t even made this news public, as the blow to morale would have been devastating.

But the arrival of the Demon Race would be a monumental opportunity for the Qin Family!

A glint flashed in Qin Du’s eyes as he chuckled darkly. "No wonder we haven’t heard from Lord Divine Dragon in years. It must have returned to the Demon Realm!"

At that very moment, the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon, trapped within the Ice Blue Water Light Array, suddenly awoke from its deep slumber. It first concentrated its senses for a moment, as if communicating with someone, then abruptly began to roar with furious abandon.

The Ice Blue Water Light Array trembled, its light flaring even brighter.

The Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon spoke in a human tongue, roaring in fury, "You who imprisoned me, you will all die! I will find you! Soon... I will be free!"

...

At the Shushan Sword Sect, the top ten disciples entered seclusion after consuming their Foundation Establishment Pills.

Ling Xiao’s immense wealth currently supported the entire sect’s expenditures, but it was an undeniable fact that the sect’s overall strength was still lacking.

Ling Xiao turned his attention to the Spatial Container he had acquired. Inside, vast quantities of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures remained unused.

However, these elixirs were of too high a grade. An ordinary person couldn’t possibly withstand their immense medicinal potency. Forget ordinary people; even the six Grand Elders of the Shushan Sword Sect, all of whom were in the Sword Emperor Realm—including Shangguan Yutong and Quefeng, who were Tier Six Sword Emperors—could not handle a truly high-grade elixir.

To say nothing of Ling Xiao’s parents and his other followers.

However, a faint premonition that had been nagging at Ling Xiao recently served as a constant reminder. ’If I can’t raise everyone’s strength as quickly as possible, I’m afraid disaster will strike.’

This conclusion left Ling Xiao feeling deeply frustrated. The idea of developing the sect slowly, step by step, had become a luxury he could no longer afford.

And so, Ling Xiao summoned his entire inner circle.

Ling Tianxiao, Qiu Chen, Ling Wu, Tang Ming, Gaia, Zhang Danian, Mo Qing, Meng Li, Uncle Fu, the six Grand Elders of the Sword Sect, his family members Ling Yun’Er and Ling Su, and even Huangpu Yue—all of them gathered in the secret chamber.

Ling Xiao looked at everyone with a solemn expression. "There’s something I’ve been hesitating to tell you for a long time, but I’ve decided it’s time you knew. I originally believed that with enough time, we could raise your strength gradually. If ten years weren’t enough, we would take twenty. If twenty wasn’t enough, we’d take fifty, one hundred, even two hundred years! In short, I could have raised even the weakest among you to the Sword Venerable Realm and given you a chance to become a Sword Saint. Even if you couldn’t enter the Holy Sanctuary, you would all have become true experts, renowned throughout the continent!"

This was the first time Ling Xiao had ever spoken to his inner circle in such a way. Previously, he had never made such promises, merely providing them with elixirs to improve their strength.

Therefore, everyone’s first reaction was that something was wrong.

Ling Tianxiao’s initial frustration with his son’s lack of promise had long since transformed into immense pride. There is no greater joy for a parent than seeing their child succeed.

Seeing his son’s expression, Ling Tianxiao asked, "Ling Xiao, has something happened?"

Ling Xiao shook his head. "I can’t say for sure what’s going on, but something major is definitely about to happen. Because of this, I have a risky proposal. I can refine an elixir that will grant a tremendous boost in strength in a short time, but... taking it comes with considerable risk."

"Say no more, Boss. We’ll take it!" the blunt Ling Wu declared immediately. "In all my years, what danger haven’t I faced? With something this good, you should’ve brought it out sooner! HAHAHA."

Ling Wu laughed heartily after speaking, but when he realized no one was joining in, he added awkwardly, "Anyway, I’m taking it. I trust the Boss wouldn’t harm me!"

Ling Xiao sighed. "You’re wrong. This elixir... if things go badly, it could kill you."

"What?"

Everyone was stunned. They hadn’t imagined that the "risk" Ling Xiao mentioned was a mortal one. The few who had just been silently grumbling about why Ling Xiao hadn’t offered such a good elixir sooner now secretly berated themselves.

Ling Xiao continued, "Because the elixir’s grade is too high and your foundations are too weak. To be honest, it’s an elixir even I would be reluctant to try. Taking it will completely transform your meridians and reconstruct your body. The agony involved, even if it doesn’t kill you, is far beyond what an ordinary person could possibly endure. That’s why I had to make this clear beforehand."

"How painful will it be?" the now-grown Ling Yun’Er asked in a small voice.

"A fate worse than death. To put it bluntly, imagine all of your internal organs being crushed and then reforged. The agony of having bamboo slivers shoved under your fingernails would be a triviality in comparison."

Ling Xiao’s reply instantly drained the color from many faces. The phrase "a fate worse than death" was an abstract concept most had never experienced, but when he described a specific form of torture—like sharp bamboo slivers being shoved under one’s fingernails—the mere thought sent a chill down their spines. To actually attempt it was unthinkable.

After Ling Xiao finished, a heavy silence fell over the group.

Just then, a pleasant female voice spoke up.

"Ling Xiao, I’ll take it."