The King then picked up the second parchment scroll.Its contents were a report regarding the incident in the Black Mist Forest. He did not need to spend long reading it, because the details of that event were already firmly engraved in his head:Fighting the Mist Wolf King alone.Complete victory without the help of any other party.Followed by the third scroll:Report on interactions with Princess Xiao Yue. Saving the princess's life twice, yet refusing all forms of material rewards nor seeking the princess's identity.All the connecting threads of those secret reports led to one absolute name: Qing Zilong.The King arranged the three report scrolls side by side on the jade stone table: The Pill, The Princess, and The Beast. He stared at all three for quite a long time in silence."A lethal swordsman...""A genius-level master alchemist...""And possessing mental calmness and self-control equal to an experienced old cultivator."The Head Guard watched the arrangement of reports on t

Inside a dimly lit room, Wang Li stood upright near the window. Both of his hands rested firmly on the wooden frame, while his gaze stared straight toward the pitch-black outer courtyard.Wang Li was not thinking about his victory or defeat. The fact that he won his match today was an absolute truth that no one could deny.However, the image of Qing Zilong kept flashing in his mind uncontrollably: The way the youth stood tall without a shred of hesitation. The steady grip on his black sword blade. How he easily stopped his final attack without the slightest intention of taking Luo Ming's life.And what bothered Wang Li's soul the most was... Qing Zilong's gaze. There was no hatred there. No burning anger. In fact, not even a glimmer of desire for revenge. Zilong looked at him as if all the vicious things Wang Li had done in the past were completely unimportant, worthless, and not even worthy enough to make him lose control.Wang Li's fingers clenched tightly until his knuckles turned

Three years ago, Wang Li did indeed have a choice. He could have let Zilong keep walking his path, accepting the reality that one day he would be surpassed by the genius.However, he did not do it. Deep down in his heart, Wang Li was consumed by an extraordinary fear—fear of losing his status, fear of losing his honor, fear of his future collapsing, and most terrifying of all: fear of having to live forever beneath the shadow of Qing Zilong's greatness."I had no other choice," Wang Li's voice sounded husky. "If I didn't destroy him back then... sooner or later, he would be the one to destroy my future.""He didn't necessarily intend to destroy you," the man replied."But he surely would have surpassed me!""That is highly likely.""And if he surpasses me, then the Qing Clan will crush the Wang Clan!" Wang Li's emotions finally spilled over. "You know very well how the history of this clan rivalry has been for decades! We can never let them stand above us!"The man in the black robe s

The night grew deeper and crawled quietly.The moonlight hung silvery above the lodging complex of the Heavenly Sword Sect selection participants. After a full day of testing in fierce, energy-draining battles, most participants had fallen fast asleep in their respective rooms to recover their energy.However, Qing Zilong did not have the slightest intention of closing his eyes yet.He stood tall near his open chamber window. His gaze stared straight through the dense, quiet night sky. There was not a shred of pride or joy on his face, even though a few hours earlier he had just achieved an absolute victory on the arena stage.To Zilong, the victory over Luo Ming was not an achievement worth boasting about.Quite the contrary. That fight further opened his eyes to a bitter reality: The power he displayed before the public today was still far too small compared to the true strength he kept hidden within his body.Zilong lowered his gaze for a moment. His fingers slowly traced the hilt

Meanwhile, far away in the real world...The oil lamp in Qing Tian's private study was still burning brightly, accompanying the night as it nearly turned to dawn.The middle-aged man sat alone behind his desk. A cup of warm tea was served before him, but its vapor had long since vanished, leaving behind liquid that cooled without ever being touched.His thoughts drifted back to his secret conversation with King Tianxuan the previous night.Qing Tian raised his hand, massaging his throbbing temples. "Actually... what did Your Majesty see in Zilong to be so certain?"That question kept spinning in his head without a definitive answer.As a father, he should have been the person who knew and understood his own child's condition best. However, lately, reality showed the exact opposite. Qing Tian felt himself becoming increasingly alienated and incapable of guessing the contents of his son's head.He still vividly remembered Zilong's condition two months ago—a body full of severe wounds, d