2026-07-01 11:28:26Qing Zilong stepped away from the mountains with calm strides. The night sky remained cloaked in darkness, yet it did not hinder his vision in the slightest. Every rustle of the wind, the scent of the trees, and even the pulse of Qi flowing within the forest could be felt clearly.
A moment later, he halted. He closed his eyes, allowing his spiritual consciousness to sink deep into his own body.
"The Dantian is perfected. The meridians are also far stronger."
He clenched his fist. The Primal Purple Qi flowed smoothly along his meridian pathways without obstruction. However, the faint smile soon vanished.
"But my cultivation is still too low."
The issue was no longer the quality of his body. Qing Zilong’s physique now far surpassed that of an ordinary cultivator, yet that solid foundation remained an empty shell without sufficient energy. Zilong took a Spirit Stone from his ring, gripped it tightly, and absorbed the energy within.
Crack.
The Spirit Stone turned dull before finally crumbling into dust. Zilong shook his head slowly and let the powder fall to the ground. "Too slow. Spirit Stones are only suitable for maintaining cultivation, not for chasing rapid improvements in a short time."
His gaze shifted to the east. Beyond the dense Black Mist Forest lay a valley known as one of the gathering points for the Heaven and Earth Qi. If his memory served him correctly, that place was also a den for various Beasts.
"If that place still exists," he muttered, "that is where I shall cultivate."
He resumed his journey. Only a few hundred steps away from the mountains, his senses caught something: the rustling of leaves, heavy breathing, and the scent of beast blood. Zilong stopped. He did not turn his head, but the corners of his lips lifted.
"Come out."
Silence. A moment later—
WUSSHH!
A black shadow darted from behind the bushes. Two black horns glimmered in the moonlight, accompanied by a pair of red eyes radiating intense killing intent.
"Iron-Horned Wolf," Zilong hissed.
A Rank-Three Beast. A predator that would be quite troublesome for an Early Realm cultivator, but not for him.
ROAAARR!!
The wolf lunged. Its claws aimed straight for Zilong’s chest, but the Sword God merely shifted his body half a step. Sreet! The sharp claws missed his clothes by a hair’s breadth. Before the beast could land, its iron tail swept through the air. Zilong ducked calmly.
The wolf growled in anger and attacked again with greater ferocity, yet every strike missed. Zilong never moved more than necessary; every movement seemed to read the direction of his enemy’s attack long before it happened.
Zilong shook his head slightly. "Your instincts are decent, but you rely too much on brute force."
As the wolf pounced again, Zilong finally moved. His body spun past the side of the beast with lightning speed. His index and middle fingers struck precisely at a point beneath the jaw.
BRAK!
The beast’s body froze. A moment later, its massive frame collapsed without even the chance to let out a final roar. Zilong crouched, expertly split the beast's head, and retrieved a crystal the size of a thumb.
"Not bad. If I collect a few more, these can become the main ingredients for pills."
He placed the Beast Core into his ring and continued his journey. The deeper he ventured, the denser and warmer the Qi in the air felt, but the roars of beasts around him grew even wilder.
"Now," Zilong’s smile appeared, "this finally feels like the start of cultivation."
However, his steps suddenly stopped. His gaze swept over the forest ahead; massive trees were toppled, the ground was stained with fresh blood, and there were traces of Qi explosions in several spots. Zilong crouched, touching the slashes on the tree trunks and the ground.
"Sword... beast claws... three people, one beast," he muttered. He touched the still-warm soil. "The fight just ended."
Before he could even stand—
"Help!!"
A woman's scream shattered the silence of the night, followed by a beast’s roar that shook the forest. ROAAARRR!!
Zilong straightened his body. His gaze turned sharp, and his hand moved toward the hilt of the old sword on his back. "If there is still time, they can be saved."
WUSSHH!
Qing Zilong’s body darted through the trees, vanishing into the darkness of the night toward the source of the scream.
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Shi Nian did not look away even a little. “In the past, I thought the same way as you. I looked down on Qing Zilong. I felt he was no longer worthy to stand by my side.”She took a brief pause. “Turns out I was dead wrong.”Wang Li frowned, his jaw hardening.Shi Nian continued in a cold voice, “He lost all his cultivation not because he lacked talent. He was framed and viciously poisoned. His meridian pathways were shattered.”The woman pointed right at Wang Li's face. “And the culprit... is none other than yourself.”Wang Li sat frozen in silence.“Now he has returned to claim the world,” Shi Nian continued flatly. “Even his current level of strength has far surpassed your position before you were crippled.”Wang Li lowered his head, the muscles in his neck tensing. “Tell me... do you regret it? Do you regret casting Qing Zilong aside?”“Regret? What good would that do? Zilong is already far above me!” Shi Nian replied.Wang Li stared at Shi Nian for quite a long time before a cynic
334
The main residence of the Wang Clan that night felt much quieter and gloomier than usual. In one of the secluded corner rooms, Wang Li sat brooding on the edge of the bed with a face as pale as a corpse. Both of his hands lay limply on his knees, while his gaze stared blankly at the cold wooden floor.Several days had passed since the palace and clan physicians confirmed an absolute verdict: the meridian pathways throughout his entire body had been shattered to pieces without a trace.No medicinal pill was capable of reconnecting his pathways. No secret technique was able to revive his cultivation. Even the senior experts specially invited at a high price by the Wang Clan shook their heads in surrender.In the past, he was one of the brightest stars, the pride and pearl predicted to lead the Wang Clan to dominate the entire region.Now? Let alone fighting, even just gathering a shred of Qi energy was beyond his capability. He had become a useless human being a living burden.Wang Li c
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The hall instantly fell into a dead silence. Qing Tian jerked out of his seat.“What do you mean?!” cried one of the elders in shock. “Wang Li did that?!” “Why did we never hear about this before?!”Zilong ignored their panic. He continued in a flat voice, “Three months ago, I returned to the border of the Qing Clan covered in blood from head to toe.”He looked into the faces of the old men before him one by one. “All of you saw my condition back then. My body was shattered. I was at death's door.”Qing Tian tightly gripped the armrest of his chair until his knuckles turned white. He remembered vividly the horror of the day his son was dragged home in a dying condition. But not a single person in the clan knew precisely what happened before Zilong set foot at the family gates.Zilong straightened his posture. “Wang Li was the one who pushed me into the abyss of death.”The elders spontaneously stood up from their chairs, overwhelmed by extraordinary anger and shock.“That brat... dari
332
Night had completely embraced the main residence of the Qing Clan. Inside the inner meeting hall, the heavy carved wooden doors were tightly shut without a single gap. Not a single servant was allowed to approach. Nor were there any guards standing watch at the threshold.That night's meeting was strictly confidential attended only by Qing Tian, the clan's core elders, and Qing Zilong alone. All members of the younger generation were strictly forbidden from coming near the area.The atmosphere inside the room felt much heavier and more suffocating than usual. Ever since Zilong's shocking return where he displayed terrifying power at the 1st Heavenly Realm right before the eyes of the Wang Clan's forces there were far too many pressing questions in the elders' minds.How on earth had the young man advanced so fast? Why had he concealed his cultivation all this time? What actually was the dark incident that happened three years ago? And most tricky of all... to what extent was there a r
331
All the elders straightened their backs, tuning their ears back in."Both parties have been ordered to permanently cease hostilities and are strictly forbidden from escalating attacks," the disciple reported. "The palace stated that the root of this problem involves faults from both sides."Several elders exchanged questioning glances. "Faults from both sides?"The disciple nodded. "Based on the palace's in-depth investigation, facts revealed that Wang Li and a past Wang Clan elder were proven to have cunningly poisoned Qing Zilong.""That poison completely damaged Qing Zilong's meridian pathways at the time.""And because of that poison..." the disciple paused for a moment, "...for three years, Qing Zilong suffered and was branded as clan trash."The room suddenly fell into total silence. Not a single person opened their mouth right away. Most of them had vaguely heard those rumors, but hearing them read out as the official investigation results of the royal court delivered a vastly
330
News of Qing Zilong reached the Sky Sword Sect early in the morning when a thin mist still blanketed the mountain peaks. A guard disciple hurried through the corridor, gasping for breath, before finally entering the main hall and handing over a secret report scroll just received from the Tianxuan Kingdom.The elders who were in the middle of a serious discussion regarding the political situation immediately stopped their conversation.Elder Bai Yun, sitting in the main chair, looked at the disciple with furrowed brows. "What is it?"The disciple bowed deeply. "An official report from the royal palace, Elder."Without wasting any time, Bai Yun snatched the parchment scroll and opened it wide. Only a few lines into his scan of the writing on the paper, his forehead creased sharply."Qing Zilong..." Bai Yun muttered under his breath.Several other elders immediately turned inquisitively. "What is wrong with that young man, Bai Yun?"Bai Yun did not answer right away. He read the next par
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