Central Plains, Qingyun Mountain Range.
Here stood a renowned major sect of the Righteous Path—the Qingyun Sect!
The Qingyun Sect had a long history.
Its origins could be traced back more than two thousand years. The sect had seven peaks, with Tongtian Peak at their head. Every generation of sect leader came from that peak.
At this moment.
Behind Grand Bamboo Peak.
Tai Chi Cave.
That night, the evening breeze blew softly.
Autumn leaves drifted down gently, scattering across the shoulders of the young man and woman, voicing a silent sorrow.
"Xiao Yan..."
The girl in red had a slender, graceful figure.
Though she was still young, she already possessed the bearing of a beauty. Her glossy black hair was tied with a red ribbon, and an Amber Zhu Ling was fastened around her slender waist.
"I feel that we aren't quite right for each other."
Tian Ling'er tightly clenched a Cooling Pearl in her hand. Her gaze darted slightly, as though she did not dare look at the young man before her.
At those words.
Wang Quan Yan remained silent.
The young man stood tall and straight. He stood calmly beside Tian Ling'er, with not a trace of emotion visible on his handsome face. His deep eyes were as still as an ancient well.
"Whoosh!"
The longsword in Wang Quan Yan's hand gave a faint tremble.
Seeing that he said nothing.
Tian Ling'er grew somewhat anxious.
"Xiao Yan, after all these years, you still haven't broken through to the Fourth Layer of Jade Purity. Even Xiao Bai has caught up to you now. You..."
Tian Ling'er wanted to say something.
But in the end, she spared Wang Quan Yan's pride and did not speak those hurtful words. She merely sighed softly.
"Today, I saw Senior Brother Qi Hao from Dragon Head Peak."
At the mention of the name "Qi Hao."
Tian Ling'er's eyes sparkled.
"Senior Brother Qi is Dragon Head Peak's chief disciple. His cultivation reached the Peak of Ninth Layer of Jade Purity Realm long ago. I've heard that he is the foremost expert beneath Senior Brother Xiao of Tongtian Peak."
"With such cultivation? Such foundations!"
"It would not be an exaggeration to call him the Foremost expert below the Supreme Purity Realm!"
"In the future."
"Senior Brother Qi will surely inherit Uncle Master Cangsong's legacy and become Dragon Head Peak's next Peak Master. But you, Xiao Yan..."
"Alas."
Tian Ling'er sighed softly.
She raised her eyes slightly.
And looked at the young man before her.
As though comparing him with Qi Hao?
"Heh—"
The young man spoke.
Wang Quan Yan calmly looked at the girl in red before him. His gaze flicked toward the Cooling Pearl in her hand as he sneered:
"So—"
"Qi Hao used nothing but a Cooling Pearl."
"And that was enough to steal your heart?"
The moment those words were spoken.
Tian Ling'er's face immediately reddened.
Was she angry? Or was she ashamed?
After all.
No matter what.
She and Wang Quan Yan had a marriage engagement.
While engaged to another, she had set her heart on a different man. If that was not cheating, what was?
Tsk.
A married woman having an affair.
To every woman.
Was an insult.
"Wang Quan Yan!"
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Tian Ling'er let out an angry cry.
Hearing this, Wang Quan Yan looked at her calmly. "Whether it's nonsense or not, you know it in your heart."
"You..."
Tian Ling'er's delicate body trembled.
"Enough."
Wang Quan Yan waved his hand lightly.
He turned and walked into Tai Chi Cave, saying without looking back, "Our marriage engagement is hereby annulled. From now on, we will be strangers who merely share the relationship of senior sister and junior brother. Senior Sister Tian—"
"Please leave."
"You..."
Tian Ling'er froze.
She stared blankly at Wang Quan Yan's retreating back, seemingly never expecting him to just leave?
Just like that?
Could it be—
He did not care about this so-called marriage engagement?
Yes!
Wang Quan Yan did not care in the slightest!
Five years ago.
He had accidentally transmigrated into the Zhu Xian World and was taken in by Tian Buyi of Grand Bamboo Peak. He had become a disciple several months before Zhang Xiaofan.
On the day he became a disciple.
Wang Quan Yan displayed astonishing talent for cultivation.
On the first night after receiving the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao, he successfully cultivated the First Layer of Jade Purity, shocking the entire Qingyun Sect in one stroke. For that reason, sect leader True Person Dao Xuan personally made a trip to Grand Bamboo Peak to see Wang Quan Yan...
However.
That was not even the most surprising part.
After cultivating the First Layer of Jade Purity?
Wang Quan Yan's cultivation speed did not slow at all. Half a month after becoming a disciple, he broke through to the Third Layer of Jade Purity in one go, just one step away from the true Object Manipulation Realm!
For a time, Qingyun was shaken!
Wang Quan Yan's name as a "heavenly prodigy" resounded throughout the Seven Peaks of Qingyun.
Tian Buyi grinned so widely that he could barely close his mouth.
He believed Grand Bamboo Peak's prosperity rested upon Wang Quan Yan, so he simply arranged a marriage engagement between his daughter Tian Ling'er and Wang Quan Yan.
But who could have imagined—
Wang Quan Yan's subsequent cultivation progress would disappoint everyone.
He had reached the Third Layer of Jade Purity in half a month.
Was such cultivation speed fast?
Fast!
Rare throughout history!
Unprecedented!
But—
Wang Quan Yan's performance afterward left everyone dumbfounded. For the next five years, his cultivation did not advance at all. He remained stuck at the Third Layer of Jade Purity, unable to make even the slightest progress!
Five years!
A full five years!
He did not break through to the Fourth Layer of Jade Purity!
Because of this.
Everyone in the Qingyun Sect lamented.
Had that former heavenly prodigy truly reached his end?!
Tian Buyi tried every possible method.
Yet he could never help Wang Quan Yan break through to the Fourth Layer of Jade Purity. Gradually—
The Qingyun Sect forgot about him.
Tian Buyi was also greatly disappointed.
The world believed Wang Quan Yan had become nothing more than a useless man.
But.
Was that truly the case?
Wang Quan Yan returned to Tai Chi Cave.
Tian Ling'er's breaking off of the engagement did not deal him much of a blow, because he had never cared about her from beginning to end. After all—
He knew very well what kind of person Tian Ling'er was.
If not for Tian Buyi and Su Ru?
He would not even have bothered acknowledging her.
Besides.
If a single Cooling Pearl from Qi Hao was enough to lure her away, what was there left to say about someone like that?
He could only wish them—
May the bitch and the dog stay together forever.
Wang Quan Yan sat calmly cross-legged atop a meditation cushion. A golden divine sword lay across his knees.
Exquisite golden patterns covered its blade.
They appeared incomparably intricate and profound.
A string of golden tassels hung from the end of its hilt, while the two characters "Sovereign Authority" were engraved upon its guard.
At a glance, one could sense the power and nobility it represented.
The Sovereign Sword!
This was Wang Quan Yan's innate divine sword!
It had remained by his side ever since he transmigrated.
As for this sword's origins?
Wang Quan Yan knew them very well.
In the world of Fox Spirit Matchmaker, the Sovereign Sword was known as an Outer-Heaven Spiritual Treasure. It could absorb the demonic power and magical power of countless beings for its own use, feeding that power back to its wielder and unleashing immense might—
It was a sword of slaughter!
Over these five years?
The reason Wang Quan Yan's cultivation had stagnated was because all his cultivation and magical power had gone toward nurturing the Sovereign Sword. Now—
The five-year period had come?
It was time for him to reclaim all the cultivation that belonged to him!
Before you continue