Target: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

"Shouldn't seek revenge? This..."

Chen Xin's face immediately showed a look of incomprehension.

It was as though he had never expected that avenging his father would be what had affected his Sword Intent.

"Why not? Qian Daoliu killed my father. That is the vengeance of a murdered father. Isn't it only natural that I want to kill him?"

"If your strength is sufficient, you may kill him. But you should not kill him out of hatred."

"Strictly speaking, Qian Daoliu does not bear that so-called blood feud with you."

"How could that be? But..."

Qin Shiyuan interrupted Chen Xin before he could continue, shaking his head as he spoke.

"Let me ask you: why did your father seek out Qian Daoliu back then?"

"To pursue the sword path!"

Chen Xin answered without the slightest hesitation, his voice carrying a faint trace of pride.

"Heh. He pursued the sword path and died for the sword path he pursued. Was that not the best possible ending for your father?"

"But..."

Chen Xin instinctively wanted to argue, yet he could not find any grounds to do so. For a moment, he was speechless.

"Heh. You still do not understand."

"In a fair battle between Sword Cultivators, no matter who dies, neither side will ever harbor resentment."

"Because that is the sword path. That is the most ultimate, most pure sword path."

"I believe your father thought so, and Qian Daoliu thought so as well."

"Now, do you understand where the gap between you and them lies?"

"Pursuing the sword path, dying for the sword path..."

Light flickered in Chen Xin's eyes as he seemed to struggle to comprehend those words.

Whenever he touched upon that threshold, the shackles in his heart gained a few more cracks.

After a full incense stick's worth of time, Chen Xin slowly exhaled. The sharpness in his eyes had become countless times purer.

"So... this was what had always hindered the Sword Intent I sought..."

"All this time, I treated revenge as both the reason and goal for pursuing Sword Intent. Now that I think about it, it truly was laughable..."

"Sir, Chen Xin understands..."

The instant his words fell, surging Soul Power fluctuations swept through the entire VIP Room.

As a fierce aura spread outward, time, sound, dust...

It was as though everything around them had frozen, only to be torn apart by countless sharp blades.

At that moment, Chen Xin finally broke through, shattering the level ninety-six shackles that had constrained him for decades.

"Chen Xin thanks Tower Master Qin for your guidance!"

Rather than rejoicing immediately after his breakthrough, Chen Xin raised his eyes toward Qin Shiyuan and bowed solemnly.

"From this day onward, I hope to follow by Tower Master's side and pursue the true supreme sword path!"

"I hope Tower Master Qin will grant my request!"

Beneath his mask, Qin Shiyuan's lips curled slightly. After all this effort, he had finally dispelled Chen Xin's resentment toward Qian Daoliu.

A level ninety-six... no, now a level ninety-seven Peak Douluo.

Naturally, he would not refuse such a request.

"Alright... Shi Nian, go call the remaining two elders over as well. I have some matters to assign."

Qin Shiyuan had already removed his mask. Seated at the head of the conference hall, his eyes were lowered as though he were pondering something.

Below him, Chen Xin and Lou Gao still wore traces of unsubsided shock in their eyes.

Only a few minutes ago had they learned that their Tower Lord was actually so young!

At most, he was merely in his early twenties. Neither of them had ever imagined that before.

Amid the atmosphere of the two glancing at one another,

before long, Dragon Duke Meng Shu, Snake Matriarch Chao Tianxiang, and Residual Dream Shi Nian arrived together.

At this point, all six of Star-Plucking Tower's current higher-ups had gathered.

"Take your seats. For the coming period, Star-Plucking Tower will enter a phase of full-speed development."

"I will announce several matters now. Make your preparations in advance and assume your respective posts."

Qin Shiyuan paused, and the storage ring on his hand flashed.

Two silver tokens shot out, flying respectively toward Chen Xin and Lou Gao, seated at the far ends of the long table.

"Chen Xin, I hereby appoint you as Star-Plucking Tower's Fourth Elder, in charge of Shadow Hall."

"Shadow Hall's duties are mainly divided into two parts. First, intelligence. Second, training Star-Plucking Tower's elite combat force."

"Meng Shu, Shi Nian, later, each of you will send the more outstanding combatants from your respective halls to Shadow Hall."

"Remember, the minimum Soul Power requirement is Soul Saint. The limit is one hundred people. Better too few than filling the ranks with mediocrities."

"Of course, if anyone possesses combat strength beyond their realm, they may join as well."

"Chen Xin, go find Shi Nian later. He will tell you what to do."

After saying this, Qin Shiyuan turned to Lou Gao, who had accepted the elder's token beside him with a somewhat uneasy expression.

"Um... Tower Lord, everyone here is a Titled Douluo. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for a Soul Saint like me to serve as an elder?"

Hearing this, Qin Shiyuan shifted his gaze to the uneasy Lou Gao and slowly shook his head.

"Lou Gao, you need not belittle yourself. In truth, to Star-Plucking Tower, your value is no less than that of any Titled Douluo."

"Soul Tools have tremendous potential. Perhaps you currently think the rumors of ordinary people killing Titled Douluos are nothing but a joke."

"But I can tell you that it can truly be done. With you joining us, perhaps that goal is not too far away."

"Tower Lord..."

Lou Gao looked deeply moved and was just about to say something when Qin Shiyuan stopped him.

"Alright, no need for any moving words. What I hope to see is action."

"From today onward, you are Star-Plucking Tower's Fifth Elder, in charge of Artifact Hall."

"Take this token and hand it over to Artifact Hall's Acting Hall Master. From now on, all of Artifact Hall's resources will be under your control."

"Oh, right."

As he spoke, Qin Shiyuan seemed to suddenly recall something. He took six dark teal pearls from his storage ring.

These were precisely the six remaining Thunder Nuclei Qin Shiyuan had after injuring Bone Douluo that day.

"Your strength is somewhat lacking, so I will give you these six Thunder Nuclei for self-defense."

"You should have heard something of their power. When you need to use them, simply guide them with Soul Power."

Seeing Qin Shiyuan's series of considerations for him, Lou Gao took a deep breath and solemnly accepted the six pearls.

"Thank you for Tower Lord's trust. Lou Gao will absolutely not betray your faith in me!"

"Mm. Alright, that is all for the specific arrangements. But before that, there is still one more thing we must do..."

Qin Shiyuan lifted both hands from the table and leaned back against his chair.

"Star-Plucking Tower is about to enter its development phase, and the tower's resources are already becoming insufficient."

"Moreover, with Soul Tools officially entering full-scale research and development, many of the metal materials required are not currently available within the tower."

"So, let us pull off another big job next. We can also fulfill the promise I made earlier."

"Since Ning Fengzhi has already lost an arm, I doubt there is much point in his continuing to live. Let us help him find release..."