Reflection

Yun Long slowly made his way to the gates of his family's manor.

Li Pinghu and Shi Tie had long since flung the unclaimed corpses far away, their movements carrying a numb efficiency.

Even so, the bluestone pavement remained soaked in vast patches of dark red. The stench of blood had not fully dispersed even in the night wind; instead, it seemed to grow all the more stagnant.

His steps paused slightly.

He raised his right foot and gave what seemed like a casual, gentle stomp.

"Boom!"

A deafeningly heavy explosion rang out, dull yet immensely penetrating.

Centered on where his foot landed, the hard bluestone ground instantly crumbled into powder, mixing abruptly with fresh earth surging up from below.

An invisible shockwave silently spread outward, causing several concealed auras watching from afar to stiffen involuntarily.

As the amount of refined Vajra Primordial Qi within his body continued to grow, the enhancement it brought to his physical strength and defense had reached an unimaginable level.

That light stomp just now had displayed terrifying power.

Yun Long dusted off his clothes, though there was no dust on them, as if he had merely done something utterly insignificant.

He turned and stepped through the still-open gates of the Yun Clan manor.

Before his figure vanished into the brightly lit courtyard beyond the gates, his calm gaze seemed to casually sweep over the direction where Ning Yongrui and the others were hiding.

The corner of Ning Yongrui's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Ever since learning that Yun Long was a Martial Arts Grandmaster who had Entered Immortality through Martial Arts, Ning Yongrui had practically dug three feet into the ground after returning home, going through every record in the Ning Family's collection concerning such beings.

He had long expected Yun Long's strength to be terrifying, far beyond that of ordinary Qi Refining Stage cultivators.

But he had never imagined it would be terrifying to such an extent.

Both were at the Mid Qi Refining Stage, yet even a Sixth Level of Qi Refining cultivator like Lu Xingyun had been like a clay chicken and porcelain dog before Yun Long, unable to withstand a single blow.

No one could withstand even one exchange with him.

They could not even injure him in the slightest.

Of the Lu Family's two Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators, Lu Xingyun had fled in panic, while Lu Chengze had been gravely wounded and left on the verge of death, nearly crippled.

If this had happened before, Ning Yongrui would likely have chosen without hesitation to beat a dog that had fallen into the water, taking the chance to pull out the Lu Family, that thorn in his side, and completely clear away the obstacles at Wanfang Lake.

But now...

As he watched Yun Long's disappearing back, the decisiveness in his heart quietly wavered.

Better leave the Lu Family alone.

At the very least, they could share some of the nearly suffocating pressure Yun Long brought.

At this moment, Ning Yongrui had no doubt that even if all the Qi Refining Stage cultivators from Wanfang Lake's original three great families were tied together, they likely would not be a match for Yun Long alone.

As for the Ning Family...

Ning Yongrui discovered bitterly that he was neither willing nor daring to make such a comparison.

The Yun Clan could not be made an enemy.

With someone like Yun Long overseeing them, the Yun Clan's rise was already set in stone, impossible to stop.

In the ancient records he had consulted, without exception, every family that had produced a Martial Arts Grandmaster had ultimately risen in terrifying fashion, with speed and power beyond what others could imagine.

The Qi Refining Stage was simply not the limit for such fierce figures who broke through realms with martial arts.

Yun Long no longer cared much about what choice Ning Yongrui would ultimately make.

Returning to his familiar home, with the faint mixed scent of blood and earth lingering around his nose, Yun Long's thoughts instead gradually settled.

He began reflecting on everything he had done since arriving at Wanfang Lake.

When he had first arrived, he seemed to have been overly cautious, even somewhat restrained.

Yet looking back now, Yun Long felt that such caution had been the correct choice for the Yun Clan at the time.

The family's foundations were still shallow, its wings not yet full-grown. They truly needed more time to hide their light, gather their strength, and develop quietly.

Today's battle had appeared thunderous and overwhelming, but in truth, it had also been forced upon him.

To these so-called Cultivation Families of Wanfang Lake, Yun Long was an undeniable fierce dragon crossing the river.

Any schemes and plots they had were pale and powerless before his absolute strength, stripped of all their original meaning.

Then, looking at it from the other side.

A small family like the Yun Clan, as insignificant as ants in the eyes of true great powers—before behemoths such as the Great Xia Dynasty and the Qingyun Sect, any so-called far-sighted plans, any painstaking calculations and schemes, were likely nothing more than the needless self-indulgence of small figures.

Yun Long's mind suddenly opened up, and he understood an immensely important truth.

A truth that finally allowed the taut string in his heart to loosen somewhat.

He had once believed that the persona of an "unrivaled genius" he had painstakingly created would draw close attention from those top powers. That way, they probably would not suspect the family's cultivation method, making the existence of the family register even more concealed.

Now, it seemed that perhaps they had never truly paid attention at all.

Even if certain people from the Qingyun Sect or the Great Xia Dynasty guessed from scattered clues that the Yun Clan's members had not Entered Immortality through Martial Arts entirely through their own talent.

Even if they guessed that the Yun Clan's cultivation method was somewhat extraordinary, capable of allowing an ordinary person without a Spiritual Root like Yun Ji to embark upon the path of cultivation.

So what?

They were not narrow-minded little families like those at Wanfang Lake.

What those lofty great powers lacked least was likely people capable of cultivation.

What they truly craved was peak combat power, powerful experts who could suppress an entire region or even change the course of a battle.

Besides, if the Yun Clan possessed such a cultivation method, could a sect with a long heritage like the Qingyun Sect truly lack similar methods?

Even if the Qingyun Sect did not have one, could the Great Xia Dynasty, which ruled over hundreds of millions of li of land, lack one as well?

Could the Great Xia Ancestral Emperor and Emperor Yuancheng, who had Entered Immortality through Martial Arts, truly have failed to create such a cultivation method?

Yun Long even had a bold thought.

If some great figure from the Great Xia Dynasty's authorities truly came to his door and asked about the cultivation method.

He would hand over the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic without hesitation!

In exchange for the Great Xia Dynasty's protection, or certain tangible benefits.

If this allowed him to earn the goodwill and favor of some true major figures, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous blessing for the current Yun Clan. They would absolutely be coming out ahead.

Ever since taking on the heavy responsibility of Yun Clan head, Yun Long had racked his brains every day, considering matters from every angle. His thoughts had become far more meticulous and comprehensive than before.

The Yun Clan did not have many people, and its foundations were thin.

Wanfang Lake's so-called "Three Treasures" were not actually as enormously helpful to the Yun Clan's future development as imagined. They could even be said to be dispensable.

What truly mattered were cultivation method Classics capable of strengthening the family's foundation.

As well as knowledge and understanding of the various common principles of this vast Cultivation World.

Those were the things the Yun Clan needed most urgently right now.

Especially Yun Hu. His mysterious Qingcheng ancestor had actually demanded that he first learn ten thousand different mundane sword arts.

Yun Long absolutely did not believe that these ten thousand sword arts could permit a great number of repetitive or extremely similar sword moves.

Collecting such a vast number of distinct sword manuals was destined to be an immensely long and immensely difficult process.