Aftermath

The heart-stirring slaughter at Wanfang Lake had ended only recently.

The stench of blood in the air had yet to fully disperse.

Yet an even more oppressive silence had quietly shrouded these waters.

Yun Long did not step out of the Yun Clan residence again.

Nor did the Yun Clan send anyone to deal with the aftermath.

It was as though that earthshaking upheaval from before had nothing more to do with them.

Yet crate after heavy crate of goods was delivered to the Yun Clan without pause.

There was no need to ask.

People took the initiative to offer them up.

Wanfang Lake's former tripartite balance had collapsed overnight.

The Li Family, once a cultivation family of great consequence at Wanfang Lake, was now left with nothing but an empty name.

Not a single Li cultivator who had entered the Qi Refining Stage survived.

Had the laws of the Great Xia Dynasty not been so strict, forbidding the raising of a butcher's blade against ordinary people without cultivation, the Li Family would likely have struggled to preserve even a trace of its bloodline.

The Lu Family's situation was equally precarious.

Both Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators had suffered grievous injuries.

Especially Lu Chengze, the family head. His dantian was damaged, and the meridians in his lower body had been severed. Whether he could preserve his life remained uncertain.

He lay upon his bed, his breath as faint as a dying candle in the wind.

Lu Xingyun had already been advanced in years, relying entirely on Green Wood Eternal Spring Qi to sustain his vigor.

After this battle, his already withered face had gained several more shades of deathly gray. He too appeared to have little time left.

The Ning Family had not exterminated the Lu Family to the last.

But their overt and covert suppression had never ceased, clinging like maggots to the bone.

Without the support of two Mid Qi Refining Stage cultivators, the Lu Family's remaining clansmen were like a sick tiger stripped of its claws and fangs, unable to stir up any more waves.

The family's supporting pillar had fallen.

Amid this tremendous upheaval, the Mo Family—the one that had appeared to suffer most tragically that night—had instead preserved itself best.

The vast majority of the Mo Family's core members had emerged unscathed.

Those who died were mostly from collateral branches, or elders like Mo Wenjian, whose lifespans had already been nearing their end.

In their final moments, they had still ferociously torn a great chunk of flesh from the Lu and Li Families.

The Mo Family's leader had displayed astonishing foresight.

All of the Li Family's cultivation Classics were delivered to the Yun Clan intact.

The terrified fingerprints of their new owners seemed to still linger upon them.

The various secret manuals collected by the Lu Family were likewise unable to escape under the Ning Family's "kind reminder," and were all presented in full.

As for the Ning Family itself—

Ning Yongrui, that deeply calculating man, had been especially proactive.

Not only had he offered up every cultivation Classic treasured by his family, but these even included the complete cultivation method for the rather precious Mid-Grade Qi Refining art, Three-Nine Snow Cold Qi.

He had also taken the initiative to undertake the task of gathering cultivation methods from the surrounding regions for the Yun Clan.

Every time, Ning Yongrui deliberately sent Ning Shaojie to personally escort them.

This Kirin Child of the Ning Family had long buried his former pride deep within himself.

Whenever he entered the Yun Clan's gates, he carried himself with near-humble respect, carefully making himself familiar to the Yun Clan members—especially Yun Long's close relatives—and accumulating whatever negligible favors he could.

The Ning Family's calculations were crystal clear.

They were gambling.

They were gambling that when this fierce dragon crossing the river, the Yun Clan, soared into the heavens in the future, it would remember today's "bond" and casually pull the Ning Family up with it.

Ning Shaojie returned to the Ning residence beneath the moonlight.

He passed through the corridors and headed straight for his father Ning Yongrui's study.

The candles in the study burned brightly.

Ning Yongrui was bent over, tending to a pot of precious black orchid by the windowsill, his movements unhurried.

Several sheets of rice paper lay spread across the small table beside him, densely covered in writing. They were the preliminary plan he had drafted for the future disposition of Wanfang Lake's Three Treasures.

The air carried the faint scent of ink and the tranquil fragrance of orchids.

"You're back."

Ning Yongrui did not look up. His voice was calm, as though he were merely asking in passing.

"Father."

Ning Shaojie bowed in salute.

"How was it? Did you see Yun Long this time?"

Ning Yongrui set down the small silver shears in his hand, his tone still betraying little emotion.

He picked up a silk handkerchief beside him and meticulously wiped dust that did not exist from his fingertips.

Ning Shaojie fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing his words.

"No. Family Head Yun Long did not appear."

Ning Yongrui's movements paused ever so slightly before returning to normal.

"Oh?"

"Your son met the Yun Clan's Great Grandfather, Yun Ji."

Ning Shaojie lowered his voice.

Ning Yongrui slowly turned around, his gaze landing on his son with a trace of inquiry.

"Yun Ji?"

He remembered the man: a Xiantian martial artist who had long passed the optimal age for cultivation. He was not worth worrying about.

"The one from the Yun Clan who broke through to the Qi Refining Stage that night was Great Grandfather Yun Ji."

The instant Ning Shaojie spoke those words, the air in the study seemed to freeze.

The hand holding Ning Yongrui's teacup trembled faintly, almost imperceptibly.

Fine ripples spread across the surface of the tea.

The ancient records on Martial Arts Grandmasters that he had consulted exploded through his mind like thunderbolts.

Could a Martial Arts Grandmaster's guidance truly have such miraculous effects?

It had actually allowed an old man whose path to immortality had nearly been severed to forcibly knock open the gates of Qi Refining!

Ning Shaojie carefully recalled the scene when he met Yun Ji in the Yun Clan's side hall, overlooking no detail.

He weighed his words, striving for accuracy.

"After Great Grandfather Yun broke through, it was as if—almost as if—he had become nearly twenty years younger."

"He was full of vigor, his eyes shining brightly. He was completely unlike before."

"And the Qi Refining fluctuations radiating from him, their quality... was absolutely far above the Lu Family's Green Wood Eternal Spring Qi."

Ning Yongrui's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he let out a sigh so soft it was nearly inaudible.

It could not compare.

It simply could not compare.

Why had a monstrous talent like Yun Long not been born into his Ning Family?

For the Shaojie whom he had painstakingly cultivated, and in whom he had placed considerable hopes, to be this certain, the Qi Refining Yun Ji had achieved was likely at least mid-grade.

His Ning Family's Three-Nine Snow Cold Qi imposed exceptionally harsh requirements on a cultivator's Spiritual Root aptitude.

Over three generations of the Ning Family's inheritance, only Ning Yongrui himself had barely managed to cultivate Mid-Grade Three-Nine Snow Cold Qi through his superior Spiritual Root.

As for Ning Shaojie, his aptitude was slightly inferior. He could only settle for the inferior method derived from it, the low-grade Qi Refining art—Autumn Water Cold Frost Qi.

Even so, he was already outstanding among the Ning Family's younger generation.

But what about the Yun Clan now?

There was Yun Long, unfathomable and seemingly already in the Late Qi Refining Stage or perhaps an even higher realm.

And there was Yun Ji, who had achieved Mid-Grade Qi Refining in one stroke through a Martial Arts Grandmaster's guidance.

What would come next?

What kind of prospects would the Yun Clan's descendants have in the future?

Ning Yongrui's heart sank bit by bit.

The Yun Clan's rise was indeed just as he had predicted before—unstoppable.

At the very least, within little Wanfang Lake Town and even the entirety of Sanshui County, there was likely no one capable of meeting its edge.

He knew quite well that the ninth-rank Shangguan Family garrison commander stationed in Sanshui County City was merely a Qi Refining Stage cultivator who had cultivated Mid-Grade Qi Refining!

"There is one more matter."

Seeing that his father remained silent for a long while, Ning Shaojie spoke again.

"Your son only learned today that the Yun Clan's Second Master, Yun Hu, truly lives up to the title of Sword Maniac."

"He actually wished to enter the Dao through a mortal sword, cultivate the legendary Sword Qi, and use it to knock upon the immortal gate."

"The reason the Yun Clan has spared no expense in madly gathering all kinds of sword manuals is precisely for his sake."

Ning Yongrui's brows drew together slightly.

Entering the Dao through the sword? Sword Qi?

Entering Immortality through Martial Arts—the mundane sword path was also part of the Martial Dao. Entering the Dao through the sword was naturally possible in legend.

Yun Long was already heaven-defying enough, yet Yun Hu's ambitions were this high as well!

Sword Qi?

That was the Qi Refining of sword cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage. Ning Yongrui had never witnessed it in his life.

But the Great Xia Dynasty had sword cultivators!