Grace and Authority, Yun Yun's Awakening!

Inside the cave dwelling, the atmosphere was oppressive and strange.

The furnace fire flickered, casting dancing shadows over the exquisite figure lying prone on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Xiao Yao looked down at her from above, with not the slightest hint of tenderness in his eyes.

He had to admit that Yun Yun was indeed radiating a breathtaking allure at this moment. Her mature, captivating body, like a fully ripened peach, was pressed tightly against the cold ground. Her already form-fitting pale green dress now traced every curve of her figure in vivid detail—from her rounded hips to her slender waist that could be grasped in one hand, and then to the imposing fullness of her chest, made all the more prominent by her prostrate position. Together, they formed a perfect silhouette enough to make any man's blood surge.

Any normal man, faced with such a peerless beauty's naked submission and plea, would likely feel pity for her, agree in a burst of heroic fervor, pull her into his arms, and comfort her properly.

Yet Xiao Yao's expression gradually turned colder than the rocks within the cave.

His voice carried undisguised mockery, like a sharp ice spike viciously piercing Yun Yun's fragile heart.

"Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect is truly blessed to have someone like you! Is it worth it, groveling like this, casting aside the dignity of a sect leader and the pride of a Dou Emperor?"

His voice was not loud, yet every word struck straight at her heart.

"As far as I know, in the current Misty Cloud Sect, from your junior brothers and elders above to the ordinary disciples who seem to revere you like a deity below, there probably aren't many who actually care about you, their Sect Leader."

"Oh, right," Xiao Yao continued to provoke her, as though recalling something amusing. A cruel curve formed at the corner of his lips as he slowly crouched down, leaned close to her ear, and said in a demonic whisper only the two of them could hear, "Your good teacher, Yun Shan, who has been in seclusion for years and is supposedly so deeply indebted to you, has always wanted to use you as a priceless 'commodity' to win over the Pill King, Gu He."

"This is the place you're begging me to save? A... 'home' where everyone, from top to bottom, is hoping something happens to you?"

"Boom!"

Every sentence Xiao Yao spoke, every word, was like a ten-thousand-pound hammer coated in deadly poison, smashing down on Yun Yun's heart again and again!

Her delicate body, prone upon the ground, began trembling violently beyond her control! Fine goosebumps rose across her tender skin. It was a bone-deep chill surging from the depths of her soul!

She wanted to refute him, wanted to scream, wanted to tell Xiao Yao that none of it was true!

Yet she opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

Because her reason told her that this... might be the bloody truth!

She did not rise, nor did she lift her head. She merely buried her face deeper into the cold dust, as though only by doing so could she escape that merciless judgment.

A long, long time passed...

So long that Xiao Yao thought she had already broken down, before her trembling voice, thick with tears and so unsteady it was nearly tuneless, slowly drifted up from the ground.

"The Misty Cloud Sect... is where I grew up..."

"My teacher... took me in as an orphan and raised me with his own hands. He taught me Cultivation Methods, instructed me in Dou Techniques, and in the end, entrusted the entire sect to me..."

"There are my elders, my fellow disciples, and disciples I personally taught... That place is my home..."

Her voice was filled with endless pain and struggle, as though every word had drained all her strength.

"As the leader of a sect, it now seems that I... truly failed too badly. I have failed my teacher and failed the sect..."

"But... that is precisely why!" Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolve unlike anything before! "As long as... as long as the Misty Cloud Sect has not completely collapsed, as long as there remains even the slightest chance to save it, I... cannot give up!"

Slowly, she raised her head.

Her peerlessly beautiful face was streaked with tears, but the confusion and weakness from before were gone. Though her beautiful eyes were still red and swollen, they now resembled gemstones washed clean by blood and tears, shining with a clarity and determination so unprecedented that it stirred the heart!

"To be honest, I still... do not wish to believe everything you have said."

"But I know even more clearly that my teacher, Yun Shan, belongs to the same generation as Elder Jia, the Ice Emperor, and the others. Their cultivation progress had always been more or less the same, with Elder Jia even being somewhat stronger. They had all been stuck at the Dou Emperor realm for decades, yet my teacher suddenly broke through without any warning some time ago. I am a Dou Emperor myself; I know there must have been some change!"

"Within the sect, the strength of those elders loyal to my teacher also did indeed rise unreasonably in a short period of time! Once, deep within the sect, I also faintly sensed traces of a strange aura that made me extremely uncomfortable..."

"Putting together everything you have said... I understand that, no matter how cruel or difficult to accept, it may... be the truth."

She took a deep breath, as though trying to expel all weakness and sorrow from her body.

"With my strength alone, I cannot change the mind of a Dou Zong. Only... a Dou Zong can change a Dou Zong!" At that moment, her gaze became scorching and forceful as she stared fixedly at Xiao Yao. "Young Master Xiao, you saved me at this time and were willing to tell me secrets enough to overturn the entire empire. That means you... intend to help me!"

"Yun Yun repays kindness! And I will not be foolish enough to... give up this opportunity you have given me!"

Only after hearing this did the chill in Xiao Yao's eyes slowly recede like the tide.

This woman was finally not stupid beyond saving. At least she had seen reality clearly and grasped the key point.

"It is good that you understand this." He stood up, his voice thunderous as it exploded in her heart. "But you must remember: the one who can truly save the Misty Cloud Sect is not me. It can only be you, in the future!"

"There are only two paths before you!"

His voice turned cold and cruel!

"Become stronger! Either you personally cripple Yun Shan, who has colluded with Soul Hall, and seize true control yourself! Set things right and purge the sect!"

"Or..." A trace of undisguised, chilling killing intent flashed through Xiao Yao's eyes. "I will personally wipe your Misty Cloud Sect, rotten to the core, along with every disciple and elder corrupted by Soul Hall, completely from the Dou Qi Continent! Ending all future trouble once and for all!"

"I..." Yun Yun's delicate body shuddered violently once more!

But this time, there was no confusion in her eyes—only an unprecedented resolve!

Slowly, she rose from the ground. She straightened her already disheveled dress and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.

"I understand." She bowed deeply to Xiao Yao once again.

"If things are truly as Young Master says, Yun Yun... will show no mercy! I will personally restore the Misty Cloud Sect!"

She paused, then raised that peerlessly beautiful face. In those lovely eyes that could intoxicate countless men, there now glimmered a desperate, almost tragic resolve.

"If Young Master can help me save the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun... will be at your command for the rest of my life! Let that repay your great kindness!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao could not help rubbing his nose, inwardly sighing.

Why are you master and disciple both the same? Nalan Yanran gets worked up and starts talking about becoming a servant. And you, her teacher, open your mouth and promise the same thing?

Still, he naturally had no reason to reject a peerless "maid" delivering herself to his door.

"Words alone prove nothing," Xiao Yao said blandly. "Empty promises are the cheapest thing of all. Come. I will take you now to see the... truth of your Misty Cloud Sect with your own eyes!"