Raising His Strength Tenfold

At Elder Xu's words, Jiang Lianyue was startled. "What? A marriage alliance with the Shen Family?"

Elder Xu nodded. "The Shen Family's second young master, Shen Huan, has broken through to the Sword King Realm. A Sword King at sixteen—he's several times more monstrous than his senior brother, Su Lie. With talent like his, he's guaranteed to reach the Sword Emperor Realm, and there's a very good chance he'll become Qingzhou's first Sword Saint. I hear he's already on the list of candidates to become the next dean of Spirit Sword Academy."

"Many of Qingzhou's Aristocratic Clans are scrambling to form marriage alliances with the Shen Family and climb onto a higher branch. So the Old Pavilion Master wants you to return as soon as possible. When Shen Huan comes home to visit next month, he'll arrange a meeting between the two of you!"

Jiang Lianyue said nothing. Her expression had clearly darkened.

"I hear the Xu Family's Eldest Young Lady, Xu Miaoyi, Shangguan Yao of the Shangguan Family, and Ninth Princess of Wei, Wei Hongyan, are all preparing to form ties with the Shen Family."

"Wei Hongyan has always been proud and aloof. She looks down on every man. Why would she want to go, too?" Jiang Lianyue asked, surprised to hear Wei Hongyan's name.

Elder Xu nodded.

"The Wei Kingdom is beset by internal and external troubles. Its government is unstable, and its neighboring country, Sang Country, watches it like a tiger eyeing its prey. They've been plotting to swallow Wei for a long time. Wei Hongyan has probably been driven to this by desperation. If she can form a marriage alliance with the Shen Family, Wei will gain their support. That would not only strengthen her father's imperial authority, but also give Sang Country pause."

"Alas, they're all prisoners of circumstance!" Jiang Lianyue shook her head. So often, women from imperial households and Aristocratic Clans alike couldn't decide their own fates.

"Miss, are you confident?" Elder Xu asked.

"Confident about what?" Jiang Lianyue turned to look at him.

Elder Xu smiled. "Naturally, about forming a marriage alliance with the Shen Family."

"Who said I agreed to this marriage?" Jiang Lianyue immediately bristled.

"Shen Huan is not only a monstrous talent, but a handsome, refined young man as well. Countless women dream of marrying him. Are you dissatisfied with him?"

"Leaving aside what Shen Huan is like as a person, I simply don't like being treated as a bargaining chip," Jiang Lianyue said gravely.

Elder Xu shook his head.

"The Old Pavilion Master thinks very highly of this matter. In my opinion, Miss, you may not get a say this time."

"Not necessarily." Jiang Lianyue smiled mysteriously, then closed her eyes to rest.

Night fell, and everyone in the Nan Family was immersed in cultivation.

Now that they had luxurious cultivation rooms and abundant resources, everyone was cultivating with all their might.

In one of the cultivation rooms, Qin Guan sat cross-legged. Wisps of pure Spiritual Energy streamed out of the Spirit Stones and flowed into his body.

He had obtained twenty-five Low-grade Spirit Stones in total from killing Yan Rong and the Black Dragon Protector. When he had cultivated on the Back Mountain, the Spiritual Energy in the air had been too thin and impure. Absorbing the energy within the Spirit Stones to cultivate now had clearly accelerated the tempering and expansion of his Laogong Acupoint.

The next day, Nan Yunqi led Chen Guanxiang, Old Mo, and the others in a rapid expansion of the Nan Family's power. The Xiao Family, Song Family, and several other clans soon had their businesses and territories taken over and absorbed by the Nan Family.

The Nan Family went from being a third-rate clan to the strongest first-rate clan in Luyun City. Now, there wasn't a single force in the city that dared provoke them. Everyone gave them a wide berth.

On the surface, the Nan Family seemed to be riding high, but all the forces in Luyun City knew that Spirit Sword Academy and Cloud Mist Sect would not let the matter rest. The higher the Nan Family climbed, the harder they would fall. No matter how quickly they grew, they were still paper tigers.

Two days later, early in the morning, Qin Guan slowly opened his eyes in the cultivation room.

"Sure enough, cultivating with Spirit Stones feels amazing!"

Looking at the five dull Spirit Stones before him, Qin Guan clicked his tongue.

Over the past three days, he had opened the Shenmen, Neiguan, and Shaohai Acupoints. His first acupoint, Laogong, could now store a mass of spiritual power the size of a fist.

However, as the spiritual power stored in his Acupoints grew purer and more condensed, Qin Guan found that using the Huan Yuan Sword Art consumed more and more of it. The rate at which he could condense and expand his Acupoints had also slowed considerably.

He had only opened his fourth Acupoint. If he opened all One Hundred and Eight Acupoints and expanded each one until it was as large as a cultivator's dantian and qi sea, Qin Guan couldn't imagine how long it would take or how many cultivation resources he would need.

But as long as he could cultivate the Sword Dao, Qin Guan was willing to pay any price, no matter how difficult it was.

"Boy, it'll take seven or eight years at least to master this incomplete cultivation manual."

Just then, the Little Black Tower's voice suddenly sounded in Qin Guan's mind.

Qin Guan was surprised to hear it speak. Ever since the Secret Realm last time, it hadn't said a word to him.

"Tower Master, do you have any good advice?" Qin Guan asked hurriedly.

"No," the Little Black Tower replied.

Qin Guan nodded slightly, then asked, "Tower Master, what do you think of this cultivation art?"

"This cultivation art is no simple matter. If you can develop all One Hundred and Eight Acupoints into dantians and qi seas, its power will be unimaginable," the Little Black Tower said.

"Tower Master, do you think I should open all the Acupoints first, then temper and refine them? Or should I open a few, slowly temper and expand them, and only move on to the next after I've developed those?"

"Opening all the Acupoints before tempering and refining them is faster, but difficult and extremely resource-intensive. Tempering them one by one is slower, but easier and less prone to mistakes."