A Lump on the Head

At the foot of Tianwei Mountain, the Guard Team patrolled back and forth.

"The thief vanished after running here. Could it be she's hiding on the mountain?"

"The Second Elder strictly forbade anyone from disturbing Tianwei Mountain. Captain, what should we do now?"

Hearing the guard's question, Shen Li's face darkened. He said gravely, "Surround the foot of the mountain. I'll go up and catch her myself."

Just as he was about to move, Shen Yun came strolling over, a familiar figure dangling from his hand.

Seeing the Guard Team, Shen Yun tossed the Female Thief onto the ground and said casually, "I found this one sneaking around on the mountain just now, so I knocked her out. See if she's the one you're looking for."

Shen Li recognized the Female Thief at once and laughed heartily. "It's her indeed! The Guard Team has been searching for her for days. We truly have Brother Yun to thank this time."

His heart was filled with astonishment. The Female Thief's skills were extraordinary; even badly wounded, she was no opponent an ordinary person could handle. Yet Shen Yun had captured her all by himself.

Beside him, Shen Qingshu marveled inwardly, The Female Thief is at least at the Qi Condensation Fifth Layer, yet Shen Yun captured her. What terrifying talent. I must never make an enemy of him.

Shen Kuangtao was a lesson from predecessors. He immediately decided to find an opportunity to offer compensation and turn hostility into friendship with Shen Yun.

"Fine, I'll leave her to you. I'm going now."

Shen Yun could not be bothered with such matters and promptly left.

Watching his retreating back, Shen Li pondered, I never expected Shen Yun to hide his abilities so deeply. The Family Grand Competition has gained another opponent.

Putting those thoughts aside, Shen Li ordered, "Take the Female Thief to Misty Peak. Don't keep the Second Elder waiting too long."

"Yes."

Following the order, everyone followed Shen Li to Misty Peak.

When they entered the main hall, they found several elders gathered together. Besides this, an unfamiliar and imposing man sat in the seat of honor.

"Yu'er!"

At the sight of the Female Thief, the imposing man immediately rose to his feet. A powerful Spiritual Pressure forced the Guard Team back at once.

Everyone's expressions changed, but seeing that the elders did not act, they could only lower their banners and quiet their drums.

On the high platform, Shen Leiyuan smiled bitterly inwardly. Su Yu loves his daughter more than life itself. Nothing must happen.

The elders were equally helpless. At first, when the Patriarch of the Su Family came looking for them, they had been full of confusion. Once they learned that the Female Thief was his daughter, they were all left speechless.

The cause was rather bizarre. Somehow, news of Shen Qingruo's talent had spread. Once word came out that she was suspected to possess a Spirit Body, Canglang Mountain was thrown into an uproar.

The power of a Spirit Body was beyond doubt, and Shen Qingruo's spirit root talent was also exceptional. At once, some busybodies proclaimed her the number one genius of Canglang Mountain.

Su Yu'er's talent stood alone within the Su Family. On top of that, she was the clan leader's daughter, pampered and indulged since childhood, with everything going smoothly for her. Hearing the rumors, she was unconvinced and came alone to investigate. The result spoke for itself.

Su Yu truly deserved his title as Patriarch of the Su Family. His exquisite healing Dao techniques drew admiration from all, and a moment later, Su Yu'er woke up.

Seeing her father, the grievance in Su Yu'er's heart burst forth. With tears like pear blossoms in the rain, she said, "Father, you finally came to save me."

Su Yu had originally wanted to scold her, but at the sight, his heart nearly melted. He comforted her, "Yu'er has suffered."

The onlookers watched their noses, and their noses watched their hearts, not daring to disturb the scene of father and daughter reuniting.

After the atmosphere eased, the Second Elder said awkwardly, "This old man accidentally injured your daughter this time. I ask Patriarch Su for forgiveness."

The Second Elder felt deeply aggrieved. Clearly, the other party was at fault, but circumstances forced his hand, so he could only swallow his pride and apologize.

The Su Family was powerful now, especially since the Shen Family had many conflicts with the Shangguan Family. Offending them at this time would truly be more loss than gain.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Su Yu immediately waved his hand. "Dao Brother need not be so formal. It was merely a misunderstanding."

Once everything was laid bare, the atmosphere relaxed considerably. Su Yu even expressed his willingness to deepen cooperation with the Shen Family.

Shen Leiyuan's face was glowing with health. He had never expected a bad thing to turn into a good one, and immediately invited Su Yu to attend the year-end Family Grand Competition.

Su Yu'er was somewhat sullen. When she touched the back of her head, she discovered that the huge bump there had yet to go down.

That hateful bastard actually knocked me out twice.

Su Yu'er gritted her silver teeth and gave Shen Li, standing nearby, a sweetly false smile. "May I ask, Dao Brother, who brought me down from the mountain?"

Seeing her sweet smile, Shen Li was dazed for a moment. Flattered beyond measure, he said, "It was one of my clansmen. His name is Shen Yun."

Shen Yun. Very good, I'll remember you.

Su Yu'er's smile grew ever more radiant, making Shen Li beside her fall into a slight illusion. He struck what he thought was a dashing pose.

Even after Su Yu took her away, he remained where he was, pretending to be profound.

Spring passed and autumn came. In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had gone by.

During this time, Shen Yun learned two new cultivation methods, Stone Stance and Water Essence Technique, finally bringing the Five Elements Power together.

Perhaps because his spirit roots lacked the corresponding attributes, his cultivation speed had indeed slowed considerably.

But with his cultivation speed, such matters were trivial. When the Five Elements Power reached major accomplishment, he did find that the other two elements were somewhat weaker.

Thus, Shen Yun began cultivating Five Elements Outer Law. After spending half a month on it, he finally brought the Five Elements Power level with one another.

"The Fire-Wood Dual Spiritual Power has already fused by fifty percent. The progress is not bad. Unfortunately, I can't incorporate a third kind of spiritual power."

He had tried several times. As soon as he added a new spiritual power, the previous balance would collapse. He had even specifically sought Fang Tianyi's advice and learned that only by perfectly fusing the first two spiritual powers could he enter the next stage.

So he no longer demanded too much and instead devoted his energy to cultivating his realm.

That day, after Shen Yun restored his spiritual power, his Sea of Qi expanded once more, and his bottleneck broke through as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Finishing his cultivation and rising to his feet, Shen Yun let out a long breath. "After four months, I've finally broken through to the Eighth Level of Qi Refining."

Upon reaching the later stages of Qi Refining, Shen Yun's cultivation speed had slowed as well, but compared to others, it was still astonishingly fast.

Reaching the Eighth Level of Qi Refining from an ordinary mortal in a single year—if word got out, people might even take him for a madman. For someone with the aptitude of ordinary Three-Attribute Spirit Roots, spending thirty or forty years to break through to the Eighth Level of Qi Refining was quite common.

What was more, Shen Yun cultivated five kinds of spiritual power at once. The difficulty could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Pushing open his door, Shen Yun stepped into the courtyard.

Bitter winter was approaching, and Luoxia Mountain was draped in silver.

A thousand miles lay frozen, ten thousand miles filled with drifting snow, as though one had entered a world of ice and snow.

Yet when he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw streams of people flowing past, Shen Family youths everywhere. The lively atmosphere made everyone feel much warmer.

Hearing the discussions around him, Shen Yun murmured, "Time really flies. Today is the day of the Family Grand Competition."