The Bloodline Shackles Were Like an Impassable Chasm!

Deep within the cave abode.

Spiritual Qi formed a seemingly tangible vortex, surging frantically into Shi Jian's body.

The invisible barrier standing between the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage and Late Stage was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

The medicinal power rampaged through his meridians, smashing against the tottering barrier again and again, trying to break through it...

Break!

Shi Jian growled inwardly. The bones throughout his body creaked as his enormous frame forcibly grew three chi taller. Every strand of his dark fur stood on end, glimmering with a blood-red light that made the heart tremble.

His Demon Power converged into a single line and launched its final charge.

Boom!

The barrier trembled violently, already on the verge of collapse.

Just a sliver more.

With one more infusion of fresh power, the bottleneck that had troubled him for years would be utterly shattered. Shi Jian could almost see hope!

Yet at that critical moment.

A profound weariness suddenly welled up from the depths of his bloodline.

It was a deficiency that came from the very origin of his species, like a parched riverbed that would instantly soak up however much water was poured into it.

When the once-raging medicinal power touched that fundamental deficiency, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

At last, there was no strength left to follow through.

In the end, everything fell still.

Shi Jian lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. Every breath carried a searing current of air that heated the rocks beneath him.

He opened his eyes, a trace of helplessness flashing through his vertical pupils.

"Still no good."

Shi Jian raised a heavy forepaw and looked at the claws, now even harder and gleaming with a metallic sheen, cursing inwardly.

An ordinary black bear's bloodline was just too lousy after all.

Even though he had a system and had gained intelligence through Enlightenment, even though he had swallowed second-tier high-grade spirit medicines like the Purple-Vein Ginseng and Blood-Coagulating Lotus.

He still couldn't break the shackles imposed by his bloodline!

In Demon Beast cultivation, bloodline was king.

Those words were cruel beyond reason...

If a Demon Beast with the bloodline of an ancient variant species, such as that Dark Gold Ape, had been given the same resources, it probably would have advanced smoothly and broken through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage long ago.

Yet he was stuck right here.

Still, it wasn't as though he had gained nothing.

Shi Jian slowly got to his feet and shook out his fur. A crackling series of explosive pops from his bones echoed through the cave abode...

Though he had failed to break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, the total amount of Demon Power in his body was more than twenty or thirty percent greater than before his seclusion!

His physical body had also undergone repeated baptisms by the medicinal power, growing considerably stronger and tougher.

Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Peak.

He was truly only a sheet of window paper away from the late stage...

"Oh well. What is meant to be will come in its own time. There's no rushing it."

"I've still got a long life ahead of me. That day will come eventually."

Shi Jian restrained his presence, suppressing all the Demon Power he had released back into his body.

He had grown larger again. Standing upright, he was nearly two zhang tall, like a small, moving black mountain.

He turned and walked toward the entrance to the cave abode.

Rumble-

The heavy stone door, sealed for nearly five years, slowly opened. A stale scent mixed with the fresh air outside swept over him.

Outside the formation.

Sun Bo'an and Sun Kezheng had long been waiting outside. Hearing the noise, they both looked up in unison, their gazes fixed on the dim entrance.

Heavy footsteps rang out.

Each step seemed to land right on their hearts!

When Shi Jian's enormous body emerged completely from the shadows and into the sunlight, Sun Bo'an's pupils contracted sharply, and his breath caught.

There was no earth-shaking pressure, nor any raging Yao Qi.

Yet that calm, restrained to the utmost, instead gave off a suffocating sense of oppression...

It was like facing a pool of dead water so deep its bottom could not be seen. You could never know what terrifying beast lurked within.

"Welcome out of seclusion, Patriarch!"

Without hesitation, Sun Bo'an dropped to both knees and bowed deeply, knocking his head against the ground.

Sun Kezheng was a beat slower, but hurriedly followed him to his knees, pressing his forehead against the cold stone slab, not daring to breathe loudly.

Shi Jian walked up to the two of them and looked down at them from on high.

"Get up."

His voice was deep, with a hint of metal scraping against metal.

Sun Bo'an stood, his back slightly bent and his hands at his sides, his manner even more respectful and sincere than it had been five years ago.

"How have things been outside these past few years?"

Shi Jian walked over to a slab of bluestone and sprawled lazily on it, just as he used to.

Maintaining a humble posture, Sun Bo'an gave a full account of the changes over the past five years, leaving out no detail, however small.

From Yun Du entering death seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to Golden Core, to the cancellation of the White Cloud Minor Gathering; from Han Qing causing trouble and being killed, to the infighting within the Chen Clan alliance; and then to the emergence of Devil Cultivators and the successive deaths of Foundation Establishment elders from the White Cloud Temple.

Every matter was clearly organized, with the key points highlighted.

Finally, Sun Bo'an summarized the Sun Clan's development over the past few years.

"At present, our Sun Clan has four cultivators at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer or above, and twenty-five cultivators in total. A few more promising cultivation prospects appeared a few years ago, though unfortunately their talent is ordinary..."

"We've recruited twenty-one Rogue Cultivators as external guest elders, three of whom are at the Qi Refining Late Stage. Their development has gone very well. The eight small clans under our rule have all been bound firmly to our clan's boat through marriage alliances."

"The marketplace brings in a bushel of gold each day, and the spirit fields have yielded bountiful harvests year after year."

"Also, five of the bear cubs on the rear mountain have successfully awakened Yao Qi and crossed the threshold to become Level 1 Demon Beasts."

"Shi Pan, Shi Mo, and Shi Yin have grown especially quickly. They already have strength comparable to cultivators in the Qi Refining Middle Layers..."

"..."

Sun Bo'an had much, much more to say. Over the years, he had truly matured a great deal, but gray hair had also appeared on his head...

He had grown old too, and was nearly sixty.

He stood with his hands at his sides, his gaze expectant as he quietly awaited Shi Jian's assessment, as though seeking a little approval from an elder.

After listening, Shi Jian smiled and scratched his chin with a claw.

"Not bad."

He looked at Sun Bo'an. Though a few more wrinkles had appeared on that old face, his eyes were sharper and deeper than they had been five years ago.

There was less of the excessive caution that came from worrying over gains and losses, and more of the composure of someone who had the bigger picture in hand.

"Bo'an, you've made considerable progress these past few years."

Shi Jian was unstinting with his praise. "You know when to bide your time, how to borrow strength, and how to tie people to your own war chariot."

"Now you're finally starting to look like the patriarch of a great cultivation clan. Cultivation aside, at least your grasp of the bigger picture is better than your petty-minded granduncle's..."

At this praise, Sun Bo'an's eyes grew slightly warm. He hurriedly lowered his head. "It is all thanks to the protection of your great reputation, Patriarch. I wouldn't dare claim the credit."

"All right, enough flattery."

Shi Jian yawned. "Since the waters outside have already been muddied, let them stay muddy..."

"Our Sun Clan will keep its doors shut and carry on with its own affairs."

"However..."

Shi Jian changed the subject, a cold light flashing in his vertical pupils. "Just because we don't stir up trouble doesn't mean we're afraid of it. I heard Kezheng say just now that several groups of Rogue Cultivators of unknown origin came up from the south?"

At that, Sun Kezheng stepped forward, cupped his fists, and replied, "Patriarch, that is indeed the case. Half a month ago, Zhou Sun detected several unfamiliar fluctuations of Spiritual Qi thirty li outside the city."

"They were very cautious and didn't come too close to Hongtian City, but they've been lingering in the surrounding area. They seem to be scouting it out..."

"Scouting it out?"

Shi Jian grinned, baring his ghastly white fangs.

"With the White Cloud Temple down, every cat and dog wants to come out and bite off a piece of meat. These truly are troubled times, full of trouble~"

He stood up and stretched, the joints all over his body giving a soft, crisp crackle.

"After sleeping for five years, these old bones are nearly rusted."

"Pass the word: stay relaxed on the outside, but tighten up within. Tell those Rogue Cultivator guest elders to stay sharp. If anyone dares run wild on Hongtian City's turf..."

Shi Jian's heavy bear paw slammed down on the bluestone beside him.

Bang!

The hard bluestone instantly turned to fine powder and scattered on the wind.

"I'll take their heads and give them to the cubs on the rear mountain to kick around as balls!"

Sun Bo'an and Sun Kezheng exchanged a glance and answered in unison.

"We obey your decree, Patriarch!"

After the two withdrew, Shi Jian stood alone atop the rear mountain, looking down at the bustling Hongtian City below and the rolling mountain ranges farther in the distance.

Wind rose and clouds surged.

The time had finally come to overturn the table on White Cloud Commandery's chess game.

He could only hope no one came to provoke him!

He was truly in a foul temper right now!