Returning to the City, Three Months Later (4000)

Outside the mine, as soon as Qie Yunzhou gave the order.

Steward Fang Yun, who had received the token, looked excited.

"Your subordinate will not fail the Clan Head's trust." He bowed.

The captain of the guards immediately cupped his fists. "Understood."

This captain led the squad that had come with Qie Yunzhou today.

He went over to the squad, leaving behind the two Meteor Knights with the highest cultivation to guard the vein.

The Thunder Lizard incident had caused the Silver Moon Knight at the mine to fall. Of the knights who had come with Qie Yunzhou, these two were the ones with the highest cultivation.

Then he addressed the remaining knights. "Everyone, mount up and escort the Clan Head and Young Master back."

"Yes!" they answered in unison.

The eight remaining knights, clad in standard black-and-purple armor, immediately swung onto their mounts.

Their steeds were no match for Qiong'er's third-tier magical beast, the Cloud-Treading Steed, but they were Flying Frost Colts, which were second-tier magical beasts.

Qie Yunzhou's personal squad was the Qie Clan's most elite force, which was why they had such luxurious mounts.

Qie Yunzhou glanced at the mining area, where work was gradually resuming, nodded slightly, and did not delay any longer.

He exchanged a glance with Qie Qiong, and each of them headed for his own mount.

The two mounted swiftly.

With a squeeze of their legs, their green and white mounts shot away like two streaks of green and white lightning, leaving dust in their wake.

Behind them, the eight black-armored knights followed close after.

On the way there, they had had to account for Xiong Zhixuan and Qi Lingfei's speed. Now they still had to account for the black-armored knights behind them, but they were going much faster than before.

In just one hour, the towering Cloud Sea Prefecture City appeared before them.

The Cloud Sea Prefecture City was a full three hundred kilometers from the mine in the Qiyun Mountain Range.

By distance, the mine was too close to the Xiong Clan. But the "Thunder Adamantine" there was far too important to the Qie Clan—or, more precisely, to Qie Qiong.

Otherwise, even if he could have seized it, Qie Yunzhou would not have chosen the mine in the Qiyun Mountain Range.

The soldiers guarding the city wall immediately grew alert when they saw a cavalry squad approaching in the distance.

As mentioned earlier, because of the war between the three nations, the soldiers had not yet become corrupt.

Only after they made out the black-and-purple armor worn by the cavalry and the emblem on the flag held by one of them—a bolt of purple lightning—did the guards relax a little.

"It's the Qie Clan Head and his son's squad."

"This afternoon, a squad of our brothers went to help the Qie Clan's Young Master. They dealt with a few corpses and each got a gold coin. I'm jealous."

An ordinary city guard received only one gold coin a month in military pay when there was no fighting.

Don't underestimate a single gold coin. Three were enough to support a family of three for a year.

It was only because the death rate among soldiers fighting for the three nations was so high that their regular pay was so generous.

"Hahaha, I was one of them. That offering said some blind bandits had attacked the Qie Young Master."

"Then the Young Master wasn't hurt, was he? The bandits around here are going to have a hard time now."

"I didn't see the Young Master when we got there, but those bandits were all killed with a single sword strike. How could they have hurt him?"

The soldiers chatted among themselves as they stood on either side of the city gate.

They let the Qie Clan's cavalry ride into the city.

Although the city guards had not become corrupt since the empire was founded, they could not possibly make a great noble of the Qie Clan Head's stature dismount for an inspection—especially since most of the city guards were actually members of the Qie Clan.

"It's the Qie Clan Head, his son, and the Purple Thunder Guard."

"Make way."

People on the city streets moved aside long before the cavalry reached them. If they were hit by this squad, they would be hit for nothing.

The Qie Residence occupied a vast area, so its plaque was especially eye-catching.

"We're here."

"Whoa!" Qie Qiong's group reined in their horses and stopped in front of the main gate.

Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou dismounted and handed their horses to the others. "Take them back, then disband and do as you please."

"Yes, Clan Head," everyone replied respectfully.

"Qiong'er, let's go in." Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou walked into the Qie Residence together.

The father and son were heading toward the main hall when a familiar figure hurried over from the distance.

"Clan Head, Young Master." The man was Qi Lingfei, who had returned ahead of them. He bowed respectfully.

Qie Qiong nodded slightly. "Uncle Qi, is everything taken care of?"

"Yes." Qi Lingfei hurriedly replied, "I dealt with everything as you instructed, and the spoils have all been sealed away in storage."

Qie Qiong looked at Qi Lingfei and nodded. "Thanks for your hard work, Uncle Qi."

As they spoke, Qie Yunzhou added, "Offering Qi, you've done well this time. You may go to the second floor of the library and choose a martial skill."

The martial skills on the Qie Clan library's second floor were for Meteor Rank and some Silver Moon Rank practitioners.

"Serving the Young Master is my duty, and the Young Master has already rewarded me," Qi Lingfei hurriedly replied.

"What Qiong'er gave you was a reward for handling the aftermath. I've heard from him that Offering Qi is very loyal. This is the reward Qiong'er asked for on account of your loyalty," Qie Yunzhou explained.

Qi Lingfei hesitated for a moment, then bowed. "Thank you, Clan Head. Thank you, Young Master."

Qie Yunzhou waved his hand. "Go and rest, Offering Qi."

"Your subordinate takes his leave." Qi Lingfei bowed once more and walked away.

Apart from the maids and some of the guards, everyone else in the Qie Clan lived along this same street as the Qie Residence.

Qie Yunzhou and Qie Qiong headed toward the side hall.

Lin Wantang had already heard that the two of them were back and was waiting in the side hall.

When she saw Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou open the door and enter, a smile immediately appeared on her face. "Come, sit down. You've been gone for most of the day, Qiong'er. You must be hungry."

As she spoke, she led Qie Qiong to his seat.

The three of them sat down and talked about what had happened that day as they ate.

"Has the matter at the mine been resolved? Is everything all right?" Lin Wantang asked.

"Yes, it's resolved. Don't worry," Qie Yunzhou said with a smile and a nod.

"Father is powerful. Mother, you don't need to worry," Qie Qiong said with a smile. He glanced at his mother. Although his father already knew about some things, he felt he should tell her himself. "But, Mother, something happened on the way there today."

"Oh?" Lin Wantang looked at Qie Qiong. "What happened?"

Qie Qiong was completely unharmed, and he had grown powerful after his breakthrough, so she was not too worried.

Qie Qiong put down his chopsticks. "Halfway there, we were ambushed by the Xiong Clan."

"What?" Lin Wantang's expression changed. "How dare the Xiong Clan do such a thing? Qiong'er, were you hurt?"

"Don't worry, Mother. Those people from the Xiong Clan were no match for me," Qie Qiong said steadily. "But we found the traitor. It was Kang Zhixuan."

"Kang Zhixuan?" Hearing the name, Lin Wantang suddenly understood. "So it was him. I always thought it was Qi Lingfei."

"Yes, it was him." Qie Qiong's voice inevitably grew a little heavy. "He admitted himself that he was one of the Xiong Clan."

"All right, let's not talk about it anymore, Mother. It's all in the past."

Seeing Qie Qiong, Lin Wantang could tell that her son was in a bad mood.

That was understandable, after all. Kang Zhixuan had been by his side since he was little.

Thinking of this, she let out a deep sigh. "As long as you're all right. But the Xiong Clan will still have to pay for this."

As she spoke, she looked at her husband.

Qie Yunzhou put down his wine cup, his eyes cold. "They'll definitely have to pay for this. Let the feud between the Qie and Xiong Clans end in this generation."

The Qie Clan and the Xiong Clan had been sworn enemies for a thousand years, and their strength had always been about equal.

Before Qie Qiong's breakthrough, even Qie Yunzhou, who was in the Myriad Existences Realm, had not been confident he could storm the Xiong Clan's stronghold and kill all its high-level fighters.

After his breakthrough, he could no longer interfere in mortal affairs.

Of course, all that had been before Qie Qiong's breakthrough.

"This time, we got something at the mine that Qiong'er can use. Qiong'er, after you break through again, that will be the best time to deal with the Xiong Clan."

After hearing that, Lin Wantang turned to her husband curiously. "A treasure? What exactly happened at the mine?"

"There was a sixth-tier Thunder Lizard, as powerful as someone in the Myriad Existences Realm. Qiong'er and I slew it together, and we also got a Thunder Core," Qie Yunzhou answered with a smile.

"A magical beast as powerful as someone in the Myriad Existences Realm." Lin Wantang drew in a sharp breath. As a mage who was only one step away from becoming a true Title Rank mage, she knew how troublesome such a beast could be. "Wasn't it extremely difficult to deal with?"

A look of relief crossed Qie Yunzhou's face. "Qiong'er broke through at just the right time. If he hadn't, I would have had to gather the family's Silver Moon Rank fighters. The price would have been far too great."

Lin Wantang nodded in agreement. "Yes, we have Qiong'er to thank. No wonder the Xiong Clan gave up the Thunder Adamantine mine so easily. They must have known about it all along and been waiting for our Qie Clan to suffer casualties—or even..."

"Hmph, that must be it," Qie Yunzhou said with a cold snort. "But they never would have imagined that we could deal with it without suffering any losses." (Tang San: Speak up for me!)

"I've already brought its corpse back. You can study its flesh and scales first. Maybe you'll break through."

Mages studied all things, and ordinary mages often made breakthroughs through their research. Of course, the more precious the materials, the better.

As he spoke, Qie Yunzhou looked at Qie Qiong, his eyes filled with a smile. "Most importantly, it had already formed a Solid Core inside its body."

"A Solid Core?" As a peak Silver Moon mage, Lin Wantang naturally understood how precious the Solid Core of a sixth-tier magical beast was, especially one as powerful as someone in the Myriad Existences Realm. Most important of all, it was the Solid Core of a Thunder Lizard, a magical beast of the lightning element.

Qie Yunzhou nodded. "I've already had Qiong'er keep it. Once he finishes absorbing it in a year or two, the Xiong Clan's end will come."

Listening beside them, Qie Qiong actually wanted to say that it would come in three months. Who could blame him for having a cheat?

Three months later.

The Qie Residence, a quiet chamber.

A Solid Core radiating a pale purple light floated before Qie Qiong.

The pure Thunder energy inside the Solid Core slowly entered Qie Qiong's body as the Thunder's Five Transformation Technique circulated.

As the technique circulated, the purified energy continued to merge into his dantian and qi sea.

This Solid Core, which came from the Thunder Lizard, contained an overwhelmingly vast power. After absorbing it for three months,

the deep-black Solid Core in Qie Qiong's dantian and qi sea, which had originally just entered Title Rank and still seemed immature, had now transformed to a state approaching Qie Yunzhou's.

If Qie Qiong's Solid Core had been at the Early Golden Core Stage by the standards of cultivation before, then it was now at the Late Golden Core Stage, nearing the level of great perfection.

However, the rapid improvement in his Dou Qi had not made Qie Qiong lose himself in it.

If he didn't have a cheat, he might have focused solely on tempering his Dou Qi. After all, judging by how things stood, he could temper it into Transcendent Dou Qi very quickly.

But he had a cheat. At Qie Qiong's current rate of comprehension, he was confident he could comprehend the Myriad Existences Realm of Metal within a month.

Then, he would be able to temper his Dou Qi several times faster than he could now.

At this thought, Qie Qiong drew in the Thunder aura around him. He put the Solid Core into his Space Ring, and the energy in the quiet chamber gradually disappeared.

He directed his mind into the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

The "Golden Light" secret tome floated quietly in the center of his Sea of Consciousness. At a thought, its pages slowly opened.

Hum—

"Metal, the utmost Yang and the utmost hardness, the utmost gold and the utmost sharpness..."

The instant the pages opened, countless mysteries of "metal" were revealed.

No matter how many times he opened it, Qie Qiong always felt as though his soul were enveloped by the mysteries of "metal."

He "saw" every characteristic of the metal elements between Heaven and Earth that he knew: metal's hardness and sharpness... as well as the unique rhythm woven from their distinctive heaviness and sharpness.

As Qie Qiong comprehended, it seemed he had suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the sharpness of metal.

The precise control over his body from his earlier practice of Unity of Man and Sword, along with his understanding of the elements of Heaven and Earth from the Heaven and Man Unity Realm, seemed to erupt all at once in this moment.

As he had just comprehended that river of "metal," it seemed he had found its source and its proof.

Unable to wait, he withdrew his mind from his Sea of Consciousness and returned it to his body.

Qie Qiong strode out of the quiet chamber, turning into a black bolt of lightning as he headed for the waterfall behind the family estate.

He found a huge blue-green boulder beside the waterfall and sat atop the natural platform formed by Heaven and Earth.

Sitting cross-legged on the platform, he closed his eyes and fully entered the Heaven and Man Unity Realm.

His Heartforce displayed no power. It simply spread in every direction like the wind, permeating its surroundings.

In his perception, all of Heaven and Earth was composed of "metal" and other elements.

"Metal... isn't limited to blades, swords, and ore."

"It is a basic element that makes up the world, and the sharpness flowing through all things..."

"It is the mystery itself!"

Under the Heaven and Man Unity Realm, countless fragments of insight suddenly converged and erupted.

"Boom!"

Qie Qiong's Sea of Consciousness shook violently. In that instant, the world became different!

All the mysteries of "metal" between Heaven and Earth were no longer vague sensations.

Instead, they transformed into countless veins!

The mysteries of metal contained in the blue-green stone platform, in the cliff, in metal and iron, and in the Azure Peak Sword at his waist all came together to form the sharpness of "metal" that he comprehended.

It seemed he had grasped a corner of the laws of "metal."

At the movement of his thoughts, without needing to draw on Dou Qi, the power of metal's mysteries responded instantly, as if it were part of his own body.

The Myriad Existences Realm of Metal, first level! Complete!