Mortal Affairs and the Thunder Sacred Land

Just as Qie Qiong mastered the secret technique, the Space Gate connecting the two worlds rippled again.

A figure stepped out. It was Qie Yunzhou, who had finished his preliminary exploration.

The shock and delight on his face were hard to conceal.

Although he had visited a large Transcendent World before, it had been thoroughly occupied by the Thunder Empire's imperial family. Apart from the fact that its ambient energy was stronger than that of the Extreme Thunder World, no one else could even dream of getting their hands on its Origin Stone veins.

"Qiong'er!" Qie Yunzhou said excitedly. "This small Transcendent World really is rich in resources. I expect it can hold out for another hundred years or so... Wait?"

Before he could finish, his gaze fell on his son, who was sitting cross-legged, and he stopped short.

He had been so caught up in his excitement over that Transcendent World that only now did he suddenly notice something unusual about his son.

The heart-stopping aura of a Demigod had vanished without a trace. In its place was an unstable aura, as though Qie Qiong had just broken through to the Transcendent realm.

The aura was disguised so well that, had Qie Yunzhou not already known his son was a Demigod, he would probably have thought Qie Qiong had only just become a Transcendent.

"Qiong'er, your aura?" Qie Yunzhou's pupils contracted slightly.

Qie Qiong smiled and stood, sensing the energy fluctuations within him that the Spatial Membrane had perfectly disguised. He nodded in satisfaction. "Father, it just occurred to me that if we returned to the Thunder Sacred Land and they discovered my realm, our family would be in danger. I've just cultivated a secret technique."

He was about to explain the technique's effects to his father when a faint clamor of voices came from outside the mine.

Qie Qiong knew that Fang Yun, Qi Lingfei, and the others had arrived.

As for why they had left several days earlier but only arrived now, that was naturally because the vein was a long way from Cloud Sea Prefecture City.

If it had just been the knight order, they would have arrived long ago, but most of the group were merely miners who had trained a little and had not developed Dou Qi.

He simply had not expected the timing to be such a coincidence.

Qie Qiong's gaze pierced the dark mine tunnel, as though he could see the travel-worn but high-spirited group outside.

"Father," he said calmly, looking at Qie Yunzhou, who was still in shock, "it seems the secret technique will have to wait. We'll set things in order here and then leave."

A tense, somber atmosphere hung over the mine entrance.

Fang Yun stood atop a huge boulder, making no attempt to conceal his Silver Moon Knight aura as his sharp gaze swept over the dense crowd below.

Though they had traveled together for the past few days, most of the miners still kept their heads down, silent as cicadas in winter. Only a few of the bolder ones looked up at the Qie Clan's chief steward, who held authority over its affairs outside the city.

Qi Lingfei stood beside Fang Yun in silence.

After all, Fang Yun would be the one overseeing this place for the next few years, while Qi Lingfei had to return to the city to hold the fort. It was better to bolster Fang Yun's authority now.

"Everyone, I'll say this one last time, so listen carefully." Fang Yun's voice echoed across the open ground before the mine. "Starting today, for the next few years, all of you will eat, sleep, and live within this vein. Anyone who dares take a single step outside..." He paused. "Will be killed without mercy!"

Those final words carried killing intent, and the miners, most of whom were ordinary people, could not help shuddering.

Fang Yun looked around at their reactions and nodded in satisfaction before continuing, "The Qie Clan may be merciful, but rules are rules. If you dare reveal anything you see or hear in the vein, don't blame me for showing no mercy. Your lives are in your own hands."

Some people in the crowd nodded involuntarily.

They understood that the Qie Clan's generous payment and its express assurance that there was no danger could only mean that the information here was extremely important. It was only natural that they were forbidden to disclose it.

Just as Fang Yun was about to say more, a sound suddenly came from the mine, footsteps on loose stones ringing exceptionally clear.

Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei noticed the movement at once and both looked back.

When they saw the face of the man in front, the stern expressions on Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei's faces gave way to utter shock.

"Master Qie... Qie Yunzhou?" Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei cried out together.

They had never imagined that the Qie Clan head, who had been away for ten years, would appear here.

Nor had they expected to see two generations of the Qie Clan's Transcendent experts here.

The knights, who had been on guard until then, also broke into excited expressions.

Most of them had followed the Qie Clan's old patriarch for longer.

The miners, meanwhile, had no idea why these two important figures in the Qie Clan had so lost their composure.

After all, most of the miners were young, and Qie Yunzhou had been away from Cloud Sea Prefecture City for ten years.

But when they saw Qie Qiong beside the man and sensed the imposing aura around Qie Yunzhou, they knew the newcomer's status had to be exalted in the extreme. Even the miners who had been bold enough to look up just now lowered their heads.

Qie Qiong followed half a step behind his father, but that did not stop him from becoming the focus of everyone's attention.

Once Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei recovered from their astonishment, they hurried forward to pay their respects.

But Qie Qiong merely raised a hand, and an invisible force held them up before they could bow.

He took a step forward and swept his gaze over the miners below. His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"Chief Steward Fang was conveying my requirements just now," Qie Qiong said in an even tone. "He has already made everything very clear."

"As for the rest, I have no other demands," Qie Qiong continued. "I only need to tell you one thing."

He paused and looked at the uneasy miners.

"Work with peace of mind. A few years from now, when you leave this place..." A hint of meaning entered his voice. "You'll be glad you made this choice today."

When he finished, the miners nodded without realizing it. The Qie Clan had offered very high wages in the notice, and they assumed that was what their clan head meant.

Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei exchanged a smile. They knew the secret deep within the vein and had been inside themselves, so naturally they understood what Qie Qiong meant.

The ambient energy of Heaven and Earth inside was so abundant that, although the miners had no Dou Qi cultivation methods, they could become Human Rank Knights if they obtained a method from the Qie Clan during the years they spent there.

It was an opportunity that a great many of them, perhaps even all of them, would never have obtained in their entire lives.

Silence fell over the gathering. Qie Qiong said no more; they would understand in time. He turned to his father, Qie Yunzhou, and gave him a slight nod.

The Sacred Land had given them little time to begin with, and there were also possible problems with the other two empires. Qie Yunzhou understood that time was pressing.

He cast a complicated glance around the place that held the Qie Clan's secret and at the miners, who were bewildered but also a little hopeful. Then he instructed Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei, "Fang Yun, everything here is in your hands for the next few years. Lingfei, make sure everything in the prefecture city is properly handled."

"We obey your orders!" Fang Yun and Qi Lingfei immediately bowed and accepted the assignments, their voices excited.

With those words from Qie Yunzhou, the Qie Clan's affairs in the mortal world had truly been entrusted to the two of them.

Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou stayed no longer. Their figures vanished from the spot in an instant, leaving only the crowd before the mine, each person lost in their own thoughts.

It took Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou only one day to reach the World Gate to the Thunder Sacred Land.

"This is the World Gate to the Thunder Sacred Land. Once we pass through, we'll be in the Thunder Sacred Land's city, Qiong'er." Standing in the very center of the Thunder Empire's capital, Qie Yunzhou looked at the World Gate before them. "Let's go in now."

"Mm." Qie Qiong nodded. On the way here, he had already explained the secret technique's effects to Qie Yunzhou in detail.

Qie Yunzhou also knew that there would never be a Deity expert or a Transcendent with a Grade Two True Meaning in the Thunder Sacred Land, so he was not too worried.

Whoosh, whoosh.

The two walked side by side into the World Gate. Spatial ripples spread across it as they passed through and came out on the other side.

"This-"

Qie Qiong stared in shock.

Whether in his previous life or this one, he had never seen a city like this. (PS: The protagonist currently has no memories of Swallowed Star.)

Although he had known the Thunder Sacred Land would be magnificent, he had not expected it to be like this.

After coming out of the Space Gate, they had appeared directly on a high mountain beside the Thunder Sacred Land's city.

Yet the city walls were only a little lower than the mountain. With Qie Qiong's Demigod vision, he could see eleven main thoroughfares within the city. The largest led straight to the palace at the very center, which constantly radiated boundless might.

Even with Qie Qiong's current realm, he feared that if the palace's array were activated, he would not be able to withstand it for long.

Of course, that was only because he was currently at the sixth grade. He believed that once his True Meaning of Space reached the level of his current True Meaning of Metal, he could destroy the palace outright.

Palaces also stood along the remaining ten, somewhat smaller thoroughfares. According to Qie Yunzhou, each one belonged to a family that currently had a Demigod expert.

That was also a rule of the Thunder Sacred Land. If not for what had happened to his mother, there would have been a palace belonging to the Qie Clan here as well.

"The Thunder Imperial Family," Qie Qiong murmured.

Perhaps having heard him, Qie Yunzhou cautioned, "Qiong'er, enduring this today is for the sake of rescuing Wantang in the future."

"This is, after all, the Thunder Empire's capital in the truest sense!" Though there was hatred in Qie Yunzhou's eyes as well, he continued, "Leaving aside whether the Demigods here would help the imperial family, the imperial family alone is more than you can contend with right now. It's said that even if the ten great families joined forces, they could only fight the imperial family to a standstill outside the capital. Inside it, all the forces combined would be no match for them."

Qie Yunzhou pointed to a smaller palace beside the central one in the distance. "That's the Council of Elders. They say it serves all the families in the Thunder Empire, but ever since the God of Thunder's time, it has been an institution serving the Thunder Imperial Family. The imperial family has the final say in everything, even when it is at its weakest."

"Although there have been periods when the imperial family had no Demigods, as long as they control the Thunder Sacred Land's divine artifacts and arrays, and have the Divine Realm War Soldiers passed down from the Divine Realm, the three imperial families are the most powerful forces in this world."

"If they lack the strength to remain outside, they return to the Thunder Sacred Land," Qie Yunzhou said, "and wait for a Demigod to appear before returning to the mortal world."

Qie Qiong nodded.

This was one of the things he was concerned about.

Divine Realm War Soldiers were alchemical puppets from the Divine Realm. The alchemical puppets now found in the Material World had been created by mages who studied Divine Realm War Soldiers.

And although none of the Divine Realm War Soldiers that could be sent to the lower realm surpassed Deities, they were all Demigod Rank puppets with wills of their own.

Even the weakest were probably about as strong as Qie Qiong was now.

Moreover, it was impossible to stop one by killing its master.

Their cores were generally held by the Deity in the Divine Realm. They followed the imperial family's orders only because that Deity had instructed them to do so.

With the divine artifacts sent down by that Deity as well, it was no wonder that the ten Demigod families combined were no match for the imperial family.

To utterly destroy the imperial family in a large Transcendent World like this, Qie Qiong would have to wait until his True Meaning of Space reached the third level.

Only Qie Qiong could do it; not even a Deity could.

After all, Deities could not enter a large Transcendent World, just as Demigods could not enter a small one.

"So, Qiong'er, you must hold yourself back," Qie Yunzhou said. "For your sake, and for your mother's."

Qie Qiong and Qie Yunzhou flew side by side.

After ten thousand years of refinement, the defenses around the Thunder Sacred Land could theoretically withstand an invading attack by someone at the Deity Heart Realm with a Grade Four True Meaning and a divine artifact.

The Deity Heart Realm was the realm beyond the third level of a True Meaning, only one step away from becoming a true Deity. Such a person was also a peak Demigod in the Material World.

There were also the arrays inside. Whoever dared force their way in would meet only death.

The two said no more about it. They had just been outside the city, but now neither knew what the imperial family might have added here over the years.

"There are usually many Title Rank experts here in the Thunder Sacred Land, and even more are born here." Qie Yunzhou pointed to the countless residences below. "All the Thunder Empire's Transcendents are here. Except when on a mission, Transcendents aren't allowed to stay in the mortal world for long. That's an agreement shared by the three great empires."

These missions were not directed against one another, but involved monitoring the mortal world. After all, the Cang Yun Material World was not the only thing in this world; there were also the Abyss and races from other planes.

The moment they appeared, those responsible for monitoring them had to kill them immediately.

As a result, Demigods were generally the ones who carried out this mission, once every three hundred years. The imperial families, of course, did not have to take part. That was one of their privileges.

As they talked, the two soon flew to a residence and slowly descended under Qie Yunzhou's lead.

Before they arrived, the residence's gates had already been opened. Guards stood at the entrance, with rows of maids inside.

Only the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed since they appeared at the Space Gate in the mortal world's imperial capital.

Yet the maids and guards were already lined up here waiting.

It showed how closely the Thunder Imperial Family was watching Qie Yunzhou and Qie Qiong.

After all, his father had not brought anyone with him when he came here back then.

Neither of them said anything. They walked straight into the residence.