Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Shangguan Yutong stood there, now exuding an ethereal, otherworldly aura, as if she had transformed from a mortal woman into a celestial fairy. More than anything, her face showed the dazed confusion of someone who had just received a massive influx of information. Her expression appeared calm, yet her beautiful eyes flickered with a storm of emotions—joy one moment, sorrow the next, and then rage.

"Sis... Sister, are you all right?"

Song Mingyue walked over but didn’t dare get too close to Shangguan Yutong. She seriously doubted that the person standing here now was still the same Shangguan Yutong from just a moment ago.

Ling Xiao, however, had no such concerns. In the Cultivation Realm, this kind of inheritance was a very real phenomenon. Besides, judging from the Divine Sense that had emanated from the statue, it bore them no malice.

"Sister, are you all right now?" Ling Xiao asked softly as he approached Shangguan Yutong.

A single tear slid from the corner of Shangguan Yutong’s eye. Then, she threw herself into Ling Xiao’s arms and began to sob. To the side, Song Mingyue’s brow furrowed slightly. She promptly turned away and went back to looking at the Crystal Ball.

After a long moment, Shangguan Yutong finally lifted her head from Ling Xiao’s embrace and said, "Was that very weak of me?"

Ling Xiao shook his head and comforted her, "Anyone would be unprepared to suddenly go through something like this. You handled it exceptionally well!"

"Really?" Shangguan Yutong murmured. "I suddenly know so many things." She looked up at the Golden Statue, which had now become completely ordinary. Ling Xiao noticed it too—the immense pressure from the statue had vanished completely! At the same time, he could feel a surging power from within Shangguan Yutong! It seemed... she had reached the realm of a Sword Emperor!

Though slightly startled, Ling Xiao still bowed to the divine statue. "Thank you for your gift!"

Shangguan Yutong looked confused; clearly, she hadn’t heard the voice. Ling Xiao asked, "What happened? Can you tell me, Sister?"

Shangguan Yutong nodded and said softly, "First of all, regarding those who failed to receive the family inheritance... we misunderstood our ancestor. When he left behind the inheritance, he also left a map, but that map was lost! The correct procedure was to first undergo an initiation in the family’s ancestral hall, and then, before the age of thirty, follow the map here to receive the full inheritance. My ancestor just told me that the map must have been stolen by our enemies. They also must have killed everyone who knew the truth, which is how the story of a curse came to be!"

Just then, Song Mingyue ambled back over. "See? I knew it," she said. "Who would set up something to harm their own descendants?"

Shangguan Yutong nodded and continued, "Also, I learned a... massive secret. My ancestor... was a contemporary of the Saint Domain Emperor!"

"Whoa, really?!" Song Mingyue gasped. She couldn’t help her astonishment. To those in the know, the Saint Domain Emperor was a true god! He was born in a chaotic era, unified the world, and then sacrificed himself to become the Holy Sanctuary, thereby ensuring the balance of the Mortal World. If there was one person all of humanity should remember above all others, it would have to be the Saint Domain Emperor!

And Shangguan Yutong’s ancestor had lived in the same era as the Saint Domain Emperor... It was simply astonishing. But the most shocking revelation was yet to come.

Shangguan Yutong gave a radiant smile and said, "What’s more, my ancestor was the Saint Domain Emperor’s arch-rival. He fought him for dominion over the world, but unfortunately, he failed in the end. This place is a base he created, and all those Magical Beasts are part of an army he was raising. It’s a shame... the Saint Domain Emperor was too powerful. Before my ancestor could finish preparing his Magical Beast army for a final, decisive battle, the Saint Domain Emperor suddenly transformed into the Holy Sanctuary and vanished from the world..."

"That’s just outrageous!" Song Mingyue shook her head and sighed. "It’s truly hard to believe."

’But thinking about it, it actually makes sense,’ Song Mingyue mused. ’An ordinary person could never have created a space like this. And all these powerful Magical Beasts... how could so many High-Tier Magical Beasts gather in one place unless someone brought them here on purpose?’

"Even though your ancestor lost, he was still a remarkable man!" Song Mingyue said with admiration.

Shangguan Yutong suddenly gave a bitter smile. "So, my ancestor left behind this method of passing down his legacy, hoping to find the most suitable person to receive his inheritance, gain immense power, and then... trample the Holy Sanctuary flat. That is his greatest wish."

"Er..." Song Mingyue stared at Shangguan Yutong, speechless. "That’s... a pretty daunting task."

"I know. He couldn’t do it himself, yet he expects one of us to succeed," Shangguan Yutong said with a helpless sigh. She then looked at Ling Xiao and added suddenly, "While I was receiving the inheritance, my ancestor said that you could help me fulfill this wish. He said... you are a person beyond fate!"

A sudden chill shot through Ling Xiao’s heart. His eyes flashed like lightning as he whipped his head around to stare at the Golden Statue. The sculpted figure was dashing and elegant, the corners of its mouth curved upward. On closer inspection, one could even see a trace of Shangguan Yutong in its features. The statue’s eyes were full of life, and it seemed to be looking right at Ling Xiao with a smile.

’Incredible!’ Ling Xiao marveled internally. ’This is the first time since I came to this world that someone has been able to directly identify me as a person beyond fate! And what is a person beyond fate? It’s someone who doesn’t belong to this world in the first place! To think that a mere wisp of his Divine Sense could see through my origins... He truly was a powerhouse capable of contending with the man who became the Holy Sanctuary!’

Song Mingyue suddenly asked, "So, so where did your ancestor go afterward? From the sound of it, he was still alive after the Saint Domain Emperor became the Holy Sanctuary, right?"

Shangguan Yutong shook her head. "I don’t know. He didn’t say. He just used a powerful force to open all my acupoints and widen my meridians. He said I now possess the strength of a Sword Emperor, and as long as I continue to cultivate, I can reach the Saint Tier within a hundred years! Then he... he said Ling Xiao was the one who could help me. Other than that, he didn’t tell me much else. He said time was short and he couldn’t explain further."

"How incredible!" Song Mingyue exclaimed sincerely after hearing the story. She circled Shangguan Yutong twice and said, "A moment ago, you weren’t even at the level of a Demon Sword Master, and in a flash, you’ve become a Sword Emperor Powerhouse. You can even reach the Saint Tier within a century... It’s... it’s truly unbelievable! Sister, I’m so jealous of you!"

Song Mingyue smiled and said, "Congratulations, Sister!"

Shangguan Yutong offered a faint smile. She didn’t seem overly proud of her meteoric rise in strength; her ancestor’s wish was simply too staggering.

’Trample the Holy Sanctuary!’

’What level of cultivation would it take to accomplish that? Tens of thousands of years have passed since ancient times. How many people from the great families and sects have entered the Holy Sanctuary? How many more have entered from families and sects they didn’t even know existed? By now, the Holy Sanctuary must be teeming with countless Saint Tier masters! Even if I reach the Saint Tier in a hundred years, so what? Any random person from the Holy Sanctuary could probably defeat me with ease.’

So, Shangguan Yutong concluded that her ancestor must have been truly insane to rope his descendants into his schemes tens of thousands of years later. She hadn’t grown up within her family, so her temperament was different from those who valued family above all else. Furthermore, Shangguan Yutong had many brothers. If she were to return to the family now with the power of a Sword Emperor, the male heirs would surely see her as a thorn in their side. Therefore, Shangguan Yutong decided to ignore her ancestor’s command. ’This is basically a suicide mission!’

Sure enough, Ling Xiao pondered for a moment, then frowned and said, "Sister, now that your strength has increased, you should just focus on cultivating. I assume you inherited his Cultivation Technique and sword skills. As for your ancestor’s wish... Heh, it’s just a wish. Until you have the power to back it up, you can’t take it seriously."

Shangguan Yutong nodded. "I understand."

"And one more thing, Sister. It’s best... if you don’t tell your family about any of this!" Ling Xiao said gravely. Having been a noble Lord for over two years, he had seen far too many families sacrifice the happiness of their children for the sake of so-called "family interests." ’By comparison, my own family is actually quite decent! But even now, in the eyes of many old aristocratic families, the Ling Family is probably nothing more than nouveau riche, isn’t it?’

Song Mingyue added with great seriousness, "That’s right! Sister, you absolutely cannot tell your family about this. In fact, I don’t think you should even go back. Otherwise, the heirs in your family will become terrified of you! Come back to Penzes City with us! With your new strength, you can help him out with a lot of things!"

Shangguan Yutong’s original appearance had been restored during the inheritance. Hearing Song Mingyue’s words, a shy blush crept over her face, making her look breathtakingly beautiful. She gave a gentle nod.

Song Mingyue then pulled the other two over to the Crystal Ball. "Those guys are having a really rough time. A lot of them are already dead," she said. "But the Qin Family’s Patriarch and the people from the Zhe and Li Families haven’t suffered many casualties. The proud members of the Sword Sects from those three super-families look completely wretched, though. Hmph! If the experts from the Qin, Li, and Zhe Families weren’t protecting them, they would’ve been eaten alive by now!"

On the Crystal Ball, a disciple from the Gu Family was frantically trying to activate a mechanism while the others struggled desperately to hold their ground behind him. A horde of over a thousand High-Tier Magical Beasts was on the verge of overwhelming the few dozen powerhouses that remained.

Just then, the mechanism finally opened. People from the Zhe and Li Families even came to blows, scrambling to be the first ones through. In the end, at the cost of one more Sword Emperor self-destructing, the mechanism slowly closed. The Crystal Ball then went dark.

Shangguan Yutong said, "They escaped."

Ling Xiao nodded. "Time for us to leave as well."

A look of pure schadenfreude spread across Song Mingyue’s face. "All of their families have suffered a devastating blow this time. Once we’re out, we can just slip away quietly!"

Shangguan Yutong chuckled lightly. "Perfect. I know a secret passage that leads to the sea."