Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Seeing the haughty, superior expressions on the faces of the group over there, a flash of anger sparked in Shangguan Yutong’s eyes. She took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. ’They have a right to be proud,’ she told herself. ’If you were stronger than them, they certainly wouldn’t dare act this way!’ At that thought, she glanced at Ling Xiao beside her, and her churning heart finally settled.

’If you knew that someone had reached the Sword Emperor Level at fifteen or sixteen, I bet your eyes would pop right out of your heads!’ Shangguan Yutong thought with a touch of malice.

Ling Xiao saw right through the arrogant expressions of the three youths and had little interest in them. Instead, he was mentally calculating the depth of these Ancient Ruins, trying to determine just how far down they had gone. Although the air was dry and there were ventilation shafts, Ling Xiao couldn’t shake the feeling that their current depth was comparable to being on the bottom of the deep sea.

At that moment, a large crowd began to gather around the Gu Family disciple. It seemed they had either encountered a massive mechanism or... a treasure was about to be discovered.

Ling Xiao noticed the excited expressions on the faces of the crowd, especially Patriarch Qin of the Qin Family, Qin Zhaoran. A glint flickered in his eyes, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.

"He’s probably up to no good!"

Song Mingyue muttered softly beside Ling Xiao. She felt a bone-deep fear of Qin Zhaoran; the man was too sinister, his schemes too profound. Anyone who could devise such vicious plans had to have a truly malicious heart. If she could help it, Song Mingyue never wanted to see this man again in her life.

As Ling Xiao and his two companions tried to move closer, the eleven Sword Emperor Level powerhouses from the Qin Family—whether intentionally or not—blocked their path. It seemed they were trying to prevent the three of them from getting any nearer.

Moreover, as a Cultivator with a stable mentality and pure Cultivation, Ling Xiao was extremely sensitive to dark, negative auras like evil energy and baleful energy. He could sense a thick, evil energy coming from these Sword Emperor Powerhouses. He sighed internally. ’It seems the Qin Family really has been using evil Cultivation Techniques to forge these masters!’

’Even if I have no grand ambition to slay demons and defend the righteous path, I at least have to find a way to save my own skin. Those who fall to the Demon Dao inevitably become frenzied and utterly mad. If these eleven Sword Emperor Powerhouses from the Qin Family break through to the Sword Venerable Realm... then there might truly be no force left on the entire continent that can stand against them!’

Although the three youths had just verbally insulted Ling Xiao’s group, they clearly didn’t consider them worth a second thought, let alone taking their words to heart, and didn’t spare them another glance. The young woman disguised as a man, however, made no effort to hide the disdain in her eyes. She swept her gaze over Ling Xiao, and while she was at it, seemed to look right through the Qin Family’s Sword Emperor Powerhouses as well.

Powerhouses who had reached the Sword Emperor Realm, even Evil Cultivators like those from the Qin Family, wouldn’t deign to take a mere youngster seriously. Still, the sheer arrogance of the overconfident little brat managed to irk one of the Qin Family’s Sword Emperor Powerhouses. He let out a cold snort but said nothing. Inside, however, he was thinking: ’So what if you’re from a super-family? Just wait... Hmph. When the Qin Family rises, we’ll see if you aren’t wagging your tails and begging for mercy!’

The Gu Family disciple was sweating bullets, completely absorbed in his work. Disabling a mechanism wasn’t just a test of experience and intellect; it was also physically demanding. And since most members of the Gu Family of Mechanical Masters weren’t powerful cultivators, the disciple was already panting with exhaustion after working for so long.

Unfortunately, an inexperienced person would be useless against this particular mechanism. He had to be extremely cautious even when accepting help, as a single misstep could spell disaster. That was why the Gu Family disciple preferred to do everything himself.

Just as he turned his head, he spotted Ling Xiao in the crowd. The Gu Family disciple pointed at him. "Hey, you there! Yes, you. Come and give me a hand. If I have to open this mechanism by myself, it’ll take several more hours! With your help, we might get it open much faster!"

Seeing the Gu Family disciple call out, Qin Zhaoran hesitated briefly. ’What kind of trouble could someone from a third-rate family, not even at the Sword Sect level, possibly stir up?’ he thought. ’Worst case, I can just promise him some reward.’

With that in mind, Qin Zhaoran spoke up. "You understand Mechanical Skill? Excellent! Once this is done, the Qin Family will be sure to reward you handsomely!"

Ling Xiao nodded slightly and replied with a smile, "I just hope I don’t cause any trouble!"

The Gu Family disciple subconsciously assumed the middle-aged man before him was self-taught. ’He can’t possibly compare to someone like me, who has specialized in this art since childhood!’ In truth, the Gu Family disciple had every reason to be proud. He had basically grown up in the company of all sorts of mechanisms since the day he was born.

To him, the very mechanisms that most people saw as avatars of the Death God were as close as companions.

"As long as you do as I say, you certainly won’t cause any trouble!" the Gu Family disciple said, a bit smugly. "I can tell your skills must be decent! Once our business here is concluded, you are welcome to be a guest at the Gu Family!"

The Gu Family disciple’s words made the eyes of many Sword Emperors in the crowd light up. Everyone knew the significance of such an invitation from a disciple of a family of Mechanical Masters. Befriending a family of Mechanical Masters was something many a Sword Emperor Powerhouse would kill for! They never imagined that this man from a third-rate family would have such good fortune as to earn the goodwill of the Gu Family.