Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

Ling Xiao summoned the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword. The Demon Blood Sword swelled in the wind, transforming into a massive blade over a meter wide and more than ten meters long. It carried the two of them as they flew toward the Qin Family’s island. Ling Xiao took the opportunity to explain to Song Mingyue, "It’s like a temporary support pillar. A pillar can hold something up when there are no walls, but once the four walls are built, the pillar has served its purpose and can be removed."

Although Ling Xiao’s analogy wasn’t perfect, Song Mingyue still understood what he meant. "In that case," she asked, "won’t the energy in the remaining Crystal Cores eventually run out?"

Ling Xiao chuckled. "Have you ever seen a Magical Beast use up all the power in its Crystal Core?"

Song Mingyue frowned. "How can you compare the two? Magical Beasts are living creatures! Crystal Cores are just inanimate objects!"

Ling Xiao gave Song Mingyue an approving look and smiled. "That’s what makes this Array so powerful. It will continuously channel the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into the Crystal Cores. That’s why I said it could trap the beast for at least a thousand years, and that’s even factoring in the possibility of this Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon having a major breakthrough within that millennium. If it doesn’t make any significant progress, heh, it won’t be able to escape even in ten thousand years!"

"That’s wonderful!" Song Mingyue clenched her small fists and pumped them excitedly. "Let’s see how the Qin Family plans on harming people now!"

Ling Xiao shook his head slightly. "Don’t forget, the Qin Family still has three of those old undyings at the Sword Venerable realm."

"Then what should we do?" Song Mingyue suddenly recalled. "We’ve trapped that creature, which means we’ve saved most of the people who wanted to hunt it. But this way, the Qin Family’s conspiracy can’t be exposed!"

"Most people have already taken note of their ambition. If the Qin Family wants to become a super-family, the overlord of all other families and sects, then their primary goal isn’t to become the Alliance Leader right now. It’s... to ensure the next generation of the other major families and sects is wiped out! The Qin Family’s methods are ruthless. It would take those other major families decades to train a new batch of young experts. And while several decades might not seem like a long time, it’s more than enough for the Qin Family to accomplish many things! Most importantly, I suspect the Cultivation Technique they practice has something to do with this Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon. I can’t say for sure about realms above Sword Venerable, but with enough Essence Blood, it wouldn’t take very long to raise a Sword Emperor to a Sword Venerable."

At this, Ling Xiao let out a soft sigh. The cool night wind made his robes flutter loudly. He went on, "Right now, thanks to the rumors I spread, the other families and sects are already starting to suspect the Qin Family. There are plenty of intelligent people; they’ll naturally figure out some of the Qin Family’s schemes. Plus, the sudden appearance of the Qin Family’s Sword Venerable experts was too abrupt. Almost everyone feels it’s abnormal. Before, the Qin Family kept a low profile, so not many people paid attention to them. Now, they’ve become high-profile and flamboyant, intending to use this grand event to have the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon kill all the participants. By trapping the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon, we’ve already basically ruined the Qin Family’s plot for this event."

Song Mingyue sighed as well. "But these families and sects won’t openly turn against the Qin Family, will they? It’s so frustrating! We’ve done something incredible, but we can’t even talk about it. It’s so stifling!"

Ling Xiao looked at Song Mingyue’s pouting, girlish expression and smiled faintly without speaking. ’She’s exceptionally sharp,’ he thought. ’Most of the time, she’s just pretending to be naive around me. She only acts this way because she cares.’ Ling Xiao wasn’t a block of wood, devoid of feelings. He held Song Mingyue’s affection deep in his heart.

Just then, a sudden idea struck Song Mingyue. "Could we set up our Penzes New City as a giant Array? If we could, hmph, then no matter how many enemies came or who they were, we could guarantee it would be a one-way trip for them!"

Ling Xiao was suddenly taken aback. ’This girl is a little too clever, isn’t she?’ he thought. In reality, why had Ling Xiao insisted on building a massive new city? The thick, towering city walls, the four magic crystal cannons on the four city gates—all of these were just a smokescreen!

The real masterstroke was that Ling Xiao had used a vast number of low-tier Crystal Cores as a catalyst to turn the entire Penzes New City into an immense Array!

And that Array was, in fact, a massively scaled-up version of the Ice Blue Water Light Array! When activated as needed, forget about Sword Emperors—even a Sword Venerable... would have no hope of breaking in from the outside!

This had always been Ling Xiao’s greatest source of confidence, his trump card. Otherwise, what gave him the audacity to disregard the Royal Family, provoke those hidden families and sects, and go on a killing spree against the Zhe Family? It would be one thing if he were alone, but he had a family—parents and siblings! He had so many subordinates and several beautiful confidantes!

Did Ling Xiao not understand that if his enemies couldn’t find him, they would go after the people closest to him?

It was precisely because Ling Xiao had always been keenly aware of these matters that he insisted on building the enormous Penzes New City! Once it was complete, he would only need to teach those close to him how to activate the Array. Based on the storage capacity of the city’s underground warehouses, there would be enough provisions for a hundred thousand people to survive for a hundred years!

While this massive Defensive Array couldn’t guarantee they would be completely free of danger—enemies could still sneak in, after all—on the whole, it was already a truly remarkable accomplishment!

On the entire continent, it was doubtful that any other person possessed the ability to turn an entire major city into a Defensive Array!

"The city itself," Ling Xiao said, reaching out to stroke Song Mingyue’s soft, smooth hair, "is an Array."

Song Mingyue was startled, but she didn’t say anything more. Instead, a new thought took root in her mind: ’When we have time, I have to get my husband to turn our family’s island into a grand defensive array like that, too! Then it won’t matter how many experts come attacking!’

The two of them quietly returned to their lodgings. It was the most silent hour, that moment of transition between darkness and light, when even the insects had ceased their chirping.

Once back in their room, Song Mingyue was too excited to sleep. She pestered Ling Xiao for a long time, asking him to explain the principles of Arrays. However, the study of Arrays was incredibly profound; how could anyone learn it in such a short time? Song Mingyue listened until she was groggy, finally drifting into a deep sleep in Ling Xiao’s arms as the eastern sky began to pale like a fish’s belly.

「The next morning」

Everyone else was already up when Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue finally emerged, a little late. Many people gave them knowing looks. Song Mingyue felt a bit bashful at first, but after a moment’s thought, she straightened her posture. ’Why should I care what they think!’ she told herself.

As she did, her already ample bosom seemed even more pronounced. That, combined with her enchanting and flirtatious expression, caused many men to stare, their eyes wide. They gulped silently, unable to keep from envying Ling Xiao for having found such a bewitching woman.

The two of them blended into the crowd and went to get some breakfast. The topics being discussed made both Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue happy. The Qin Family’s recent actions, combined with the rumors Ling Xiao had spread, had finally produced a remarkable effect. Many people were now openly discussing the Qin Family’s possible motives.

Just as the two of them were about to finish their meal, they suddenly saw Shangguan Yutong and Qiuyue Yao walk in. Neither was in disguise. Qiuyue Yao possessed a noble temperament and a stunningly beautiful face, while Shangguan Yutong was brimming with youthful energy, her own face devastatingly lovely. Their arrival instantly drew the eyes of nearly everyone in the room.

Shangguan Yutong’s eyes scanned the room before landing on Ling Xiao. At that moment, sighs of disappointment could be heard from the crowd. Many men were thinking the same thing: ’Damn it, that arrogant-looking bastard isn’t even as handsome as I am! Why do all the women stare at him?’

Ignoring the crowd’s stares, Shangguan Yutong and the middle-aged beauty, Qiuyue Yao, walked over to Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue’s table. Shangguan Yutong asked softly, "May we sit here?"

Ling Xiao glanced around. While the restaurant wasn’t packed, he didn’t see many empty tables either. He had no choice but to nod. "Of course."

Shangguan Yutong ignored Song Mingyue’s slightly hostile gaze and suddenly lowered her voice. "Follow us in a little while," she said to Ling Xiao. "I have something important to tell you."