With the cultivation techniques and rare heavenly treasures gifted by Qin Hao, Su Qingyue, originally at the Ninth Stage of Qi Refining, quickly broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Due to Su Qingyue's breakthrough, the spiritual energy within Qin Hao's own body was becoming almost impossible to suppress, pushing him to the very edge of a breakthrough himself.
I'm about to lose control of this internal fire. Before I acquire enough karmic luck, I can't let her continue cultivating. If I break through to the Nascent Soul Realm with my current luck, heaven knows what might happen. I might end up just like the original owner of this body, rejected by the Heavenly Dao and instantly struck dead.
At this thought, Qin Hao dared not delay. He leaped down from the tree and landed beside Su Qingyue.
Qingyue, take a break from cultivating for now. Is there anything else you want to do? Our rental agreement ends in half a month. Whatever wishes you might have, I will do everything in my power to help you fulfill them during this time.
Su Qingyue slowly awakened from her meditative state. Having broken through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, her already elegant and beautiful features had taken on an even more ethereal, otherworldly charm.
Su Qingyue lifted her beautiful eyes. He would do everything in his power to fulfill any wish? I want to stay by your side forever. Could you help me fulfill that wish too?
She cast a complex gaze at Qin Hao. He had barged into her world completely unannounced during her most desperate hour. Su Qingyue knew that she was now deeply reliant on him, drowning in the casual tenderness he so effortlessly provided.
But she could not go on like this. She refused to live forever in Qin Hao's shadow like a beggar receiving charity and shelter. What she desired was not brief protection, but the enduring right and qualification to stand as an equal by his side!
With this thought in mind, Su Qingyue met Qin Hao's inquiring gaze and spoke in a calm voice:
Qin Hao, I want to join a sect.
Su Qingyue now knew that she possessed an Innate Dao Body. She wanted the backing of a powerful sect, which would not only provide her with proper cultivation guidance but also grant her access to abundant cultivation resources.
This way, she could grow stronger at a much faster pace, allowing her to stand proudly beside Qin Hao sooner.
Hearing her thoughts, Qin Hao nodded. You possess an Innate Dao Body. The deep foundations and vast resources of an orthodox major sect will indeed save you from taking many detours. Across the Three Realms and Nine Heavens, there are twenty-seven Sacred Lands. Which one would you like to join? I can recommend you to any of them.
Qin Hao's words made Su Qingyue tremble all over. Her original intention was simply to join a relatively powerful sect, yet Qin Hao casually offered her a Sacred Land!
A Sacred Land, what kind of concept was that? Let alone in Qingfeng City, even to the entire Great Cang Kingdom, or rather, to every cultivator in the Southern Region, the term Sacred Land was an unreachable myth. They were absolute behemoths towering over the Three Realms and Nine Heavens.
Every Sacred Land represented a supreme path leading directly to the Great Dao, controlling resources and authority beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
Yet now, Qin Hao lightly informed her that she could take her pick from the twenty-seven Sacred Lands. His tone was so casual, as if he were not talking about twenty-seven Sacred Lands, but rather twenty-seven different teahouses and restaurants down the street.
All Qin Hao needed to do was hand over a calling card, and she would instantly become an esteemed guest.
Such power and influence completely exceeded the boundaries of Su Qingyue's imagination. She felt her throat go dry. Qin Hao's matter-of-fact calmness evoked a sense of inferiority that pierced her to the very bone.
But very quickly, this inferiority was replaced by a surge of unwillingness and determination that threatened to burst from her chest. No matter how difficult it was, she would give it her all to climb to the top! Su Qingyue knew that if she did not fight for this with everything she had, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
Taking a deep breath, Su Qingyue stated firmly:
I want to go to the Xuantian Sacred Land!
The Xuantian Sacred Land was the most renowned Sacred Land across the Three Realms and Nine Heavens. Since Qin Hao could recommend her anywhere, Su Qingyue decided to choose the absolute strongest one. Perhaps this way, she could slightly narrow the massive gap between herself and him.
Alright, no problem.
Qin Hao chuckled lightly as he wrapped an arm around Su Qingyue's slender waist. He then took out his personal jade pendant and infused it with spiritual energy. In the very next second, a powerful spatial force enveloped them both.
By the time Su Qingyue's vision cleared, she and Qin Hao had already arrived at the entrance of the Xuantian Sacred Land.
Just as Qin Hao was about to march up to the gates and personally seek out the Lord of the Sacred Land to have him accept Su Qingyue, she stopped him:
I don't need a direct recommendation from you. Just give me a fair chance to enter the Sacred Land on my own.
Su Qingyue was a very stubborn person. If a single word from Qin Hao could get her into a behemoth like a Sacred Land, his background had to be terrifyingly immense. If she couldn't even pass the Sacred Land's entry assessment, what right did she have to talk about catching up to his footsteps?
Furthermore, there was only half a month left. Qin Hao would only be by her side for another fifteen days. After that, he would probably leave to be by some other woman's side, acting as someone else's rental Dao companion.
At this thought, a heavy gloom settled over Su Qingyue's heart, but it also further solidified her resolve. She could not rely on Qin Hao for everything anymore; she had to learn to face hardships on her own.
Reading the stubbornness in her eyes, Qin Hao smiled and affectionately rubbed her head. Alright, whatever you say goes.
Qin Hao took out his jade pendant and sent a voice transmission to his butler, instructing him to contact the higher-ups of the Xuantian Sacred Land and have their once-in-a-century disciple recruitment ceremony moved forward.
After doing so, Qin Hao put away the jade pendant, turned to Su Qingyue, and said:
Qingyue, I've done exactly as you asked. This is the path you chose, so I won't interfere too much. Whether or not you can enter the Sacred Land is entirely up to you now.
Su Qingyue nodded with absolute certainty. I will definitely get in!
Looking at her determined little face, Qin Hao flashed a carefree smile. I believe in you.
Upon receiving Qin Hao's orders, his butler immediately set off for the Xuantian Sacred Land and sought out its Vice Sect Master. The Vice Sect Master of the Xuantian Sacred Land also happened to be a member of the Qin family. Despite being a mighty Immortal King, in terms of generational seniority, he was actually Qin Hao's nephew.
Knowing that this was a request from his hapless little uncle, the Vice Sect Master agreed without a second thought.
Just like that, because of a single word from Qin Hao, the Xuantian Sacred Land's once-in-a-century disciple recruitment ceremony was being held again after only three years. In an instant, the entire Xuantian Realm was sent into a frenzy. Cultivators from all walks of life scrambled to spread the news, preparing to participate in the recruitment ceremony ten days later.
When Su Qingyue heard that the Xuantian Sacred Land's recruitment ceremony was reopening, she looked at Qin Hao, her eyes filled with absolute shock. A once-in-a-century grand ceremony had actually been restarted over a single sentence from him.
Qin Hao, just what exactly is your background? How far of a journey must I make before I can truly stand beside you?
Seeing Su Qingyue staring blankly at him, Qin Hao smiled and reached out to gently tap the bridge of her delicate nose:
What are you staring at? Have you been diligently practicing the sword arts I gave you? The heroes of this world are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Although you possess an Innate Dao Body, if you don't prepare yourself seriously, you will still be eliminated by the Sacred Land.
To prevent Su Qingyue's cultivation breakthroughs from triggering a spiritual energy riot within his own body, while still ensuring her combat strength continued to grow, Qin Hao had given her several sword arts to focus on mastering.
Su Qingyue's favorability toward Qin Hao had reached ninety-eight. Not only could her cultivation feed back a portion of her cultivation base to Qin Hao, but even when she learned a new martial skill, Qin Hao would instantly master it as well.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
