The Single Sword

Fang Tuantuan, who was standing nearby, perked up proudly when she heard them mention her:

“Meow~”

Seeing how simple and honest the villagers were, Lin Xiao felt a warmth in his heart. He nodded at them with a smile.

“Since you all are determined to rebuild your home with your own hands, I naturally have no reason to stop you. Besides, I find you all quite agreeable, so I’ll lend you a hand.”

With that, he turned and shot into the air.

Under the astonished gazes of the sturdy young villagers below, he gathered his qi into his dantian, fixed his eyes on his target, drew his peach-wood sword, and swung it toward the open ground the young leader had pointed out.

Ever since Lin Xiao had successfully mastered the method of transforming spiritual power into primordial energy, he had felt that his strength had improved tremendously, even though he had not directly advanced to the next stage.

With this fully charged strike, he was no longer forced to expend as much effort as he had when digging out mountains to build Yaoguang Floating Island. If he were to do it now, he could probably cut through a mountain with just two strikes!

What more could be said of this wasteland, which consisted mostly of hard-packed earth and scattered rocks?

As his sword descended, a shockwave suddenly rippled across the ground. The earth, stones, weeds, and trees that had been sliced away were all reduced to powder by the tremor of his sword energy.

Lin Xiao then waved his hand and cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell over the wasteland.

Before the dust stirred up by the sword wave could even begin to spread, it all vanished.

A perfectly level stretch of ground appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Staring at this astonishing scene, every sturdy young man from Poplar Village stood dumbfounded.

They had occasionally heard opera troupes sing of immortals moving mountains and filling seas when they went to the markets in the nearby towns. But they had never witnessed such a thing with their own eyes. Though they had yearned for it, they had always felt that such stories were too ethereal and unreal.

They could imagine it, but they had never truly felt the impact.

Now that they had seen it for themselves, they finally understood what true shock meant.

It was the kind of sight that, once witnessed, could never be forgotten for the rest of one’s life.

They felt a searing force surge through their hearts and straight into the crown of their heads, shaking their very souls.

So this… was an immortal.

At that moment, Lin Xiao, still in the air, suddenly raised his head and looked into the distance.

He sensed quite a few cultivators hurrying toward them. Among them were Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

However, they were still far away and had yet to detect Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao guessed that they were probably an investigation team sent by the Allied Forces.

Otherwise, what cultivator would come all the way to a poor, remote place like Poplar Village for no reason?

The thought of staying behind and having to exchange pleasantries with those people once they arrived—perhaps even explaining everything to them—made Lin Xiao decide to leave.

He landed and said to the sturdy young villagers, “The ground has been prepared. The rest is up to you. Some other immortals will arrive soon to investigate and take over your subsequent treatment. Just cooperate with them. We’ll be leaving first. Take care.”

With that, he beckoned to Fang Tuantuan.

“Tuantuan, let’s go.”

Fang Tuantuan immediately scampered over to Lin Xiao, leaped onto his shoulder, and settled herself there, waiting for him to set off.

She did not forget to turn around and give the villagers a “meow” in farewell.

Seeing them prepare to leave, the villagers naturally did not try to hold them back. Immortals had their own ways of doing things, and the villagers had already received more than enough help.

“We respectfully see the immortal off!”

“Safe travels, Immortal!”

“Immortal, I’ll remember you forever—”

…

“Everyone, until we meet again.”

Amid the villagers’ farewells, Lin Xiao took Fang Tuantuan and flew away from Poplar Village on his sword.

With the aura of the Extremity Stone gone, the villagers’ illness should no longer pose much of a challenge to the cultivators of the Allied Forces.

Although the Imperial Preceptor had yet to be captured, the matter at Poplar Village had been temporarily resolved. Lin Xiao figured there was no longer any reason for him to remain in the Huanyou Kingdom, so he brought Fang Tuantuan straight back to the sect.

The journey was a long one, and it took Lin Xiao some time to return.

When the man and cat finally arrived back in Xiushui Village, Fang Tuantuan suddenly stood up on Lin Xiao’s shoulder. She leaped down and dashed rapidly in a certain direction.

It was obvious that she was heading toward the private school.

It was early morning, and classes at the private school were in session.

Watching Tuantuan’s gradually receding figure, Lin Xiao shook his head with a smile and made his way toward the Finance Hall.

He had come to find Qin Jianghe.

Given Qin Jianghe’s habits, he would usually arrive early in the morning to handle some affairs before heading to the cultivation chamber.

Unexpectedly, Mo Yuanjiao and Liu Yunan were there as well.

“Hm? None of you have gone to cultivate?”

“Brother Xiao!”

“Senior Brother Sect Master!”

“Brother Xiao, you’re back!”

The three of them, who had apparently been discussing something while seated, hurriedly rose and came over to greet Lin Xiao.

“Yuanjiao received some news just now, so we were discussing it,” Liu Yunan explained.

Mo Yuanjiao nodded repeatedly, excitement written across his face.

“News came from the capital! The Imperial Ancestor is going into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm!”

He was not excited because he was happy for the imperial family or anything like that. It was simply that, now that he had become a cultivator himself, hearing about someone increasing their cultivation would always fill him with an inexplicable excitement.

Although he and Li Zhouxuan were relatives, he and the Imperial Ancestor, Li Zhanying, were separated by many generations. He had never even met him before, much less shared any closeness with him. There was nothing between them at all.

Thus, although he addressed Li Zhouxuan as his cousin, he referred to Li Zhanying as the Imperial Ancestor.

Lin Xiao raised his brows in surprise when he heard this.

“Perhaps it’s because the campaign against the Huanyou Kingdom has more or less come to an end. Given Ancestor Li’s age, it’s indeed time for him to make the attempt.”

During his previous stay in Xiushui Village, Li Zhanying had gained some insights into his state of mind.

He felt that his chances of breaking through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm had greatly improved.

However, because of the matter concerning Shangyang Sect, he felt that the situation within the Puyi Kingdom had become unstable. He was afraid that once he entered seclusion, he would not know when he might emerge again. With no one from the imperial family to hold down the fort, he had therefore delayed his retreat and continued observing the situation.

Then the incident involving the Huanyou Kingdom occurred.

With the army of the Puyi Kingdom mobilized, he could not possibly disregard everything and enter seclusion.

As a result, the matter had been delayed until now.

Now that the imperial family had established a close partnership with the Lingxian Sect, with trade in cultivation resources serving as the link between them, the current situation in the Puyi Kingdom had finally stabilized. The Allied Forces were also reporting victory after victory, so he could at last set his mind at ease and begin making preparations for his seclusion.

Moreover, thanks to the trade agreement with the Lingxian Sect, the imperial family was no longer completely short of resources. Li Zhanying could attempt his breakthrough without having to be quite so frugal.

Of course, they were still far from having enough resources to use freely. But only someone like Li Zhanying, who had cultivated under such harsh conditions for several centuries, understood the bitter sting of having to pinch every last resource.

After chatting for a while, Lin Xiao had Qin Jianghe prepare some gifts to send to Li Zhanying as a token of goodwill.

Now that they were cooperating with the imperial family, such courtesies were naturally indispensable.