The Sect Assembly of the Ancient Martial World

Half an hour later.

After explaining the situation, Gu Yan left.

Leng Qingqiu sat in the study, unable to snap out of her thoughts for a long time.

Gu Yan had told her two things.

The first.

Was about next year’s plan to universalize martial artists.

Everyone would have their martial talent tested.

Moreover, the Gu Family would establish a civilian martial artist group in Jianghai to recruit those unwilling to join official departments.

At the same time.

The law enforcement system would undergo major changes.

A new department dedicated to disciplining martial artists would be established—the Sword Holding Department, with its members called Sword Holders.

The goal was to restrain the rapidly increasing number of martial artists.

Leng Qingqiu sighed softly.

In that case, having Ling'er start training early wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Next year, the world would undergo a massive transformation.

All those with talent would become martial artists.

As for those without… they might remain ordinary.

But watching friends and family become martial artists while you stayed powerless…

That feeling… would surely be unbearable.

By then… the secular world might descend into the same law of the jungle as the ancient martial world.

Of course, the most pressing question was—what would Gu Yan, in his role as the Night King, do when that time came?

Leng Qingqiu had also guessed part of the reason why the Martial Artist Headquarters was pushing for universalization.

It was surely because of the two recent incidents.

First, the Night King in Jianghai, then the No. 5 Forbidden Zone.

Both had led to a massive loss of high-level martial artists.

That must have made the Martial Artist Headquarters feel threatened enough to go public.

The world was about to change.

Leng Qingqiu sighed again.

Of course.

Besides that.

The other thing Gu Yan mentioned was… the day after tomorrow, for the New Year, he would pick her and Ling'er up to have dinner at the Gu Family.

Hmm, she and Gu Yan were really starting to seem like a proper couple.

Wait, no—they were already in a relationship, weren’t they?

Leng Qingqiu coughed lightly at the thought.

Aside from that.

There was one more thing—something she had revealed to Gu Yan.

That was her ability to perfectly manipulate psychic energy.

She had even demonstrated her psychic blade and its effects in front of him.

Gu Yan had seemed both delighted and relieved upon learning this.

Anyway… now he was off again, busy with who-knows-what.

Thinking of this.

Leng Qingqiu rested her head on the desk, a faint smile curling her lips as her legs swung playfully beneath it.

At least… at least Gu Yan hadn’t changed.

That was enough to put her mind at ease.

In Leng Qingqiu’s mind.

[...]

[The Night Energy grows stronger...]

[One of the emotions... has already faded...]

A deep unease settled in her heart.

Gu Yan… why won’t you listen to me?

If this continues… something terrible will happen to you...

......

......

The Bai Family.

Bai Qionglan, now discharged from the hospital, was at home in a four-person voice chat with Leng Ling'er, Ning Qian, and Gu Yingying.

On her phone screen.

Four profile pictures were displayed.

One was a default WeChat avatar.

One was a selfie of a blonde girl.

One was a photo of someone hugging Leng Ling'er.

And the last was a handsome anime-style male protagonist from an otome game.

Lying on her bed, Bai Qionglan exclaimed in surprise, "Ling'er-jie, are you serious?"

"There are really martial artists in this world?"

At the Leng Family.

Leng Ling'er replied with absolute certainty, "Of course! My brother-in-law and my sister are both martial artists!"

"And so is Ning Qian—she’s already at the Xiantian stage!"

"Speaking of, Ning Qian, why is your connection so laggy?"

Ning Qian sounded a little embarrassed—Dragon King Mountain really did have poor signal.

Her voice came through choppy to the others: "I-It’s not that impressive… Ling'er-jie will definitely surpass me once she starts training."

"And I’m… in the mountains right now, so the signal’s bad."

"The mountains? Ning Qian, you went out to play without inviting me?"

"But you’re right about one thing."

Leng Ling'er grinned confidently. "Hehe, exactly! This young lady is a once-in-a-generation genius—I’ll definitely become a Grandmaster!"

"Oh, Gu Yingying, since my brother-in-law is Xiantian, what’s your cultivation level?"

"You’re at least Houtian, right?"

In Western Country.

Backstage at a concert venue.

Gu Yingying, preparing for her next performance, froze awkwardly.

Houtian? She was just a measly Third-Rate martial artist!

But!

She refused to be looked down on by Ling'er-jie! So…

She cleared her throat. "Mhm, something like that."

"Pfft, liar. You’re only Third-Rate."

Ning Qian called her out—she’d scanned everyone’s cultivation levels during the Gu Family’s New Year gathering.

"You—!"

Bai Qionglan giggled at the bickering on the call.

Then.

Tap-tap—!

A strange noise came from outside the window.

Bai Qionglan paused, then turned to look.

And there.

A woman was pressed against the glass, staring at her with an empty expression.

It was… the same female martial artist who had attacked her that morning!!!

Instantly—

"Eeek—!!!"

A shrill scream tore through the room.

Click.

The call disconnected.

"Hey? Qionglan? Qionglan?!"

Leng Ling'er was stunned, then suddenly realized—

She’d been attacked before.

What if Qionglan was…?!

Oh no!

Leng Ling'er jumped to her feet. She had to go check on Qionglan!

After a quick explanation to the others, she rushed out, heading straight for the Bai Family.

Meanwhile.

Gu Yan’s side.

After leaving the Leng Family.

Gu Yan strolled down the street, his mood brighter than ever.

The two biggest threats in his life were finally gone.

Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin’s master.

Hehehehe~~ Now he could relax and enjoy the rest of the year~~

Oh, right.

He should check on Hope’s Light while he was at it.

Leaving Old Gao alone there wasn’t ideal.

As he thought this, dark mist—condensed Night Energy—began swirling around him.

Gotta admit, Night Energy was really convenient for travel.

Whoosh!

In an instant, he vanished from the spot.

.......

.......

The Ancient Martial World.

Inside a grand, archaic hall.

Dozens of sect leaders sat around a long rectangular table.

Some were from righteous sects, others from demonic ones.

The one thing they all shared was the grim exhaustion on their faces.

First Jianghai, then the Forbidden Zone.

Their world’s mid-to-high-level fighters had been nearly wiped out.

They’d sent their promising disciples with guardians to gain experience…

Only for them to become someone else’s experience instead.

Left with no choice, they’d convened another sect assembly.

Every notable sect in the Ancient Martial World was present.

Amid the heavy atmosphere.

An elder seated at the head of the table spoke gravely: "You’ve all heard. The Martial Artist Headquarters plans to go public."

"What that means… I shouldn’t need to explain."

The moment he said this.

The hall erupted into chaos.

"Hmph! The spiritual energy in the ancient martial world has grown exceedingly scarce, and talented individuals are becoming fewer and fewer."

"Since the Sword Holding Department has chosen to go public, it’s only right that we venture into the secular world to recruit talent together!"

"Ha! As if it’s that easy. The Department gets first pick of the talent, leaving us with the scraps."

"Not necessarily. I refuse to believe that with the generous terms our sect offers, these inexperienced outsiders wouldn’t join us!"

The truth was, the ancient martial world was no longer what it once was.

Not only was spiritual energy dwindling, but talent was also withering away.

Now, with the Department proposing this initiative, it was nothing short of a godsend for them.

The elder seated at the head of the table silently observed the clamoring crowd.

Once the arguments began to die down, he turned his gaze toward a certain cold and aloof woman with crystalline silver hair, who had remained silent the entire time.

With a kindly tone, he asked, "Saintess Leng, what are your thoughts?"

As soon as he spoke, everyone fell silent and turned to look at the icy beauty.

The woman referred to as Saintess Leng remained expressionless, her voice calm and detached.

"I will go to the secular world to find my family."

"Nothing else concerns me."

Well, that was a wasted question.

Everyone shook their heads in resignation.

Family? You, the Saintess of the Ice Heart Sect, raised by the old sect master since childhood—what family could you possibly have in the secular world?

With the surname Leng, are you trying to say that the Leng Family, the one we all hunted down back then, is your true lineage?

Hah, what a joke!

The crowd lost interest. Though Saintess Leng possessed formidable cultivation and peerless beauty, her practice of the Ice Heart Scripture had stripped her of all emotion and desire, making communication with her nearly impossible.

The hall erupted into arguments once more.

Only the Ice Heart Sect’s saintess remained silent.

Little sister... I will find you...

And then... I will avenge the Leng Family.