Gu Chengyin retracted his sword fingers, and with a whoosh, the flying sword flew backward, hovering in front of him once again. The blade was spotless, free of any wood shavings, shining as if it were brand new.
Gu Chengyin praised it repeatedly in his heart. The power of this flying sword strike far exceeded the destructive force of his previous ordinary attacks.
Amidst his joy, he calmed his mind and looked inward at his own body.
Upon seeing this, he couldn't help but click his tongue in slight astonishment.
Such a seemingly effortless flying sword thrust had actually consumed more than half of the originally abundant and thick true qi in his dantian's spiritual sea.
As expected, even the most basic sword control technique consumes an astonishing amount of true qi.
Gu Chengyin wasn't too surprised; instead, he felt it was only natural.
High-level skills inevitably came with high consumption. This was a basic rule.
Being able to use it at the Qi Condensation stage was only possible because he had used a cheat.
If he could use it as casually as ordinary sword moves, that would truly be unreasonable.
Just as Gu Chengyin grasped the longsword in his hand, preparing to officially practice his sword moves, a familiar voice came from outside the arena:
Young Master Gu?
Gu Chengyin retracted his stance and turned around, looking toward the source of the voice.
At the edge of the martial arts arena stood Shangguan Yunying. Her crimson palace dress was particularly striking against the deepening night and the halo of the palace lanterns.
Her face carried a faint blush from hurrying, and her eyes were filled with surprise at seeing Gu Chengyin, which quickly turned into delight.
Are you practicing sword techniques?
Shangguan Yunying walked quickly into the arena, her gaze falling on the longsword in Gu Chengyin's hand. Do you need me to teach you? Or perhaps we could spar?
Gu Chengyin paused, not expecting her to appear at this moment.
He lowered the tip of his longsword and asked, Don't you need to report back to Her Highness first?
Shangguan Yunying had already approached. Hearing this, she shook her head and explained, I already did. Her Highness said you were looking for something in the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion and told me to come help you.
She paused, a helpless yet amused expression on her face. Upon receiving the order, I immediately went to the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion, thinking I could help you search.
But after walking around inside, I didn't even see a shadow of you.
It was Xiaoli who told me that you had already found what you were looking for and left for the martial arts arena. That's why I came looking for you here.
Saying this, Shangguan Yunying curiously sized up Gu Chengyin. What exactly were you looking for? You found it so quickly.
An unfathomable smile appeared on Gu Chengyin's face as he answered half-truthfully, It was a fortunate coincidence, really. Perhaps there was some unseen guidance.
Before his voice faded, Gu Chengyin's mind stirred, leaking out a tiny trace of the unique aura of the Azure Cloud Mantra that was circulating on its own within his body.
However, even this tiny trace of aura was like a sudden clap of thunder to Shangguan Yunying, who was standing right in front of him.
Buzz!
The true qi within Shangguan Yunying's body, cultivated from the Azure Sword Mantra, suddenly surged like raging waves.
It wasn't a hostile attack, but a near-instinctive palpitation and submission stemming from the very origin of her cultivation technique.
It was like a stream encountering a vast river, a firefly gazing up at the bright moon, or a descendant with thin bloodlines suddenly feeling the summon of their primal ancestor.
Shangguan Yunying clearly felt that the true qi she had cultivated for years became uncontrollably docile in the face of that strange, ethereal, ancient, and majestic aura emanating from Gu Chengyin. It even vaguely threatened to break free from her control, harboring an urge to bow in worship toward him.
What shook her mind even more was that this suppression and attraction at the technique level actually affected her directly on a spiritual level.
An indescribable sense of intimacy and trust, along with an absurd impulse to swear loyalty to the person emitting this aura, crashed against her mental defenses like a tidal wave.
This... What is this...
Shangguan Yunying froze in place. The color drained from her beautiful face, only to be quickly replaced by a flush of horror and disbelief.
Her beautiful eyes widened, staring fixedly at Gu Chengyin as if truly seeing him for the first time.
Her Foundation Establishment realm cultivation circulated madly within her, barely suppressing the urge to fall to her knees. But within the lake of her heart, stormy waves continued to crash, unable to calm down for a long time.
Acknowledge him as master? What a joke!
Even if she had to... it shouldn't be under such inexplicable circumstances!
An extremely shameful thought flashed through Shangguan Yunying's mind, making the tips of her ears burn.
Seeing that the desired effect had been achieved, Gu Chengyin immediately restrained his aura and returned to his normal state, as if the heart-palpitating feeling from just a moment ago had merely been an illusion.
At the same time, he deliberately asked, Well? Can you tell what's different about my new cultivation technique?
Shangguan Yunying took several deep breaths before suppressing the monstrous waves and bizarre palpitations in her heart.
She stepped forward, her footsteps still somewhat unsteady, and walked halfway around Gu Chengyin, examining him carefully from head to toe.
She even leaned in slightly, her delicate nose twitching twice as she sniffed to see if Gu Chengyin carried the scent of any special pills or spices.
After confirming that Gu Chengyin had no external aids on him and that the aura had indeed emanated from his own body, the curiosity in Shangguan Yunying's eyes practically overflowed.
She asked eagerly, How on earth did you do that? That aura just now was incredible! My true qi almost lost control!
Shangguan Yunying was too embarrassed to mention the urge to acknowledge him as her master, but the words lost control were enough to explain the situation.
Seeing her reaction, Gu Chengyin felt completely reassured.
This perfectly verified the absolute suppression and superior status that the Azure Cloud Mantra had over the Azure Sword Mantra.
This was more convincing than any token.
He deliberately put on a cautious expression, looking around the empty martial arts arena once more before leaning close to Shangguan Yunying and speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear:
I'll tell you, but you absolutely must not tell anyone else. This matter is of grave importance.
Made even more unbearably curious by his secretive attitude, Shangguan Yunying nodded vigorously, her beautiful eyes wide and round.
Only then did Gu Chengyin slowly open his mouth, recounting the story he had fabricated.
His tone held three parts emotion, three parts sudden realization, and four parts solemnity:
Actually, I'm not some ordinary country bumpkin from North River City.
Rather, I come from an ancient immortal cultivation family. It's just that when I was young, my family encountered some sort of disaster. I became stranded outside, and my memories grew blurry and confused. I could never remember my family's name.
It wasn't until today, with Her Highness's permission, that I was able to enter the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion to look for clues.
Strange as it sounds, it felt as though some unseen guidance led me to find a token of utmost importance to me among the vast sea of ancient texts.
Through that token, combined with the Azure Sword Mantra you taught me, I finally understood the origin of my bloodline!
Gu Chengyin's voice grew agitated. It turns out I am the sole surviving bloodline heir of the ancient Azure Cloud Immortal Clan left in this world!
And the Azure Sword Mantra that your Azure Sword Sect relies on as its foundation... He looked at Shangguan Yunying, his gaze burning bright:
According to the records on that token, it is actually an incomplete fragment of the sword path inheritance from the Azure Cloud Immortal Clan's Heaven-tier technique, the Azure Cloud Mantra!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
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!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
