And because I cultivated the incomplete Azure Sword Art, which laid the foundation, and was then stimulated by finding the family token, my bloodline resonated and awakened!
The incomplete Azure Sword Art naturally evolved and completed itself within my body, transforming into the true Azure Cloud Art!
Gu Chengyin spread his hands, feigning a look of absolute shock himself. What I just circulated was the aura of the newly awakened Azure Cloud Art.
After delivering this half-true, half-false explanation, Gu Chengyin carefully observed Shangguan Yunying's reaction.
She was his first listener, and the most important touchstone.
If even someone from the Azure Sword Sect like her believed it, then the success rate of using this story to fool the officials in the royal court would be extremely high.
As for Luo Zhao, the only person who knew the truth, once he hypnotized and controlled her again in a couple of days, this secret would naturally no longer be an issue.
Shangguan Yunying was clearly dazed by Gu Chengyin's continuous bombardment of information.
Her small mouth hung open for a long time, and she stared unblinkingly at Gu Chengyin.
After a good while, she finally digested the first shock and murmured, You... are you saying that you are the sole inheritor of the Azure Cloud Immortal Clan?
The term Azure Cloud Immortal Clan was not unfamiliar to Shangguan Yunying.
The passing remarks of her grandfather and the sporadic records in the ancient texts of the Azure Sword Sect all pointed to this existence that was once incomparably glorious before vanishing into the dust of history.
Gu Chengyin nodded vigorously, his eyes full of sincerity.
You found the token of the Azure Cloud Immortal Clan at the Wanxiang Pavilion? Shangguan Yunying continued to confirm, the logical chain rapidly connecting in her mind.
Gu Chengyin nodded again.
And then... because you cultivated the Azure Sword Art, it resonated with the token, so... your bloodline awakened?
Shangguan Yunying felt this explanation was a bit beyond common sense, but recalling the terrifying aura that made her true qi lose control just now, she felt it didn't seem impossible.
Gu Chengyin continued to nod vigorously, wearing an expression that said exactly.
Shangguan Yunying felt her brain overloading; the amount of information was simply too massive, the shock too strong.
Wait!
She suddenly grasped the most crucial point, her eyes instantly widening.
She took a sudden step forward, lunging in front of Gu Chengyin and grabbing both of his hands.
Did you just say... your bloodline awakened, so you mastered the Azure Cloud Art?! The true, complete, Heaven-tier Azure Cloud Art?!
Gu Chengyin was a bit stunned by this sudden burst of enthusiasm, but he followed her question and nodded affirmatively. I have a preliminary grasp of it, but I still need to familiarize myself and refine it.
Receiving a definitive answer, an incomparably brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Shangguan Yunying's face.
Heavens!!
If my grandfather knew... the old man would definitely go crazy with joy! No, the entire Azure Sword Sect would be shaken!
My grandfather's greatest lifelong wish has been to find the complete source of the Azure Sword Art, restore the inheritance, and catch a glimpse of the higher Great Dao!
He studied it for a lifetime, yet never found the way in!
To think... to think it is actually with you! You are that source!
Shangguan Yunying was so excited she became incoherent, shaking Gu Chengyin's hands back and forth, her gaze filled with an unprecedentedly fiery light as she looked at him.
Seeing her like this, Gu Chengyin breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. Not only did she believe him, but she believed him without a shadow of a doubt, viewing this discovery as exceptionally joyous news.
Gu Chengyin was about to speak when he saw Shangguan Yunying suddenly lean in closer, the distance between them so short they could feel each other's breath.
She tilted her face up, her beautiful eyes now brimming with devout anticipation. Staring intently at Gu Chengyin, she pleaded:
I want to learn this. Can you teach me?
Hearing Shangguan Yunying's words, Gu Chengyin raised an eyebrow.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to teach her.
Setting aside the fact that Shangguan Yunying was currently one of his most trusted allies, the profound connection between the Azure Cloud Art and the Azure Sword Art alone was enough to bind her more closely to him.
But Gu Chengyin understood an eternal truth even better: an innocent man will get into trouble because of his wealth.
The identity of an Azure Cloud Immortal Clan inheritor, while shocking, was ultimately ethereal and more of a symbol.
However, the Azure Cloud Art, a top-tier Heaven-grade cultivation method, was a tangible, supreme treasure sufficient to drive any cultivator mad and make any faction drool with greed.
In this era where Golden Core experts were hard to find and high-level cultivation methods were severed, the value of a complete Heaven-tier cultivation method that pointed directly to the Great Dao of Ascension was simply immeasurable.
What was he right now?
Just a minor cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining realm.
Let alone those Golden Core old monsters he had never even seen, just those at the peak of Foundation Establishment were beyond what he could withstand right now.
Exposing the secret of the Azure Cloud Art prematurely was akin to a child walking through a busy market holding gold; it was a path to death.
The smile on Gu Chengyin's face faded, replaced by a calm and solemn expression.
He gently patted the back of Shangguan Yunying's hands, which were still tightly gripping his, and then looked directly into her expectant eyes, speaking slowly:
Yunying, I understand how you feel.
If I could, I would love nothing more than to immediately share this complete Azure Cloud Art with you, to see what kind of brilliance this supreme Heaven-tier cultivation method could bloom in your hands.
But right now, we absolutely cannot rush this.
Gu Chengyin pointed to himself. Right now, I am only in the Qi Refining realm.
In terms of cultivation base, I might not even be able to stably defeat an ordinary peak Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Not to mention those old monsters hiding in the dark, or even the legendary Golden Core Daoists.
If the matter of me being the inheritor of the Azure Cloud Immortal Clan were to be exposed, although it would attract countless eyes, speculations, and even trouble...
...it is ultimately just an identity. Others would at most be curious, try to recruit me, or test me.
But if the news that a top-tier Heaven-grade cultivation method is in my hands leaks out...
Gu Chengyin didn't finish his sentence, only looking meaningfully at Shangguan Yunying.
Shangguan Yunying was not a foolish person; she had merely been overwhelmed by immense surprise and desire just now.
Now awakened by Gu Chengyin's words, the fervent heat filling her mind rapidly cooled down, replaced by a delayed sense of horror and cold sweat.
What was she thinking?! A complete Heaven-tier cultivation method!
If this news spread, perhaps even the Azure Sword Sect behind her wouldn't be able to protect him!
At that time, Gu Chengyin would face greed and plundering from all directions, with people resorting to any extreme means.
That would be a catastrophic disaster!
Shangguan Yunying, whose cheeks had been flushed with excitement just moments ago, instantly turned somewhat pale.
She quickly entered the mindset of a Chief Court Lady, beginning to calmly and efficiently analyze the risks and seek solutions.
How many people know about this right now?
Seeing Shangguan Yunying regain her calm, Gu Chengyin felt approving in his heart. He thought carefully and organized his thoughts:
Her Highness knows that I came to the Wanxiang Pavilion to look for clues about my identity, but she doesn't know what I found, nor does she know that my bloodline awakened because of it and that I mastered the Azure Cloud Art.
Therefore, what Her Highness knows is strictly limited to the level of my background identity.
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
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.
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
