"As for Xiaoli, she knows the name of the Qingyun Immortal Clan, and she knows it is what I am looking for, but just like Her Highness, she knows nothing about the Qingyun Art."
Saying this, Gu Chengyin's gaze refocused on Shangguan Yunying's face.
His expression became incredibly serious, even carrying the heavy weight of an entrustment:
"Therefore, Yunying..."
"Currently, in this world, other than me."
"You are the only person who knows the full picture of this matter."
Shangguan Yunying was stunned.
She never expected this to be the answer.
To think he actually... told her such a life-and-death secret without any reservation?
To entrust this treasure, which was enough to stir up a storm of blood and slaughter across the world, to her just like that?
"I..."
Shangguan Yunying opened her mouth, only to find her voice a bit dry.
She looked into Gu Chengyin's eyes. There was not a hint of probing or calculation in them, only pure trust.
She absolutely could not let him down!
With such trust, even if her body were smashed to pieces, she absolutely could not betray it!
Shangguan Yunying suddenly raised her right hand, forming her fingers into a sword gesture, about to slash at her left wrist!
"Rest assured! I, Shangguan Yunying, hereby swear a blood oath! With my Dao heart and my bloodline as proof!"
"If I leak even half a word of what I have seen and heard today, may my meridians be completely severed, my cultivation utterly destroyed, and my soul eternally damned..."
A blood oath, especially that of a cultivator, involved one's Dao heart and karma. Its binding force was extremely strong, and once broken, the backlash would be terrifying.
However, before Shangguan Yunying could finish her words, her fingers, which were about to pierce her skin, were firmly grasped by a warm and powerful hand.
Gu Chengyin's palm wrapped around her fingers, his grip just strong enough to stop her action.
Shangguan Yunying looked up in astonishment, meeting Gu Chengyin's smiling eyes.
She saw Gu Chengyin shake his head, the solemn expression on his face dissipating.
"There is no need for this."
"After all, I trust you very much."
Gu Chengyin gently lowered Shangguan Yunying's hand, looking at her slightly dazed face.
"So, Yunying."
"Let this matter remain a secret between us, alright?"
A secret between us.
This sentence was like the sharpest arrow, effortlessly piercing through Shangguan Yunying's reason and defenses.
Nailing directly into the softest part of her heart.
"Boom!"
Her cheeks felt as if they had ignited instantly. A burning heat spread at an astonishing speed, from her cheeks to the roots of her ears, and down to her neck.
Shangguan Yunying even felt all the blood in her body rush to the top of her head in that instant, and her heart began to beat wildly like a drum.
Thump, thump, thump...
The sound was so loud she feared Gu Chengyin would hear it.
This massive impact turned Shangguan Yunying's mind into complete mush.
All her usual competence, calmness, and composure were thrown out the window at this moment.
She was dizzy and at a loss for what to do, lacking even a fraction of her usual aloof and capable appearance as the Chief Female Official.
Gu Chengyin, on the other hand, did not think there was anything special about his words.
In his view, Shangguan Yunying had a straightforward and affectionate personality, and as the Chief Female Official, her ability to keep a secret was beyond doubt.
Rather than binding her with a cold blood oath, it was better to give her full trust and an emotional connection. This would make her more willing to keep the secret voluntarily.
However, to further consolidate this and give Shangguan Yunying a clear hope to look forward to, Gu Chengyin felt it necessary to add another promise.
Thus, he cleared his throat and continued:
"Do not worry."
"When I truly have the strength to fear no covetous eyes, I promise..."
"The first person to learn the Qingyun Art will definitely be you."
The first... will be you.
Hearing these words, it was nothing short of another fierce, direct hit to Shangguan Yunying's heart.
Amidst a mind full of messy pink bubbles and heartbeats, these few words were infinitely magnified and played on a loop.
This unique treatment, this almost favorable promise...
"I... I...!"
Shangguan Yunying completely could not handle it anymore.
She felt her cheeks burning so hot they might catch fire, her heart beating so fast it might explode, and her mind went completely blank, entirely unable to think or form any words.
If she stayed any longer, she was afraid she would do something even more embarrassing, or simply faint right there.
"Swoosh!"
Shangguan Yunying suddenly exerted force, breaking free from Gu Chengyin's loose grip. Without leaving a single word, she turned around and immediately used her Foundation Establishment Realm movement technique.
Turning into a crimson afterimage, she flew out of the martial arts arena at a speed even faster than when she arrived, without looking back.
In an instant, she disappeared beyond the halo of the palace lanterns, leaving behind only a wisp of her elegant and fragrant scent.
Gu Chengyin: "...?"
He maintained his outstretched hand posture, looking in the direction Shangguan Yunying had disappeared, his expression gradually becoming bewildered.
What... was going on?
Did he say something wrong?
Showing trust, giving a promise.
Was this not the standard operation to win people's hearts and consolidate relationships?
Why did Shangguan Yunying's reaction look like she had been scared away by something terrifying?
Gu Chengyin scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.
He believed his performance and words just now were just right.
He had indicated his difficult situation while also giving trust and hope for the future, which completely aligned with logic and worldly wisdom.
"A woman's heart... is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean."
In the end, Gu Chengyin could only attribute it to gender differences and the special reaction of an individual personality, shaking his head helplessly.
......
The next day, before dawn.
Gu Chengyin sat cross-legged in the quiet room and slowly opened his eyes.
In his eyes, a seemingly tangible azure light flashed by and then hid deep within his profound pupils.
He slowly exhaled a long breath, which condensed without dispersing, swirling in the cool air for a moment.
It actually carried a faint hint of the fresh fragrance of vegetation and the essence of clouds, completely different from the turbid air expelled by ordinary cultivators after breathing exercises.
A night of bitter cultivation of the Qingyun Art had yielded considerable results.
Within his dantian's sea of qi, the scale of the true qi vortex had grown even larger, and the rhythm of its rotation had become more steady and profound.
The quality of his true qi had once again seen a significant improvement, becoming more pure and condensed. When circulated, it moved as easily as commanding his own arm, exceptionally agile.
"Now, even if I encounter an early-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator head-on, I have the confidence to deal with them, and perhaps even emerge victorious."
Gu Chengyin felt the surging power within his body and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
This was not blind confidence, but a reasonable assessment based on the comprehensive improvements brought by the Qingyun Art, the massive amount of true qi converted from his influence, and the amplification of his breathing technique.
Of course, if he encountered a monster like Chen Busha at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, or even a half-step Golden Core Realm, he would still have to weigh his options carefully.
Standing up, he stretched his muscles and bones, causing the joints all over his body to emit a series of soft cracking sounds.
Gu Chengyin walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked outside.
It was still pitch black outside. Only in the distance, where the skyline met the eaves of the palace, did a sliver of fish-belly white light peek through.
Palace lanterns burned quietly under the corridors, illuminating a small area. The palace paths and building outlines further away were all immersed in the thickest darkness just before dawn.
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?!
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.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
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!
