Chapter 27 - 25: Gu Qingyan’s Astonishment, Li Qingyi’s Shocking Discovery

Chapter 27: Chapter 25: Gu Qingyan’s Astonishment, Li Qingyi’s Shocking Discovery

At this moment, outside the gates of the Qi Family’s estate in Xingyue City, countless young men and women stood in absolute silence. They were dressed in uniform attire, each carrying a longsword on their back.

Each of these youths possessed a terrifyingly formidable aura. Their commanding presence was so profound that simply standing there was enough to strike fear into the hearts of onlookers.

"Disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect... To think the rumors were true! The Qi Family’s Qilin Child has actually been recruited by exception into the Celestial Sword Sect."

"I heard the one who came is an Elder from the Celestial Sword Peak of the Celestial Sword Sect. That is an absolute major figure."

A gasp went through the crowd. "A Sword Peak Elder of the Celestial Sword Sect? That’s more than just a major figure. That’s an existence whose single stomp would make the entire Eastern Domain tremble!"

"Who would have thought the Qi Family would secure the backing of the great tree that is the Celestial Sword Sect? From now on, won’t they be able to rule unopposed throughout the Eastern Domain?"

"Ruling unopposed might be an exaggeration. After all, there is always a higher sky and a stronger person. However, within the Xingyue City Earth Realm, they will likely hold absolute power."

Countless Xingyue City Cultivators watched the display in front of the Qi Family gates from afar, engaging in spirited discussions. The arrival of an Elder from the Celestial Sword Sect instantly shook the entire Xingyue City Earth Realm.

Meanwhile.

Inside the main hall of the Qi Family estate, every member of the family had gathered. A silver-haired old man sat at the head of the hall in the master’s seat. Two rows of Celestial Sword Sect disciples stood on either side, their auras astonishingly powerful.

"I, Patriarch Qi, Qi Yun Mountain, pay my respects to Elder Zhao." Breathing heavily and filled with trepidation, Qi Yun Mountain hurriedly offered a deep bow to the silver-haired old man.

The old man was none other than Zhao Wuji, an Elder of the Celestial Sword Peak from the Eastern Domain Celestial Sword Sect. His Cultivation base was profoundly terrifying and completely unfathomable.

Faced with Qi Yun Mountain’s sycophancy, Zhao Wuji merely rested with his eyes closed, completely ignoring him.

However, the young man and woman beside him radiated an imposing aura. The young man looked down condescendingly and spoke with extreme arrogance, "You are Patriarch Qi? The father of Junior Brother Celestial Yang?"

"Yes, yes, yes. I am Celestial Yang’s biological father. His biological father," Qi Yun Mountain nodded repeatedly. Even as the head of the family, he remained deeply respectful when facing a youth from the Celestial Sword Sect.

Hearing that this was Qi Tianyang’s father, the young man’s expression softened considerably. He offered a faint smile. "Uncle Qi, hurry and have Junior Brother Qi come out to pay his respects to the Elder."

Just as his words fell, Qi Tianyang, covered in the dust of his journey, rushed in from outside the hall. With a THUD, he knelt before Zhao Wuji. "Disciple Celestial Yang pays his respects to the Elder."

Only with Qi Tianyang’s arrival did Zhao Wuji slowly open his eyes. He gave Qi Tianyang an indifferent glance. "Yang’Er, let me see your Martial Soul once more."

"Yes."

Qi Tianyang immediately rose to his feet. With a slight shift in his thoughts, the ethereal form of a flood dragon materialized and coiled around his body. The moment the flood dragon phantom appeared, even the gathered disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect couldn’t help but look over, their eyes brimming with envy.

"Hahaha! Good! Excellent! It is indeed a Celestial Tier Martial Soul!" Zhao Wuji burst into loud laughter and announced on the spot, "I now declare that, from this day forth, Yang’Er shall be my Direct Disciple."

As soon as those words were spoken, the entire Qi Family erupted in jubilation. With Qi Tianyang becoming the Direct Disciple of a Sword Peak Elder from the Celestial Sword Sect, the status of the entire Qi Family would rise like a boat on a rising tide.

Qi Tianyang was overjoyed. He immediately performed the grand ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. "Your disciple pays his respects to Master."

"Mhm."

Zhao Wuji stroked his beard, his face full of smiles. It was obvious that he was incredibly fond of this disciple. In truth, had it not been for sheer luck, someone like Zhao Wuji would never have had the chance to recruit a disciple with such a talented Martial Soul. It was practically a lucky find, so naturally, he cherished the boy deeply.

For a moment, Zhao Wuji looked at Qi Tianyang as if he had found an invaluable treasure.

"Since that is the case, Junior Brother, pack your things. You will return to the Celestial Sword Sect with Master to cultivate in a few days," the young man beside Zhao Wuji said casually, his face also adorned with a smile.

Hearing this, Qi Tianyang hesitated. "But Senior Brother, Celestial Yang still has some matters to attend to. Could I delay my departure for a period of time?"

"Are you referring to the three-month agreement with that piece of trash from Xingyue City?" Before the disciple beside him could speak, Zhao Wuji took over the conversation. His eyes were filled with disdain. "He is merely a piece of trash. He is of no concern. Just have Qing Lin go and kill him."

Hearing this, Qi Tianyang bowed slightly. "Master, your disciple still wishes to behead this person with my own hands. I do not want to give people cause for gossip. After all, I am ultimately a Cultivator who walked out of Xingyue City."

"Very well. Then I shall wait for you for another two months. Returning to the sect after you have slain that trash will not be too late," Zhao Wuji said indifferently.

"Thank you, Master."

Qi Tianyang was overjoyed at these words, as if he could already envision the sight of Jiang Hao’s corpse lying dead before his eyes.

Time slowly slipped away. Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

Early one morning, deep within Wuyang Mountain.

"ROAR—!!!"

A fierce beast’s miserable roar echoed through the wilderness. With a single strike of his sword, a young man slew a peak level-ten black panther beast. After pulling out his blade, he couldn’t help but look at the young girl sitting on the branch of a large tree, leisurely eating wild berries. His eyes were filled with exasperation.

"Miss Qingyan, it doesn’t look like you’re here to gain combat experience. You look more like you’re on a sightseeing trip."

Jiang Hao stared speechlessly at Gu Qingyan, who sat on the trunk, her white dress swaying as she enjoyed herself immensely. She claimed she was here for experiential training, but in reality, she neither cultivated nor fought any ferocious beasts. Instead, she had simply eaten her way through all the wild fruits in the area.

Hearing this, Gu Qingyan threw away the remnants of her fruit core, clapped her hands clean, and looked at Jiang Hao. "Who says training has to involve fighting and killing? Right now, I am tempering my state of mind. Besides, a level-ten black panther beast isn’t worth me making a move."

Jiang Hao smiled bitterly in response. She was telling the truth. Even at his current level, he still could not see through her Cultivation base. Shaking his head in resignation, Jiang Hao simply ignored her and prepared to clean up the battlefield.

A level-ten beast was essentially a treasure trove from head to tail. Its flesh and blood were excellent tonics for Cultivators.

However, just as he bent down and prepared to swing his sword, a terrifying surge of power suddenly erupted from deep within his body, causing Jiang Hao to tremble all over.

"This is...?"

Jiang Hao jerked his head up and immediately sat cross-legged in meditation. Clearly, this was a sign that he was about to break through the Vein Opening Realm and step into the Creation Realm.

This scene did not escape Gu Qingyan’s notice up on the tree branch. She immediately looked down at the meditating Jiang Hao, a trace of shock and astonishment rippling through her beautiful eyes.

"He’s breaking through so soon?" Gu Qingyan was secretly shocked, muttering softly to herself.

Reaching the Peak of Meridian Opening Realm in just a month was already far beyond the reach of ordinary people. And yet, only a few days had passed since then, and he was already about to break through again?

It had to be known that although breaking through from the Peak of Body Refining Realm to the Peak of Meridian Opening Realm was astonishing, it wasn’t exactly earth-shattering. But attempting to charge into the Creation Realm within a single month... what kind of world-shocking talent was this?

At this moment, even Gu Qingyan became startled and serious. She immediately leaped forward with a light bound, her figure rising through the air before she touched down as gracefully as a startled swan.

"I will stand guard for you. Just focus on charging into the next realm and absolutely do not get distracted."

Landing beside Jiang Hao, Gu Qingyan stood quietly to the side like a guardian deity. When Cultivators were breaking through realms, if they were disturbed by the outside world, it was highly likely that all their previous efforts would be wasted, and they might even suffer a backlash.

However, the moment Jiang Hao circulated the Nanmin Technique to charge at the next realm, Gu Qingyan was instantly dumbfounded. She watched as the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi abruptly burst into a frenzied state of agitation. Then, like a surging, torrential flood, it converged from all directions and rushed violently toward his figure.

"What a terrifying rate of absorption," Gu Qingyan said, her face filled with shock.

There were only two possible explanations for such a terrifying ability to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. One was that the Cultivation Technique being practiced was extremely abnormal, and the other was the terrifying nature of his own Martial Soul. Evidently, Jiang Hao fell into the latter category.

Meanwhile, as the endless Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi surged, several young figures in a forest not far from the duo sensed the disturbance and raised their heads to gaze in their direction.

"What a frightening fluctuation of Spiritual Qi! What’s going on?"

"Could someone nearby be breaking through?"

The group was initially alarmed before exchanging bewildered glances. Without exception, they all sprinted frantically toward the direction where the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was congregating.

It wasn’t long before they arrived at an open clearing. There, sitting cross-legged not far from a large tree, was Jiang Hao, with a devastatingly beautiful young girl standing by his side.

It had to be said that Gu Qingyan’s beauty was truly suffocating. Her appearance was in no way inferior to Ye Qingxian’s; one could even say they were equally matched in beauty. However, Gu Qingyan possessed an indescribable temperament—a profound calmness and aura that only true experts held.

"Someone is actually breaking through?"

"It’s the Creation Realm. That person is charging into the Creation Realm."

"What a young Creation Realm Cultivator."

"Sister Qingyi, since when did the Xingyue City Earth Realm have such a figure? Why haven’t we ever seen him before?"

"Could it be that Qilin Child of the Qi Family, Qi Tianyang?"

The youths were deeply shocked. Upon seeing Jiang Hao’s age, they all found it incredibly hard to believe.

Although the girl called Qingyi also had eyes filled with astonishment, she shook her head. "It’s not Qi Tianyang. Qi Tianyang already stepped into the Creation Realm half a year ago. Compared to the Qi Family’s Qilin Child, this person is still quite inferior."

Hearing her words, the others nodded repeatedly. However, when their gazes shifted to Gu Qingyan, their expressions changed drastically. The stunningly beautiful girl acting as the youth’s guardian seemed even more profoundly formidable, as they were completely unable to see through her strength.

For a moment, the young men and women didn’t dare to get too close, opting instead to observe the scene from afar.

Although the group was highly shocked that the Xingyue City Earth Realm had produced such a young pair, subconsciously, they still believed that the figure before them was far inferior to the Qi Family’s Qilin Child.

Little did they know that over the next month and a half, that unfamiliar figure would completely change their minds—shocking them beyond all measure.