The moment Long Chen infused his innate qi into the Blood Drinking Knife, the blade absorbed it eagerly and the world around him began to transform.
In Long Chen's eyes, material reality dissolved, revealing the essence of all things.
The root of all existence… the source of all creation… and it bore a single name:
Dao.
At that moment, Long Chen was pulled into a mysterious and profound realm.
Everything faded the world, space, and even time itself crumbled. He stood alone in the void, lifting his gaze to the heavens.
His indifferent eyes seemed to pierce through reality, rising higher and higher.
He saw his clan members dragging blood-stained treasure chests back to the Long estate.
He saw Long Outian practicing the Heavenly Body Technique in solitude.
He saw Long Tianxiao distributing rewards to the faithful warriors.
He saw the younger generation eagerly consuming the Heavenly Body Refining Pills.
His vision soared further. The world beneath him shrank.
Then, he saw it: a vast battlefield stretching endlessly into the horizon. Corpses floated motionless, rivers of blood dyed the land, and in the silence, a faint drop would splash from time to time only to reveal countless lifeless bodies of unknown creatures.
"So… this is the origin of the Blood Drinking Knife," Long Chen murmured, his voice now laced with ancient sorrow. His breath grew aged and heavy, like the echo of a forgotten past.
At the heart of the battlefield, he saw a group of figures. Silent. Still. Watching him.
He looked back. In that frozen instant, their gazes met across the abyss of time.
Suddenly, everything changed.
The battlefield vanished, replaced by a vast and boundless Sea of Swords.
Though his ancestor had trained in swordsmanship for years and matched even some elders in duels, this sea made all those efforts seem insignificant.
Who wielded these swords? What kind of swordmaster created this realm?
Long Chen could not comprehend it.
And yet… he was not discouraged.
His own swordsmanship had stagnated for years. Now, standing within this divine relic of sword enlightenment, he saw a chance to break through.
He had the opportunity to ascend into the legendary realm of Sword Intent.
Swordsmanship is divided into four stages:
Sword Cultivator
Sword Intent Realm
Sword Domain Realm
Sword Law Realm
Each level, except the first, has nine sub-levels.
And now—
Shatter—
The vision crumbled like a mirror, but the trace of enlightenment lingered within his soul.
A remnant remained.
Long Chen's aura changed. His breath now carried an ancient depth, as if he had emerged from an endless abyss—mysterious, untouchable.
He became the kind of presence that people feared to gaze upon, yet could not resist. The longer they stared, the more they felt themselves slipping into his depths.
"This world… is truly fascinating," he whispered, as if awakening from a dream.
Life returned to the empty space around him.
"These visions in the blade… were no illusion. Even if it was just a glimpse, the benefits are immeasurable."
That short moment had transformed him completely.
His qi had deepened. His body strengthened severalfold. The Heavenly Body Technique he had just started cultivating had advanced near Great Mastery, equivalent to the Peak Human-tier.
Weapons, like techniques, were ranked:
Human, Earth, Heaven, and Divine, each divided into Low, Medium, High, and Peak.
And in his spiritual sea, a golden orb had appeared—something only seen in those who had entered the Spiritual Essence Realm.
Unknowingly, Long Chen had broken through to the sixth level of the Innate Realm.
He turned to look at the Blood Drinking Knife again. This time, it felt different.
Thanks to the enlightenment, his swordsmanship had reached the second level of the Sword Intent Realm.
Sword Intent—just the threshold—was a wall few ever crossed.
Among Innate Realm cultivators, less than 1% ever attained it. Usually, only those in the Spiritual Essence Realm had the capacity to comprehend it.
But Long Chen had done it within a day of breaking through.
Even if aided by the blade's vision, the achievement was astounding.
Once awakened, Sword Intent could unsettle enemies, break their will, and amplify one's sword to a terrifying extent—each strike becoming truly lethal.
Suddenly, a familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind:
[Ding ~ The Feng family has been destroyed. Star City is now under your control. The threat has been eliminated. Side Mission Activated: "Develop the Family."]
[Mission Duration: 365 days. Evaluation will be based on overall performance. The higher the score, the greater the reward.]
[Note: Achieving a perfect score will grant a Special Reward.]
Long Chen's eyes glinted. A mission that plays to my strength.
He hadn't forgotten that during his assault on the Feng family, the other three major families had also taken action against him.
Though he had crippled most of their elites, remnants surely remained.
Now that the Feng family was no more, it was time to settle old scores.
"Four great families? No. From this day on, Star City shall have only one."
As Long Chen finalized his resolve—
That night became extraordinary for many in Star City.
News of the Feng family's destruction sent shockwaves. The remaining three families were struck with fear especially when Long clan emissaries arrived to seize their treasuries.
Terrified of retribution, they hesitated—but in the end, each of them surrendered all their wealth and prepared apologies. That night, sleep eluded them.
Later that night...
After finishing his training, Long Nian dragged his exhausted body to bed.
His mind was heavy, and sleep came quickly.
But soon after…
An orange-red halo glowed from his chest, radiating gently in the dark.
Tiny flames emerged from his pores, forming swirling vortexes around him. They drew in surrounding spiritual energy, which began to circulate through his limbs and organs, repairing every wound.
By dawn, Long Nian's eyelashes fluttered. He slowly opened his eyes, dazed.
But the moment he noticed the change in his body, his sleepiness vanished.
"…What… what is this?!"
He jumped from bed, stunned by the surge of energy.
Previously, he had struggled with a sluggish cultivation rate—needing ten times the effort to break through.
But now, the resistance was gone.
"I can… I can absorb spiritual energy normally?"
He stared at his trembling hands, overwhelmed.
Was he dreaming?
He pinched his cheek hard. "Ow!"
No dream. This was real.
"I can finally cultivate again…"
After a moment of quiet elation, Long Nian began to investigate further.
He soon noticed something even more incredible.
Not only had his absorption returned to normal—it was now ten times faster than before!
And in a hidden corner of his Dantian, a strange, fortified flame pulsed gently.
"A flame…?"
It looked oddly familiar.
Long Nian furrowed his brows, trying to recall.
Suddenly, a memory struck him.
"That day…"
Years ago, on his way home one night, a mysterious flame had fallen from the sky and landed on him. It hadn't harmed him—so he'd forgotten it.
But now, it had awakened.
"It's been inside me this whole time?" he murmured, staring at the flame in awe.
Now, he understood.
His cultivation difficulty… and this miraculous change… were all connected to that mysterious flame.