The young man calmly withstood Li Guanqi’s aura, a calm smile on his face. Dressed in plain green robes, he looked completely harmless.

However, Li Guanqi slowly rose to his feet with a smile. “Is everyone in the Lu clan this strong?”

Lu Tao smiled, studying Li Guanqi curiously. “I know who you are. I’ve heard a great deal.”

Even as he spoke, his eyes flicked to the small violet-black pagoda resting on the kneeling elder’s head. The vengeful qi radiating from it was vast enough to make even his own mouth twitch.

Lu Tao pursed his lips and smiled lightly. “Would you mind letting them up off their knees? Nobody died. Why so serious?”

He paused. “Uh... You asked whether everyone in the Lu clan is as strong as I am. No, no, no. There is only one person in the Lu clan stronger than me.”

Li Guanqi pressed his lips together. Lu Tao truly was strong. If Li Guanqi’s senses weren’t deceiving him, Lu Tao’s sword intent was also at the Sword Heart Realm and, if anything, slightly stronger than his own. And Lu Tao, just like himself, had severed his soul to forge an illusory spirit. The sensation was remarkable.

Li Guanqi studied him with open interest. “The Lu clan wants the Qianlin Sect as its base of operations?”

Lu Tao smiled again, this time with a flicker of derision. “Do you really think our Lu clan would stoop to coveting the tiny Qianlin Sect?”

Lu Tao watched Li Guanqi with an unreadable expression. Besides Li Guanqi, Ji Yuchuan cast an indifferent glance at Lu Tao.

Lu Tao met his gaze without a trace of unease and chuckled. “Ji Yuchuan, the Judgment Brush. How about coming to the Lu clan as a guest elder? Name your terms.”

Ji Yuchuan smiled faintly and offered no reply, simply standing respectfully behind Li Guanqi. A flicker of envy crossed Lu Tao’s eyes.

“I cannot understand why someone of your caliber would be content to stand behind another,” Lu Tao said.

“That depends on who that person is,” Ji Yuchuan replied evenly. “If it were you, I doubt I’d be content.”

Lu Tao’s expression cooled. In contrast, Li Guanqi burst out laughing. He raised a hand, unleashing the Sword Prison. Lu Tao’s lips curved into a smile as a vast green domain erupted beneath his feet, meeting Li Guanqi’s domain.

Lu Tao raised a hand and sent every Lu clan cultivator away in a single motion, then glanced at the cultivators from the Daxia Sword Sect and Qianlin Sect.

He turned away with a cold smile. “No need to be in such a hurry. We’ll see each other again soon enough. And when that day comes... heh, I hope you won’t be begging me for anything.”

Li Guanqi’s eyes went cold. He raised a hand and unleashed a sweeping, crushing wave of sword light. “Heavenly Destruction Sword Slash!”

Lu Tao spun sharply, pressing two fingers together like a sword before unleashing a streak of pale green light.

Boom!

He turned away with a smile. “Get ready, Daxia Sword Sect. Hehe.”

Hum!

But the moment Lu Tao turned and vanished, his expression darkened.

Drip... drip...

The distortion in space faded. Ji Yuchuan said in a low voice, “Pavilion Master, it seems the Lu clan has already set its sights on Daxia Sword Sect.”

A range of emotions flickered across Li Guanqi’s face before he gave a quiet nod. “As things stand, it’s only natural for the Daxia Sword Sect to attract this kind of attention. Heh. Let them come. We’ll deal with every last one of them. They want the Daxia Sword Sect? They’d better make sure they don’t chip their teeth trying to bite into it.”

He saw to the Qianlin Sect’s people and reinforced the seals on their abyssal rift before leaving. The gesture moved their sect master to tears of gratitude.

With that, Li Guanqi gathered everyone from the Daxia Sword Sect and headed home.

Ji Yuchuan could tell that something was weighing heavily on Li Guanqi’s mind. Reading his expression, Ji Yuchuan resolved to put his skills to work, investigating the Lu clan as thoroughly as possible and working out what Lu Tao’s words had actually meant.

Once they were back at the sect, Ji Yuchuan began moving the Guanyun Pavilion’s domain into the Daxia Sword Sect’s territory.

Lu Kangnian was delighted to see the Guanyun Pavilion. He promptly found a peak beside Pill Peak, naming it Guanyun Peak and designating Ji Yuchuan as its peak master.

The arrangement worked much like Pill Peak. It governed itself, with the sect imposing few restrictions, leaving neither side feeling pressured.

Ji Yuchuan settled the domain and sealed it off. The Guanyun Pavilion was under immense pressure, with tens of thousands of intelligence reports pouring in every moment. The strain on his mind and spirit was tremendous, yet he had never felt a greater sense of accomplishment.

It was nothing like his time in the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, where he had been forced to hide in the shadows. Across the Daxia Territory, who didn’t know that Ji Yuchuan was the deputy pavilion master of the Guanyun Pavilion? The name that had once shaken the Six Territories, Ji Yuchuan the Judgment Brush, had finally reclaimed its former glory.

Li Guanqi told Lu Kangnian about everything that had happened at the Qianlin Sect.

Lu Kangnian frowned. “Hmph! The Lu clan was coming straight for us! The Six Territories are in turmoil, with Abyssal Demons rampaging and slaughtering without end while ordinary people suffer in droves. Our returned disciples aren’t just reinforcing allied sects. We’ve sent quite a few to patrol cities and villages as well. Sigh, the ancient clans entering the world are a double-edged sword, but if they’re willing to actively suppress the Abyssal Demons and help the common people, then at its core, that’s still a good thing.”

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Li Guanqi’s mouth. Most people were busy calculating how the ancient clans’ arrival would affect them. Very few stopped to consider that the ancient clans’ forceful suppression of the Abyssal Demons would benefit ordinary people most of all.

Every sect was struggling to protect itself and couldn’t spare a thought for them. Even the Daxia Sword Sect could only shelter villages within a thousand li.

That was precisely why Lu Kangnian was a sect master Li Guanqi genuinely respected. Perhaps he didn’t have the greatest cultivation talent, the grandest ambitions, or the most decisive judgment. For years, he had done little more than stand his ground in one corner of the world, harboring no lofty aspirations. Yet, the villagers at the foot of Daxia Sword Sect’s mountain had always looked up to the sect. Ask anyone, and they would answer without hesitation that it was a righteous and prestigious sect.

Li Guanqi took a deep breath, set down his teacup, and said calmly, “Sect Master, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, and as long as everyone in the Daxia Sword Sect is here, the ancient clans will have to think twice before trying to swallow us. They’d better be sure they won’t choke.”

Lu Kangnian smiled. He looked at Li Guanqi and said softly, “Guanqi... these past few years... have been hard on you.”

Ding.

Their teacups clinked. Neither man spoke. Nothing more needed to be said.

Lu Kangnian sometimes felt like a father basking in his son’s success, because Li Guanqi alone had made Daxia Sword Sect known across the Six Territories. Li Guanqi, in turn, knew that no matter what he became, the sect would always stand behind him with unwavering support.

That was why they trusted each other. That was why they brought out the best in each other.

Both Li Guanqi and Lu Kangnian were ready to meet whatever storm came next.