Chapter 232: Chapter 231: Li Zixuan’s Breakthrough into the Dao, Double Happiness

Inside the stone chamber.

The ringing of a sword echoed endlessly.

It struck the stone walls, creating waves of reverberations.

"What is this..."

Li Zixuan ran two fingers along the body of her sword. She seemed to sense something, yet she was utterly perplexed.

’The ringing of a sword...’

’But why now?’

She frowned slightly, lost in thought.

She was in secluded cultivation.

With only a simple meal and water in her chamber, she was completely cut off from the outside world, oblivious to any commotion.

But the transmission of this sword ring far surpassed the limits of time and space. It came from an unknown place, containing a certain rhythmic Dao and conveying a kind of Celestial Dao.

The profound Dao rhythm within it was far beyond her imagination.

The number of beings in the world capable of such a feat...

...could be counted on one hand, couldn’t they?

"Master..."

In a daze, Li Zixuan’s thoughts drifted back to Sword Valley. Back when she faced the Grassland Sword Saint and his disciple, her master had drawn upon thousands of streams of Sword Qi, creating a Spiritual Acupoint with his bare hands just so she could achieve a breakthrough.

But now, that person was gone.

Hearing the sword ring echo in her ears couldn’t help but stir up old feelings.

"..."

Li Zixuan focused on the sensation. The sorrow in her eyes flickered and vanished, gradually replaced by an emotionlessness akin to the Celestial Dao itself.

In that instant!

BOOM!

Sword Qi erupted from her body, shattering the long-standing barrier to her breakthrough. It was as if a single sword strike had cleared away all obstacles before her.

Her long-awaited breakthrough had finally arrived. A majestic tide of Sword Qi washed over the stone walls.

She had finally stepped into a higher Realm.

...

...

「The next morning.」

An autumn rain had washed the streets clean.

The puddles in the pitted road reflected a sky scrubbed crystal clear as the city gradually came back to life.

Jianghai Library.

In front of the time clock.

"BEEP—"

"Clocked in. Qin Yang. Start time: 07:37."

As the monotonous mechanical voice sounded,

Qin Yang spun his employee ID card, strolling leisurely toward his office. Along the way, quite a few administrators greeted him.

"Morning, Steward!"

"Mm."

Qin Yang nodded slightly in response, overhearing a great deal of discussion. The anomalous sword ringing in Jianghai last night was not only known throughout the city but had also shaken the entire nation.

Now, everyone in the library was talking about what happened.

The Star Martial Police Bureau had even worked overtime through the night, their sirens wailing endlessly.

Qin Yang returned to his office, sat down in his chair, and smoothly turned on the air conditioner with one hand, adjusting it to a comfortable temperature. Then he took out his phone.

Time to slack off in plain sight.

He unlocked the screen.

The trending topics were filled with posts about last night’s phenomenon in Jianghai.

[Jianghai Sword Ringing #]

This topic was number one on the trending list and staying there, with official media and marketing accounts all scrambling to report on it.

As expected,

the comments below the news were filled with heated discussions, with many people cracking jokes or making serious deductions.

[Help! My sword has come to life!!]

[And you’re not going to let it repay your kindness?]

[Last night Jianghai City was all about sword ringing. When are we spear-users going to get some love!]

[I heard there’s an Innate expert in seclusion in Jianghai? Could that venerable person be the one who caused the phenomenon?]

[The Star Martial Police Bureau investigated all night but couldn’t even find the person!]

On the internet, rumors flew thick and fast, a mix of truth and lies. The general public was enjoying it, deep in spirited discussion.

But regardless,

one point had gained widespread agreement from everyone.

That was the fact that last night, numerous Star Martial Artists who were also Sword Cultivators in Jianghai City had benefited from this phenomenon.

Their Cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds!

To them, that sword ring was like a gospel to the ears!

Utterly sublime!

All sorts of rumors flew around until finally, someone made a bold speculation! They claimed that after the Beast Tide, the Jianghai Sword God had sacrificed himself to attain the Dao and directly ascended to godhood!

That was what triggered the sword ringing, which in turn nourished all the Sword Cultivators in Jianghai City.

"Interesting!"

Qin Yang chuckled as he looked at his phone screen, happily scrolling through the netizens’ ridiculous comments. He didn’t even have to say anything; the web users had already used their wild imaginations to explain everything.

He subconsciously reached out to stroke Xiaobai.

But he only felt empty air.

These past few days, Xiaobai had been too lazy to move, turning into a complete homebody fox.

It didn’t even want to leave the house.

It just holed up in the villa playing games. Not only had it developed a gaming addiction, but it had also specially ordered a set of lighting and streaming equipment online.

There were faint signs that it was planning something big.

’This silly fox... it’s not actually planning to become a streamer, is it?’

Qin Yang stroked his chin, thinking about Xiaobai’s talent for gaming.

Just then,

CREAK—

the office door opened.

"Master... morning."

Li Qinghe pushed the door open, cautiously poking her head in. She was carrying a gift bag in her hand. "I saw you walk in too quickly just now. I called out, but you didn’t answer."

"Tsk, what are you doing here?"

Qin Yang glanced up at her, his eyes falling on the gift bag in her right hand. "Don’t tell me you’re here to pester me about seeing your grandmaster again?"

"Master, don’t be so tense. I just wanted to ask you something."

Li Qinghe studied Qin Yang’s expression and said timidly, "That sword ringing last night... Grandmaster was behind that, wasn’t he?"

As she spoke, she offered him a box of supplements. "You and Grandmaster have been working hard lately. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please, will you accept it?"

"?"

Hearing this, a question mark slowly formed above Qin Yang’s forehead.

He didn’t reach out to take it.

At the same time, his guard went up completely!!!

’No reward without merit!’

’This silly girl has met her grandmaster.’

’She got the Array...’

’And not even a day later, she’s already sucking up to me? Isn’t that a bit too fast?’

"Why are you suddenly giving me this for no reason? Don’t tell me you got into trouble outside?"

Qin Yang did a tactical lean-back, taking a step away as he warned her,

"I’m warning you now, if you really did get into trouble, you are absolutely forbidden from mentioning your master’s name, you rebellious disciple!"

As his voice fell,

"Aiya, it’s not that,"

Li Qinghe said, on the verge of tears and filled with dread,

"I’m panicking, Master!"

After she left Fuhai District last night, she had grumbled a bit on the road, saying a few bad things about her grandmaster. But right after she left, the entire city filled with the sound of ringing swords.

When she connected her badmouthing with her grandmaster’s vast Divine Techniques...

"I didn’t make Grandmaster angry, did I?"

Li Qinghe was dejected. "His perception is so strong... I was possessed at the time, and on the road, I just muttered a *billion* bad things about him."

"It’s fine. It was just a couple of words."

Hearing this, Qin Yang couldn’t help but laugh. He didn’t mind, though. He finally understood.

The commotion last night was too big.

It ended up scaring some people who had a guilty conscience.

"Are you sure it’s fine?"

Li Qinghe looked at Qin Yang cautiously. "Don’t you go scaring me!"

"Alright, go on,"

Qin Yang rolled his eyes. "Is your grandmaster that petty? Now go, go, go. Don’t disturb your master’s peaceful cultivation!"

"Oh... then I’ll just leave this here."

Li Qinghe timidly set down the gift bag and retreated behind the door. "This disciple will take her leave then. Master, you must give this to Grandmaster!"

CLICK.

The office door shut.

"..."

Qin Yang extended his Spiritual Power, carefully examining the contents of the gift box.

Tiger penis, matsutake mushrooms, Snow Lotus... they were all potent tonics.

If nothing else,

it was clear this girl was truly scared out of her wits. He guessed she hadn’t slept a wink all night. Listening to the city-wide sword ringing, she had probably been too terrified to sleep.

However, just a few minutes later,

CREAK—

the office door opened again.

"Didn’t I tell you to go—"

Qin Yang frowned and looked up at the door, but his words stopped abruptly. The person who came in this time wasn’t Li Qinghe.

It was Xia He.

"Old Qin, what were you saying?"

Xia He pushed the door open, dressed sharply in a suit. His white dress shirt strained slightly over a small potbelly, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. He glanced back behind the door and asked in surprise,

"I just saw that Li Qing girl run past, and it looked like she was crying... Don’t tell me you caught her slacking off? You’re that harsh on your own subordinates?!"

"It’s nothing. Am I that kind of person?"

Qin Yang’s brow relaxed. He scanned Xia He’s outfit. "Why are you dressed so... hmm, formally today?"

"Hehe, what do you think? Pretty handsome, right?

Got my hair combed like a grown-up."

Upon hearing this, Xia He smoothed his sideburns with both hands and plopped down on the desk. He took something out of his Star Ring and, with a flick of his hand...

SLAP!

...slapped it onto the table.

Qin Yang took a closer look.

He saw that it was a wedding invitation. It was a festive black booklet, with a large, gold-stamped "Double Happiness" symbol embroidered on it.

"?"

Seeing this, Qin Yang picked up the wedding invitation from the desk and examined it over and over, somewhat astonished.

"Yours?"

"Yep, your buddy is getting married."

Xia He scratched his head, grinning.

"It’s next month. See if you can find some time to come, grace us with your presence, will you? Chief Steward Qin?"

"..."

Qin Yang was silent.

He looked Xia He up and down.

Then he looked at the black, gold-stamped invitation in his hand, turning it over and over. He just couldn’t believe it!

’What kind of plot twist is this?’

’A prodigal son returns?’

’A weathered playboy like Xia He can actually settle down and find his soulmate?’

"How did you manage it?"

Qin Yang stared at Xia He, who suddenly felt like a stranger.

"Tsk, hey now, buddy..."

Xia He’s scalp tingled from the stare. "What’s with that look? I’ve fought on the battlefield for so long, don’t I deserve to enjoy a bit of domestic bliss?"

"I... sigh..."

Qin Yang was silent for a long moment. Thinking of Xia He’s personality, he didn’t know what to say. Finally, he could only sigh helplessly. "Don’t tell me you ’persuaded’ her with your billions?"

"Hehehe, no way,"

Xia He scratched his head, a rare look of shyness on his face as he said, a little embarrassed,

"The young lady is also from the Bureau. We’re proper colleagues, and she’s really nice. One thing led to another, and we just clicked..."

"You’ll be good to her? Just don’t go and mess things up with my future sister-in-law."

Qin Yang looked him over, still unconvinced. "She’s willing to be with you, so you better not go back to Platinum Han anymore and betray her trust."

"I wouldn’t dare. I definitely wouldn’t dare."

Xia He took a sip of tea, then suddenly looked around with some lingering fear. "I only figured it out when I met her parents... Old Qin, do you know who her old man is?"

"Who?"

"The Chief Commander of the Police Bureau..."

"???"

Qin Yang froze, dumbfounded. His mind went blank for a second, unable to process it.

’The Chief Commander!?’

’The Chief Commander’s daughter actually fell for Xia He?’

"Now you get it, right?"

Xia He sipped his tea. "My future father-in-law is the Chief Commander. If I go to Platinum Han now, wouldn’t he personally lead an armed squad to confiscate my ’crime tool’?"

"..."

Qin Yang nodded. "True. Well then, I’ll take the day off to attend your banquet."

"Haha, great. But it’s not my place to say, Old Qin, you’re not getting any younger either..."

Xia He gave a sheepish smile and waggled his eyebrows. "When are you going to find a nice girl to settle down with? I want to drink at your wedding banquet, too.

That Li girl seems pretty nice..."

"..."

Qin Yang’s expression darkened.

"Get out!!"