Amidst a chorus of screams, countless flying sabers turned into streaks of light weaving back and forth,

The twenty or so disciples of the Lu Family didn’t even make it to the entrance before Gu Zhan slaughtered them all. The entire ruined courtyard was littered with corpses, blood streaming everywhere, the stench of blood thick in the air.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards rushed in, moving with practiced ease as they started cleaning up the battlefield.

Gu Zhan ordered his subordinates to take Gu Shanyun and the other two to the living room, while he turned around and went into his room to change clothes.

As he walked,

Gu Zhan summoned the system to check his Experience Points, which had already accumulated to over 1.2 million,

Zhang Xuanche was a Second Realm Great Cultivator—he alone contributed 450,000 Experience Points. Ding Jianxiao and the Lu Family Grand Elder provided a total of 500,000, while the Lingxi Sword Sect disciples and the Lu Family disciples added up to more than 200,000.

After checking his Experience Points,

Gu Zhan didn’t hesitate, and immediately allocated them:

[Used 1,000,000 Experience Points]

[Creation Skill upgraded to the twelfth level]

[Current Realm advanced to Mingzhi Realm]

In that instant,

Gu Zhan felt as if his vision suddenly cleared; some previously unclear thoughts instantly became lucid.

He finally understood why this realm was called Mingzhi—

It meant "understand"—to know Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, to sense the flow of Primordial Qi, to know where Qi comes from and where it goes,

In this realm, one’s perception of the movement of Primordial Qi reached a whole new level. You could discern where a strand of Qi originated, where it was headed, find the place most suitable for yourself; your power could be exerted to its utmost.

In a daze,

Gu Zhan finally realized why, when Zhang Xuanche entered the hall before, despite his high status, he deliberately didn’t sit at the head, but chose a nondescript seat in the middle,

Because that spot was precisely a convergence point of Primordial Qi,

At that position, a cultivator’s power would be amplified to the maximum.

Only, Zhang Xuanche’s luck wasn’t so great,

Gu Zhan first feinted east and attacked west, using the overwhelming might of the Four Seas Returning Blade Technique, catching Zhang Xuanche off guard. He had no choice but to leave that Primordial Qi convergence point,

And once he left the convergence point,

Zhang Xuanche became like an old man approaching a hundred, utterly unable to display the peak power of a Second Realm Great Cultivator.

Still,

Even as his previous self, Gu Zhan wasn’t afraid of a peak Second Realm Great Cultivator,

He had mastered two Earth Tier Martial Arts to the Peak of Perfection Realm, and another Earth Tier Middle Grade Martial Art to Minor Success. As for Profound Tier Martial Arts, there was a whole pile—without exception, all at Peak of Perfection—such a foundation was already beyond what any normal person could describe,

Speaking of foundation, for most Great Cultivators, being able to cultivate even one Earth Tier Martial Art to Great Success was extremely rare,

In the same realm, Gu Zhan considered himself hard-pressed to find an equal. Cross-realm combat wasn’t an issue at all.

...

In the main courtyard,

Gu Zhan suddenly stopped, and slowly raised his head,

In that instant,

Gu Zhan saw many lines crisscrossing the courtyard, all sorts of shapes, all sorts of directions, apparently in complete disorder.

In the past, Gu Zhan would have seen only chaos,

But now, he could sort out these countless tangled threads one by one, tracing where each line came from, and where each line led.

On the stone surface, faint lines could be seen; between the old trees, there was also a line; in the pond, a few threads were flickering, as the shallow stream rippled slightly, with fine lines seemingly emanating from around the pebble at the bottom of the creek.

Gu Zhan walked under a peach tree,

The peach tree had put forth tender leaves, and faint hints of pink were starting to appear on the budding branches,

Gu Zhan slowly spread his palm, 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A willow leaf–shaped dagger floated in the air,

The next instant, the dagger vanished,

After that, Gu Zhan walked away unhurriedly,

Just then, a gust of wind swept in,

Tender peach leaves fluttered down from the tree—every leaf had its stem severed at a single point, drifting densely across the courtyard like ashes.

Gu Zhan gave a quiet chuckle,

Just now, below that peach tree was a Primordial Qi convergence point; the Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique he unleashed there was so subtle, it was almost unthinkable.

As he walked, Gu Zhan glanced at the system panel:

Player: Gu Zhan

Realm: Mingzhi Realm

Cultivation Technique: Creation Skill (Great Success)

Skills:

Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Great Success)

Creation Golden Body (Great Success)

Four Seas Unification Blade Technique (Minor Success 0/1,000,000)

Experience Points: 260541

...

In a living room at the County Yamen.

Gu Shanyun and the other two sat quietly, waiting,

After a while, Gu Zhan returned in new clothes.

Gu Shanyun didn’t beat around the bush. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he took out an envelope and handed it to Gu Zhan.

In the envelope was the information the Gu Family had spent the past few months verifying about Gu Zhan’s identity. It was now confirmed beyond doubt—Gu Zhan was a scion of the Gu Family.

However, Gu Zhan just flipped through it casually and tossed it onto the table, not taking it seriously at all. His reaction was nothing at all like what Gu Shanyun and the others had imagined.

"Gu Qianhu," Gu Shanyun forced down the excitement in his chest and said, "Everything here is true. Our Gu Family spent two months, went all the way to Yundong to investigate, and then cross-checked from multiple sources. It’s absolutely genuine; you don’t need to doubt it."

Gu Zhan took a sip of tea, gently set the cup down, and said calmly, "You all really went through a lot of trouble—though honestly, there was no need to make such a big fuss. Back when you suspected my identity, why didn’t you just ask me directly?"

The group fell silent.

Gu Rou asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Gu Zhan replied blandly, "Back during the martial assembly, after I learned about the Lingyang Gu Family, I knew that I was a lost descendant from the Gu Family."

After speaking, Gu Zhan gave a look of confusion: "Did you all really think I didn’t know? I don’t remember the turmoil in the Gu Family back then—I was only three, after all. But my father always kept me with him, only passing away unexpectedly two years ago. Did you really think he never told me about the Gu Family all these years?

And now, the Lingyang Gu Family is famous in Pingyang Prefecture. With a little asking around, I’d know all about what happened between the Qingzhou Gu Family and Lingyang Gu Family merging more than a decade ago."

Gu Shanyun’s face was full of shock,

Gu Rou was just as baffled, and even Gu Mo, who usually showed no expression, looked constipated.

This wasn’t how I imagined our family reunion,

How could you possibly know everything?

Weren’t you supposed to know nothing, and then after we told you, you’d be in disbelief, and we’d slowly convince you of the truth—then we’d shed tears when reunited as family?

Also, why are you so calm?

"Dad," Gu Rou said blankly, "why do I feel like our Gu Family is so stupid? Ugh, so embarrassing!"

Gu Shanyun: "..."

After a long moment of awkward silence, Gu Shanyun managed to recover and looked at Gu Zhan, saying, "Since you already know, that saves a lot of trouble. The clan’s intention is—"

Gu Zhan directly interrupted Gu Shanyun, saying, "If you’re about to bring up some ancestral recognition ceremony, then don’t bother. If I wanted to acknowledge kin, wouldn’t I have found you long ago? There’s no need. That said, even without recognizing kin, we can cooperate."