After the little girl left, it took Ye Xuan a long time to recover his senses.
He brought Ye Ling back to the inn. In the room, Ye Ling looked at the Heavenly Fire Warm Jade in her hand, amazed. "Brother, this stone is so warm. Holding it makes me feel much less cold!"
Ye Xuan smiled. "As long as it keeps you warm, that's good."
Ye Ling nodded happily, clutching the Heavenly Fire Warm Jade tightly.
Ye Xuan, on the other hand, sat to the side and slowly closed his eyes.
"Senior, that girl just now… who was she?" Ye Xuan asked.
The mysterious woman replied, "You and she are not on the same level. Asking is pointless."
Ye Xuan: "..."
The mysterious woman continued, "Take out the ring I had you buy earlier."
Ye Xuan took out the purple ring. It looked a bit worn, with some parts chipped off, and appeared unremarkable.
"Do you know what this is?" the mysterious woman asked.
Ye Xuan shook his head.
The mysterious woman said, "This is an array ring, containing a small formation. Though the array is low-level, it is refined and skillfully crafted. It has research value. The reason the girl wanted it might be because of this. As for you, this formation can be used for your protection."
Ye Xuan was surprised. "Such a small ring can contain an entire formation?"
The mysterious woman said indifferently, "In the future, travel the world more. The world is far larger and more fascinating than you can imagine."
Ye Xuan nodded. "Once I can fly with my sword, I definitely want to explore everywhere!"
He looked at the ring in his hand. "Senior, how do I use this formation?"
The mysterious woman replied, "Drop a drop of your blood on it, then control it using the method I'll teach you."
Ye Xuan quickly did as instructed. As soon as his blood touched the ring, he felt a strange connection to it. In his mind, an image of the formation appeared out of thin air.
The Five Thunder Formation!
The formation within the ring was called the Five Thunder Formation. Once activated, it could summon divine thunder to strike enemies!
Divine thunder!
Ye Xuan was shocked. "Senior, can this formation really summon divine thunder?"
The mysterious woman replied, "Of course not. True divine thunder is the might of heaven and earth—this small formation cannot summon it. The so-called 'divine thunder' is artificially created by the person who crafted this array. Though it is far weaker than actual divine thunder, for someone like you, it is extremely useful. Once activated, even a Skywalking Realm expert would find it difficult to resist. However, it seems the ring has been damaged and can only be used about five more times."
Hearing this, Ye Xuan was overjoyed. With his current strength, using the One Sword to Decide Life and Death, he could contend with a Skywalking Realm cultivator, but the cost was far too great—it truly was "harming the enemy by a thousand, but injuring himself by eight hundred."
With this ring, he had a reliable life-saving tool!
However, his face quickly turned bitter. He realized that using the Five Thunder Formation required spirit stones, specifically high-grade ones. Each activation cost at least five high-grade spirit stones!
He only had sixteen high-grade spirit stones left in total!
In that instant, he felt extremely poor.
Suddenly, Ye Xuan's eyes lit up. "Senior, with your sharp eye, why don't we go treasure hunting? With your skills, we could definitely make a fortune. I—"
"Daydreaming in broad daylight?"
The mysterious woman interrupted Ye Xuan's words. "Go treasure hunting with you? You really have a vivid imagination!"
Ye Xuan chuckled awkwardly, remaining silent.
The mysterious woman's voice grew cold. "Never act with a fluke mentality. Today, you got lucky and gained a significant treasure, but if you constantly seek such fortune, your mentality will be ruined. Don't think I'm exaggerating—for those who pursue the way of the sword, mentality is everything. You must always remember this."
Ye Xuan nodded seriously. "Senior, don't be angry. I understand."
The mysterious woman said no more.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't exactly afraid of the mysterious woman—he respected her.
An hour later, after Ye Ling had fallen asleep, Ye Xuan entered the Prison Tower.
Training!
Though he couldn't yet break through to the Qi Mastery Realm, he could still hone his sword techniques. In truth, he didn't have any particular sword techniques. Sparring against the shadow was more about training his reaction!
Techniques were rigid.
Training with the shadow honed his strength, speed, and reflexes!
Though he couldn't yet reach the Qi Mastery Realm, he could push the Qi Transformation Realm to its peak. Even within the same realm, there were differences in strength!
In the first layer of the Prison Tower, the clanging of swords echoed continuously—the sound of metal striking metal…
One hour before dawn, Ye Xuan went to sleep.
And an hour later, Ye Xuan awoke on time.
After checking out, Ye Xuan sold the horse-drawn carriage to the inn at a low price, then took his sister to leave, heading for the docks of Qianshan City.
When the siblings arrived at the dock, they were stunned by what they saw. Before them, in a river almost a thousand feet wide, were several massive ships, each at least a hundred feet wide—enormous!
Neither of them had ever seen such large ships before!
Beside Ye Xuan, Ye Ling was excited. "Brother, these ships are so big! Are we going to ride one of these?"
Ye Xuan nodded with a smile. "Yes, we'll take one of these to the Imperial Capital!"
Ye Ling tilted her head, curious. "Brother, is the Imperial Capital even bigger than Qianshan City?"
Ye Xuan gently patted her head. "Definitely bigger than Qianshan City! Once we get to the Imperial Capital, I'll take you to see all the amazing sights and have lots of fun, alright?"
Hearing this, Ye Ling's eyes sparkled. "Brother is the best!"
With that, she stood on her tiptoes and lightly kissed Ye Xuan's cheek.
Ye Xuan laughed heartily, then took her hand and led her away.
The previous night, Ye Xuan had inquired about the procedures for taking the Cloudship, so the siblings quickly bought their tickets and boarded one.
Ye Xuan felt a pang of heartache—buying two tickets to the Imperial Capital cost him forty gold coins!
Now, he was truly penniless. He had less than ten gold coins left!
At that moment, he briefly considered robbery.
The Cloudship had over a hundred cabins of various sizes, divided into several classes. Ye Xuan inquired about them—a first-class cabin cost one hundred and fifty gold coins, a second-class one hundred, and, shockingly, a special-class cabin cost three hundred gold coins!
Three hundred gold coins—in Qingcheng, an ordinary family might never earn that much in a lifetime!
Yet here, it was just a ticket.
Ye Xuan realized then that poverty had truly limited his imagination!
Ye Xuan took his sister to their room on the bottom level. It was small, with just one bed, two stools, and a simple table—very basic accommodations.
He patted Ye Ling's head. "It'll be half an hour before the ship takes off. Once it's steady, we can go up on deck to see the scenery below."
Ye Ling smiled sweetly, then seemed to remember something. She rummaged through her bag, soon pulling out a pair of cloth shoes, which she offered to Ye Xuan like a treasure. "Brother, I made these. Try them on and see if they fit!"
She knelt and started taking off Ye Xuan's shoes.
Ye Xuan was stunned.
When did she even make these?
Just then, Ye Ling let out a loud "Wow!" Ye Xuan looked down hurriedly, only for Ye Ling to wrinkle her nose at him. "Brother, your feet stink!"
With that, she dashed out of the room.
Soon, she returned, holding a basin of water. Setting it in front of Ye Xuan, she picked up his feet and placed them in the basin.
Ye Xuan quickly said, "Let me do it!"
Ye Ling glared at him and continued washing his feet.
As she washed, tears began to fill her eyes. Ye Xuan's soles were covered in thick calluses, and his calves bore scars that hadn't fully healed.
These were marks left from his days as the heir, fighting for the Ye Family!
Noticing her reaction, Ye Xuan asked softly, "Why are you crying?"
Ye Ling wiped her tears. "Brother, your life has been too hard. I swear, once I'm stronger, I'll work hard to become a super powerful cultivator, earn lots of money, and let you enjoy life."
She had been raised by her brother. When their mother left, Ye Xuan had only been ten years old—barely more than a child himself—and she was only four or five. In the beginning, life for the siblings in the Ye Family was like that of beggars, surviving on leftovers. And in such an environment, Ye Xuan had raised her. She didn't even know the full extent of the hardships he had endured.
Especially when Ye Xuan became the heir and fought for the Ye Family!
She only remembered that every time her brother went out in the morning, he would come back late at night—always injured!
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Ye Xuan felt warmth in his heart. He gently patted her head. "Your health is more important than anything. Once we get to the Imperial Capital, where there are so many experts, they'll surely be able to cure you. When you're well, I'll teach you to cultivate!"
As she continued washing his feet, Ye Ling said firmly, "Brother, once I'm better, I'll train hard. No matter how tough it is, I won't be afraid!"
Ye Xuan smiled, about to say something, when suddenly the door burst open. A middle-aged man and two elders entered the room.
Ye Ling jumped up, startled. "Who are you?!"
The middle-aged man looked at Ye Xuan. "Do you remember me?"
Ye Xuan nodded—of course he remembered. The three in front of him were the ones who had chased Qin Shang through the forest. He still remembered the middle-aged man's name—Mo Cun.
Ye Xuan said nothing. There was no need—these men had come for the spirit stones!
What he hadn't expected was that they'd track him to the Cloudship!
Mo Cun spoke, "Hand over the goods, and the three of us will spare you and your sister."
Ye Xuan replied, "Fighting is forbidden on the Cloudship."
Mo Cun sneered. "Once we kill you, we can toss your bodies overboard. Who would come looking?"
Ye Xuan thought for a moment and said, "If I give you the goods, you'll let us live?"
Mo Cun squinted. "Of course—we only want money."
Ye Xuan took a deep breath. "Fine. If I'm not meant to enjoy it, so be it."
He pulled out the black pouch and walked toward Mo Cun. "You must keep your word!"
Seeing the pouch, Mo Cun's eyes lit up greedily. "Naturally!"
He clenched his right hand slowly.
When Ye Xuan was just a few steps away, he suddenly tossed the pouch to one of the elders beside Mo Cun. The three were momentarily stunned, and the elder instinctively reached out to catch it while Mo Cun lunged for it.
At that moment, a glint of cold light flashed!
Shing!
A sword suddenly appeared before Mo Cun. By the time he realized it, the blade had pierced his throat.
In an instant, Mo Cun's head flew off!
Blood splattered!
The other two elders were terrified. The next second, they turned and ran. But Ye Xuan was faster—as one turned, Ye Xuan's sword pierced his back!
Killed in an instant!
The remaining elder managed to escape the room, screaming for help. The entire first level was alarmed!
Ye Xuan frowned. He put away his sword, knowing things had gotten troublesome.
Soon, a woman in a purple gown, her face veiled, entered the room with a group of Cloudship guards.
Ye Xuan clenched his fists, his expression dark. He couldn't sense the strength of the veiled woman, but he could gauge the guards' power—three were Skywalking Realm, and two were peak Qi Mastery Realm!
The lineup was terrifying.
The power of Drunken Immortal Pavilion was indeed frightening!
The veiled woman glanced at the bodies on the floor, frowning, then looked at Ye Xuan. "Did you kill them?"
Ye Xuan nodded. "They tried to—"
The veiled woman waved a hand dismissively. "Explain yourself in the underworld. Execute both of them on the spot, and throw their bodies overboard."
Just then, Ye Xuan opened his right hand, and a sword floated above his palm.
The veiled woman, who had already reached the door, stopped. She turned to look at Ye Xuan, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "A sword cultivator?"
Ye Xuan nodded.
The veiled woman shook her head. "Becoming a sword cultivator at such a young age is rare, but that's all. The rules of the Cloudship are above all else. Even as a sword cultivator, you are not exempt. Kill him."
With that, she turned to leave.
At that moment, Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword tightly. The blade quivered slightly, a faint glow appearing on its edge!
Everyone was stunned!
The veiled woman stopped once again.
Ye Xuan stared directly at her. "Sorry, I'm a Great Sword Cultivator!"
He said it calmly, without a hint of nervousness—but inside, he was anything but calm.