Desolate Ancient Martial God

About a quarter of an hour later, Xiao Yun and Ye Ling were still waiting, but it was not Yu Tianyuan who came to meet them. Instead, the green-robed elder, the chief steward of the Hall, arrived.

“Miss Ye,” the elder began with a calm tone, “the Hall Master has left for an important matter. I’ve come to inform you of his decision. While Xiao Yun is indeed a sword cultivator, his Qi Sea is too severely damaged to be restored. The Heavenly Secrets Hall currently has limited resources and cannot afford to fully invest in his training. For now, the Hall Master has decided to let Xiao Yun remain in Heavenly Secrets Hall. If he shows significant growth in the future, he will certainly be given opportunities to rise.”

“Why!” Ye Ling exclaimed, stunned. Her eyes reddened with tears.

Moments ago, she was elated at the prospect of Xiao Yun being recognized and nurtured. Now, everything had crumbled within a quarter of an hour.

“This is the Hall Master’s decision,” the green-robed elder replied firmly.

“I want to see Uncle Yu!” Ye Ling said through gritted teeth.

“The Hall Master has already left and will not return for some time,” the elder stated, his tone unyielding. “Miss Ye, I am merely the messenger. I hope you will not make things difficult for me.”

“Junior Sister Ye, let it go,” Xiao Yun said, stopping Ye Ling before she could take any rash actions. His voice was calm but carried the weight of his understanding. Having faced life and death twice, Xiao Yun had come to see the nature of human relationships more clearly.

“But…” Ye Ling bit her lip, her eyes filled with frustration and sorrow.

“No buts,” Xiao Yun said firmly. “Let’s go.”

Helplessly, Ye Ling nodded. She knew that causing a scene here wouldn’t change anything. If Yu Tianyuan had decided not to meet them, breaking into the inner Hall would achieve nothing. Still, she couldn’t shake the sense of injustice. Xiao Yun had such extraordinary talent—why wouldn’t the Hall Master support him?

Heavenly Net Sect’s rules clearly dictated that discovering and nurturing talented disciples was one of the Eight Halls’ primary responsibilities. Outstanding disciples were meant to receive aid, no matter their circumstances. Why had Yu Tianyuan suddenly reversed his decision?

Ye Ling couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened in the interim to prompt such a drastic change in attitude. Unfortunately, with no way to confront Yu Tianyuan directly, all she could do was wait for another opportunity to seek answers.

As the green-robed elder escorted Xiao Yun and Ye Ling out of the main house, a group of people approached from the other direction, led by a young man dressed in inner sect robes.

“Uncle Yi, why are you personally seeing someone out?” the young man asked with a raised brow.

“Young Master, why are you here?” the green-robed elder asked, surprised.

“I just completed some training outside the sect and happened to pass near Heavenly Secrets Hall. I thought I’d drop by to see my father before returning to the inner sect in a couple of days,” the young man replied.

Yu Wushuang’s gaze lingered on Ye Ling’s retreating figure. “That girl’s back looks familiar. Is it Ye Ling?” he asked.

“Yes, that’s her,” the elder confirmed with a nod.

Yu Wushuang’s expression twisted with disdain. “Father is such a fool. She’s just the daughter of an old friend. If she had talent, I could understand allowing her to come and go in the main Hall. But someone as untalented as her? Letting her roam around freely is a joke!”

“The Hall Master is sentimental. Ye Ling’s father once saved his life,” the elder explained.

“Sentimental? What’s the point of sentiment if there’s no value? Even if her father saved my father, that’s ancient history.” Yu Wushuang waved dismissively before shifting his attention. “Who’s that man walking with her? He looks familiar.”

“Oh, that’s Xiao Yun. He was once an inner sect disciple of Heavenly Secrets Hall but was crippled and returned here,” the elder replied.

“Crippled and still allowed to return?” Yu Wushuang asked, his tone incredulous. “In my understanding, once someone is crippled, they’re sent away. How did he come back?”

The elder hesitated before explaining, “Young Master, Xiao Yun is a sword cultivator.”

“A sword cultivator?” Yu Wushuang’s eyes narrowed as jealousy flared within him. “A useless person like him can become a sword cultivator? The heavens must be blind. If I had been born as a sword cultivator, I’d already be the leader of the inner sect disciples, maybe even competing for the position of core disciple!”

“Even so, it doesn’t matter,” the elder said indifferently. “His Qi Sea is only 30% intact. He’s already half-wasted. Even if he manages to remain in the inner sect, his time will be limited.”

“Yi Bo,” Yu Wushuang said, his voice tinged with curiosity, “what do you mean by that?”

The green-robed elder hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer to Yu Wushuang, as if preparing to reveal something significant.

“That Xiao Yun was once crippled by Ling Yuji,” the green-robed elder said casually. “I don’t know how he managed to become a sword cultivator afterward. But even as a sword cultivator, his damaged Qi Sea leaves him half-wasted. His future achievements will be very limited.”

“Wasted by Ling Yuji…” Yu Wushuang muttered, his expression growing complicated. Now he understood why Xiao Yun seemed so familiar—he was one of Ling Yuji’s ‘prey.’

While most people didn’t know what that term meant, Yu Wushuang did. He had been directly involved in Ling Yuji’s “hunts,” helping her destroy several talented individuals and seize their martial spirit seeds.

The so-called ‘prey’ were always gifted disciples, typically from civilian backgrounds or minor families in remote counties. Lacking strong backers, these individuals were easy targets.

The upper echelons of the Heavenly Net Sect were aware of these actions, but they turned a blind eye. After all, the perpetrators were top-tier disciples of the inner sect, with Ling Yuji being a core disciple. No one dared to openly challenge her.

“No wonder he looked familiar,” Yu Wushuang said, narrowing his eyes. “So he’s one of the ‘prey’ we hunted a few days ago.”

Though Yu Wushuang hadn’t participated directly in Xiao Yun’s crippling, he had planned the process. Seeing Xiao Yun now stirred an uncomfortable familiarity.

In the past, most ‘prey’ were discarded and sent back to their hometowns after being crippled. Yu Wushuang and his cohorts didn’t fear retaliation—crippled martial artists had no credibility, and no one would believe their accusations.

“How unexpected,” Yu Wushuang said, licking his lips. “A ‘prey’ that managed to grow claws again. Even if his Qi Sea is damaged, he’s still a sword cultivator. This threat cannot be allowed to grow.”

His gaze darkened as he silently resolved to eliminate Xiao Yun before he became a problem.

After escorting the disheartened Ye Ling back to her residence, Xiao Yun returned to his own quarters. The surrounding courtyards were uninhabited, offering a tranquil and isolated environment.

“Not bad,” Xiao Yun murmured to himself. “No one within five miles. It’s convenient for what I need to do.”

Without delay, Xiao Yun retrieved the Soul-Gathering Fruit. Though it retained only one-tenth of its medicinal properties, it was precisely what he needed at this moment.

Heavenly Venerable Yun, the legendary sword cultivator, had spent centuries refining the process of building a perfect sword cultivation foundation. This process required three stages: forging the sword veins, gathering the sword bones, and condensing the sword soul. Only by completing all three could one claim a truly perfect sword cultivation foundation.

With his sword veins already forged, Xiao Yun was now ready for the second stage—gathering the sword bones.

He crushed the Soul-Gathering Fruit, releasing faint wisps of medicinal power that permeated the air. Quickly, Xiao Yun guided the medicinal energy to the ground, drawing a series of ancient and intricate soul-gathering array patterns.

The spiritual energy within the runes began to resonate with the scattered spiritual energy in the environment, condensing it into the array. The aura grew increasingly dense as the medicinal energy was fully absorbed into the patterns.

Half a quarter of an hour later, as the final rune was completed, the spirit-gathering array activated. Spiritual energy surged like a tidal wave, condensing into countless blades of energy. The sharpness of the aura was palpable, causing the air around Xiao Yun to tremble.

With a steady hand, Xiao Yun made a unique hand seal. The spiritual blades, numbering in the hundreds, pierced directly into his body.

Pain erupted instantly. It was as if hundreds of real blades were cutting through his flesh, carving their way toward his bones. Xiao Yun nearly lost consciousness but gritted his teeth and endured.

When the blades reached his bones, the true agony began. Each cut felt like it was tearing him apart, but Xiao Yun remained resolute, knowing this suffering was essential.

As the spiritual blades continued to cut and merge with his bones, Xiao Yun’s skeleton began to transform. The once-fragile structure grew denser and sharper, resonating with the surrounding blade energy.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. To Xiao Yun, it felt as though years had passed.

Finally, the pain subsided. A clear, resonant knife sound echoed from within his body. One after another, the sound emanated from every bone until all 206 bones in his body were vibrating with the crisp melody of blades.

Xiao Yun’s cultivation level surged. From the seventh level of Qi Refining, he leaped directly to the ninth level of Qi Refining.

As he opened his eyes, they gleamed with an intense sharpness, reflecting the powerful transformation he had undergone. The sword energy that had once surrounded him had evolved into something far stronger—a dominating blade aura.

Huh!

The blade aura surged out from his body, shooting straight into the sky. Its overwhelming power caused the air around him to ripple, as if the heavens themselves were trembling before its might.