The Sun family was famed for the Sun family sword.
However, after Sun Ying, no one in the Sun family had managed to cultivate the Sun family sword to the Zenith state.
Thus, over the years, the Sun family had been in decline.
As for Sun Wuwei, after decades of seclusion, he had not only healed his injuries but also advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. He felt he was exceptional.
When no one in the Divine Revelation Continent could break through the Golden Core, and he was the only one who did, what did that signify?
It meant he was favored by the Heavenly Dao!
Perhaps he was simply a late bloomer among cultivators?
Even though Sun Wuwei was old, it didn't stop him from reading storybooks and dreaming big.
Therefore, apart from the Dean of the Divine Revelation Academy, Sun Wuwei paid no heed to anyone else.
Yet now, this person had arrived at his doorstep, and he hadn't even noticed.
"It's me."
The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man in white robes stepped in, followed by a gentle and courteous young man.
The middle-aged man was refined and noble. He nodded slightly, "Esteemed sirs, you don't mind if the Lou family also listens in, do you?"
The pressure of the late Nascent Soul stage was released without reservation.
"Thump!"
The head of the Wei family, terrified, slid off his chair and knelt.
"Useless trash!" Sun Wuwei cursed inwardly. He looked up and said with a forced smile, "I never expected, never expected, that the Lou family head would advance to Nascent Soul without a sound!"
The Lou family head's cultivation was even higher than his, clearly having advanced long ago.
Who would have thought that the Lou family, always minding their own business, had found a way to break the Golden Core curse?
Indeed, a silent dog bites the hardest.
The others, as if released from a binding spell by Sun Wuwei's words, snapped back to attention.
"When did you become Nascent Soul?" the head of the Mei family was most unwilling to believe.
The Mei family had paid so much, even losing the genius alchemist Mei Shuying, and now no one had advanced to Nascent Soul. How could the Lou family?
The Lou family head, however, ignored the Mei family head and said to Sun Wuwei, "Venerable Sun is also not bad, already at the early Nascent Soul stage."
Although Sun Wuwei had concealed his cultivation, he couldn't hide it from the Lou family head.
The eighteen great families each had their own hidden agendas. Now that they knew Golden Core was not the peak, they naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass.
He was merely doing what everyone else would do.
"You are also Nascent Soul?" The head of the Mei family staggered.
Would the Sun family and the Lou family have other Nascent Souls? Wouldn't that place them above the other great families?
The heads of the Tang, Qing, and Wei families remained silent, but their expressions were grim.
"No need to be so surprised." The Lou family head flicked the golden orchid on his lapel and said with a smile, "Today, I will be the leader. I presume everyone has no objections?"
"No... no objections," the head of the Wei family immediately replied.
The heads of the Tang, Qing, and Mei families also shook their heads with darkened faces.
"Venerable Sun?" The young man standing beside the Lou family head chuckled, "Father will not mistreat you all. We have already mastered the method to break through from Golden Core to Nascent Soul."
Sun Wuwei's expression changed.
His guess had indeed come true.
"Fine," he gritted out the word. "I hope the Lou family keeps their word."
"Changxing, distribute the pills to your uncles," the Lou family head said with a light laugh, gesturing to Lou Changxing.
"These are special breakthrough pills researched by our Lou family alchemists, specifically for cultivators from our Divine Abandoned Continent. If you don't believe us, you can try them after going back," Lou Changxing explained as he distributed the pills.
Each of the family heads received two pills.
"Now, let's discuss how we can reclaim our families' status from the Divine Revelation Academy."
The Divine Revelation Continent originally belonged to the great families, and it could only belong to the great families.
...
Qianxiao Peak.
The peaks were lush and verdant, the shade of trees dappled by clouds.
After a night's passing, the alchemy room suddenly opened.
Immediately after, a female cultivator in red emerged. She had only taken two steps before her body went limp, and she fell backward.
"Ayi!"
"Junior Sister!"
In an instant, red robes billowed like a fierce wind.
Qin Si's hand encircled Bai Shengyi's waist, pulling her into his embrace. He held her steady and cried out urgently, "Qianying, quickly examine her."
"I'm fine," Bai Shengyi shook her head, but couldn't help but cough twice. "My mother's condition is temporarily stable, but she still needs the Heart of Divine Wood, Red Bone Snow, Summer Night Plum Blossom, Qilin's Horn, Azure Dragon..."
Before she could finish speaking, she fainted.
"Ayi!"
Qin Si's face contorted with worry, his eyes turning red.
Frost and snow seemed to fall, and there were faint signs of entering a demonic state due to excessive rage.
Qianying hurriedly said, "Junior Sister is not in mortal danger, she has just depleted some of her origin, and fainted!"
Qin Si's gaze was deep and unfathomable, as if containing a thousand-year-old profound ice. "Is there any way to help her?"
He stared intently at Bai Shengyi's pale face, feeling as if his heart had fallen into a searing oil pan, the pain suffocating.
Origin was different from wounds or cultivation. It was somewhat akin to the mysterious Dao Heart, yet with a fundamental difference.
The Dao Heart contained a cultivator's absolute comprehension of the Dao they cultivated, while origin was a person's foundation. If a cultivator injured their origin, in severe cases, they might perish, and in milder cases, it would affect their cultivation.
Qin Si didn't know what Bai Shengyi had done to pay such a heavy price. He silently continued to channel pure spiritual energy into Bai Shengyi's body.
"This..." Qianying was extremely troubled. "I don't know either..."
Qin Si's expression darkened, and he picked up Bai Shengyi horizontally.
"Huiying."
A shadow appeared out of nowhere and knelt on the ground, "Master."
"Have Zheng Wuxin and Aunt Mo come to Qianxiao Peak immediately. Contact Grand Venerable Qinglan at once, and tell him Shengyi is in trouble and to return quickly."
"Also, issue an order to search for the medicinal ingredients Heart of Divine Wood, Red Bone Snow, Summer Night Plum Blossom, and Qilin's Horn with all our might."
Qin Si's voice was icy, his red robes seemed to be encased in ice crystals, and his expression was terrifyingly grim.
Qianying also took out a communication talisman, "I'll inform Master right away."
"Take care of Ayi's mother."
After speaking, he had already vanished from the spot.
For some unknown reason, Qinglan did not reply to Qianying's message. She guessed that Qinglan was probably dazed in some secret realm again.
Qianying frowned, put away the communication talisman, and was about to leave when she saw someone running up from the foot of the mountain in a hurry.
"Venerable Qianying, something has happened!"
"Those great family heads have united to cause trouble, demanding to see the Dean."
"They say that if they don't see the Dean, they absolutely will not agree to protect the civilians of the continent!"
Qianying's expression darkened, a hint of coldness flashing across her beautiful face.
"They are asking for death!"
The Divine Revelation Academy's request for the great families to jointly protect the civilians was not for them to labor for free. The Divine Revelation Academy would also provide substantial cultivation resources, including spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and so on.
It could be said that the great families suffered no losses apart from providing manpower.
And yet, these people were still not satisfied!
Qianying strode forward, preparing to go to Jincheng to teach them a lesson, when she saw the man who had just left reappear and toss a token to her.
"You go take care of Ayi, I'll go meet them."