Everyone stared in astonishment at the blood-red wolf still twitching faintly on the ground.

It was a third-rank Blood Wolf King!

What in the world had just happened? No one understood what had transpired, and they certainly hadn't expected a third-rank Blood Wolf King to be lurking in the thicket.

"Awooo!"

Just then, the twenty-odd wolves from before saw their king fall. They howled mournfully as they turned to flee.

Qin Guan emerged from the distant thicket.

Everyone looked at Qin Guan, their expressions a mixture of shock and awe. It was obvious that he had been the one to kill the third-rank Blood Wolf King.

A third-rank Blood Wolf King, with power nearly equivalent to a Profound Connection Stage cultivator, had been slain by Qin Guan in a single, instantaneous blow. His strength was simply outrageous.

His strength must be nearly that of a 4th Realm Warrior, right?

Qin Guan showed no signs of a martial artist's Gang Qi, which only 4th Realm Warriors who had opened their Energy Gates possessed. This was the thought running through everyone's mind.

Qin Guan walked over to the Blood Wolf King, hoisted it up, and then approached Nan Rou with a smile.

"This wolf has a fine pelt. Keep it. It'll make a beautiful red cloak when we get back."

"Mhm!" Snapping out of her daze, Nan Rou nodded quickly and stored the Blood Wolf King in her Storage Bag.

A Blood Wolf King could sell for over a hundred thousand gold pieces on the market, and its meat alone was a delicacy most people could never afford. The others couldn't help but feel a pang of envy as they watched Nan Rou put it into her Storage Bag.

"Haha, worthy of being my good son-in-law! To think you can slay a third-rank Blood Wolf King with such ease!"

Nan Yunqi beamed. He turned to the others and declared in a stern voice, "From this point on, everyone will follow Qin Guan and Rou'er's lead. If anyone has any objections, they can go home!"

His words were clearly aimed at Yang Hongmei and Nan Qiao, who could only swallow their pride and remain silent. After all, Qin Guan's power was on full display. A martial artist approaching the 4th Realm had few rivals in the entirety of Luyun City.

"Let's go. The wolf pack's territory is vast. It should be safe up ahead."

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With that, Qin Guan led Nan Rou forward.

Having witnessed Qin Guan effortlessly slay the Blood Wolf King, everyone followed closely behind him. They no longer tiptoed about, feeling a profound sense of security.

They suddenly realized that martial artists weren't as pathetic as legends made them out to be. Especially when compared to Chen Guangling and Nan Yunqi, it seemed that martial artists were significantly stronger than cultivators.

An hour later, the group came to a halt in a wide, open area. It was like a giant basin, encircled by mountains on all sides.

As they stepped into the area, everyone's eyes lit up with excitement. They could clearly feel intense fluctuations of spiritual power; the air was thick with it!

"Young Miss, you're amazing! To think you could sense the spiritual power fluctuations from so far away!" Jia Quan exclaimed, looking at Nan Rou with immense admiration.

"Yes, Young Miss, that's incredible!"

Many other disciples nodded in agreement. At first, they had been skeptical, thinking it was all a bit of a farce. But now, feeling the fluctuations of spiritual power for themselves, they were all filled with admiration for Nan Rou.

The place was extremely secluded, hidden away by the surrounding mountains. It would have been nearly impossible to find without Nan Rou's keen perception.

"Don't tell me this sickly girl has some kind of special constitution, being able to find this place from so far away!" Yang Hongmei muttered to herself.

Nan Qiao was also in disbelief. The memory of her constant mockery of Nan Rou made her cheeks burn as if she had been slapped hard, a stinging, fiery pain.

Praised by everyone, Nan Rou was overjoyed. She had never imagined that she could one day be a useful member of the family. She quickly pointed to a towering, ancient tree in the distance.

"The spiritual power is especially dense around that tree! The fluctuations are coming from there!" she said.

"Let's go!"

Hearing Nan Rou, the group rushed toward the great tree.

Such dense spiritual power!

The closer they got to the tree, the stronger the concentration of spiritual power became.

"Family Head! A century-old Blood Ginseng!" Just then, Jia Quan pointed excitedly at something nearby.

At his words, everyone quickly looked where he was pointing. There, nestled in the green grass beneath the great tree, was a Blood Ginseng pulsing with an alluring red light.

"Over there, a Lingzhi!" another disciple cried out in surprise.

"Jiling Herb!" Nan Qiao gasped.

"Haha, we've struck it rich!"

Nan Yunqi led the others as they rushed forward.

"Everyone, spread out and see if there are any other treasures!" After placing the century-old Blood Ginseng, Jiling Herb, and Lingzhi into his Storage Bag, Nan Yunqi quickly ordered everyone to search the area.

After a thorough search, they discovered many more valuable Spiritual Materials, all growing in the vicinity of the giant tree.

Beneath the great tree, Nan Yunqi's eyes gleamed as he felt the incredibly dense and pure spiritual power. Overjoyed, he glanced around before hastily saying:

"Before anyone else finds this place, everyone, hurry up and cultivate!"

The dozen or so people quickly sat down around the tree. An opportunity like this was something they might not encounter in a hundred lifetimes. It was far better than cultivating with Qi Refining Powders or pills. One by one, they began to frantically and greedily absorb the spiritual power.

"Silly girl, what are you looking at me for? Get to cultivating," Qin Guan said, a little exasperated when he saw Nan Rou staring at him instead of practicing.

"Mhm." Nan Rou nodded and sat down cross-legged. She knew that as a martial artist, Qin Guan couldn't condense spiritual power to cultivate. She felt a pang of sadness that he couldn't share in such a wonderful opportunity.

Seeing everyone sitting there in deep meditation like seasoned monks, Qin Guan felt a twinge of envy.

If only he could also gather the spiritual power of heaven and earth to cultivate the Way of the Sword!

The thought made Qin Guan look forward to the Secret Realm even more. If Senior Yang Tianni's legacy was truly inside, he had to seize this chance, no matter the cost.

With this in mind, Qin Guan tilted his head back to look at the great tree that pierced the clouds.

The spiritual power was emanating from this tree. It seemed this tree was the gateway to the Secret Realm.

An hour passed. A powerful surge of spiritual power suddenly erupted from Nan Qiao's body—she had broken through.

Her cultivation had been stagnant at the 6th Level of Qi Refinement for a long time. Aided by the pure spiritual power, she instantly broke through her bottleneck, her cultivation rising a small step to the 7th Level of Qi Refinement.

For someone as young as Nan Qiao to reach the 7th Level of Qi Refinement, she was already considered a genius in Luyun City.

Soon, several of the other disciples also broke through one after another, their faces lighting up with joy.

The Nan Family was a third-rate family, and years of constant internal strife had drained its strength. The resources distributed to each member were pitifully scarce, leaving these disciples with no real opportunities for advancement.

As Nan Yunqi had said, a powerful family must be united and advance as one. If internal conflict persisted, the family's decline would not be far off.

Hmm?

A bored Qin Guan suddenly noticed Nan Rou's cultivation level rising rapidly. In just one hour, she had broken through a minor realm to reach the 4th Level of Qi Refinement. Her breakthrough was so quiet and smooth it seemed as natural as drinking water.

The speed truly astonished Qin Guan. If a prodigy like her were nurtured by a major power, she would be a future Great Emperor, no doubt about it!

Gazing at Nan Rou's gentle and exquisitely beautiful face, Qin Guan felt a growing affection. To think he had married a wife with the potential to become a Great Emperor!

Time flowed on. In the blink of an eye, another hour had passed. For Qin Guan, the hour dragged on, but for the cultivating Nan family members, it was fleeting. They were completely immersed, lost in a state where time had no meaning.

Boom!

Suddenly, a powerful surge of spiritual power erupted from Nan Yunqi. He had broken through! The bottleneck that had trapped him for years was shattered, and his cultivation reached the 4th Level of Spirit Refinement.

"Haha!"

Unable to contain his joy, Nan Yunqi let out a laugh. He glanced around furtively, like a thief, before immediately settling back into his meditative state to frantically absorb more spiritual power.

"That guy... after being so cruel to Rou'er, I really feel like throwing him all the way back to the Nan Family."

Seeing Nan Yunqi's mustache practically quivering with delight, Qin Guan's hands started to itch.

Soon, another hour passed. The dozen-odd members of the Nan Family had all reaped great rewards. The bottlenecks that had held them back for so long were shattered one by one. Cultivating in this environment, they felt for a moment that they were no less talented than any genius.

Noticing that Nan Rou had broken through yet another minor realm, Qin Guan went over and roused her. He couldn't let the girl keep cultivating. Her cultivation was advancing too quickly, which wasn't good for someone like her with a weak foundation.

With her talent, breakthroughs were the easy part; building a solid foundation was what truly mattered.

"What is it, husband? I was in the middle of cultivating," Nan Rou said with a pout, unhappy at being woken up by Qin Guan.

Qin Guan gently booped Nan Rou's nose and whispered:

"Your cultivation is advancing too quickly. You're already at the 5th Level of Qi Refinement. You can't keep going like this. Use the method I taught you to absorb spiritual power to temper and strengthen your foundation, understand?"

"Oh, I understand."

Nan Rou nodded and returned to her spot.

Just as she was about to sit down, a dozen disciples in white robes appeared in the distance. The group rushed toward them at high speed, their eyes filled with the same urgency and greed as a pack of bandits.

"I can't believe someone beat us here!" the white-robed elder leading them said with some surprise upon seeing Qin Guan's group.

Someone's here!

The cultivating Nan family disciples sensed the newcomers, and their hearts sank.

The group quickly reached the great tree. As they felt the pure, dense spiritual power radiating from it, their eyes burned with fervent desire.

Seeing the exquisite flying sword emblem embroidered on the newcomers' chests, the Nan family disciples all showed expressions of deep reverence.

The Spirit Sword Academy—the top power in all of Qingzhou, an existence they could only look up to their entire lives.

"Which power are you from?" the leading white-robed elder asked.

Nan Yunqi bowed to the white-robed elder and replied respectfully, "I am Nan Yunqi, Head of the Nan Family from Luyun City. It is an honor to meet a senior from the Spirit Sword Academy!"

Hearing this, the white-robed elder said flatly, "It seems you've been here for a while. Vacate your spots. A minor family like yours should be content with having snatched a bit of fortune by arriving early."

Hearing the elder's demand, the members of the Nan Family were filled with reluctance and resentment. Nan Yunqi's expression was strained, his fists clenching and unclenching inside his sleeves. A sacred ground for cultivation like this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; he was loath to simply hand it over.

"What? Do you want to force my hand?" the white-robed elder said grimly, his gaze sweeping over them.

"Senior, please calm your anger! We will vacate our spots immediately!" Nan Yunqi took a deep breath. Though his heart was filled with resentment, compared to the Spirit Sword Academy, the Nan Family was less than nothing. He had no choice.

"Wait." Just as Nan Qiao and the others were reluctantly getting up to leave, Qin Guan suddenly spoke up. He looked at the white-robed elder. "We found this place first. You tell us to leave, so we should just leave? Who do you think you are?"