4499 A Decade Later



"Heavens! As it turns out, the new Grand Revered Elder of the Duan clan is that person who has the nine stalks of Blissful Flower Kings and three lord-grade Northern Nether Winter Cod!"

"How unexpected! Alas, it'd be difficult to move against him now that he has joined the Duan clan!"

"Only a fool would be willing to offend the Duan clan, a demi-saint-rank force, for nine stalks of Blissful Flower Kings and three lord-grade Northern Nether Winter Cod!"

"There are rumors that Duan Ling Tian has a powerful background. However, no one knows which force he originally came from… Nonetheless, now that he has joined the Duan clan, the clan definitely won't let anyone lay a finger on him!"

Just like that, Duan Ling Tian became a hot topic in Tourmaline Holy City.

Most people could no longer target Duan Ling Tian since it would implicate the forces behind them if the Duan clan took action.

As for sectless cultivators below the realm of supreme powerhouses, there were also not many who were a match for Duan Ling Tian. As for sectless supreme powerhouses, they dared not make a move in or around Tourmaline Holy City since it would be no different from seeking death. The Duan clan had a demi Saint after all. Demi Saints were very powerful, but most importantly, the Duan clan's demi Saint could sense if any of the clan members were in danger through the Duan clan's identity tokens within a certain distance. However, these identity tokens were special; not all members of the Duan clan possessed such an identity token. Nevertheless, no one doubted that the new Grand Revered Elder of the Duan clan possessed such an identity token.

…

A few days later.

Duan Tian Hong returned to the Duan clan after his shift in Tourmaline Holy City ended. He looked for Duan Ling Tian and told the latter about the rumors that had been circulating in the city recently.

'This news is likely spread by the Myriad Trading House…'

After telling Duan Ling Tian about the rumors he had heard, Duan Tian Hong asked bluntly, "Ling Tian, is it true that you're the one who obtained the nine stalks of Blissful Flower Kings and three lord-grade Northern Nether Winter Cod from the Peaceful Might Realm's Zhong clan and Leng clan respectively?"

The rumors were rather convincing since the timing matched when Duan Ling Tian suddenly appeared at the Duan clan. Moreover, similar to Duan Ling Tian, the other person also comprehended the law of space and had a profound comprehension of the Sword Dao.

Nonetheless, Duan Tian Hong did not simply come to a conclusion. He decided to ask Duan Ling Tian about it instead.

"Yes," Duan Ling Tian replied with a nod. He had long expected this matter to be exposed and had already mentally prepared himself. As such, he was not surprised at all.

Initially, Duan Ling Tian assumed the Duan clan would discover this matter first. After all, he had joined the Duan clan as its Grand Revered Elder; it would be more likely for the Duan clan to connect the dots first. As such, he was slightly surprised that the Myriad Trading House discovered the matter first.

'The Myriad Trading House…'

Previously, when Duan Wu Yang; the Grand Elder of the Duan clan's Enforcement Hall, escorted Duan Ling Tian back to the Duan clan, Duan Ling Tian had learned more about the Myriad Trading House from the former. He learned that the Myriad Trading House was extremely wealthy and possessed a very wide intelligence network. At that time, Duan Wu Yang also said that the Myriad Trading House must have seen his worth and sent Liu Yan to recruit him despite knowing he had already joined the Duan clan.

Duan Ling Tian did not care that the Myriad Trading House discovered the truth, but he was rather displeased that they had made the information public. This was akin to placing a big target on him, after all.

'There's no doubt that this is the doing of the Myriad Trading House,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself as his eyes glinted coldly. He would not let this matter go.

Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian sighed emotionally and said, "So it's really you!" After a moment, he said reassuringly, "Don't worry. You're not only the Grand Revered Elder of the Duan clan, but you'll also be representing the clan to enter the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion's Realm of Origin in ten years. The Duan clan definitely won't harm you. Even if you leave the clan later, this will remain the same. Before I looked for you, I met the clan leader. He wanted me to relay this message to you. As long as you don't provoke powerful saint-rank forces like the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion, the Duan clan will protect you as long you're a member of the clan!"

Although Duan Ling Tian had already expected that the Duan clan would not betray him, he still felt a sense of warmth when he heard Duan Tian Hong's words.

After that, the duo continued chatting for a while before Duan Tian Hong said, "I'll take my leave now. I'm on a break and will be in the clan's estate for a period of time. If there's anything, don't hesitate to ask for my help. I'm staying near the Enforcement Hall. If you ask, the members of the clan will show you to my cultivation ground."

After Duan Tian Hong left, he returned to the floating island above the center of the spiritual spring. He closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

'I still have a decade before I have to enter the Realm of Origin… I'll try to deepen my comprehension and raise the level of my Sword Dao. Unlike my law of space that's stagnant, at least my Sword Dao is progressing even if the progress is slow. It'll be impossible for my law of space to reach the paramount stage if I don't break through this bottleneck…'

Duan Ling Tian was not in a hurry to break through the bottleneck. Instead, he prioritized growing stronger through his other means. It was important for him to grow as strong as he could before entering the Realm of Origin to search for treasures. Although he was very strong now, based on what he knew, there were quite a few like him in the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion. Moreover, it was also possible that the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion had a peerless top advanced Supreme God. Even if there was no peerless top advanced Supreme God among the members of the Jade Tide Mansion, the Saint of the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion might have a subordinate who was a peerless top advanced Supreme God.

After thinking about it, Duan Ling Tian thought that even if the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion or its Saint had a peerless top advanced Supreme God, the odds were very low for the peerless top advanced Supreme God to have also coincidentally comprehended the Sword Dao specifically to the fourth stage. However, he also knew that with the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion's influence and connections in the Sacred Lightning Realm, it would not be difficult for them to find such a peerless top advanced Supreme God.

Duan Ling Tian could not help but feel immense pressure when he thought about facing peerless top advanced Supreme Gods in the Realm of Origin. After all, no matter how close he was to becoming one, he was still not a peerless top advanced Supreme God.

…

Duan Ling Tian was immersed in his cultivation and only came out when it was time to receive the resources given to Revered Elders by the Duan clan. He did not step foot out of the Duan clan after he returned.

As time passed, the people of Tourmaline Holy City and the members of the Duan clan also stopped discussing Duan Ling Tian.

Those who coveted the supreme treasures in Duan Ling Tian's possession also left one after another when they saw that Duan Ling Tian did not go to Tourmaline Holy City anymore and had no intention of leaving the Duan clan's estate. Liu Yi Fan and Lin Yu from the Peaceful Might Realm were among these people.

"Let's return… We'll only be waiting in vain if we continue this…" Lin Yu said with a sigh, "With the Duan clan, it'll be difficult for us to make a move. Even if we manage to catch him when he's alone, it's unlikely that he'll yield even if we put a knife to his throat. After all, the demi Saint will be able to come to his rescue immediately. At that time, not only will we not gain anything, but we'll also put our lives at risk…"

In fact, as soon as Lin Yu found out that Duan Ling Tian had joined the Duan clan and become the clan's Grand Revered Elder, he had wanted to give up. However, he ended up staying back because Liu Yi Fan was unwilling to return empty-handed. Now that a year had passed, he decided that he had enough and wanted to leave.

Although Liu Yi Fan was still unwilling, he had to leave as well. There was nothing he could do if he was alone since he would not be able to use the Time and Space Escape Technique without Lin Yu. Under such circumstances, he would definitely die if he faced a demi Saint.

In the end, the duo left the Sacred Lightning Realm for the Peaceful Might Realm. They were unaware that they had already met Duan Ling Tian once before Duan Ling Tian was rescued by Situ Lei.

…

Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, nine years had passed.

At this time, Duan Ling Tian who was comprehending the Sword Dao heard a familiar voice from outside.

"Ling Tian, the Jade Tide Heavenly Mansion has sent someone over. We'll depart with him after three days."

The voice belonged to Duan Tian Hong.

Originally, the Duan clan did not have any intention to send Duan Tian Hong to accompany Duan Ling Tian. However, after coming to the Duan clan, Duan Ling Tian went into closed-door cultivation and did not get acquainted with anyone else. As such, in the end, the high-ranking members of the Duan clan thought it was best that they select Duan Tian Hong to accompany Duan Ling Tian since Duan Ling Tian was most familiar with the former in the Duan clan.