"Sister Yunniang, I know you dislike him. But no matter how flawed that person is, he is still the future husband of me, Xuanyuan Yiren."

Li Yunniang felt an immediate tightness in her chest, struggling to catch her breath: "Miss, you truly regard him as your fiancé? To waste your entire life on him? In this Cloud Realm, there are countless talents. Even the most ordinary disciples of the Danquan Sect are far superior to him. The Profound Moon Brilliant Light Art you cultivate requires the harmonization of Yin and Yang. If you marry this cripple, must you abandon this cultivation art? You usually love alchemy the most, but if your cultivation stagnates, how will you forge the spiritual elixirs you desire?"

Xuanyuan Yiren paused for a moment, then firmly shook her head: "Yunniang, I know you mean well for me. But everyone's temperament in this world is different. Perhaps other women would unhesitatingly abandon this marriage for their own sake. But I, Xuanyuan Yiren, place immense value only on the concepts of 'Trust' and 'Righteousness.' I do admire those talents, and I used to dream of someone coming to marry me, clad in golden divine armor and riding auspicious seven-colored clouds. I also longed to refine all the spiritual elixirs recorded in the sect and see the splendor at the peak of all realms. But my name, Yiren, read backward, means 'Benevolence and Righteousness'! I remember Father repeatedly instructing me from childhood never to betray the path of trust and righteousness in my actions. I, Xuanyuan Yiren, have always kept this close to heart and dare not forget—"

Li Yunniang was not just suffering from a headache; her face was twitching uncontrollably. She thought to herself, Oh, Master, when you taught your daughter these things, did you ever consider the situation that would arise years later? Will you regret your words for the rest of your life?

"Miss, valuing trust and righteousness is indeed important. But you owe that Zong Shou nothing; why must you sacrifice your entire life?"

"How can I owe him nothing? My father's rise on the East Lin Cloud Continent was entirely due to Uncle Weiran's staunch assistance years ago. If Father didn't possess that status, how could I, Xuanyuan Yiren, have been admitted to the Danquan Sect so early? Even if I truly owed him nothing, breaking the engagement while he is in grave danger would be kicking a man when he is down!"

As Xuanyuan Yiren spoke, her willow brows knitted slightly: "Father taught me to be benevolent and righteous, yet he himself has forgotten the decade and a half of kindness from Uncle Weiran. In fact, our Xuanshan City exists because of Uncle Zong Weiran. Is he so insignificant in his eyes? So important that my father could see his good friend's beloved son on the brink of death and pretend not to notice?"

Li Yunniang’s mouth tasted bitter, and she felt utterly drained. The fate of the millions of citizens of Xuanshan City and the survival of her clan versus the life of her friend’s son—the weight of the choice was obvious upon reflection.

To jeopardize the future of a million people in Xuanshan City for the sake of abstract, personal 'chivalry' might not, in fact, align with this so-called path of benevolence and righteousness.

The ability to protect oneself wisely, know when to choose and when to relinquish, and adapt to the circumstances—that is what makes a truly good City Lord.

"In truth, I understand Father's difficulties, and I didn't intend to force him. But the gratitude and vows my father forgot, I shall remember them. My fiancé will be cared for by me, Xuanyuan Yiren!"

Xuanyuan Yiren’s tone shifted, her expression becoming utterly serious: "He indeed possesses the Dual Meridian physique, but the Pulse Spirit Pill he refined today shows some hope for a cure. I am skilled in alchemy; one day, I will find a way to allow him to cultivate martial arts!"

"So, ten years, or twenty?"

Li Yunniang let out a cold laugh: "Even if you succeed one day, I suspect Zong Shou will mostly resent you. Men are often heartless. To be sheltered under a woman's wing—they are more likely to feel shame than gratitude, perhaps even viewing you as an enemy. Even if he personally doesn't feel that way, how can he silence the endless gossip of others? Even if his nature is excellent, repeated slander might inevitably leave a knot in his heart—"

Xuanyuan Yiren blinked in confusion, then her eyes sparkled like starlight as she looked at Li Yunniang: "Sister Yunniang, before you are kind to others, do you consider what they will think or how they will repay you? I don't care how others see me or treat me. Yiren only cares about being kind to him; that is enough, to live this life without owing anyone!"

Li Yunniang suddenly felt completely powerless, and looking at the young girl's expression, she felt an inexplicable sense of inadequacy. Knowing that further persuasion was useless now, she let out a small sigh: "Forget it! If Miss insists, then I, Yunniang, have no choice. I once swore an oath to follow Miss my entire life; this time, I will accompany you in your folly. I only hope, Miss, that you do not regret today's decision later!"

"The path I chose is my own; how could I regret it? Actually, he is not as worthless as you say, Sister Yunniang. After I scolded him today, he still managed to suppress his anger and humbly seek instruction, which shows his temperament must be steady, humble, intelligent, and eager to learn—"

Xuanyuan Yiren formed a hand seal, and the nine red wooden pagodas immediately soared into the air. Shrinking to the size of fingers, they flew into her hand one by one.

Then, remembering that Zong Shou had not arrived promptly to observe her alchemy process, a flicker of helplessness crossed her eyes. Steady and humble, yes, but eagerness to learn was perhaps debatable.

Yet, curiosity still stirred within her: "Sister Yunniang, since you say Zong Shou refused to enter with you, where exactly has he been all this afternoon?"

A hint of grimness immediately flashed in Li Yunniang’s eyes, vanishing just as quickly: "I don't know the specifics. I only heard that the Young Lord went to a teahouse in the city and spent ten thousand Rank Three Beast Crystals to buy a single Rank One Spirit Sword. I don't know what happened after that. But rumor has it that Zong Ling, Zong Shou's younger brother, was also there and was severely angered—"

"Ten thousand Rank Three Beast Crystals? Just to buy a Rank One Spirit Sword?"

Xuanyuan Yiren’s hand trembled slightly, and she gasped, the nine spiritual flames she was currently condensing nearly exploding out of control.

※ ※ ※ ※

After consuming the Pulse Spirit Pill and subsequently consecrating the sword with his blood, Zong Shou spent a full two days gradually recovering his vitality.

This quick recovery was only possible because he possessed the essence of the Thunder Luan Egg. Anyone else would certainly need ten days to half a month before being able to leave the bed.

For two consecutive days, Zong Shou was either drawing spirit talismans or reconstructing formation arrays within his room.

The former was to review his talisman skills and prepare some talismans for later use. The latter was not for alchemy, but for another purpose entirely.

As for the alchemy furnace, he casually tossed it into the rubbish heap after the Pulse Spirit Pill was successfully refined.

Life passed by quite leisurely. Being undisturbed, all the impending danger was temporarily kept at bay, giving Zong Shou the frequent illusion that he had returned to the peaceful, quiet times of his previous life.

Sometimes he would reflect that if he could live in this courtyard forever, it would actually be quite nice.

But this was ultimately just a fantasy; if he truly entertained such a thought, his death would not be far off.

Alongside drawing talismans and structuring arrays, he also gave some rudimentary instruction to Xue'er; this was simple enough—just sending the girl out to catch birds would suffice.

Next was sword nurturing. Every day, Zong Shou’s room was filled with swirling masses of black sword light.

This not only enhanced the sword’s spirituality and his own control over this Black Wave Sword but also allowed him to familiarize himself with the Spirit Master's method of artifact control.

His blood seal was already imprinted on the sword’s body; even from a thousand zhang away, he could control it with ease. In just a few hours, Zong Shou could manipulate it as he wished, even dividing his attention to refine talismans.

However, after practicing continuously for two days, Zong Shou was not satisfied.

"Controlling a sword in the air is undoubtedly agile and unpredictable, swift and versatile, capable of killing from a thousand li away. But its power is somewhat weak; it cannot be imbued with Martial Dao Intent. It can only injure opponents using the sword's inherent talismans. It might manage against low-level Martial Masters, but against a Xiantian expert, it can at best play a minor role. No wonder Spirit Masters above the Nascent Soul stage favor spiritual artifacts like shields, hammers, whips, or chains—those with astonishing attack power or other unique uses—"

He then recalled the Spirit Masters who specialized in sword control and felt a pang of envy in his heart.

"Those Sword Cultivators take their own sword as a Second Primordial Spirit. That sword is like their own body, capable of unleashing Sword Intent. It is a pity I have no way to learn this Second Primordial Spirit technique. Otherwise, if I found a peerless sword embryo, once nurtured, I could roar across the Cloud Realm!"

But in his current situation, finding any good sword embryo was naturally impossible. And using the Black Wave Sword as a Second Primordial Spirit would be courting death.

To use this Black Wave Sword to enhance his Martial Dao Intent to contend against Martial Masters, he would need to have his spirit leave his body and wield the sword with his soul.

With the swordsmanship achieved in his past life, just holding a sword, he was confident he could be unrivaled below the Martial Ancestor realm.

However, this approach demanded extremely high standards for his protective escorts.

"The Obscure Shadow Lion excels at stealth and swift strikes, killing in one blow. If kept close for protection, it would waste its innate talent. Little Gold is good but has not yet matured. If I wish to command the sword with my soul, I must find a different escort. It is unavoidable—"

After his internal energy and vitality recovered, Zong Shou spent another day cultivating. By the third day, he finally felt mentally refreshed, and the formation array he required was finally drawn.

Almost instantly, he set up an incense table, lit two white tallow candles, and created a simple altar. He then affixed several sheets of yellow talisman paper onto the table. Zong Shou stood within the array, his expression solemn. He took out the silver beast crystal he had recently traded from the Ancestor Man Kuang.

The Bear Spirit Beast sealed within this crystal was a Rank Five escort, but its essence was above Rank Six, far beyond the subjugation and suppression capabilities of a Soul Master below the Nascent Soul stage.

The reason Zong Shou possessed such confidence today was that in his previous life, he had occasionally seen a talisman array in the library that could temporarily seal a portion of the spirit beast's strength, forcibly demoting it by one rank. However, the subjugation process would still be extremely perilous.

If this were before obtaining the Black Wave Sword, Zong Shou would never have taken such a risk. But now, he cast the beast crystal without hesitation towards the front of the altar. While it was still in mid-air, two more talismans caught fire from the tallow flames and chased after it.

A burst of fire immediately enveloped the beast crystal. Then, in the next instant, countless plumes of green smoke emerged. As they coalesced, a giant bear, six zhang tall, appeared before Zong Shou. It was fortunate that his room was large enough—built of massive timber with beams eight zhang high—or the roof would have been pushed open.