Chapter 14 New Investment, Shadowbound Sword, and the Return of Ten Thousand Blades!

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: New Investment, Shadowbound Sword, and the Return of Ten Thousand Blades!

Adrian Mercer stared at the strange flame inside his Dantian for several breaths.

Then a peculiar sensation suddenly surfaced in the depths of his mind.

"It seems... I can control it?"

The thought had barely appeared when Adrian began experimenting.

He tried again and again.

After more than a dozen attempts, he finally discovered that he could use his consciousness to control the mysterious flame.

Adrian opened his palm.

A tiny orange-red flame slowly rose from the center of his hand.

Unfortunately, it lasted for less than a breath before disappearing.

Adrian stared at his empty palm.

His curiosity only grew stronger.

He began experimenting with the flame in different ways.

After repeated attempts, he discovered even more of its functions.

The most astonishing one was its ability to refine Spiritual Qi.

Once Spiritual Qi entered his body and passed through the mysterious flame, it became noticeably purer.

The flame could also expand and strengthen his meridians, temper his bones, refine his flesh, and even repair hidden injuries throughout his body.

Its abilities seemed almost endless.

Adrian became increasingly excited.

He immediately began absorbing the Spiritual Qi around him.

After being refined by the mysterious flame, the purified Spiritual Qi flowed smoothly through his meridians and gathered within his Dantian.

Again and again.

The process continued.

Suddenly...

Crack!

A crisp sound came from inside his body.

Adrian froze.

He could clearly feel the barrier that had restrained his cultivation breaking apart.

His expression changed.

"I... broke through?"

He immediately sensed his cultivation.

Meridian Opening Realm, 2nd Layer!

Adrian’s eyes widened.

"Since when did breaking through become this easy?"

A strange expression appeared on his face.

Then, slowly, joy spread through his heart.

At that moment, Julian’s words suddenly echoed in his mind.

Break, then rebuild.

Adrian clenched his fists.

"Indeed... the Patriarch was right."

"As long as I don’t give up, even when everything seems hopeless, I can wait for a miracle."

His heart surged with emotion.

His admiration for Julian had grown even stronger.

Previously, he had admired the Patriarch because of his overwhelming strength.

But now it was different.

Julian was more than the strongest person in the Mercer Family.

He had become a guide for Adrian.

A light that had appeared when Adrian had lost his way.

And at this moment, Adrian had only one thought.

He did not want to continue cultivating.

He wanted to tell the Patriarch this good news first.

"The Patriarch has treated me so well. I have to be the first one to tell him."

A determined look appeared in Adrian’s eyes.

"From now on, I won’t just stand on the sidelines."

"I can cultivate again."

"I can fight for the Clan."

"I can help the Mercer Family become stronger!"

Adrian suppressed his excitement and looked toward the distant residence of the Patriarch.

Then another thought surfaced.

The Aldercrest Order.

The Ashen Thorn Sect.

His expression gradually became colder.

"Those two forces nearly destroyed me."

Adrian remembered the humiliation he had suffered.

Being expelled.

Being treated as useless.

Having his future taken away.

Anger slowly rose within his chest.

"One day, Aldercrest Order... Ashen Thorn Sect..."

"I, Adrian Mercer, will make you pay for everything."

But Adrian quickly calmed himself.

He understood that his current strength was nowhere near enough to challenge either of those enormous forces.

There was no point rushing.

He temporarily suppressed those thoughts.

Then he pushed open his door and headed toward Julian’s residence.

Inside his room, Julian Mercer slowly opened his eyes.

Countless strands of Sword Qi seemed to surge within his pupils.

They were sharp, cold, and oppressive.

Even the air around him seemed to tremble under the pressure.

Julian looked toward the Wordless Sword Post.

His expression was thoughtful.

"This sword post has even greater potential than I initially expected."

During his period of closed-door cultivation, the combined strength of the entire Mercer Family had continued increasing.

The Cultivation Acceleration Card had also accelerated his progress considerably.

As a result, Julian’s cultivation had already risen from the Purple Mansion Realm 3rd Layer to the Purple Mansion Realm 5th Layer.

His Physical Body had improved even more dramatically.

After cultivating the Great Sun Body Refining Art and refining the Vajra Pills, his body had reached an entirely new level.

At this point, he could withstand a Profound Rank Dharma Treasure with his Physical Body alone.

But the greatest change had occurred in his Sword Dao.

Under the comprehension of the Wordless Sword Post, Julian’s Sword Dao had broken through from the Sword Essence Realm Perfected to the Sword Intent Realm.

The Sword Dao’s Artistic Conception was the first major threshold that countless Sword Cultivators struggled to cross.

Its difficulty was extraordinarily high.

Even among Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, only a tiny fraction possessed the talent and comprehension necessary to grasp Sword Intent.

Under normal circumstances, a cultivator generally needed an extremely profound cultivation foundation before they could comprehend such a powerful Artistic Conception.

Yet Julian had reached the pinnacle of the Sword Intent Realm in less than a day.

That level of comprehension was extraordinary.

Once Sword Intent was released, it could directly shake the minds and souls of opponents.

Some weaker enemies might lose their courage before even beginning a battle.

And when Sword Intent was infused into a sword, its destructive power would increase dramatically.

Julian felt the tremendous power flowing through his body.

A trace of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

But at that moment, his Divine Sense suddenly detected movement outside.

Someone was approaching.

Julian swept his Divine Sense outward.

He immediately recognized Adrian.

The boy’s aura was completely different from yesterday.

His previously weak presence had disappeared.

More importantly...

"Meridian Opening Realm, 2nd Layer?"

Julian’s eyes flashed with understanding.

"So the transformation has already begun."

Before Adrian could knock, Julian simply willed the door open.

Adrian stood outside.

The moment Julian saw him, he activated the Chaos Dao Eye and examined him again.

The System’s information immediately appeared.

[Name: Adrian Mercer]

[Cultivation: Meridian Opening Realm 2nd Layer]

[Bone Structure: Peerless]

[Comprehension: Heavenly Pride]

[Fortune: Golden, Rising Sun]

[Talent: Mortal Body]

[Fated Opportunity: Reincarnation of an Ancient Great Emperor. An Immortal Flame is currently residing within the Dantian.]

[Aptitude Level: Dull — Lower Grade — Medium Grade — Upper Grade — Genius — Heavenly Pride — Peerless — Unsurpassed — Immortal Aptitude]

Julian’s eyes brightened.

Compared with yesterday, Adrian’s aptitude had undergone an astonishing transformation.

His Bone Structure had risen from Upper Grade to Peerless.

His Comprehension had risen from Genius to Heavenly Pride.

His Fortune remained at Golden, but its nature had changed.

Rising Sun.

It was clear that Adrian’s destiny had already begun changing.

Adrian had just opened his mouth to report what had happened when Julian smiled first.

"Meridian Opening Realm 2nd Layer?"

"It seems the saying about breaking before rebuilding wasn’t wrong after all."

Adrian froze.

Then he remembered who was standing before him.

Julian was already a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator.

How could he possibly hide his cultivation from the Patriarch?

Adrian scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"The Patriarch truly is the Patriarch."

"It seems I was merely showing off a little skill before an expert."

Julian waved his hand.

But before he could continue speaking, the System suddenly issued another notification.

[Ding~ Investing in the current target can trigger a Golden-Level return.]

[Invest one Profound Rank treasured sword to obtain a Heaven Rank, Top Grade Dharma Treasure: Shadowbound Sword.]

[Invest the Earth Rank, Top Grade Pure Yang Technique to obtain the Heaven Rank, Top Grade Sword Technique: Ten Thousand Blades Return.]

[Invest the Great Sun Body Refining Art to obtain a strand of Solar Raven Essence.]

Julian paused.

He stared at the three rewards.

His expression changed slightly.

These returns were...

Extremely generous.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Adrian.

The more Julian looked at this boy, the more pleasing he found him.

Adrian, meanwhile, noticed the Patriarch staring at him.

His body gradually became stiff.

Why was the Patriarch looking at him like that?

A strange feeling crept into Adrian’s heart.

Julian finally realized that his gaze had probably become too obvious.

He coughed lightly.

"Since your cultivation has recovered, you no longer need to return to the Aldercrest Order."

Adrian immediately became serious.

"The Aldercrest Order has already shown me what kind of place it is."

"I have no intention of returning."

His expression became firm.

"The Aldercrest Order may possess Origin Sea Realm experts and numerous Profound Rank Cultivation Methods, but none of that matters to me anymore."

"I only want to fight for the Clan."

"I won’t leave the Mercer Family again."

Adrian cupped his fists and bowed deeply.

His voice was resolute.

"This time, I will stay with the Clan and help it become stronger."

Julian looked at him.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Good."

"As expected of a member of the Mercer Family."

"It doesn’t matter if you don’t learn the Cultivation Methods of the Aldercrest Order."

Julian’s voice carried confidence.

"Our Mercer Family doesn’t need to envy anyone."

"As a Genius of the Clan, this Patriarch naturally won’t allow you to suffer."

He reached into his System space.

Two Cultivation Methods appeared in his hands.

The Great Sun Body Refining Art.

And the Pure Yang Technique.

Julian handed both to Adrian.

"Take these."

"Cultivate them properly."

"In the future, you must never bring shame to the Mercer Family."

Adrian stared at the two Cultivation Methods in his hands.

His eyes widened.

He had no idea that the two techniques Julian had casually handed him were treasures that countless cultivators would fight desperately to obtain.

His fingers tightened around them.

His heart filled with determination.

He would not waste this second chance.

He would cultivate.

He would grow stronger.

And one day, he would become someone the Mercer Family could rely on.